Duca del Cosma Stanford Golf Shoes review: Perfect protection for winter weather

Duca del Cosma Stanford Key Features:

• Premium quality, soft Nubuck leather with an embossed pattern on the heel
• Waterproof Bootie System with OnSteam recyclable microfibre
• Comfortable, breathable ARNEFLEX memory foam insert sole with recycled cork

When the wind starts to howl and the rain begins to pour, making sure your feet are fully protected is key to ensuring you can enjoy winter golf. 

While many brands offer fully waterproof golf shoes, in order to truly protect yourself from the elements, nothing quite compares to a high-top winter boot. 

Duca del Cosma has a wide range of boots for both women and men, so to find out just how well they could stand up to the wet and muddy conditions a British winter can produce, we took them out for a test during one of the wetter rounds we've experienced this year. 

Let's get into it. 

Duca del Cosma Stanford: Looks

Renowned for having some of the most jazzy designs on the shoe market, Duca del Cosma has instead opted for a more toned-down and subtle composition for the Stanford boots. 

The all-black upper looks fantastic, and the embossed pattern on the heel adds a nice touch of luxury detail to the design.  

The high-quality Nubuck leather gives the shoes a very premium look, which we absolutely love, and when paired with the subtle Duca logo in silver, the overall design is very sophisticated, which we think will appeal to a very broad audience of golfers. 

The white midsole and two-tone laces also add good contrast to the shoes, making them very easy to style with a wide selection of trousers options. 

We were concerned that looking down at a pair of winter boots, they might be a bit clunky and oversized, but the Stanford has a very sleek silhouette that you wouldn't immediately identify as being specifically for winter. 

The toe of the shoes is nicely rounded, and the slightly shiny finish that encompasses the toe region also offers a nice variation of texture, which rounds the whole design out really nicely.

You can really tell a lot of thought went into the design, and the craftsmanship on show is also first-class. 

These shoes are handmade in Portugal, and the standard of care and quality becomes apparent as soon as you take them out of the box. 

The soft leather and sturdy construction give the boots a nice solid feel that immediately instilled us with confidence, and as we were about to experience, that level of construction would make light work of the tricky conditions we found ourselves in. 

Overall, the Stanfords get a resounding thumbs up from us in the looks department. The black and white design offers understated sophistication in a sleek silhouette that also features some lovely small details that add a touch of class. 

Duca del Cosma Stanford: Comfort and Performance

While looks are obviously crucial for any pair of golf shoes, when reviewing a pair of boots specifically designed for winter conditions, the protection and comfort they offer are of paramount importance.

Having never worn a pair of high-top shoes before to play golf, we were unsure quite what to expect. Upon lacing the Stanfords up, we were surprised at just how snug the elevated collar felt around our shin, and initially, we were slightly concerned this might lead to excessive rubbing over time, which could be quite uncomfortable.

Thankfully, the level of padding in the tongue and heel allowed us to swing freely and walk without any level of discomfort. 

Having walked 18 holes, we would have been quite happy to carry on for 36 in these boots, such is the level of comfort they provided. 

This snug and secure feeling was undoubtedly due to the padding in the collar, but also the memory foam insert sole that provided us with ample cushioning with every stride. 

Despite the relatively narrow toe section of these shoes, we also had plenty of room without the front of our foot ever feeling crowded or tight. 

It's worth pointing out at this point that if you are going to buy a pair of these boots, we would recommend going a size up to what you would typically wear. We usually wear a size 10 UK in golf shoes, but instead opted for an 11 in the Stanford's and the added room was definitely a good decision. 

With the comfort box firmly ticked, we can now move on to the protection and performance these shoes offer. 

Eager to fully test out just how tough they were, we really tried to put them through their paces by walking through the biggest puddles and thickest rough we could find. 

Not only were our feet bone dry when we took them off, but our socks and ankles were also spotless. 

One of the gripes we typically have with waterproof shoes is that, as soon as you go in thick rough, your socks will get wet, and then that soaks through to the rest of your foot. Thanks to the Stanford's elevated collar, though, our entire foot and ankle region remained fully protected throughout our round. 

The durable upper also felt very tough, and we're confident it would stand up to the elements for a number of years without issue. 

The last thing we had to consider was the level of stability and traction these boots provided. 

Typically, we would have expected a golf shoe designed for winter to have spikes; however, Duca del Cosma has opted to fit the Stanford out in a spikeless sole that features a number of rubber nubs. 

We thought this might have led to a lack of traction in wet conditions, but thankfully, we didn't experience any slipping during our swing or walking.

All in all, we were really impressed by these boots and the level of comfort and stability they offered. While the lack of spikes was initially a concern, once we got out on the course, our worries were immediately put to bed. 

Should you buy the Duca del Cosma Stanford winter boots?

If you like to play year-round golf and you live in a climate that isn't blessed with 365 days of sunshine, then the Stanford boots will make those wet and muddy winter rounds a whole lot more enjoyable.

The level of protection and comfort on offer are first class, and thanks to the sleek design and luxurious materials, you not only get a pair of boots that feel great, but they also look fantastic.

Coming in at just over the £200 mark, these boots land right in the middle of what you can expect to pay for winter boots from brands like Nike and Adidas, but for that price, you get a beautiful leather construction, which you won't find from either of the brands previously mentioned. 

All in all, these boots are some of the best winter golf shoes we have tested, and we would highly recommend them to anyone who loves to test their game in the toughest conditions mother nature can produce. 

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