Footjoy Tour Alpha Golf Shoe Review.
This is one of the longest videos I have ever done because there is so much going on with this shoe. I talk about the positives and negatives and give my opinion on which I prefer out of the laced, BOA and double BOA. One thing to note, that in my opinion these shoes come up half a size bigger than standard. Therefore I would recommend going half a size smaller than what you would normally wear.
Detailed Thoughts Below.
The Footjoy tour alpha golf shoe is basically replacing the very popular tour x model. The main point of this shoe is stability. Footjoy believe this is the most stable shoe they have ever produced. The shoe comes in 3 options, laced, BOA, or the new double BOA.
Before I talk you through my thoughts and favourite version the main selling point of this shoe is the new ‘Optimised Performance Stabiliser’. This is made up of three key areas to give the ultimate feel, traction and power.
Firstly we have the 3D moulded heel – this is really quite stiff, but the positive is that it locks the heel in place and gives a solid support for your achillies.
Below that we have the Fine Tune Foam – as you will know from previous videos of mine this is a firm but light foam, this marries in nicely with the stiff heel to again give you the feel that your locked in.
A frame support – this basically fuses everything together – shaped like an A for Alpha. Giving ultimate support all around the heel. This TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) is a plastic and widely used for strengthening other materials in this case the FTF! This fuses the midsole with the outsole
Going back to the midsole the FTF covers the back but the other side of the A frame we have the Duel Durometer foam which is nice and soft. Giving the best of both worlds. Firm in the heel for stability yet soft on the front of the foot for comfort as you walk.
The outsole is really impressive – again you can distinguish the FTF foam with the softer foam – but it the soft spikes area that I love – 9 softspike surrounded by sharp TPU points to get you really stuck in when addressing the ball. However around each spike bed you see the circles they are sat in for once again, that key word… stability. It is quite clear when you put these on and address the golf ball your not sliding around, your loading for power!
The upper of the shoe, just like the new Pro SL is nice and clean with the subtle Footjoy branding. The one thing I don’t like is how everything is labelled. Tour A, OPS, FTF, BOA, wrapid, optimised performance stabiliser. It is all a bit much! The leather used is the ChromoSkin leather by pittards, this again is the best of the best and you have to literally pierce this leather in order for it to crack!
NoW for the part I do not like – Wrapid. I can 100% see the benefits – with the boa lacing it wraps the top of the shoe to give a really good fit. The same with the new double BOA, the dial on the front in my opinion is just too much it feels like the whole foot is bunching up, it is really cool that you can turn it both ways to tighten or loosen! However I have to take into consideration the Wrapid fit does give even more stability which is what this shoe is all about. For me it is the look, I just cannot unsee a big piece of Velcro like you had on your school shoes when you were a kid. It is for that reason why the laced version is so much more appealing. Yes I might loose some stability on the fit, but looks wise it is a lot better.
Inside the shoe we have this loop at the top to help get the shoe on and off plus it sits on the achillies (again keeping you stable). Inside we have the Ortholite impressions – this basically moulds to your foot giving amazing comfort on the bottom of your foot, around the foot the memory foam padding again comfort.
So to conclude
RRP – Double boa £210, Single boa £195, Laced £170
This is Footjoy’s premium performance shoe and it is certainly worth £170 – the Boa in my opinion just does not sell it for me based around the Wrapid feature which for me just looks unsightly.
What Footjoy Say.
Power Reimagined – Tour Alpha performance golf shoes feature the proprietary Optimised Performance Stabiliser system (OPS) that works to lock you in, allowing you to swing away with full force.
This is the most advanced stability system we’ve ever created.
Overview
ChromoSkin™ leather by Pittards
Exceptional support
Ortholites® Impressions FitBed® ensures exceptional comfort
BOA Fit System
1 year waterproof warranty
EXCEPTIONAL SUPPORT
Exceptional support thanks to a TPU exterior heel counter and A-Frame support.
EXCEPTIONAL STABILITY
FTF+ Dual Durometer midsole varies in softness for a combination of comfort and performance.
LASER PLUS LAST
Full rounded toe character, standard fit across forefoot and instep, with a slightly narrow heel. Extra depth last to accommodate thicker FitBed® for enhanced cushioning
8 Comments
How’s the sizing are they true to size or fit size bigger or smaller
bro…put the shoes on. The double boa is so much better. It 100% improves the fit and feel.
Excellent review. Thanks. I would prefer the laced edition too. Cheers.
Wolves aye we
Also chose the laced version today. Reason is the look (indeed boa edition gives flashback to the velcro shoes from long ago😅) but also the fact I had the boa version of Tour X and it suddenly broke down on hole 2 (after 3-4 rounds) and than your round is finished because it cannot be fixed on course which is possible when unexpected a shoe lace should brake. Maybe bad luck but after that my trust in the boa system was gone and back to laces.
Look at the camera not on the screen…
Had my eye on the dual Boa until you said that about the shoes from the 80/90s. Plimies!!
Thanks for good review!