We Pick The 10 Best Golf Shoes of 2026

I've tested all of the best golf shoes of 2026 and in this video I'm going to tell you the ones

that are brilliant and the ones that aren't so brilliant and everything in between. At the end

I'll crown an overall winner. Let's get started. Right, first up the Under Armour Drive Pro Clone and Drive Pro Clone SL. Superb golf shoes and

there was a lot of hype around these before I even stepped foot into them. Having tested shoes now

for five years, I was like, yeah, cool, cool, cool. I've seen it all. However, as soon as I slipped my foot into these

I understood it. And what has brought that innovation and made it such an excellent shoe

is the new Orxetic Upper Material, which expands, contracts, and fits exactly

to your foot shape, giving it the sort of comfort and give where you need it, especially when you're walking

but the support and the performance you desperately need during the golf swing. It's the absolute perfect balance of those two things

something I've never tried in a golf shoe before. And Under Armour, in the process of using this new material

I've elevated the looks so much from Drive Pro and Drive Pro SL

which came out two years prior. I thought those shoes were great from a performance perspective

but just lacked that refined aesthetic, which you do have here on the clone model

Bits like the silver on the back of the shoe here, and just the cleanliness of it all, there's no writing on it

Even the upper material has this sort of embossed effect on it, which gives it a bit of texture and something for the eye to look at

They are absolutely gorgeous. And that material, that auxetic upper material, I've explained it best I can

You're going to have to go and try it on to get a sense of how good it is. And word of mouth clearly caught on

I can't move for seeing these shoes out on the golf course at the minute where I play. Colleagues have tried it

People are backing me up on it, which is nice. And if you haven't tried these yet, I would highly, highly recommend it

You've got the spike version here. This is a PGA Championship special colourway

which is really smart. Unless you're a Birmingham City fan, it looks a little bit like Aston Villa

but that's a different point. Spiked version, same outsole as the Drive Pro from two years ago

So it uses a mixture of some SoftSpikes cleats, they're not SoftSpikes, SoftSpikes the brand

and Under Armour's own cleats. Excellent, excellent spiked outsole. And then the spiked version uses the same

sorry about the dirtiness, but uses the same outsole as on Drive Pro. So different textured nubs, different shaped nubs as well

to give you the support through the foot where you need it and when you're walking as well

I can't speak highly enough of these golf shoes. As I said, try them on to get a real feel for them

I've lent to spikeless just because when the ground gets a bit dry, that's what I tend to use

But a superb start to our list for this year. Okay, next up is the Adidas MC70

Now, we saw the MC80 come out last year or the year before, which was a spikeless version of this

This is a spiked version. It hits a really interesting price point as well, about £110 here in the UK

I'll come into that in a second. but a beautiful shoe, sort of a

it will come onto a more expensive brogue classic looking shoe a bit later. This is an affordable version of that

but it's not lacking the detail of a nice brogue shoe. We've got some nice detailing on the upper

I like this green colorway as well. Some good stitching and it's a really pretty shoe

for the price as well. We've got Boost in the midsole, which is my favorite Adidas foam

So really comfortable and it's on a spiked platform. So spikers isn't for you for whatever reason

You didn't fancy the MC80. You've got a spiked version here. And 110 quid, really, really well priced in this

A lot of the brogy style classic shoes are touching 200 pounds from the more expensive ones

So it gives you a real alternative here from Adidas and a nice addition to the MC range

Right, next up is the Echobiome C5. Now the C4, which came out in 2021

was my favourite golf shoe for at least a couple of years before the Tour 360 knocked that off its shelf

And what I love about Echobiome is they took a while to replace it. They let the C4 exist and went, right

How can we improve on that? Let's take our time. Five years later, the C5's here, and they somehow have improved on it

A beautiful looking shoe, sort of a athletic golf shoe silhouette, if that makes sense

It's clearly a golf shoe, but it's on the more athletic side of the spectrum. And though the RRP is quite dear, £199 here in the UK, you feel every penny of that investment

in this shoe with the quality of the materials, the craftsmanship, the fit is just beautiful

And it leads to a really comfortable but high performing golf shoe. The outsole is spikeless, it's fine, it services the job. It's not the best in the market by any

means. I prefer the Under Armour and the Pro SL we're going to look at in a minute, but it works

But what I love about this shoe is how comfortable and breathable it is. It's got a Gore-Tex surround

a Gore-Tex material that allows sweat and heat to get out, but not water to get in. So it's

fully waterproof, but also highly, highly breathable. As I said, the fit is excellent

They've done something with the heel this year that allows that to just fit a lot better than the C4 did. So your foot feels locked in place. You get the walking comfort of the foam in the

midsole The fit is just excellent They look fantastic They are uber uber premium as Echo shoes are And it brilliant to see what was my favourite shoe from a few years ago be improved on so well done to Echo and the C5 if you after a comfortable breathable spikers

option is the class leader this year. Right next up the Foot Joy Premier Series Packard updated for

2026 and just take a moment to enjoy it look at it be with it it's gorgeous it's a real piece of

art for a golf shoe a classic brogue design done with the attention to detail and the craftsmanship

that you'd expect from a brand like Foot Joy. Aesthetically very similar. The saddle area in the middle's changed slightly

We've got a pebbled effect on the leather. The stitching's changed, but it's subtle differences from a looks perspective

which I'm glad Foot Joy have done because they didn't need to change much about it if we're being honest with ourselves

But it is worth noting, loads has changed from a comfort perspective. Now, my gripe with the previous version was

they took quite a lot of breaking in. These still do, by the way. And I never felt that sense of like pure

pure comfort with them that I get from something like an Echo or the Under Armour this year. that's changed this year there's some new padding on the underside of the tongue and some new

material and padding in the heel area that just enhanced that overall comfort in the areas where

I felt it lacked a little bit so what you've got here is a shoe that hasn't changed much

aesthetically which is a good thing but I've had a few comfort properties added to it to make it

just that more livable with day to day so great job from foot joy this is your kind of style

for me there's nowhere else in the market to go yes it's expensive but it's gorgeous it's more

comfortable than before and you'll look great out on the golf course. Right, next up, the Footjoy

Pro SL. Now, can you even recognise this as a Pro SL? Wholesale changes for 2026 have led to this

Let me know what you think about the looks down in the comments. For me, it's a bit of a miss

maybe because it's too much change and I don't like change, but it's just neither here nor there

for me on a looks perspective. Bit of a clumpy sort of dad trainer, like a gym trainer that

doesn't have those aspiring looks that Pro SL used to have for me, but let me know if I'm miles

off it there. Upper's completely changed, outsourced completely changed, the last, which is the way they

mould the shoe to get the shape, is completely changed, so it is a completely different shoe, and for good reason. Foot Joy used to have the Pro SL as its absolute top shoe, trying to do a lot

of things at once, but now with the Premier Series Packard and with the Hyperflex doing

spike performance and brogue spiked performance over there this is footjoy's premier excuse the

pun spikeless performance shoe that being said uh the outsole was an absolute hit for me probably

the best this year it's touch and gone a few but absolutely up there different shaped nubs in

different areas so you got these ones at the front for your walking support the fins down the middle

here for your swing support i tested these on a particularly greasy day underfoot so it wasn't

soaking wet but those kind of conditions where i think a lot of people lose trust in spikler shoes

these performed superbly and have ever since in really wet conditions as well so for those people

who don't trust spikler shoes in the wet this is the kind of outside where you really really can so

footjoy have nailed that so while the outside is great the upper is another one that's a bit of a

miss for me again we're moving away from leather in these sort of shoes because leather can't give

you the performance that you need these synthetic materials that the brands design themselves can

however it's just a bit plasticky and a bit scratchy for me and for 160 pound shoe it doesn't

feel that way you look at what underarm i've done this year with again a synthetic material

underarm is softer to the touch it's got this embossed effect on it it looks more premium it

looks like a real leather the foot joys just doesn't i think from a distance it looks cheap

the closer you get when you touch it it does as well so a bit of a miss for me on the upper and on

the general looks, but there are the green shoots of an excellent shoe here. And this is the first

time Footjoy have made wholesale change to the Pro SL. So with that feedback, I'm hoping the next

generation can be improved on. Right, next up, the New Balance 997SL. Not strictly new for this year

but this beautiful colourway is. And what I wanted to highlight with this is that this is a shoe that

if you're just looking for one this year and you're a more casual golfer, you're looking for a

driving range shoe, a course shoe, something you can wear off the course in the clubhouse

You can wear this wherever you want really. New Balance is a brand I'd be looking at this year

Their range is ever expanding. The 550, which is one of my favourite styles for off-course trainers

is available this year. But what it is worth noting is these are purpose-built for golf. I

think a lot of people look at this silhouette, which is so similar to the street version, and think, oh, it's just the street version. It's not. If you take a quick flip over

look at the outsole, purpose-built, a really good outsole at that, well thought through

different shape nubs, different size nubs to give you the walking grip and the swing grip

that you need. So this has all been thought through and things like the heel cup here

which just lock your heel in a little bit more, show that this is still purpose built for golf

I've gone for the 997 in this new colourway. I do like that. I do love the 550 as well, but

New Balance is one to look out for. You can get these for under a hundred dollars, a hundred pounds now as well. And you get a lot of shoe for your money there. Think of all the places you can

wear it. And if you're one of those more casual golfers looking for something a bit more stylish

and a bit less serious, New Balance is probably the way to go this year. Next up, the G4

G112 has been revamped for 2026 Now the last version of this which came out a couple of years ago had these ridiculous spikes on the side of the shoe It sort of bled from the outsole onto the side and turned what was a really good shoe into something that was way too divisive for what it needed to be

Thankfully G4 got rid of it this year and I'm very thankful for that

You can see how much cleaner this design is and how much more wearable it is on and off the course

because again, this is another on-off course shoe design, whereas the new balance is for that golfer

who wants a slightly louder, more sneaker style. This is for the more subtle golfer perhaps

looking for just a clean, white, I dare say Stan Smith, Stan Smith style sort of shoe

I'm glad to see those spikes gone really clean. It does fall foul of one of my biggest pet peeve

in golf shoes, which is random writing. Why are we writing on our golf shoes designers

Let me know about that. Don't love that. That just ruins what is a really clean design

Otherwise, this is a really good performing shoe. Outsoul is excellent, I like a G4 outsole

it uses this sawtooth pattern in areas on the bottom, as well as some perimeter nubs as well

So that's a well thought through outsole. And the pièce de résistance in all G4 shoes

is the nubbed insole, ever so slight nubs, I'll try and bring it up on camera for you now

which as you walk along, your foot moves around ever so slightly in the shoe, or as you kind of curl your toes up

gives you a little massage on the way. Who doesn't want that? It genuinely helps foot fatigue, leg fatigue

If you're getting a bit tired, you just sort of wiggle your toes in there and get a bit of light relief

And only G4 shoes have that. It's in every G4 shoe, which I thank them for

And it's a USP really. I think if insole comfort's something you're after

go try one of these on and get a real sense of it for yourself because I couldn't recommend it more highly

So a really pretty shoe, performs well, has that on-off course wearability

get rid of that writing, G4. but a great improvement nonetheless on the last version

Okay, next up, Skechers, the Go Golf Blade. Now, Skechers, I need a word with Skechers

because this hits every note from a practicality perspective. Comfortable, yes. Heel support, yes

Outsole, wonderful. They've even put a new upper on it this year which is a little bit more premium

However, they just cannot quite get it right for me from a design point of view

And while the actual silhouette is completely inoffensive and actually quite clean

Where it falls flat for me is what I was just saying on the G4. It's unnecessary writing

The S plastered on the front here just ruins the clean look of it

We've got slip-ins written down here. I've got arch fit written down there

I've got sketches written again on there. I don't need to be advertised to about arch fit and about slip-in

and about hyperburst when I've already got the shoe. It just feels completely unnecessary because that

I think we'd all agree if it was just had that writing taken off, is a very clean shoe

and as all sketches do, they perform fantastically. I've seen a couple of other reviewers say

if you blind tested this, it would come out on top. I'd broadly agree with that, but unfortunately

rather luckily, I'm not blind and I have to look at this shoe. Therefore, it just falls down a little bit for me

when stacked up against everything else on the market. If I'm being completely insane and you love the look of these

great, let me know down in the comments and it means you've got a really comfortable shoe

If you're flat footed, there's brilliant arch support in here which just raises your foot up ever so slightly

to remove a bit of that foot fatigue for flat-footed people. It's got the slip-in technology

which means you can just sort of slip your foot in without having to, you're not going to break the heel as you do that

because it's a very firm heel. And that firmness is counteracted by the heel pillow at the back

which just cushions your heel beautifully. So if you've got problematic heels or a flat foot

Skechers shoes are perfect for that. And if you can get over the styling, which I can't, clearly

they're a fantastic shoe. So yes, this happens every year with Skechers. Deeply practical, deeply comfortable

broadly well-priced as this one is as well, but just falls flat on that design aspect for me

So a shame really, but, and Skechers have designed great shoes in the past

The Prestige from last year was brilliant, really clean, no silly writing on it. So it can be done by Skechers

I just want to see it more often. Right, last one from the 2026 cohort is this

is the Painter Reserve Classic Tour RS. Now Painter is a brand I've

well most of the industry has been hammering on about for at least three or four years now

Best newcomer to the game, really serious tour traction now with Jason Day, Minwoo Lee, Sam Burns, Justin Rose

and they make really high quality shoes that perform brilliantly and I think look fantastic as well

What we've effectively got here is, I feel bad saying this, it's just a slightly dumbed down version of the 87SC from last year

which won my best shoe of last year. The difference between the two is the 87

has a carbon fibre propulsion plate in the bottom. This just uses TPU

So it's still got that propulsion plate to try and give you some of that energy transfer into the ball, but it's using a less premium material

That does bring the price down by 30 quid, which I think is excellent, making a beautiful, high-performing shoe like this

more accessible. I say dumbed down. That feels a bit rude, and it might be

but there are some design elements that have changed as well. I love the brown running around the perimeter

of here a bit of stitching As with all painter spikes it incredibly low profile If I compare that to the Under Armour now where you can see the spikes really protruding and he sitting a bit more upright this is really low to the ground but still has to my mind anyway one of the best spiked outsoles on the market So

another USP for painting if you prefer something a bit more low profile. And then the design

it's like it's not quite the athletic style of something like the Echo and it's nearing perhaps

the brogue look of the premier series there. Something in the middle there and they use really

premium materials throughout to make an incredibly comfortable shoe that looks brilliant, performs

absolutely up there with the best and it's great to see them offer something this year at a bit more

of an affordable price point than their top top end shoe with many of the same technologies put in

there. So again looking to try something new this year. Paint is a brand I've absolutely loved

testing their golf shoes over the last three or four years now and this one is as good if not

better than the rest. Right then, before I do my winners for 2026, I want to talk about some shoes

that have been released in the last couple of years that are still available, are probably quite a bit

cheaper now as well, and are well worth considering this year alongside the new releases, right? So

firstly, the Footjoy Quantum. Now, if you want comfort, if that's your absolute number one

this thing's unbelievable. Listen, does it look great? Jury's out. Is the outsole any good? Not

really, unless you're playing in really dry conditions. Is it the most comfortable thing I've ever worn? Yes. It's absurd. They said in the press release when this came out, it's like

cloud-like comfort, which I thought was a lot of nonsense, really. But then you step in it and

you're like, heck yeah, that probably is what it feels like to step on a cloud, right? It all comes

down to this ortholite impressions insole. They call it a fit bed or a footbed, but it's the insole

in here. It's so soft. It's like memory foam. And then you combine that with all the midsole foam

they've clearly put in here and a really soft upper. It's just the final word in comfort for me

still. I've said there's some really comfortable shoes here, but the Echo and the Under Armour are

really comfortable and perform if you're a high swing speed player or a performance focused player

This flops around a touch more because they've sacrificed it for comfort. But goodness me

if you just want a comfortable shoe, the Quantum is excellent. Value. The Adidas S2G. Again

this came out in 2024. There's some new colourways been released for this year, so I guess it could

be considered a new shoe still. Unbelievable value. Again, is it the prettiest? No. Is the

outsole the best, no. But if you're just getting into golf, I'm going to play that much and want a

shoe that can do everything for you, which is go to the driving range, go to the golf course

stay in the bar afterward and not look silly. This is it. Some great new colourways for this year

I think you can pick this up for like 60 quid in some places. So unbelievable value in what is a

very comfortable, pretty good looking shoe. Again, for the more casual of you out there

people just starting, wanting something just to get you going without breaking the bank

I love this shoe for that. The goat, my filthy goat from 2024. This was my favourite, favourite

shoe until something came along this year. Can you guess what it is that's overdone? You can see

how much I've worn this and I haven't looked after it, but the Adidas Tour 360 24 is one of the final

words for me in spiked performance at the minute. This has been out for now into its second year

so you can pick them up for a little bit cheaper than they were when they first launched. They look brilliant. It's a classic design, 20-year design that we all know and love

and it has improved the comfort significantly and I was living in these for a couple of years

So again, if you could pick this up for a decent price and you don't like the look of any of the new ones in this year, Tour 360 24 is still going strong

Finally, my winner from last year was the Painter 87 SC. Referred to this earlier, still very much available

Just a more techy version of the Painter I spoke about a little earlier on with that carbon fibre propulsion plate in the bottom

Try and say that after a few beers. Just a fantastic shoe. This is Jason Day's option on Tour

Just look how low profile that is for a spiked shoe. You can barely see them. So another pretty shoe, want to give Painter a shout out

So last year's winner of best shoe, still available. 2024's winner of best shoe, still available

Let's find out what's winning this year. My overall winner for this year, winners in fact

because I can't pick between the two because they're ostensibly the same thing, is the Under Armour Drive Pro Clone and Drive Pro Clone SL

Real innovation this year in that new up of material, that auxetic up of material you need to try for yourselves

to get a real idea of. I will try and bang the drum as hard as I can. They are excellent

So not only have we got a fantastic shoe that has the perfect balance of comfort when you're walking

performance when you're swinging, the looks have been refined amazingly with the bits of silver detailing

the embossedness of the upper, the feel of the upper, the performance of the upper

The outsoles are fantastic. I cannot speak hardly enough of these shoes. And where the Tor 360 24 and the Payne 87 SC won

in the last two years, they didn't win by as much of these have won this year. It was a no-brainer

for me to call this and I can't recommend them highly enough. Go and try them for yourselves

But let me know what you think. Have I missed out any brands you think I should have mentioned? Are you wearing any of these at the minute that you think should have got some more love or some

less love? Let me know down in the comments. But for now, thank you for watching. I'll see you next time