Review: adidas Golf adicross gripmore shoes

WHAT better day to test out the new adidas Golf adicross gripmore shoes than on a scorching hot day with clients at the delightful Hadley Wood Golf Club in Hertfordshire. It's a tough life but someone's got to do it.

Marking the first of two new models of adidas Golf shoe to feature new gripmore technology this season - sitting alongside the adidas pure 360 gripmore sport - what struck me most when pulling my new size 8s out the box - and what a box it is! - is that adicross gripmore is a hybrid shoe design combining both cleated and spikeless features.

You therefore get the feeling adidas Golf has gone after two different camps here, aiming it at golfers craving traction and stability, as well as those yearning sleekness, comfort and versatility. adicross gripmore aims to give you the best of both styles because it has two crossover performance characteristics.

adidas Golf is positioning its new gripmore technology as 'a footprint of a revolution' and following my first 18 holes with this shoe, I must admit the brand is very much on the right track.

First things first, it's easy to see why these shoes are called 'grip more' as they're incredibly stable. Okay, I wouldn't expect to be slipping on a course especially during a red hot day in Barnet but for the duration of my 82 shots out there I didn't slip or lose balance once.

The secret lies in the fact this product utilises 43 gripmore cleats - that's one for each shot I took on the front nine - and a total of 243 points of contact for the ultimate combination of versatility and performance - that's one for each pound I'm overdrawn already this month. When touching the red gripmore cleats prior to my round I could feel just how dynamic each of the pods were. Out on the course, I felt like I had an ideal low traction feeling around the greens and particularly on them. I genuinely felt like I was reading my putts a lot stronger because I could feel the contours of the greens that bit better with the gripmore cleats, something Martin Kaymer alludes to in the video above.

Comfort-wise, this shoe is up there with the finest I've tested this season. The shoe presented me with a neat, snug fit, a soft cushioned comfort in the balls of my feet and the premium full grain leather upper ensured my feet felt incredibly fresh by the time I plucked my ball out the 18th cup. I had no pains down the sides of my feet or any blisters to mention, which is often a rarity for me when I wear golf shoes for the first time. They're also very light, which is always a plus.

The colours in the line are a little bland in grey, black and the white of which I tested, but I think when it comes to golf footwear - particularly given the apparel I like wearing - a dubbed-down base coloured shoe is suffice because it compliments the outfit better. Okay, I'll stop. I'm beginning to sound like Gok.

Verdict

Easy to see why the likes of reigning US Open champion Justin Rose and former World No.1 Kaymer have wasted little time in slipping on new adicross gripmore footwear.

Available in stores now at £100, the adicross gripmore offers tremendous value for money because it presents everything you could possibly wish for in a golf shoe with the versatility of a spikeless combined with the performance of a cleated. You've therefore got flexibility and traction all in one golf shoe and can wear them in any condition you like throughout the year.

A better alternative than the adizero One for me because of the versatility, lower profile design and general all-round comfort. You'll be hard pressed to get these off my feet this season. My favourite ever adidas Golf shoe.

�