Sun Day Red is a brand that has grown significantly in the world of golf over the last couple of years. Of course it helps having Tiger Woods fronting the brand but from my experience of testing the clothing and shoes, the quality is right up there with the best on the market. My colleague Dan Parker agrees, saying of the Pioneer Cypress shoe; ‘A luxurious and high-performing golf shoe fit to don the feet of arguably the game's greatest player.’ The only thing I don’t agree on there is ‘arguably’, Tiger is the greatest player ever Mr Parker. Regardless, when I heard the brand was going to release a golf shoe for on and off the course, I was very excited indeed because this is exactly what I look for. Enter the Osprey shoe.
The first thing you notice when receiving a pair of these shoes is the high-quality attention to detail. The box feels premium and then picking up the shoe it is lightweight and feels properly constructed. The stitching, premium materials and complete design combine to make the Osprey worth the $160 price tag in my opinion.
Then from a looks perspective I think these are currently my favorite looking golf shoes anywhere at the moment. Some might say the overall design lacks something to make it stand out, but I disagree. There are lots of little design flourishes all over the shoe from the logo on the heel and tongue sections, and the flowing lines of the shoe itself. Clearly the brand designers have said less is more here, and I love it.
“Tiger needed a shoe that could meet the needs of his busy life on and off the course, and The Osprey is our answer to that. We designed this shoe to work for golf and life, and the performance-driven design elements of the Osprey make it an ideal shoe for a whole range of situations, including golf.”
As the quote here illuminates, this shoe has versatility at its core as well. I can attest the shoes work off the course in different social situations and I have worn them into the office for work a number of times as well. For me they are at the top of the list when it comes to the best casual golf shoes, and even best golf sneakers as well. They looked and performed flawlessly on each occasion, largely because of the minimalist design I mentioned above. There are four colors to choose from ranging from the all-white model I tested, to an all-grey finish, with black and white/navy shoes in between.
The other factor the Osprey really excels in is comfort. If a shoe has been designed to go from the course, to everywhere else seamlessly, your feet have to feel at home in the shoes all day. And I am not exaggerating here, but I can wear these shoes all day easily, because I have done so in testing at least four times. The fit is true to size and I am confident it will suit those with narrow and even wider feet too. The use of foam throughout the design, and specifically on the thick tongue and heel areas meant my feet felt nicely housed in the shoe whilst the EVA midsole system provided comfort underfoot, not too firm and not too soft. Importantly the breathability was good as well. I have tested shoes that cocoon the feet before and you can’t wait to take them off as they get too hot, but there is no issue here because of the subtle mesh tongue design. Overall these are some of the most comfortable golf shoes out there.
Next I should talk about factors like grip, stability and traction. I will come right out and say there are better models on the market for this, choose any of the best spiked golf shoes in our guide and you will get better performance in these areas. As a result these are shoes I would probably not recommend using in winter or in truly wet conditions because you will be compromising on performance here. However for a spikeless shoe they do perform in dry and damp conditions excellently. The omni-directional pattern on the outsole, and the heel counter give solid traction and functional support respectively.
Ultimately, despite the small misgivings about winter/wet use, I am not sure I can praise this shoe much more. For a sneaker-style shoe it feels luxurious and delivers on performance in the right conditions. To some, that compromise in the wet will be a no-no, but if you play in hot weather all year round, or you basically want two shoes in one because of the versatility, the Osprey is well worth considering. I’ve tested a lot of sneaker style shoes as has my colleague Dan Parker who oversees all golf shoe testing at Golf Monthly, and we agree that we would put the Osprey up against anything else on the market.
