The cool kicks of choice in my long-ago youth were the Adidas Samba. Whether you played indoor soccer or merely looked the part, a pair of those white-striped flats against an imposing black backdrop always made an impression on me. I’ve been fortunate to receive a number of pairs of shoes over the past decade, thanks to my status as an equipment and apparel reviewer on this and other web sites. I’ve worn Nike, Adidas, Puma, and Oakley golf shoes and enjoyed them all. From the Nike Bandon (a sturdy, high-top mudder) to the Puma Faas Light Mesh (a slipper of a shoe) the gamut of types has made its way to my feet. It occurred to me, on a recent trip to the Wehrle Dome in Lancaster, NY, that many golfers purchase models from a year or two past. As I entered the pro shop, a pair of Adidas Adicross caught my eye. These are the Classic model, similar in appearance to the heralded Samba mentioned above. I couldn’t resist a look, then a try-on, then a purchase.
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From my vantage, Adidas shoes have always had a snug feeling to them. It might be their European roots, where clothing and other apparel tends to follow a tighter line. I tend to hover between a size 9.5 and a 10, so that notion of proper fit is never consistent with me. After trying on the 10s, I dropped to the 9.5s and found them to be more to my liking. I returned to the dome the following day and put them to the test. I hit some 35 shots, mainly with my wedges, in a casual practice session. The kicks felt as nice as they looked. I had comfort and security, without feeling pinched or too loose (as I certainly would have felt in the size 10s.) It’s one thing to hit shots, and quite another to combine the hitting with the walking. I plan to wear the shoes out and about, to break them in and to get a sense of their feel as I move through my every-day paces.
UPDATE: I couldn’t resist having a few walkabouts in these cozy boys. Growing up golfing in the 70s and 80s, muscle memory demands that your golf shoes will slide out from under you, due to the metal cleats in the bottom. Ain’t so anymore with the nubs that you find on the bottom of hybrid shoes. These might not be the GOAT just yet, but they are dope, lit and fire, my brothers. They are comfortable beyond words, offer support and wear fierce, just as a black and white edition should. I’ve worn other Adidas golf shoes in my day and these raise the bar, plain and simple.
The best aspect of this review might be that I’ve now got a new tag line (Bargain Bin) to use when reviewing equipment from years past. Here’s to many more Bargain Bin reviews on BuffaloGolfer.Com.
