For the sake of comparison, let's just say ... money aside, which model FJ should I invest?
For the last 5 years or so, I have been wearing a FJ Classics style shoe. I was wearing a FJ Classics Tour and when they wore out (I have since sent them to Larossa Shoe to be refurbished), I purchased a pair of FJ Icons. Both pair are all white saddles, and both have Champ Scorpion spikes (white ones). Recently, in an effort to improve my game, I have been practicing much more than playing. The other day, for no real reason, I brought out a pair of brand new Synr-G's that I have had in my closet for - I guess - about 3 years. They obviously feel much different on my feet than Icon's - more padding, more snug, etc. Well, I wore them for 2, 4 ish' hour range sessions - that i felt were very productive. The next time I went to the range, I wore my Icon's. No real reason, they were already in my car and I had worn my Synr-G into the house and left them there. Well, I did not have the same type of range session. I literally didn't have any power behind the ball, and was having a lot of difficulty turning the driver over from R to L. I didn't think much about it then, but later recognized that I had worn different shoes on different visits to the club. The next time I went, I consciously grabbed the Synr-G and had another great range session. This last weekend, I wore a pair an old pair of Reel Fit that I haven't worn in years and a total of less than 10 times. I played great!
I am a very conservative guy who loves classic looking shoes and always saw the bells and whistles of the new shoes to be marketing "mumbo Jumbo." So, this may be mental (I am hoping it is not), and I am 100% convinced that there is something to the new technology in golf shoes and really feel like it has been overlooked in my overall golf equipment strategy. I have also started trying to pay attention to what the players on tour are wearing. I am considering the XPS-1, FJ Sport, and FJ Dry Joys Tour, and it seems to me that I see A LOT of FJ Sports worn on tour. One of the most convincing things that I have seen that has me leaning more toward the FJ Sports are the number of players I see wearing the FJ Sports that aren't even sponsored by FJ. The FJ Dry Joys Tour are more closely styled to what I typically prefer; however, I am willing to go outside of my comfort zone in order to receive the maximum benefit available. From reading the material on the site, it seems that the XPS-1 would be the obvious choice, but I just don't really see much of a presence on tour, and those are the guys who can have whatever they want, whenever they want it, and getting the most out of every piece of equipment they wear or carry, is the difference between having a job or not.
Hoping to get some guidance from other FJ wearers.