I work at a golf store and get great discounts on golf shoes (as many of you do as well), and I am never afraid to buy a pair. I have 3 pairs of Dry Joys, Nike Air Rejuvenate, a pair of Nike tennis shoe style, and an older FJ Dry I.C.E. (still ultra comfortable) as well as a couple others that have come and gone in my small collection. However, if I'm in a hurry and put on a pair of running shoes (Asics Gel Kayano's), or just some casual Puma's, I tend to strike the ball a lot better and more consistent. I'm a 3.3 handicap so I can usually play pretty decent anyways, but I feel more comfortable and swing within myself better. I think the fact that subconsciously I know I'll slip or something makes me do this.

Golf shoes are great for their waterproof values, but they can be hot and heavy sometimes as well. Am I the only one?

You answered your own question - you swing more smoothly and in balance. I know a couple of guys who do the same thing. I just focus on swinging smoothly and in balance in my golf shoes. I need the waterproofness of my FJ's here in the NW.

Haha, yeah I suppose I did. One of the best high school golfers I knew back in my day golfed with untied, loose Nike running shoes. He was a hockey player and there are hockey players that play with loose skates, so this may be where he got it from, but man, that would seem almost impossible to me.

I golf in my worn out running shoes too, I figure the lack of traction keeps me from getting too crazy and swinging so hard

plus, I'm a cheapskate and don't want to buy special golf shoes

sounds logical to ensure you play within yourself, but personally I prefer the traction from the studs. I wonder what would happen if Tiger played in old running shoes - reckon he might just keep spinning round until he took off, maybe?!!?

Maybe, just maybe your mind is more conscious of the fact that you have less traction so then you're staying more balanced as oppose to throwing your weight too much back and forth.

Just a thought.

Lots of people wear runners to the range to hit off mats. You don't want to slip so you swing smoother and within yourself to maintain balance. It would be good to get used to golf shoes (on the course) I would assume because situations such as wet weather etc will always call for that extra traction.

Like I said, I have 'em and actually wear them more than sneakers even though I kinda implied that I wear my sneaks more often. I just seem like I golf better without. Actually I tend to hook the ball more with golf shoes than with sneakers.

I'm only 5'8", 155 lbs and have a long, fairly hard swing. My driver ss is 105 despite my size. From playing years of baseball, I have a flat swing and have a lot of body turn causing my front foot tends to turn out of the ball fairly easy, even with golf shoes (though less than sneakers), so I wonder if allowing my foot to turn through helps me out. It sounds worse than it is, and I've tried to get rid of bad habits, but it is what it is I guess. I always want to get better and want to lower my handicap, but I'm pretty happy about being a 3.3 considering I rarely play any sort of tournaments any more, just for enjoyment. I always seem to be good enough to play in the best flight level of tourneys, but there are always guys that are a lot better making it difficult to compete.