Foot Joy Icon replacement for Classics Options

[webber]

http://www.footjoy.com/catalog/mens.asp?c=...52161&p=all

They look pretty good, price point should be $200 or so.

[ghromas]

i checked them out when the footjoy rep was showing them off recently, and the shoe feels cheap. the heel has a weak foam type feeling, and the tread has a lot of cheap feeling plastic that reminds me of crappy old etonics. the leather heel liner is also really high and stiff which usually takes chunks of flesh off my outer ankle bones during break-in.

nice try footjoy, but no interest! IMO, they look cool, but using cheaper materials to lower the pricepoint of the shoe does not make sense given the type of golfer who would buy classics in the first place. though i want them to look good, i really want support and comfort when playing/walking 36 holes in a day.

sticking with my old classics and adidas 360ltd. the new eccos are doing well too.

[Pure745]

+1

They look really cheap.. and supposedly are not supposed to be "replacements" for the Classics line. However, if this is the case.. then why are they all styled exactly like the Classics?

The pics make them look terribly cheap and even cheaper when styled after one of the top of the line golf shoes ever made.

[TheCapedAvenger]

agreed, these look like a pretty weak sauce version of the classics.

that being said, I'll probably buy one of each of the BOA whites and blacks to replace my current reelfits, which are wearing pretty thin.

[sandy]

Pure junk. Look terrible in pictures and worse in person.

[jimjim]

just a completely different story to the classics. glad i stocked up on my classics, if this is all FJ has to offer as a replacement

[Pure745]

Black/Black patent leather wingtips w/ rubber soles = LOSE

White/Silver Lizard Camillo w/ rubber soles = LOSE

Pretty much any Classic Dry Premiere design w/ rubber sole = LOSE

Me, stocking up w/ 4 pairs of CDP's before the release of the ICONS for me = WIN

[TM golf guy 182]

Every time I see this thread, I get more and more sad that the classics are gone.

[spinningwedge]

Well if these are a replacement for Classics, I guess I'll just keep wearing my Classics till they need replacing in about 2020.

[scotchblade]

Still can't believe the Classics are gone. There is no replacement. I bit the bullet and bought 3 pairs over the past few months and am glad I did.

[Tmiller72]

Obviously I know the plant in MA where the Classics were made shut down, but what's the reason for not being able to make them in China with the other shoes?

[tbowles411]

Think I'll stick with my Adidas.

[efduffer]

www.golflocker.com has the classier Reelfits on closeout right now for $80/pr. These are claimed to be 09 models.

[joeclothing]

I agree....these stink! I think you'll see a good bit of the guys on tour continue to wear their classics even with the Icons being thrown at them.
Whoever said "etonics" I agree. Very similar IMO.

Glad I purchased a dozen plus pairs of classics to last me for years to come

[frozen_rope]

Classics were produced using welt construction (outsole stitched to the upper)process, which requires welting machines and skilled labor. The welting equipment machinery in the Brockton factory is probably at least 30 to 40 years old, or older.
Chinese factories produce cement construction shoes, using adhesive to glue the upper to the outsole. The Chinese factories use the same construction process to make golf shoes as they do to make sneakers.
In theory FJ could have shipped welting equipment over to China, or had some new welt stitching machines designed and built overseas. But, factory workers need to be specially trained . The stitching you see on the outsole of Classics shoes is hand labor stitching that heavy thread through each hole. Even for trained, experienced workers, this process of welted construction is time consuming.. It's not for "volume" shoe production, it's for high end small batch production runs, which is what FJ did at their Brockton factory.
Cement construction, which is how all sneakers and all non-Classic golf shoes are produced, is much faster. It's an assembly line gluing the oustole to the upper, and a production line of workers can produce thousands of pairs per day.
The difference between cement and welted construction is minimal for brand new pairs of shoes. However, over time, say 5 or 6 rounds of golf, the cement construction shoes begin to lose their shape and fit. Welt construction produced shoes hold their shape forever.
There is another way FJ could have gone with the Classic line. That is, followed New Balance's lead. For a good percentage of New Balance brand sneaker line they have shoe uppers cut and stitched in China, and rubber outsoles produced in China. New Balance then ships the uppers and outsoles to 5 assembly factories they own in Maine and Massachusetts , and assembles the shoes in the USA. Footjoy could have done something similar with the Classics line.

Obviously I know the plant in MA where the Classics were made shut down, but what's the reason for not being able to make them in China with the other shoes?

[Tmiller72]

Thanks for that great explanation.

[frozen_rope]

Prior to the 1970's the USA had more than 100 welt construction shoe factories, especially in the St. Louis area and Boston area.
Over the decades, as sneakers became popular for everyday street wear, the old fashion true shoes (welt construction), gave way to the cheaper disposable cement construction shoes.
Red Wing Boot Company still has a couple of welt construction factories left making expensive work boots, but that company has been making more and more cheaper cement construction boots in China, so I expect Red Wing will eventually do like FJ did by closing down their welt business and become 100% imports.

Thanks for that great explanation.

[spinningwedge]

Does anyone know if FJ will continue to service and repair Classics? Where will they do the work? Seriously, I expect mine to last 10 years or more.

[Asleep]

I'm considering chasing down a pair of these to replace the CDP:




http://www.stuburt.com/products/mens_shoes/hand_crafted

[Ciotog99]

Every time I see this thread, I get more and more sad that the classics are gone.

+1