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26 September 2026 · 7 min read

Golf shoes: spikes, spikeless and what works on a mat

One pair of shoes, two soles, three surfaces. What holds where, what it costs, and why a bay needs no second pair.

Golf shoes: spikes, spikeless and what works on a mat — post image

Golf shoes are the piece of kit most talked about for looks and least for function. Yet one simple question hangs on the sole: how much grip do you need when the ground is wet and sloping. Everything else follows from that.

What spikes are today

Metal spikes have vanished from golf. What is called a spiked shoe today has plastic spikes, screwed in and replaceable individually; a Swiss shop sells them as sets of up to twenty for CHF 19.90 to 25.00, with the wrench at CHF 12.90 (Golfers Paradise).

A spikeless shoe has a patterned rubber sole with many small nubs instead. It looks like a trainer, is lighter, breaks in better and is more comfortable on the walk from the car park to the first tee.

Where the difference shows

On dry, flat grass it makes no difference, and that is most of a round in July. The difference arrives in three places: on wet grass, on slopes and in the rough. There a spike digs into the ground while a nub stays on the surface.

For the Swiss golf year that means: from November to April and after rain, spikes are the better choice; in high summer on flat courses spikeless is enough. Anyone playing a lot in the mountains has more slope and therefore more need.

What a shoe costs in Switzerland

Prices at a Swiss online shop on 26 September 2026 (Golfers Paradise, 112 models):

ItemPrice
Spikeless golf shoe, entryfrom CHF 59.90
Golf shoe, mid rangeCHF 69.90 to 140
Golf shoe, top endup to CHF 279.90
Set of replacement spikes (up to 20)CHF 19.90 to 25.00
Spike wrenchCHF 12.90

The jump from CHF 60 to CHF 280 mainly buys two things: a waterproof membrane with a warranty and better cushioning for the roughly 17,000 steps of a walked round. For a first season the lower end is enough, and the difference only shows in a second wet autumn.

Waterproof is the more important property

A round in Switzerland takes four to five hours, and the grass is wet in the morning even when it is not raining. Wet feet after five holes ruin more rounds than a slippery sole, and most manufacturers give one to two years of warranty on the membrane.

So look at the waterproof claim and how long it lasts, not at the number of spikes. And reckon with what any mountain boot needs too: take the insoles out after the round, let them dry, never on a radiator.

What the club requires

Each club decides for itself, and the two published examples diverge exactly here: Golf Fricktal requires golf shoes (etiquette, PDF), Migros Golf also allows trainers (Migros Golf). For a taster session sports shoes are enough everywhere.

The whole question of dress code and etiquette, with both codes quoted, is in Golf etiquette and dress code. Here only the practical part applies: playing an unfamiliar course, take golf shoes and you are right everywhere.

In a bay: spikeless or a trainer

On a hitting mat, spikes give you nothing and can damage it. The mat holds by itself, because it does not get wet and does not slope. There is no general rule, and our directory carries no field for it, so ask briefly when you book.

What reliably works in a bay is a spikeless shoe or a clean trainer with a flat sole. Anyone practising a lot indoors has both covered with one spikeless pair, inside and outside in summer.

How long a pair lasts

On a spiked shoe the sole survives several years, because the spikes are replaceable; the membrane gives up first. On spikeless the pattern is the wearing part, and it wears faster, because the same shoe often walks around in daily life too.

A usable interval: change spikes when the tips are rounded, so roughly every twenty to thirty rounds. Replace the shoe when your socks are wet after two hours. Both are symptoms, not appointments.

Size and width

Buy golf shoes in the evening and with the socks you wear on the course. Over four hours and some 17,000 steps the foot swells, and a shoe that fits perfectly in the morning pinches on the twelfth hole. Half a size up from your trainers is right for many models.

More important than length is width. The swing turns the foot inside the shoe, and a forefoot that is too narrow turns that into a blister. Anyone with wide feet should look for a model in a wide fitting, and most manufacturers offer one.

What rain does to a shoe

It gets in first where the sole is bonded to the upper, and that seam is the life of a golf shoe. After a wet round take the insole out, put the shoe somewhere airy and leave it two days, never on a radiator.

Anyone playing regularly in autumn is therefore better off with two cheap pairs than one expensive one. One pair dries while the other plays, and at prices from CHF 59.90 that is the cheaper arithmetic (Golfers Paradise).

Winter, boots and the bay

From November to March the ground is soft or frozen, and many facilities play on winter greens. High models with a collar keep water out longer, and spikes grip better in soft ground. What else applies on winter greens is in Winter greens.

In the same period you are probably playing more in a bay than on a course anyway, and there no golf shoe is needed. So buy a second winter pair only once you really do play outside, not in advance.

Cleaning them without ruining them

Coarse dirt comes off with a brush and cold water, best right after the round while the soil is still damp. Never in a washing machine and never near a radiator: both loosen the adhesive between sole and upper, and that seam is the shoe's life.

On spiked shoes the wrench belongs in the routine twice a season: unscrew the spikes, clean the threads, put them back. A seized spike is the reason many shoes with an intact sole get thrown away.

More on this: Golf rain jacket and rain trousers.

The short recommendation

One pair, spikeless, waterproof, in the CHF 60 to 120 band, if you play flat courses in summer and a bay in winter. Add a spiked pair if you play between October and April or a lot on slopes.

And a spare pair of socks in the bag in any case. What else belongs in a first simulator hour is in What to bring to your first hour; a venue near you is on the map.

Frequently asked questions

Spikes or spikeless: which is better?

On dry, flat grass it makes no difference. On wet grass, on slopes and in the rough, spikes dig in while nubs stay on the surface. For the Swiss winter half-year spikes are the better choice.

What do golf shoes cost in Switzerland?

An entry model from CHF 59.90, the mid range between CHF 69.90 and 140, the top end up to CHF 279.90. Replacement spikes cost CHF 19.90 to 25.00 a set, with the wrench at CHF 12.90.

May I wear spikes in a simulator bay?

The venue decides, and there is no general rule. On a mat, spikes give you nothing anyway and can damage it. A spikeless shoe or a clean trainer with a flat sole always works.

Do I need golf shoes for a taster session?

No. Sports shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are enough for a first contact; equipment is provided. On a course the club decides: Golf Fricktal requires golf shoes, Migros Golf also allows trainers.

How often do I have to replace spikes?

When the tips are rounded, so roughly every twenty to thirty rounds. They screw in individually and change with a wrench. The shoe itself is usually only due when the waterproof membrane stops holding.

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