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Looking for the perfect pair of golf shoes for 2026? Dan Parker has tested all the latest models to find out which offer the best comfort, performance, and value. Watch for our in-depth reviews and to see which shoe is crowned the overall winner.
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00:00I've tested all of the best golf shoes of 2026 and in this video I'm going to tell you the
00:03ones
00:04that are brilliant and the ones that aren't so brilliant and everything in between. At the end
00:08I'll crown an overall winner. Let's get started.
00:19Right, first up the Under Armour Drive Pro Clone and Drive Pro Clone SL. Superb golf shoes and
00:25there was a lot of hype around these before I even stepped foot into them. Having tested shoes now
00:29for five years I was like yeah cool cool cool I've seen it all. However, as soon as I slipped
00:34my foot
00:34into these I understood it and what has brought that innovation and made it such an excellent shoe
00:38is the new auxetic upper material which expands, contracts and fits exactly to your foot shape
00:45giving it the sort of comfort and give where you need it especially when you're walking but the
00:51support and the performance you desperately need during the golf swing. It's the absolute perfect
00:56balance of those two things, something I've never tried in a golf shoe before.
00:59And Under Armour in the process of using this new material I've elevated the looks
01:03so much from Drive Pro and Drive Pro SL which came out two years prior. I thought those shoes were
01:08great
01:09from a performance perspective but just lacked that refined aesthetic which you do have here
01:14on the clone model. Bits like the silver on the back of the shoe here and just the cleanliness of
01:21it all there's no writing on it even the upper material has this sort of embossed effect on it
01:25which gives it a bit of texture and something for the eye to look at. They are absolutely gorgeous
01:30and that material that auxetic upper material I've explained it best I can you're gonna have to go
01:35and try it on to get a sense of how good it is and word of mouth clearly caught on
01:40I can't move for
01:41seeing these shoes out on the golf course at the minute where I play colleagues have tried it
01:44people are backing me up on it which is nice and if you haven't tried these yet I would highly
01:49highly
01:49recommend it. You've got the spike version here this is a PGA Championship special colourway which is
01:54really smart unless you're a Birmingham City fan it looks a little bit like Aston Villa but that's a
01:58different point. Spike version same outsole as the Drive Pro from two years ago so it uses a mixture of
02:03some soft spikes cleats they're not soft spikes they're soft spikes the brand and Under Armour's own
02:09cleats excellent excellent spiked outsole and then the spiked version uses the same sorry about the
02:16dirtiness but um uses the same outsole as on Drive Pro so different textured nubs different shape nubs
02:22as well to give you the support through the foot where you need it and when you're walking as well
02:25I can't speak highly enough of these golf shoes as I said try them on to get a real feel
02:30for them I've
02:31lent to spikeless just because when the ground gets a bit dry that's what I tend to use but a
02:36superb start
02:37to our list for this year okay next up is the adidas mc70 now we saw the mc80 come out
02:44last year or the
02:45year before which was a spikeless version of this uh this is a spike version it hits a really interesting
02:49price point as well about 110 pounds here in the uk I'll come into that in a second uh but
02:54a beautiful
02:55shoe sort of a it will come on to a more expensive brogue classic looking shoe a bit later this
03:00is an
03:00affordable version of that but it's not lacking the detail of a of a nice brogue shoe we've got some
03:07nice detailing on the upper I like this green colorway as well some good stitching and it's a
03:12really pretty shoe for the price as well we've got boost in the midsole which is my favorite adidas foam
03:18so really comfortable and it's on a spiked platform so if spikeless isn't for you for whatever reason
03:22you didn't fancy the mc80 uh you've got a spiked version here and 110 quid really really well priced
03:28in this a lot of the brogue style classic shoes are touching 200 pounds from the more expensive
03:33one so it gives you a real alternative here from adidas and a nice addition to the mc range right
03:39next up is the echo biome c5 now the c4 which came out in 2021 was my favorite golf shoe
03:45for at least a
03:45couple of years before the tour 360 knocked that off its shelf and what i love about echo is they
03:49took
03:49a while to replace it they let the c4 exist and went right how can we improve on that let's
03:54take our time
03:54five years later the c5s here and they somehow have improved on it a beautiful looking shoe sort
03:59of a athletic golf shoe silhouette if that makes sense it's clearly a golf shoe but it's on the more
04:05athletic side of the spectrum and though the rp is quite dear 199 pound here in the uk you feel
04:12every
04:12penny of that investment in this shoe with the quality of the materials the craftsmanship the fit
04:17is just beautiful and it leads to a really comfortable but high performing golf shoe the outsole is
04:22spikeless it's fine it it services a job it's not the best in the market by any means i prefer
04:27the
04:27under armor and the pro sl we're going to look at in a minute but it works but what i
04:32love about this
04:32shoe is how comfortable and breathable it is it's got a gore-tech surround and gore-tech some material
04:37that allows sweat and heat to get out but not water to get in so it's fully waterproof but also
04:43highly highly breathable as i said the fit is excellent they've done something with the heel this
04:48year that allows that to just fit a lot better than the c4 did so your foot feels locked in
04:52place you get the walking comfort of the uh foam in the midsole the fit is just excellent they look
04:59fantastic they are uber uber premium as echo shoes are and it's brilliant to see what was my favorite
05:05shoe from a few years ago be improved on so well into echo and the c5 if you're after a
05:10comfortable
05:11breathable spikers option is the class leader this year right next up the footjoy premier series packard
05:17updated for 2026 and just take a moment to enjoy it look at it be with it it's gorgeous it's
05:23a real
05:23piece of art for a golf shoe a classic brogue design done with the attention to detail and the
05:28craftsmanship that you'd expect from a brand like footjoy aesthetically very similar the saddle area
05:33in the middle's changed slightly we've got a pebbled effect on the leather the stitching's changed but
05:37it's subtle differences from a looks perspective which i'm glad footjoy have done because they didn't
05:42need to change much about it if we're being honest with ourselves but it is worth noting loads has changed
05:47from a comfort perspective now my gripe with the previous version was it took quite a lot of
05:51breaking in these still do by the way and i never felt that sense of like pure pure comfort with
05:56them
05:56that i get from something like an echo or the under armor this year that's changed this year there's
06:01some new padding on the underside of the tongue and some new material and padding in the heel area
06:06that just enhanced that overall comfort in the areas where i felt it lacked a little bit so what you've
06:11got here is a shoe that hasn't changed much aesthetically which is a good thing but i've had a few
06:16comfort properties added to it to make it just that more livable with day to day so great job from
06:20footjoy if this is your kind of style for me there's nowhere else in the market to go yes it's
06:25expensive but it's gorgeous it's more comfortable than before and you'll look great out on the golf
06:30course right next up the footjoy pro sl now can you even recognize this as a pro sl wholesale changes
06:36for 2026 have led to this let me know what you think about the looks down in the comments
06:41for me it's a bit of a miss maybe because it's too much change and i don't like change but
06:46it's just
06:47neither here nor there for me on looks perspective a bit of a clumpy sort of dad trainer like a
06:51gym
06:51trainer that doesn't have those aspiring looks that pro sl used to have for me but let me know if
06:57i'm
06:57miles off it there um up has completely changed outsoles completely changed the last which is the
07:03way they mold the shoe to get the shape is completely changed so it is a completely different shoe
07:07and for good reason footjoy used to have the pro sl as its absolute top shoe trying to do a
07:11lot of
07:12things at once but now with the premier series packard and with the hyperflex doing spike performance
07:17and brogue spiked performance over there this is footjoy's premier excuse the pun spikeless performance
07:26shoe that being said uh the outsole is an absolute hit for me probably the best this year it's touch
07:32and
07:32go on a few but absolutely up there different shaped nubs in different areas so you got these
07:36ones at the front for your walking support the fins down the middle here for your swing support i tested
07:41these on a particularly greasy day underfoot so it wasn't soaking wet but those kind of conditions
07:45where i think a lot of people lose trust in spikeless shoes these performed superbly and have ever since
07:51in really wet conditions as well so for those um people who don't trust spikeless shoes in the wet
07:55this is the kind of outside where you really really can so footjoy have nailed that so while the
07:59outside is great the upper is another one that's a bit of a miss for me again we're moving away
08:04from
08:04leather in these sort of shoes because leather can't give you the performance that you need
08:08these synthetic materials that the brands design themselves can however it's just a bit plasticky
08:13and a bit scratchy for me and for 160 pound shoe it doesn't feel that way you look at what
08:19underarm
08:19have done this year with again a synthetic material underarm is softer to the touch it's got this embossed
08:25effect on it it looks more premium it looks like a real leather the foot joys just doesn't i think
08:31from a
08:31distance it looks cheap the closer you get when you touch it it does as well so a bit of
08:36a miss for
08:36me on the upper and on the general looks but there are the green shoots of an excellent shoe here
08:41and
08:41this is the first time footjoy have made wholesale change to the pro sl so with that feedback i'm
08:47hoping the next generation can be improved on right next up the new balance 997 sl not strictly new for
08:54this year but this beautiful colorway is and what i wanted to highlight with this is that this is a
08:58shoe that if you're just looking for one this year and you're a more casual golfer you're looking for
09:02a driving range shoe a course shoe something you can wear off the course in the clubhouse you can
09:07wear this wherever you want really new balance is a brand i'd be looking at this year their range is
09:12ever expanding the 550 which is one of my favorite styles for off course trainers is available this
09:17year but what it is worth noting is these are purpose built for golf i think a lot of people
09:22look at
09:22this silhouette which is so similar to the street version and think oh it's just the street version it's not
09:27if
09:27you take it a quick flip over look at the outsole purpose bill a really good outsole at that well
09:32thought through different shape nubs different size nubs to give you the the walking grip and the swing
09:37grip that you need so this has all been thought through and things like the heel cup here which
09:41just lock your heel in a little bit more show that this is still purpose built for golf i've gone
09:46for the 997 in this new colorway i do like that i do love the 550 as well but new
09:50balance one to look out
09:51for you can get these for under a hundred dollars a hundred pounds now as well and you get a
09:55lot of shoe
09:55for your money there think of all the places you can wear it and if you're one of those more
09:59casual
09:59golfers looking for something a bit more stylish and a bit less serious new balance is probably the
10:04way to go this year next up the g4 g112 has been revamped for 2026 now the last version of
10:11this which
10:11came out a couple of years ago had these ridiculous spikes on the side of the shoe it sort of
10:16bled from
10:16the outsole onto the side and turned what was a really good shoe into something that was way too
10:21divisive for what it needed to be thankfully g4 got rid of it this year and you can i'm very
10:26thankful for that you can see how much cleaner this design is and how much more wearable it is
10:30on and off the course because again this is a another on off course shoe design whereas the new
10:35balance is that for that golfer who wants a more a slightly louder more sneaker style this is for the
10:41more subtle golfer perhaps looking for just a clean white i dare say stan smith hey stan smith style
10:47sort of shoe i'm glad to see those spikes gone really clean it does fall foul of one of my
10:52biggest
10:52pet peeve in golf shoes which is random writing why are we writing on our golf shoes designers let me
10:57know about that don't love that that just ruins what is a really clean design otherwise this is a really
11:03good performing shoe um outsole is excellent i like a g4 outsole it uses this sawtooth pattern
11:08in areas on the bottom as well as some perimeter nubs as well so that's a well thought well thought
11:13through outsole and the pièce de résistance in all g4 shoes is the nubbed insole ever so slight nubs
11:21i'll try and bring it up on camera for you now which as you walk along your foot moves around
11:25ever
11:25so slightly in the shoe or as you kind of curl your toes up gives you a little massage on
11:29the way who
11:29doesn't want that it genuinely helps foot fatigue leg fatigue if you're getting a bit tired you just
11:34sort of um wiggle your toes in there and get a bit of a bit of light relief um and
11:39only g4 shoes have
11:40that it's in every g4 shoe which i thank them for um and it's a usp really i think if
11:46insole comfort
11:47something you're after go try one of these on and get a real sense of it for yourself because
11:50i couldn't recommend it more highly so a really pretty shoe performs well has that on off course
11:56wearability get rid of that writing g4 but a great improvement nonetheless on the last version
12:01okay next up sketches the go golf blade now sketches i need a word with sketches because this hits
12:08every note from a practicality perspective comfortable yes heel support yes outsole
12:14wonderful they've even put a new upper on it this year which is a little bit more premium
12:18however they just cannot quite get it right for me from a design point of view and while the actual
12:24silhouette is is completely inoffensive and actually quite clean where it falls flat for me is what i was
12:30just saying on the g4 it's unnecessary writing uh the s plastered on the front here just ruins the clean
12:36look
12:37of it we've got slip ins written down here i've got arch fit written down there i've got sketches
12:41written again on there i don't need to be advertised to about arch fit and about slipping and about
12:47hyperburst when i've already got the shoe it just feels completely unnecessary because that i think
12:52we'd all agree if it was just had that writing taken off is a very clean shoe and as all
12:56sketches
12:57do they perform fantastically i've seen a couple of other reviewers say if you blind tested this it would
13:03come out on top i'd broadly agree with that but unfortunately rather luckily i'm not blind and
13:08i have to look at this shoe therefore it just falls down a little bit for me when stacked up
13:13against
13:13everything else on the market um if i'm being completely insane you love the look of these great
13:18let me know down in the comments and it means you've got a really comfortable shoe if you're
13:22flat-footed there's brilliant arch support in here which just just raises your foot up ever so
13:26slightly uh to remove a bit of that foot fatigue for flat-footed people it's got the slip-in technology
13:32which means you can just sort of well slip your foot in without having to uh you're not going to
13:35break the heel as you do that because it's a very firm heel and that firmness is counteracted by the
13:40heel pillow at the back which just cushions your heel beautifully so if you've got problematic heels
13:45or a flat foot sketchy shoes are perfect for that if you can get over the styling which i can't
13:51clearly they're a fantastic shoe so yes this happens every year with sketches deeply practical
13:57deeply comfortable broadly well priced as this one is as well but just falls flat on that design
14:02aspect for me so a shame really but and sketches have designed great shoes in the past the prestige
14:08from last year was brilliant really clean no silly writing on it so it can be done by sketches
14:12i just want to see it more often right last one from the 2026 cohort is this is the painter
14:17reserve
14:17classic tour rs now painter is a brand i've well the most of the industry has been hammering on about
14:23for at least or three or four years now best newcomer to the game that really serious tour
14:28traction now with jason day minwoo lee sam burns justin rose and they make really high quality
14:34shoes that perform brilliantly and i think look fantastic as well what we've effectively got here
14:39is i feel bad saying this it's just a slightly dumbed down version of the 87 sc from last year
14:46which
14:46won my best shoe of last year the difference between the two is the 87 has a carbon fiber propulsion
14:52plate in the bottom this just uses tpu so it's still got that propulsion plate to try and give
14:57you some of that energy transfer into the ball but it's using a less premium material that does bring
15:02the price down by 30 quid which i think is excellent making a beautiful high performing
15:06shoe like this uh more accessible i say dumbed down uh that feels a bit rude and it might be
15:12but
15:12there are some design elements that have changed as well i love the brown running around the perimeter
15:16of here a bit of stitching uh as with all painters spike use incredibly low profile if i compare
15:21that to the under armor now where you can see the spikes really protruding and you're sitting a bit
15:25more upright this is really low to the ground but still has to my mind anyway one of the best
15:30spiked
15:31outsoles on the market so another usp for painting if you prefer something a bit more low profile
15:36and then the design it's like it's not quite the athletic style of something like the echo and it's
15:41nearing perhaps the brogue look of the the uh the premier series there something in the middle there
15:47and they use really premium materials throughout to make an incredibly comfortable shoe that looks
15:52brilliant performs absolutely up there with the best and it's great to see them offer something
15:56this year at a bit more of an affordable price point than their top top end shoe with many of
16:01the
16:01same technologies put in there so again looking to try something new this year paint is a brand
16:06i've absolutely loved testing their golf shoes over the last three or four years now
16:09um and this one is as good if not better than the rest right then before i do my winners
16:15for 2026 i
16:16want to talk about some shoes that have been released in the last couple of years that are
16:19still available are probably quite a bit cheaper now as well and are well worth considering this year
16:23alongside the new releases right so firstly the footjoy quantum now if you want comfort if that's your
16:29absolute number one this thing's unbelievable listen does it look great uh jury's out uh is the
16:36outsole any good not really unless you're playing in really dry conditions is it the most comfortable
16:41thing i've ever worn yes it's absurd they said in the press release when this came out it's like
16:45cloud-like comfort which i thought was a lot of nonsense really but then you step in it and you're
16:49like heck yeah that probably is what it feels like to step on a cloud right it all comes down
16:54to this
16:54ortholite impressions um insole they call it a fit bed or a footbed but it's the insole in here it's
17:00so
17:00soft it's like memory foam and then you combine that with all the midsole foam they've clearly put in
17:05here and a really soft upper it's just the it's the final word in comfort for me still i've said
17:11there's some really comfortable shoes here but the echo and the underarm are really comfortable and
17:16perform if you're a high swing speed player or a performance focus player this this flops around a
17:22touch more because they've sacrificed it for comfort but goodness me if you just want a comfortable shoe
17:26the quantum is excellent value um the adidas s2g again this came out in 2024 there's some new colorways
17:33been released for this year so i guess it could be considered a new shoe still uh unbelievable value
17:38again is it the prettiest no is the outsole the best no but if you're just getting into golf i'm
17:44going to play that much and want a shoe that can do everything for you which is go to the
17:47driving range
17:48go to the golf course stay in the bar afterward and not look silly this is it uh some great
17:53new
17:53colorways for this year i think you can pick this up like for like 60 quid in some places so
17:58unbelievable value in what is a very comfortable pretty good looking shoe again for the more casual of
18:03you out there people just starting wanting something just to get you going without breaking the bank
18:07i love this shoe for that the goat my filthy goat from 2024 this was my favorite favorite shoe until
18:13something came along this year can you guess what it is that's um overdone you can see how much i've
18:17worn this and i haven't looked after it but the adidas tour 360 24 is one of the final words
18:23for me
18:24in spiked performance at the minute um this has been out for now into its second year so you can
18:29pick them
18:29up for a little bit cheaper than they were when they first launched they look brilliant it's a
18:33classic design 20 year design that we all know and love uh adidas improved the comfort significantly
18:38and i was living in these for a couple of years so again if you could put this up for
18:42a decent price
18:42you don't like the look of any of the new ones in this year uh tour 360 24 is still
18:46going strong
18:47finally my winner from last year was the painter 87 sc referred to this earlier still very much
18:51available just a more techy version of the painter i spoke about a little earlier on with that
18:55carbon fiber propulsion plate in the bottom try and say that after a few beers just a fantastic
19:01shoe this is jason day's um option on tour just look how low profile that is for a spike shoe
19:05you can barely see them so uh another pretty shoe wants to give painter a shout out so last year's
19:10winner of best shoe uh still available 2024's winner of best shoe still available let's find out what's
19:17winning this year my overall winner for this year winners in fact because i can't pick between the two
19:22because they're ostensibly the same thing is the under armor drive pro clone and drive pro clone sl real
19:28innovation this year in that new upper material that auxetic upper material you need to try for
19:33yourselves to get a real idea of i will try and bang the drum as hard as i can they
19:37are excellent so not
19:38only have we got a fantastic shoe that has the perfect balance of comfort when you're walking
19:44performance when you're swinging the looks have been refined amazingly with the bits of silver detailing
19:50the embossedness embossedness of the upper the feel of the upper the performance of the upper
19:56the outsoles are fantastic i cannot speak hardly enough of these shoes and where the tour 360 24 and
20:02the pain 387 sc won in the last two years they didn't win by as much of these have won
20:07this year
20:08it was a no-brainer for me to call this and i can't recommend them highly enough go and try
20:13them
20:13for yourselves but let me know what you think have i missed out any brands you think i should have
20:16mentioned are you wearing any of these at the minute that you think should have got some more love or
20:19less love let me know down in the comments but for now thank you for watching see you next time