Review: Puma BioDrive Shoes

A Little Bit of Everything in this Shoe
Golf shoes have certainly evolved over the last few years but yet it seems like there are always trade-offs from one shoe to another.  Either they are supportive, but not flexible, spikeless but not enough traction, stylish but too bold, low to the ground, but too low.  The list goes on and on about the give and take when it comes to golf shoes.  While I know everyone has their preferences and brands they are loyal to, but the Puma BioDrive shoe has a little bit of everything that will appeal to just about every golfers needs.

Puma is often polarizing with their style, and even in the BioDrive shoes there are bright color choices but you can also get a toned down look with the basic color scheme too.  The shoe style itself is more of an athletic shoe and certainly that makes it a more comfortable platform to build off of.  I wore the blue, black and yellow shoes on my trip to Hawaii and around town in MN during the winter months.  They are bright, but look stylish when matched with the right clothes.
 

Starting from the ground up, these “spikeless” shoes have one of the more aggressive tread patterns on the sole.  They actually are formed similar to a “spiked” shoe pattern but are flat enough to be worn off the course.  Their flexible design makes them really comfortable for walking on grass or on hard surfaces.  The real joy of the sole is how much better they grip than other “spikeless” shoes.  While I haven’t had too many slipage issues with other shoes, these were more even more stable and “grippy” than others.

The midsole offers great cushion, much like the Puma Faas lite shoes: lightweight yet plenty of cushion.  As you move up into the uppers, the waterproof mesh is thick enough to feel like a real shoe, but flexible enough and breathable enough to really offer great comfort.  I didn’t try them in pouring rain to see how they kept out water, but between the Hawaiian dew and the MN snow, I can say that my feet stayed dry.

Heel comfort is a big deal for me with any new shoes.  I really don’t like having to break shoes in and these required no break in time.  The athletic shoe style certainly helps with that as does the ample foam around the achilies tendon area. From the box to my feet to the course with no blister or rubbing or foot strain of any sorts.  They are just supportive enough to not tax your feet, but flexible enough to offer good feel of the terrain.  I even used them for hiking the mountains in Hawaii and they were excellent in that arena too.

Shoes are always a little tricky when it comes to sizing, even though they all use a number system, that often means something different.  Puma fits the same for me as a Nike or Adidas shoe, a 9.5M.  These are just slightly wider than some previous Puma shoes, which I actually appreciate that little extra width in the fore foot.

While I’m not going to call them the perfect shoe, the Puma BioDrive shoe certainly has a long list of great features that many golfers are looking for.  Comfort, style, support, traction and waterproof. You can get it in bold colors or more muted tones depending on your flare. They did a great job of including a little bit of everything in this shoe. 

For more information: www.cobragolf.com/pumagolf/biodrive-golf-shoes

Quick Hits
+Comfortable right out of the box
+Waterproof
+Flexible
+Supportive
+Great traction
+Variety of color options