FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon Performance Review

Before we get to the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon, think of the best golfer you know. Now, think about the shoes that they wear. That might be a weird request but I’m betting if you’re on this site, you’re the type of person that notices people’s shoes. Anyway, back to the reason I’m asking that question. I’m willing to bet a dollar and a quarter that the person you thought of has at least one pair of FootJoys in their rotation.

Why is that? Because FootJoy has built a reputation for delivering on their promise to deliver high-quality products to their customers.

Now, I have a confession to make. I haven’t worn a pair of FootJoy golf shoes in close to 20 years. I know full well that everything I said in the open is the truth. FootJoy is the best and all of the good players that I know, wear their products. So why haven’t I worn them? If it seems like a story is coming, it’s because there is.

As a kid, I played golf almost exclusively with two people – my dad and my grandfather. During the summer I would play with my grandpa (Papa from here on) and then my dad would join us when he got off of work. Some of my most cherished memories are with the two of them, on a summer evening, playing golf into the twilight. They are the men that I wanted to model myself after and people that I respected more than anyone else on the planet.

Papa was my mom’s dad, so he didn’t share any physical characteristics with my dad. In fact, they were almost polar opposites. My dad is a tall righty while Papa was a shorter lefty. One thing they had in common though was the shoes that they wore. Every summer night they would both lace up their white FootJoys – and every summer night I was jealous.

FootJoy offers a premium product, and they always have. With that premium product though there is often a premium price tag. And while it made sense for my dad and Papa to spend the money on golf shoes, it wasn’t the case for me. As someone who was on his way to becoming a 6’8” adult, the concept of spending a lot of money on golf shoes for me didn’t make sense. Lighting money on fire would have probably been a better investment.

Financial stability and sound investments aren’t the hallmarks of youth and so when I was twelve I decided to take some money I had saved and buy my own FootJoys. I bought a similar model to my dad and couldn’t wait to get them on the course. My excitement went away in the middle of the first fairway though.

For whatever reason those shoes just did not agree with my feet. I am fully aware that it probably had more to do with me and my feet than the quality of the shoe – but every time I wore those shoes I ended the round barefoot. Over the years I have tried on many different types of shoes from FootJoy but that memory is always at the front of my mind and I was under the assumption that FootJoy was just a brand I wasn’t compatible with. That assumption quickly went away the day that I tried the FootJoy Hyperflex Carbon though.

To put it simply, the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon is the best shoe that I have ever played golf in. To better explain why that is, I will break the review down into the categories I deem the most important in a golf shoe – traction, cushion, and support.

Traction

I tested the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon for the first time the day after a massive rainstorm and was blown away by the performance. FootJoy describes the outsole as an “OptiFlex outsole for enhanced range of motion with TPU and carbon wrapped shank for tour-proven stability” and features “Pulsar Low Profile SoftSpikes”.

Let me describe it in simpler terms for you – the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon is the most stable golf shoe that I have ever worn. I was playing in some of the slipperiest conditions imaginable and not only did I feel confident that my feet were going to stay in place, I felt like I was able to generate force from the ground. For this reason alone I would recommend these shoes, but that might not even be their best feature.

Cushion

This is the area that as a kid I found FootJoy lacking. It’s the reason that I have shied away from the brand. If FootJoy keeps producing shoes like this though, I will have to rethink that stance. The FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon features an Ortholite Impressions footbed that has to be the most comfortable insole ever implemented in a golf shoe. The feel is reminiscent of memory foam and has only gotten more comfortable as I have continued to wear them. If every shoe had this included, then no one would ever have sore feet.

Support

No surprise here but the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon has been incredibly supportive during all of my rounds wearing them. The upper is a hybrid of a TPU material near the ground that leads into a socklike enclosure around the ankle. What this offers the wearer is the best of both worlds, a shoe that feels and breathes like a mesh shoe without sacrificing lateral stability. Adding to the support is a ThermoPlastic Saddle Strap that increases the lockdown effect of the laces that when combined with everything else listed makes you feel locked in and confident in every step and swing that you’ll take.

The design of this shoe could pose some difficulties for some wearers though. I am someone with high arches and getting my foot into the shoe takes more effort than most other golf shoes, although the support is worth it to me. My dad however is someone that has to wear an ankle brace to play golf and simply couldn’t get his foot into the shoe at all. It’s a small nitpick because there are other options out there, but it’s something to consider and is the only thing keeping the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon from being the perfect shoe.

Sizing

One other thing to note, along with the difficulty some people might have getting into this shoe is the sizing. FootJoy released a video a couple of months ago where they estimated that 7 out of 10 golfers are wearing the wrong size shoe. And if we’re only talking about FootJoy wearers, then I believe that number is accurate.

I’ve heard stories of people that have had to go down as much as a size and a half from their everyday shoes to find the proper fit with FootJoy, and I have to admit that I had some concerns when I initially tried these on. I’m a wide-footed person that usually rotates between a 13 or 14 (depending on the brand) and when I tried on the standard size 13 I was concerned about the extra room at the end of the toe box. For my wide feet, it ended up being perfect.

Like anything else on the golf course, finding a custom fit is the preferred way to go. The Footjoy HyperFlex Carbon is available in medium and wide widths so I would suggest trying these on in-store if possible. If you’re going strictly off the website I would suggest that wide footers stick true to size while standard-width or narrow-footed folks go a half size down.

FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon Summary

If there is a better golf shoe on the market than the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon, I would like to see it (seriously, send it to me!) because I can’t imagine that possibility.  The combination of performance and comfort is unlike anything I have ever played in and has set the bar for all other future golf shoes.