Equipment
Power Players: Adidas Powerband Boa Boost golf shoes
There’s no question that today’s golf shoes are significantly better than they were 10 years ago. They’re lighter, more flexible and undeniably more comfortable, but like all things golf-equipment related, there’s a group of golfers who cringe at the latest footwear buzzwords. Paramount to them is stability and traction, and Adidas’ new Powerband Boa Boost golf shoes are designed to give them exactly what they want. Maybe even more.
The Powerband Boa Boost are part of Adidas’ Power platform, a golf shoe line that debuted 10 years ago with the release of the iconic Adidas Powerband (see right). Several iterations followed.
“The original Powerband golf shoe was a revolutionary product when we first brought it to the marketplace in 2007 and it helped push golf footwear technology to the next level,” said Masun Denison, Director of Footwear, Adidas Golf. “The Power franchise has always stood out as bold and more progressive, and is a great representation of what Adidas Golf is all about. Infusing this footwear with all that we have learned the past 10 years, the new Powerband Boa Boost is the most technical and innovative Powerband shoe to date and we are excited to bring it back to the golf market.”
The Powerband Boa Boost aligns with its predecessors in offering “traction, support and stability, allowing [golfers] to maximize their swing speed and performance,” according to Adidas. Did you hear that serious golfers, especially you 3-iron carrying, Trackman-number posting, ground-forces leveragers? These could be your next pair of golf shoes.
Key to the design of the Powerband Boa Boost is Adidas’ Boost cushioning system, which is used in the midsole to improve comfort and energy transfer (learn more about Boost in this story). There’a also a new Powercage chassis system, which uses soft wire loops and straps that are integrated in the the 360Loop of the shoes to help lock down a golfer’s midfoot during the swing.
How locked down do you want to be?
Adidas is encouraging golfers to find out with the shoe’s L6 Boa Closure system, which is positioned on the tongue of each shoe. Its push-pull design allows golfers to make micro-adjustments to fit (tighter, looser) on the fly. The feature adds lateral stability to the upper portion of the shoe, preventing what Adidas calls “power leaks.” Yes, I think we’ve all had a few of those.
The Powerband Boas Boost ($179.99) use Adidas’ six-spike TPU outsole. They’ll be available in January in five colorways, and both medium and wide widths. Last thing: The shoes use what Adidas calls its “competition last,” which has a slightly more rounded toe shape and wider forefoot, increasing the overall volume of the shoe.
Learn more from adidasgolf.com.
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Hacker
May 14, 2017 at 8:37 pm
I suffer with supination with both feet, the left being the worst. I actually just learned that I suffered from it while at a Dave Pelz school, my left foot wants to roll to its side and makes my follow through unstable and, over a time, painful. Not saying these are the greatest but for me they solve this issue and provide amazing stability. My foot no longer rolls and I can fully transfer weight to my left side. If anyone suffers from similar instability you should try these. For these reasons they are definitely worth the price for me.
Stephnie
Mar 14, 2017 at 6:44 am
Hello,
Great Post ! Actually I am looking to buy a pair of golf shoes, but I very much confused between Addidas and Puma, two names I got wherever I tried reading reviews about golf shoes.
But as far as I have seen Addidas shoes are bit over priced, but some people say they last long and have better life when compared to Puma and other golf shoe companies, So I am very confused.
As I just want shoe around $300-$500 (less will be good), So can you suggest me whether to go for over-priced addidas or should I look for any other company like Puma or may Nike or Callaway and save my money?
Andy
Feb 18, 2017 at 9:40 pm
Ya gotta love the haters. That’s golfers for you. Everything’s wrong with golf equipment except for their perfect choices to go along with their perfect golf swings and games (legends in their own minds).
Cwolfs
Dec 26, 2016 at 10:53 am
Logo on the back is horrible! Hope they come with a free bowl of soup.
WRX Pro
Dec 22, 2016 at 9:58 am
Yeah, I can confirm that these shoes are absolute garbage. Got Adidas to send me 12 pairs of these last month and my average carry distance off the tee went from 340 to 338.9. 0/10 would not recommend.
knoofah
Dec 21, 2016 at 3:14 pm
What?? Another new, overpriced golf product? I’m shocked!
Glad I take care of my (now) 3 year old shoes.
Slave 2 Fashion
Dec 21, 2016 at 7:55 am
Love those alien-green pointy twisty things on the sole up by the toe!
Tom
Dec 20, 2016 at 1:02 pm
Can I walk on the moon with those?
Judge mental
Dec 20, 2016 at 7:08 pm
They use the early model shoes in the ‘WGT golf ‘ game , so must be good .
360 golf shoes are the best of the best .
joepz
Dec 29, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Don’t know if you walk on the Moon with ’em, but it definitely FEEL like it. They have a cloud-like softness when walking, and the wider front of the show is a winner for my foot. I never thought I’d wear shoes as comfortable as True Links, but these are very close. Too bad the colors aside from black look like they were designed to appeal to teenagers.
Jim
Dec 20, 2016 at 12:16 pm
Another nice looking shoe from Adidas, but as usual it comes with a pretty high price tag. Wouldn’t be interested in the BOA lacing system however. And hopefully these aren’t as narrow and ‘pointy’ as the original Powerband shoes. The new Tour 360 shoes are much nicer but also too expensive. I just wait for the end of the model year and buy them at substantial discounts. Hope they come out with a normal laced shoe version too.
Egor
Dec 20, 2016 at 2:21 am
It’s written just like an advertisement.
Sparty
Dec 19, 2016 at 5:27 pm
Jeez. They need to make that adidas logo on the back bigger. Good grief that’s big.
Charlie
Dec 19, 2016 at 4:31 pm
Just picked up last year’s model for $76.00 shipped. Price isn’t a factor when you don’t need the absolute latest and greatest gear. And if you do, you’ll gladly pony up the money.
Ccshop
Dec 19, 2016 at 4:27 pm
Adidas has the most overpriced shoes. All synthetic leather. I can get a great Contour shoe that’s real leather and one of the most comfortable in the FJ line for $110.
Adidas also makes the worst boa shoes. Locks so low on the tongue, heel keeps slipping out. Can’t stay tight enough. They should stick to their non golf shoe lines.
Frans
Dec 19, 2016 at 10:38 pm
Ya girly mahn
Boobsy McKiss
Dec 20, 2016 at 11:36 am
I agree. I have the super overpriced adi zero and they are the worst golf shoe I’ve ever worn. Incredibly uncomfortable, the tonque slides around a lot, and no crappy support around the ankles. Thanks for the advertisement disguised as an article though.
joepz
Dec 21, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Agree. I think the various versions of the 360s are still the best shoe, but those AdiZeros were *cripplingly* tight in the toe. Glad to hear that the “competition last” will provide more room at the front of the shoe.
Boobsy McKiss
Dec 19, 2016 at 3:33 pm
More overpriced gimmick shoes. Wonderful.