Look away now, traditionalists – the trainer revolution is taking over

It was about 6×4 inches and the absolute bane of my childhood. A small plaque on the side of the pro shop at my club with several illustrated bullet points featuring classic 90s hits such as ‘No football shirts’, ‘No jeans’, and ‘No trainers’.

It was always the wording that made me chuckle. I don’t want to go too far down the golf dress codes route because it’s been done to death and we hardly make it a secret here at NCG that they should be abolished, but why, when writing this plaque, would you single out particular items of clothing?

‘No football shirts’ suggests rugby shirts are OK. ‘No jeans’? Fine, can I play in a tutu? And don’t get me started on ‘No trainers’. The old nightclub argument. Younger people reading this may not remember but there used to dress codes to get into clubs. I can get in with a pair of beaten up Kickers, but my brand new Nike trainers which cost six times as much? Not today thanks.

Also, small-bane-of-my-life plaque, no one’s worn a shell suit this side of the Berlin Wall coming down. And ‘flat beach shoes’? If you mean Crocs, well, you shouldn’t be wearing those anywhere.

But times they are a-changin’ in the world of golf. Even stuffy old traditionalists are ditching spikes for something they can wear on and off the course.

Now I make no secret of the fact I’m obsessed with trainers. Sneaker freaks, I think we’re called. At one time it got so bad I had about 50 pairs piled high in my wardrobe, from my worn-out Kurt Cobain Converse to Air Jordans so shiny they spent three years in the box because I was worried exposing them to fresh air might cause the universe to implode.

But, as with nightclubs, the golf world simply didn’t think you could look smart in trainers.

How wrong could they be?

So it won’t come as a surprise to you to find that I’m a tiny bit excited about Puma’s launch of the RS-G shoes. I had a pair of the original RS a quarter of a century ago and they were rebooted in 2018 with the RS-X.

Now we’ve got a pair for the golf course. Not hugely different from the RS-X other than featuring all the technology you need in a shoe to make it usable on the fairways.

But if you are a traditionalist then not to worry because Puma have remembered that this is golf and explained that the RS-G are available in a variety of “colourways” – in what other walks of life do we use that word?  – including “Vaporous Grey/Thyme/Pureed Pumpkin”. That’s grey, green and orange if you’re still scrunching up your nose.

Or, and this is my favourite, “Black/Quiet Shade/Dark Shadow”. That’s black, a slightly different black, and another slightly different black to you and me. Look, here they are being worn at night…

And girls don’t like pink any more, they like “Peachskin/High Rise”…

You can do anything in these trainers! Here’s Rickie Fowler fishing in them!

Joking aside, while trainer-style golf shoes are nothing new, there has always been an element of traditional golf shoe about them. This is the next phase from Puma. And it’s really exciting.

If, at any point, you’ve ever been able to smugly utter the words “Actually, they are golf shoes” then imagine how you’re going to feel with these on your feet.

This is a statement. Viva la revolucion.

If you want to read more about the technology implemented in the RS-G golf trainers, then equipment editor Hannah Holden has more information in her All the Gear column. Let me know what you think in the comments section below or you can tweet me. 

• Related: Did I tell you about the time I wore trainers in a clubhouse?
• Related: Puma continue to push boundaries

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