The Golf Shoe Evolution We’ve Been Waiting For
After 35 years covering professional golf, I’ve watched the equipment industry chase trends like we chase birdies—sometimes brilliantly, sometimes into the rough. But True Linkswear’s new Ascent PNWProof shoes represent something I think the market has genuinely needed: functional footwear that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not.
Let me explain why that matters, because it’s deeper than just another shoe review.
The Comfort-First Revolution Nobody Saw Coming
Here’s what strikes me most about this particular product: it’s built on a running shoe platform, which sounds almost heretical to traditionalists. During my caddie days in the ’90s, golf shoes were designed to look the part first and feel comfortable… eventually. We accepted hot spots, stiff breaks-in periods, and the general sensation that we were walking in fancy dress shoes rather than athletic footwear.
The reviewer notes something crucial about the Ascents:
“These shoes slide on and off with ease and you can keep them on your feet for hours. Walking Chambers Bay meant putting in over 21,000 steps and going up and down hills. Despite that, it’s not like I was rushing back to the car to change shoes.”
That’s not trivial. That’s the voice of someone who spent five hours on their feet and wasn’t suffering.
In my experience covering the PGA Tour, I’ve watched players—guys who can afford literally any shoe—gradually migrate toward comfort-first designs. You see it on the range at tournaments. The old guard still wears traditional golf shoes, sure. But the younger guys? Many of them are in shoes that wouldn’t look out of place at REI. The equipment companies are finally catching up to what players have been telling them for years.
Waterproofing Without Compromise
I’ve spent 15 Masters at Augusta National, where the morning dew can soak a shoe faster than you can say “amen corner.” I’ve also caddied for Tom Lehman during some genuinely miserable weather conditions on tour. The relationship between dry feet and good golf is direct and measurable.
What impressed me about the testing was honest: the reviewer didn’t get perfect conditions. Instead, he faced exactly the scenario where these shoes needed to prove themselves:
“While I was lucky to draw a beautiful fall day with temperatures in the high 50s and mostly sunny skies, the golf course was still pretty wet in spots. There was no time, however, when I thought I wore the wrong shoes, as my feet stayed completely dry for the whole five-hour round.”
The 1-year waterproof warranty is also worth noting. Companies that stand behind their products with actual guarantees tend to have done their homework. That’s not marketing speak; that’s confidence backed by engineering.
The Traction Question Nobody’s Really Solved
One thing has always bothered me about the shift away from spiked golf shoes: the loss of traction. I don’t wear spikes anymore either—few tour players do—but minimalist lugs have been a legitimate trade-off. You gain comfort and style. You lose some edge on sloped greens.
The reviewer observed something interesting about the trail-inspired traction pattern:
“The traction pattern on the bottom actually looks more like a hiking shoe, and I bet these would even work well on the trail, too.”
This speaks to a larger trend I’ve noticed. The best golf products in 2024 are increasingly multi-purpose. A good golf shoe should work at a nice restaurant too. It should handle a hike. It should be versatile because golfers want versatility.
The fact that minimal lugging can actually deliver sufficient traction suggests True Linkswear has figured out something about shoe design that’s been nagging at the industry: more aggressive doesn’t always mean better.
What This Tells Us About the Golf Market
I think what we’re witnessing is a maturation in golf equipment philosophy. For decades, the industry operated on the principle that golfers wanted their gear to look a certain way, even if that meant suffering slightly. Premium equals traditional, the thinking went.
But touring professionals—who live in these shoes for six hours, sometimes 36 holes in a day—have been quietly voting with their feet. They want performance first. They want to be comfortable. They want equipment that works in all conditions, not just tournament conditions.
True Linkswear isn’t alone in this approach, but they’re doing it with enough competence that it deserves attention. The balance they’ve struck—offering protection from the elements without sacrificing comfort, stability, or traction—represents what the market actually wants, not what tradition says it should want.
After three and a half decades watching this game evolve, I can tell you: when equipment designers finally listen to what players actually need rather than what the rule book requires, good things happen. The Ascent PNWProof appears to be one of those good things.
