-- By Mike Feeney, Senior Product Development Manager Worldwide - FootJoy

O.K. so this obviously isn't your father's FootJoy. Actually it can be, but it’s not the traditional brown/white saddle that’s been a staple in golf for so many years. This is FJ SPORT. It’s young, fast, colorful, and best of all it features all the performance and quality you’ve come to expect from FootJoy.

Around 18 months ago we started working on FJ Olympian (the working name for this group of shoes) with several goals in mind:

#1. It needed to look different and it needed to look cool.
#2. It needed to be a performance shoe that offered great platform stability, waterpoof protection and comfort from tee to green.
#3. Lastly, it needed to be reasonably priced so that everyone had an opportunity to give it a test drive!

Hopefully you agree goal #1 was achieved. The uppers are athletic-inspired, while maintaining a look that’s acceptable on the golf course. There are cool molding details throughout and colorful RF weldings in the heel area. The full TPU outsole is molded, then painstakingly painted in matching colors and metallics giving it a high tech appearance. Our designers research color trends throughout the year to determine what trends will be visible in the upcoming months and years. The orange, yellow and blue that we chose are spot on. What’s also cool about these styles is that we’ve matched the cleat color to the upper color tying it all together.

One thing we won’t compromise at FootJoy is performance and quality. As mentioned above, the outsole is full TPU (which provides exceptional stability) and the design of the traction elements offers excellent grip during the swing. At the same time, it;s lightweight and flexible - further enhancing the performance benefits. The uppers are a combination of waterproof leather and a full membrane providing optimal waterproofing. Each style is built on the Laser last which gives the user the best fit and comfort on the market. MacNeil Stinger III cleats round out the features by adding Tour proven traction and performance.

The development team worked closely with all it’s vendors to offer the best materials and features at a reasonable cost. In the end we were able to offer the FJ SPORT at a competitive price in the hopes that they will appeal to a wide range of golfers.

On a side note, we’ve been testing all the FJ SPORT models on a number of European Tour players for the past several months. The feedback has been phenomenal and they are all thrilled with the performance and fast-forward appearance of these styles. Hopefully, you will agree that FootJoy has hit a homerun with this new category. Give ‘em a try!