The subtle equipment tweak Justin Thomas believes contributed to recent PGA Tour win

Justin Thomas earned his first PGA Tour win in nearly three years at the 2025 RBC Heritage. 

The 31-year-old needed an extra hole to defeat American Andrew Novak in a sudden-death playoff at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Of course, Thomas has been putting in the hours off the golf course to try and return to the winner's circle. 

But the two-time major champion also believes switching to a different golf shoe has paid dividends. 

For years Thomas has been wearing FootJoy's most structured shoes such as the Classics and the Premiere. 

But after testing out the HyperFlex in 2024, he noticed his clubhead speed increased as well as feeling comfortable and stable over the ball. 

"I've worn a classic shoe for pretty much my entire career," Thomas said. "But I had to make a switch when I tried this HyperFlex. 

"This shoe is perfect - super comfortable and flexible in the right areas, but also gives me all the support I need to make a strong, confident move on the ball. 

"We spend our whole career on our feet, and it is something in the past that I didn't pay enough attention to but I am glad I did this past off-season."

Patrick Trubiano, director of product management for FootJoy, recently explained to Golf Digest that they reached out to Thomas for input when designing the 2025 version of the HyperFlex. 

"He's definitely one of the players that seeks out information and benefits and how small things and footwear can improve his game," he said.  

"He looks at footwear as equipment. When you get fit for a ball or a club, it's the same thing that should happen with golf footwear."

According to Trubiano, the shoe is more responsive due to the 'stratofoam' used inside the midsole. 

"Stratofoam has the best of both worlds where it has that initial feel of being nice and soft, athletic running-esque inspired," he said.  

"But it also has a tremendous amount of energy return.

"Basic EVAs (a material often found in midsoles) will eventually crumble and flatten out, where Straofoam is engineered to have a lot of energy return, which players are able to use to their benefit during the swing."

Thomas was not the only FootJoy winner this past weekend. 

Ashun Wu wore the Premiere Series en route to victory at the Volvo China Open. 

Ingrid Lindblad claimed her first LPGA Tour win whilst wearing the Pro/SLX.