Adidas ZG21 Golf Shoes Review

Calling the new Adidas ZG21 golf shoes worthy successors to the extremely popular Tour360 XT would be a true statement.  But it would also be an enormous understatement.

ZG21 takes the combination of comfort, stability, and traction to heights never before seen in a pair of Adidas spiked golf shoes, refusing to compromise in any of these performance areas.

Ideally you want as much comfort, stability, and traction that you can get in a pair of golf shoes, but there are usually trade-offs.  More comfort sometimes comes at the expense of less stability.  More traction can mean you sacrifice flexibility.  With ZG21 however, Adidas has figured out how to make them all integral in the foundation of these shoes.

 

I'll start with comfort.  And I'm not kidding when I say if Adidas spikeless CodeChaos and spiked Tour360 XT had a baby, ZG21 would be it.  ZG21 actually feel even more cushioned in the foot-bed than the wildly comfortable CodeChaos.  I honestly couldn't believe it, but it's unmistakable.

 

At the same time, ZG21 also has the greater midfoot stability of the Tour360 XT, but it's a softer wrap around locked-in, stability.  In fact, it's the kind of midfoot stability you normally only find in heavier, leather shoes.  And the moment I put them on, ZG21 immediately felt like I've worn them forever (utterly fantastic and tournament ready right out of the box comfort).

 

The name ZG21 stands for "Zero Gravity," and as you'd expect they feel lighter than the Tour360 XT.  I also compared ZG21 to my CodeChaos, and while ZG21 were slightly heavier when I picked them up to put on, actually wearing them blurs the line of lightweight feel.  ZG21 are definitely closer in weight to CodeChaos than Tour360 XT.  You can read about the new four-layer, waterproof upper and tech here.

 

ZG21 uses a combination of BOOST cushioning along with a new Lightstrike foam (which is 40-percent lighter than any EVA foam in the market), that hugs your feet for an almost molded feel.  At the same time this provides a very responsive cushion that's incredibly stabilizing on all swings.

 

You really feel perfectly balanced wearing ZG21.  And I also felt like this thicker, lighter foam protected the arches of my feet even better than CodeChaos or Tour360 XT.  I walked two full rounds in my ZG21, and can say without hesitation these are the most comfortable spiked Adidas shoes I've ever worn.

 

Lateral stability is also exceptional, and if you're a fast swinger or have balance issues you're going to absolutely love this aspect of ZG21.  There's a firmer plastic on the (small toe side) outer edge of the shoes and the softer cushioning on the (big toe side) inner edge of the shoes.

 

Together this almost seemed to encourage proper footwork, transferring weight to the inside of my back foot and then finishing with almost all my weight on the front foot.  It's a very secure feeling with no sense or fear or rolling ankles on even the biggest of swings.

 

ZG21 outsoles are noticeably thinner than CodeChaos, and somewhat thinner than Tour360 XT.  This of course contributes to the lighter feel, and also makes them even more comfortable to walk in.

 

Adidas ran heat-map studies to determine where the traction was needed most, and the placement of traction lugs and six cleats gave me a feeling almost like I was cemented into the ground with fantastic grip on a variety of surfaces and lies.  There are also two sections to the ZG21 outsole with some parts firmer and other parts more flexible, further enhancing sureness of footing and comfort walking.

 

There's no such thing as the perfect golf shoes for everyone, and spiked versus spikeless will always come down to personal preference.  But with ZG21, Adidas has succeeded in making a spiked shoe with premier lightweight feel, exceptional support and stability, and superb comfort for the rigors of walking 18 holes.

 

And that means the new ZG21 might just be the next disruptive shoe from Adidas that re-revolutionizes this already iconic brand.