Welcome to Spotted on Tour, where we’ll highlight buzzy apparel, gear, gadgets and more that caught our eye over the weekend. Better yet, we’ll help you get your hands on your own.
When it comes to footwear, Danielle Kang is particularly picky.
The 29-year-old is the owner of one of the sweetest swings in professional golf — a smooth, confidence-inspiring stroke that has carried her to six LPGA Tour wins, including a major championship.
“I don’t miss fairways,” she says with the same matter-of-factness she says her name.
The crazy thing is, she’s not wrong. At last week’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Kang hit 44/56 possible fairways, including 12/14 during her tournament-clinching final round.
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Most of that is due to ability, of course. But as GOLF.com found out when we sat down with her late last year, some of it can be owed to, of all things, her shoe choice.
“I’ve played barefoot like once,” she said. “Yeah, just one time.”
Rather, Kang says, she never goes out to the course without her spikes on. Anything else, she says, would be a waste of time, given the role her shoes play in power, control and balance.
“I love the stability of [my shoes], and I love how consistent the height is,” she said. “For me, I’m very sensitive about how the balls of my feet and the heels of my feet feel because we move throughout the swing, and sometimes when the shoes are too high I don’t want to be too far forward, when the shoes are too low I don’t want to feel too sitting down.”
To help her find the proper fit, Kang worked with Adidas engineers to develop a shoe that provides optimal performance and comfort — an effort that included Kang’s involvement right down to the positioning of the spikes.
“Because I’m on my toes and a lot when I’m through the ball, this spike really matters,” she says, pointing to a notch positioned on the ball of her foot. “When they designed it, it was very important to me, because I need to be able to grip so I don’t slip.”
The rhyme wasn’t intentional, but the reason sure was. Kang’s shoes have played a crucial role in her career to date — a role that recently took the next step with the release of Adidas’ Tour360 ’22 shoes.
The Tour360 ’22 marks the latest advancement in Adidas’ hallmark Tour360 series – a Tour-inspired shoe built for high-performance players. With Kang’s help, Adidas went back to the drawing board with its newest product, introducing a brand-new, direct-injected “Spikemore” traction system to enhance control through the swing.
Sneakerheads will notice the new Tour360 ’22 features Adidas’ patented ‘boost’ cushioning system that was first popularized with its Ultraboost shoes. That cushioning system, in addition to an all-new EVA frame, helps to provide users with next-level comfort and stability, Adidas says. Add in an all-new “insite sockliner” for blister protection, and you’re looking at a product built for performance, no matter your pickiness — just ask Danielle Kang, who grabbed her first win in the new shoes last weekend.
The new Adidas360 ’22 shoes go on sale on Friday, January 28th. To learn more, check out the link below.
