Footjoy’s Wilcox Is the Eternal Golf Shoe
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By the time I started wearing golf shoes (around 2003) the game’s modern footwear evolution was already beginning to take shape. The first golf shoes I deliberately purchased for myself were a true crossover from the saddle shoes of golf’s yesteryear—the only game in town for quite some time—and the sort of low-top basketball style I was attracted to and had been wearing for years already. Sneaker culture was just beginning to seep into golf culture, and before we knew it, more amateur players found themselves trading their tried-and-true spiked shoes for versions of their favorite sneaker silhouettes, subtly studded with the minimum viable traction for golf. The golf apparel and accessory industry’s eternal empty promise that their products worked “on-and-off-the-course” finally had a worthy cultural challenger.
Footjoy, the brand continuing to dominating the space all the while, dipped their toe into the marriage of lifestyle and sport, but remained the most top-of-mind maker of golf footwear by continuing to do what it did best—pursue timeless design while navigating the zeitgeist to make the best-looking, best-performing golf shoe on the market.
Golf footwear junkies (all, what… nine of us?) could easily debate which of Footjoy’s silhouettes sit atop the throne, but in my humble opinion, it’s the Wilcox—a classic silhouette, constructed with enough modern performance elements and progressive steez to break through every stereotype about the versatility of spiked leather golf shoes—takes the cake. Here’s why.
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They work on every course
Getting dressed for golf has never been a more mindful endeavor. Is the club you’re playing at going to give you shit for not wearing a belt? Are there going to be guys in jean shorts playing in front of you? Is it somewhere in between? With more options than ever, thanks to golf’s old guard aging out, and new wave dominating the culture, having more than one pair of golf shoes is no longer a wild idea.
What I love about the Wilcox is that it really does work in both scenarios. Obviously a more formal and tailored golf look—something with a collar, some crispy pants, a hat with a club logo on it—fits perfectly with the Wilcox’s more luxe detailing. But if you ask me, the secret sauce in a great golf fit begins with a high-low mix. That means pairing a hoodie and nylon pants above a pair of cap-toe golf shoes with broguing, telling your playing partners you’re not your father’s golf addict—but you lived through that era, too.
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You need not worry about performance
Chances are Footjoy has been around your entire life. Likely even your grandfather’s. And they haven’t spent all this time churning out the same version of the same thing. While the brand’s Premiere Series—a suite of timeless silhouettes updated for modern play—pulls design inspiration from yesteryear, but adds everything you need underneath in modern form. From the footbed to the outsole, these are shoes that you’ll feel comfortable walking 18 holes in. And if you don’t want to take my word for it, take it from the best golfers in the world (who all walk), and wear Footjoy. (Even Tiger Woods recently made a personal choice to switch).
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You’re investing in authenticity
When something gets as popular, and as fast, as golf has, it means the market gets flooded with newness. This is a great thing for people like me, who’ll never satiate their hunger for new jawns to drool over. But it also means that a lot of phonies are gonna enter the space. When you buy a Footjoy shoe, you can rest assured you’re investing in a brand that’s been doing a lot of things—but specifically this thing—at the top of its game for literally 100 (one hundred) years. Footjoy hasn’t colonized golf, and when the hangers on toss their clubs in the nearest lake, Footjoy will still be there—and you’ll be on your third pair of Wilcox’s, because you’ll love them that much.
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Photography by Joe Lingeman. Prop styling by Heather Greene.
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