UA Charged Curry Spikeless Performance Review

Wait, Stephen Curry, the basketball star, has a signature golf shoe, the UA Charged Curry Spikeless (SL)? How is this even possible?

The top athletes in the world are synonymous with the brands that they represent. Every manufacturer has a stable of athletes that they build their brands around. Think Nike with Lebron or Kobe. The gold standard of these relationships though is the partnership that Michael Jordan was able to forge with Nike, prompting the creation of the Jordan brand. When you look at Under Armour and Steph Curry, it’s easy to see that is the blueprint that they are trying to follow.

Since exploding onto the scene while at Davidson close to 20 years ago, Steph Curry has become not only one of the most easily identified athletes in the world but also one of the most universally loved. And while not all of his shoes have enjoyed that same type of admiration, ahem, some of the more recent models have established the Curry basketball shoe as one that people, kids especially, have flocked to.

Riding the wave of that success in November of 2020, Under Armour and Steph Curry announced the creation of the Curry brand, following the Jordan/Nike blueprint once again.

What sets the Jordan Brand apart though isn’t the basketball shoes, it’s the overall share of the market they occupy. You’ll see the Jumpman logo everywhere from the office to the golf course. And while I doubt you’ll see someone rocking the Curry 2 Retro in your next meeting, I really think there’s a chance you’ll start seeing Steph’s logo more and more on the golf course. This leads me to the shoe that you’re here to read about… the UA Charged Curry SL.

As always I am going to break this down by the things I look most for in a golf shoe: style, traction, cushion, and support.

Style

The first thing I noticed when unboxing the UA Charged Curry SL was Steph’s logo on the tongue surrounded by the words “I can do all things…” repeated in a circle. Anyone who has followed Steph for any period of time knows that his faith is something that means a lot to him, and I love the reference to Philippians 4:13 here. The colorway I have is blue/gray and I love this combination. Too many times a blue shoe is unnecessarily loud, but this hue strikes a nice balance. I also really love the way that the outsole gets progressively darker as you move toward the heel of the shoe.

Traction

Every golfer everywhere has the same reaction when they see a spikeless golf shoe: “Am I going to slide around while wearing these?”. When it comes to the UA Charged Curry SL, the answer to that question is the most definitive “no” I can think of. Without a doubt, this is the best traction I have ever had in a spikeless golf shoe, almost to the point of overkill.

I played with a couple of buddies of mine while testing these out and I actually apologized at one point because the shoes left an indention on the green. At first, I thought it was because I’m putting 280 pounds of force into these, but one of those buddies who subsequently bought a pair of these, let me know that he has experienced the same thing. One thing is for sure though, when the traction is so good that you’re to the point of apologizing – it’s getting a 10 out of 10 in that category for me.  

Cushion

On their website Under Armour says “Charged Cushioning® midsole uses compression molded foam for ultimate responsiveness & durability” and I have to agree with that 100 percent. Almost every spikeless shoe on the market feels great when you first try them on, but as you wear them more that initial cushion starts to dwindle. That hasn’t happened to me at all with the UA Charged Curry SL. I’ve worn them for multiple rounds, both walking and riding, and that initial bounciness has remained. These shoes are so comfortable that I have even worn them to throw batting practice for the softball team that I coach.

Support

The UA Charged Curry SL has knocked it out of the park in every category so far, and that pattern will hold here as well. The support of this shoe is borderline shocking for a spikeless golf shoe. Described by Under Armour as a “Lightweight, breathable knit upper with strategic reinforcements to support the golf swing” this shoe offers support that approaches the type of support you would expect from a traditional golf shoe.

With the upper of the UA Charged Curry SL being knit, it also allows someone like me, who has a wider foot, a little extra breathing room in the toe box. Traditionally golf shoes are a tougher fit because of that reason, but I would say that both regular and wide footers should feel comfortable ordering true to size with these.

UA Charged Curry SL Summary

From the breathable upper to the borderline insane traction, the UA Charged Curry SL is simply the best spikeless golf shoe that I’ve ever worn.

The best compliment I can give a golf shoe is to say that I would want to wear it in other places besides the golf course. Not only have I said that about the UA Charged Curry SL, but I have also worn it everywhere from my office, to the softball fields, and out to dinner. I look for reasons to wear these shoes and have continued to find them!