In the last two years, golf has seen an influx of new players taking up the game. FootJoy are looking to make a positive first impression on these players, with a new shoe offering that they hope will be top of a newbie's shopping list when the time comes to purchase their first pair.
Cast your mind back to the mid noughties, a lot has changed in the world of golf shoes since I started playing, golf club pro shops looked a lot different back in 2007. In amongst a sea of glistening Ping G5 drivers, you may also find a towering wall of FootJoy shoes all boasting names with a different pre-fix to the word 'joy', promising to look like a golf shoe and perform like a golf shoe: black or white leather, soft spikes, waterproof warranty, and blisters for the first two weeks wearing them. Ahhhhh the good ol' days.
It's now 2022 and newcomers to the game are wanting something a little different.
FootJoy's answer to these requests is the FootJoy Fuel, an athletic, spikeless shoe with an RRP of £134.99 displaying one of the most standout designs we've seen in years from the no.1 shoe brand in golf.
The Tech
With this being a 'sporty-looking' golf shoe for the modern day golfer, there's obviously some pretty advanced technology in there too.
Stability has always been a huge selling point of FootJoy shoes and the all-new Power Stabiliser outsole features tour-proven traction with a new Stability Bridge to sit directly under the bridge of the foot, said to provide optimal support and control. Further grip is also provided by a Pro|SL inspired outsole.
Just taking one look at the FJ Fuel, it's easy to see that FJ are trying to put a big tick in the comfort box. Stratolite foam has been engineered to deliver lightweight cushioning for ultimate comfort and max walkability on the golf course.
A new performance upper is also said to provide a very comfortable fit and added durability whilst being waterproof of course.
Finally, Fuel features flex last technology meaning the Fuel has an athletic profile with a full rounded toe character, full fit across forefoot and instep, and a slightly narrow heel providing added toe spring.
FootJoy Fuel Golf Shoe Review
Looks
Reviewing the looks of the FootJoy Fuel is a tough one. First impressions, I wasn't a fan. I couldn't help but think that in FJ's attempt to make yet another athletic-looking golf shoe to keep up with the likes of Adidas and Nike in this department, they'd tried too hard and failed miserably, again - cough, FootJoy FreeStyle, FootJoy HyperFlex, cough.
I wasn't a fan of the large FJ logo on the heel of the shoe, the bold strikes of seemingly random colour seen in all three different colourways, or the overstated outsole - does it really need to be orange and blue?
Fast-forward to the golf course and with the grass beneath my feet, my opinion began to change. Could FJ have finally nailed it with the looks of an athletic golf shoe? In my opinion, not quite, but the Fuel is certainly a step in the right direction.
Taking away the logoed heel of the shoe, the Fuel isn't a million miles away from the FootJoy Pro|SL that the golfing world has come to know and love in recent years.
I think for it's target market, based on looks alone this could be the first golf shoe in years that will catch the attention of Nike and Adidas golf shoe lovers. I wouldn't go as far to say that the Fuel will look great off the course because put simply, it won't. However once in the right setting - FJ are close to nailing it here.
Comfort
I'm going to split this section of the review into two sections - literally.
Firstly, I found room for improvement in the upper of the Fuel. Although on the the outside the upper seemed durable and of high-quality, I thought that a little extra padding on the inside would have aided to a more comfortable walk.
This was most apparent in the early stages of testing, I felt the upper just needed a little more breaking-in than the other main areas of the shoe. Over time, with the shoe becoming more manipulatable I think this would become less and less of an issue.
Secondly, the underfoot and heel area of the shoe really exceeded expectations in the comfort department. The Stratolite foam seemed to be doing the business through my full test. Like many FootJoy shoes in recent years, the Fuel struck a great balance between stability and softness underneath the foot.
Although I couldn't categorically claim that the new toe spring was affecting my golf swing in any way, shape or form, I certainly had a spring in my step when playing in these golf shoes.
Performance
The performance department is usually the section of the review in which FootJoy golf shoe reviews come alive and true to form, the FJ Fuel is no different.
I was extremely impressed by the traction on offer from the Fuel, after all it's still considered as a spikeless golf shoe. As previously mentioned with the outsole, FJ has taken inspiration from the uber-successful Pro|SL model and added design elements here.
The 'mini-spikes' have been strategically placed for both stability and traction and perform very well because of this. There was also a good amount of thought on where not to place the spikes to avoid clogging, a bugbear of any keen golfer.
This resulted in no issues whatsoever during testing; at no point during the review did I lose my footing or even think I may at some point slip. I was confident hitting different shots on different terrains resulting in confidence in my game.
I thought this was the stand-out asset of the Fuel, which given it's target market of young, modern golfers who no-doubt swing it around 105mph+ should see them fit for cranking it up with very little worry.
FootJoy Fuel Golf Shoe Verdict
In the past I have been a little critical of spikeless FootJoy shoes like the FJ Flex that have been designed for a younger demographic, but completely missed the mark. Obviously, FootJoy does many things well but producing shoes for the younger demographic has not always been one of them.
Trying to be cool and being cool are two totally different things and FJ's best offerings have always come when they're not trying to be something they're not, hence the success of the Pro|SL and more recent Premiere Series.
The only other thing I can criticise is whether next to the Pro|SL, the Fuel is really necessary in the FJ line-up. At £134.99 it's still an expensive pair of shoes for a beginner and does it do anything the Pro|SL doesn't? Not really and to be honest, I thought this was the reason we now have Pro|SL and Pro|SL Carbon models?
That being said, after over a decade of trying, FootJoy may finally be getting somewhere here. It's not the finished article as in my opinion you still wouldn't gladly wear the Fuel off the golf course, we're not quite there yet.
However, I think FJ's have again proved their knack of producing desirable shoes for the upcoming season, giving pandemic golf newbies plenty of fuel for thought.
Who Are They Aimed At?
A younger demographic than you'd expect FootJoy to usually go for.
Would I Use Them?
Yes, I would wear the FootJoy Fuel as a lightweight shoe that offers guaranteed performance, comfort and traction in a bunch of different golf conditions.
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