This is a posting that I made to the Callaway Golf Community Page about the Cuater The Wildcard shoes that I was sent to review for that group. While I don't normally cross-post reviews, I felt like these $120 "golf shoes" deserved a bit of notice. If you are looking for a versatile golf shoe that is as much at home on the course as it is the office, this could be a great solution for you. Check out my thoughts on them and let me know if you have tried them on!
I'm going to start this off with the fact that I love to hate golf shoes. My biggest issue with about 95% of them is that I need a deep heel, one that really locks my foot in and doesn't let it move. When the opportunity came up to be a tester for the Cuater line, I hesitated at first because I didn't want to be "that guy" that offered up a horrible opinion of them because of my weird feet. That's enough of that story though, since I was chosen and received a lovely pair of The Wildcard shoes in the blue color. So, without further ado, here's my 15 cents worth on these shoes...
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I've NEVER seen a golf shoe like this. Upon opening the package, they looked like canvas shoes that I would have worn in my old BMX days in the 1980s, not golf shoes. I struggled to think how canvas was going to stablize my feet during the swing and how these gum rubber edges would hold the turf as I swung throught the ball. I then looked in the shoe and panicked - they had a shallow heel. Even though the shoe looked classy and amazing, I didn't think they were going to be the shoe for me to play golf in, or maybe even walk around in.
TRYING THEM ON: Putting aside all my worries, I loosened the laces to put them on my feet for the first time. For a fitting note, I'm somewhere between a standard width and a single wide, but these guys were TIGHT! I mean, slipping them on, my foot didn't want to go in at all. I loosened the laces a bit more and and tried again. My foot went in with ease and almost immediately I could feel soemthing strange, stability. I walked around the living room a bit with them before lacing them up. I felt a bit of a rub from the top line of the heel, but my foot felt solid in the bottom of them. Ok, this may not be so bad.
WEARING THEM OUT: After a few hours indoors (I always do this with new shoes so I don't trash the ability to take them back if they aren't comfy) I decided that it was time for a quick run through outside. We went for a walk around the neighborhood. After about 15 minutes, I was pretty in love with the comfort level of the shoes. They had a very stable bottom, but were still squishy and comfy. The heel rub that I was worried about never developed (though it was still just a 15 minute run through) and the line at the top of the heel completely felt normal now. I will chalk that one up to the lack of padding in the heel and not being used to that. So, after that little excursion, it was back to the house for the evening.
GOING TO THE COURSE: The next day I headed to my day job with The Wildcards on. They felt amazing throughout the day. I felt like I could have used a bit more width, but overall, the comfort level was fantastic. The part that was still slightly amazing to me was the soft feel when walking but the immense amount of stability that they offered. After a long day at work, I headed out to the course for a quick 9 holes to really give them a good run through. I packed my Skechers just in case disaster struck, but I was feeling pretty good about it. I didn't have time to warm up at the course, just a few putts and off to the first tee. As I made my first full swing, I literally forgot I had The Wildcards on. They felt that stable. I will chalk this up to the fact that they build the side support of the shoe in a way that my foot couldn't move laterally at all - which is why they felt a bit tight in normal wear. It's a pretty ingenious way to stabilize a canvas shoe and it really works phenomenally well.
PLAYING A ROUND: My first 9 holes in them was pretty uneventful, The course was dry, so I didn't get to check the waterproofing at all, but I could imagine that these guys would get pretty ugly fast in mud, so I would keep them for dry days only. I'm not saying that they couldn't perform well in the wet weather, but I think if I was going to spend $120 on a pair of shoes, I wouldn't want to get them dirty and nasty that fast. Back to the round, my feet felt very stable and on the harder fairways, the spikeless design performed amazingly well. The slight differences in tread patterns allowed me to grip uneven lies just fine and the stability of the base of the shoes gave me a solid platform to hit from. Even better, the heel rub didn't appear after nine holes of play, which again surprised me.
PLAYING MORE: I was able to get out for about 36 holes before the COVID-19 shutdown happened in Washington. I played those 36 holes in complete and total comfort in The Wildcards. I have to admit that I am shocked at how comfortable they are and how well they perform on the course. It's not a shoe I would have ever chosen for myself, and honestly I was bummed I didn't get The Ringer shoe in the test, but these have actaully become a daily wear shoe for me and one that I am very comfortable wearing out and about.
TODAY: Well it just so happens that I am wearing them again today. Our golf ban is semi-lifted as of May 5th, so they will see the course again soon, but for now, they are just a daily wear shoe that is extremely comfy and they look fantastic when I pair them with kakhis or jeans. They could even go with some busniess casual outfits if needed. I think my only regret is that I don't have enough "blue outfits" to wear them more than a few times a week. Still, comfort wise, these are amazing shoes. As I said, I can't wait to get them out for a few more rounds, but for now, I definitely have happy feet in them.
Now, the TM Team asked me to give my impressions of the shoe and tell you all ONE thing that sets it apart from other golf shoes that I have worn. I would love to say that there is just ONE thing that makes it different, but when you look at this shoe, I think the one thing that really sets it apart from anything I've ever experienced is the fact that it doesn't LOOK like a golf shoe at all. It's a nice, dressy for a meeting, business/casual wear shoe that fits in on the course as well as it would on a date night. It is one of the most versatile shoes I have ever seen. I see this shoe being the go to shoe for those that love indoor sim golf, top golf, date nights at the range, etc...
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