At GOLF.com, we stumble across all sorts of goodies. Here, we unveil some of our favorites from the past year.
Why this pair of golf shoes was the best thing I used in 2024
In joy, there’d been pain.
Achiness. Smushiness. With the latter, I’d also bled, though some of that was of my own doing, as I should be a more vigilant toenail trimmer. Too much information, I know. But I want you to fully understand the state where I once strode.
And that is, I did not like golf shoes.
Hated ’em, honestly.
For sure, there are bigger worries, but Google tells me I’m not alone, either, as no amount of internet ink has been spared in telling you about “Best Golf Shoes.” In the sport we all love, we want to be mad just at three-putts and slices and lack of good beer in the beer cart. Our feet should be an afterthought, used mostly to keep us upright during a round.
And, of course, to kick up on a table on the 19th hole, which is where a breakthrough came. I spotted I was still wearing “the best thing I used in 2024″ — what we are calling this little year-end series — and they hadn’t been instantly ejected from my feet after cleaning up on the 18th hole, as per usual.
I didn’t not just hate these Allbirds golf shoes — I also felt like writing this short ode to them.
To me, the colors are stylish (though in full disclosure, I’m no fashion maven) — my pair is tan and gray, though I also like the navy and tan combo, and the brown and white mix. The shoes also do their job — rubber gripping offers traction, and its fabric provides protection against the elements. And the price? Affordable, I think, at least compared to some of the competition. Two of the models currently go for $145; three of them are $87.
But most importantly here, they’re just damn comfortable, which shouldn’t have been too surprising, as wearers of Allbirds’ other shoes — myself included — swear by their cushion-like feel. It’s maybe their biggest charm. Still, I doubted. Years of literal scarring can do that to you. Granted, I hadn’t tried on every golf shoe — and I’m sure there are others that equal or even surpass Allbirds in feel — but I’d worn enough to temper expectations.
But here I am, waxing poetic on them. And wearing them. Right now actually.
To get in the spirit, I chose to lace them up as I typed this story. That’s a pic of my happy feet (and my couch) at the top of this article.
Before you exit, though, I want to share that I have one more “best thing I used in 2024.” I know, I know, best implies one, but the more, the merrier, right? Anyway, the second “thing” is the Cobra Darkspeed 3-wood, and I actually wrote about it earlier this year. The link to that article is here, or you can scroll immediately below for the 3-wood specific text.
***
I don’t like 3-woods.
I feel like this is a safe, friendly, understanding space to come clean. I just don’t like 3-woods. Of course, this has zero to do with the club itself. And when it comes to 3’s in other sports — the 3-pointer, the triple — I’m actually a big fan.
No, no, it’s a ‘me’ problem. Flares right. Hooks left. And glorious tops. If you’ve ever wondered how some of those YouTube instruction videos get thousands upon thousands of views? Well, if you slap a “How to make nice contact with a fairway metal” label on one, you’ll get a cool 500k clicks from me, most of them while lying in bed, before the birds are even chirping, searching for the one, magical move.
So that’s a good place to start to describe me. I’m ‘close,’ but there are just some loose ends. I play a nice, 230- 240-yard draw off the tee — but my ball sometimes snaps low and left. I hit a nice 155-, 160-yard 7-iron — but I sometimes skull it. I’m crafty around the greens, usually with just one wedge — but I’m prone to a thin.
And then there’s the whole 3-wood thing. To be honest, I’ve shelved the club completely. Went the way of the 7-wood. So to sum it all up, I’m in that weird, almost-Goldilocks place where 14-handicaps like me reside: not bad, not good — but also not just right.
Then the GOLF gear gang wondered if I could test the latest and greatest from Cobra and I accepted.
Then Cobra mailed over the goods, their 2024 Darkspeed line of woods, hybrids, and irons which give off a serious Batman vibe. They included a driver, a 7-wood, 4- and 6-hybrids, 5-, 7-, 8- and 9-irons plus a pitching wedge, and two putters (a blade and a mallet).
And, I can’t forget, a 3-wood, which I’ll talk about at the very end.
…
And now the 3-wood.
I topped my first one, on the par-5 2nd hole at Pelham Bay.
I dropped a second ball.
I hit it pin-high, about 10 yards right of the green, a 230-yard pop.
OK.
On the 4th hole, a sharp dogleg right, I teed off with it. It finished about 225 yards.
OK.
On No. 14, a dogleg left, I thinned a drive left and into taller grass, and I punched out to a spot about 230 yards out. The green was sitting in front of a pretty, blue, late-fall sky. There was no noise. It was sublime.
Then I hit the 3-wood.
It rose. It hung. It dropped. Pin high, just off the green.
I stood there for a second. Took it all in — I think I might like 3-woods again, or at least my Darkspeed X 3-wood.
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
