How to pick the shoes that (really) fit your every golfing need

Chances are, your spikes don’t fit properly — one top company’s research indicates 70 percent of golfers wear wrong-sized shoes. That translates into blisters, discomfort and compromised performance. Here’s how to pick a pair of kicks that will kick your game into a higher gear.

Measure your feet on a Brannock device. It’s old-school but reliable. “Most people just look at the length, but the Brannock also measures the width and your arch length,” Skechers’ Keith Shelton says. “Your arch length will tell you if you have longer toes or shorter toes, which gives insight into how your foot flexes and how your shoe needs to flex.”

Try shorter and wider. FootJoy’s Richard Fryer says golfers often buy longer shoes to get the width they need. As people age and their feet widen, this problem only grows. “We often see someone wearing a 10-medium, but what they need is a 9½-wide,” he says.

View shoes from above. This is to consider their shape, called the “last.” One major consideration: Is the toe box pointy or rounded? “We’ve found a rounded toe often works better, because it gives your toes a little more space to flex,” Shelton says.

Think of shoes as equipment. Fryer notes that players can lose power if their feet are sliding around in their shoes, while a proper fit can enhance swing speed and stability; Shelton recommends models that have a wider base and are lower to the ground, “to provide more rotational stability throughout the swing.” No matter what pair you eventually select, put in a shopping effort worthy of something that will impact your health and your handicap— you wouldn’t buy the first driver you pull off the rack, right?

How do you know you found the perfect pair? Per Fryer, it’s when you walk off the 18th and say, “I never thought about my feet.”