It's been hit after hit after hit after hit for the best Adidas golf shoes of late. Ever since I tested my first Adidas golf shoe in 2022 - the original Codechaos 22 - I've enjoyed every experience I've had wearing the famous German brand.
Its latest shoe, the Adipower 26, has come in to cover a price point that Adidas does not quite have the perfect shoe for. Yes, it has S2G in this 'affordable' space, but no performance shoe, so the Adipower is here to try and find the perfect balance between price point and performance. So, how did it do when I took it out onto the golf course?
From a looks perspective, this is Adidas' first miss for a long time. For me, the whole design is just too heavily branded. I can forgive the classic three stripe design running down the side of the shoe - we've seen it used to stunning effect on the Tour360 24 - but the massive Adidas logo printed on the heel of each shoe is a step too far for me.
If you look closer, there is more. From the three stripes logo embossed on the toe cap to the 'Adipower' printed on the part of the outsole that bleeds onto the upper, it's all too much. Add the shock of blue in the hero colourway I tested, and it culminates in a shoe that screams rather than sings.
Credit where credit is due, however, as the leather materials used on this shoe feel far more premium than the £110 price tag would suggest.
The website description for Adipower describes a 'snug fit', which, unfortunately, is the understatement of the year. I already go half a size up in Adidas shoes as per the brand's own recommendation but, but even with this extra sizing, I've never experienced a toebox and forefoot area quite as tight as this.
Not only does the shoe squeeze in from the sides, but the room above your feet is bordering on nonexistent. Indeed, it feels like the upper is pushing against your foot when you walk.
I understand the need for a snug fit in a performance shoe, as any negative space within a shoe only allows the foot to roll around and lose energy, but this experience was too much to handle.
I'd likely need to go up a full size and a half from my normal 8 UK, at which point I'll likely have too much space between the end of my shoes and my toes and defeat the point of the shoe entirely.
Adidas has also decided to use its Reptitor foam in the midsole instead of the Boost or Lightstrike we've become more familiar with in recent golf shoes.
Repetitor is noticeably firmer than either of the other aforementioned foam technologies, and you can feel that in the shoe. Combine this with the 'snugness', and I left the course a little disappointed, to say the least.
In the interests of balance, I will say that the extra heel padding that's been added is a welcome one, making the often problematic Achilles area in Adidas shoes a problem no more.
From a performance perspective, I can't fault much. Though the fit was off-putting, it certainly kept my foot planted during the swing. This was complemented nicely by the outsole, which, like all the best spikeless golf shoe outsoles nowadays, performed well even in soggy conditions.
Much like my review of FootJoy's new Pro/SL this year, the Adipower shoe just doesn't make much sense to me. If the £100-£110 mark is your budget for a performance pair of shoes, a pair of 2025 Codechaos shoes can be found for £90, the Adizero ZG is £105 and even the ZG23 can be found for under £100
If you can stretch your budget, the Tour360 24 - a shoe that has been the best on the market before the Under Armour Drive Pro Clone appeared - can be found for less than £140 now.
What I'm saying is, there are a lot of better shoes in the Adidas stable that are better and more affordable than the new Adipower 26, so I question its place in the matrix. It's an unfortunate miss from the mighty Adidas team, but one that has done nothing to affect its current position battling at the very top of the best golf shoes in the game.
