I'm thoroughly enjoying this recent trend of popular sneaker designs being made into golf shoes. Some personal favorites that come to mind are the Nike Air Jordan Low 1 Gs, New Balance 997 SL and that's only scratching the surface.
Of course, there's still a place for classic, performance golf shoes (many of which are still the best golf shoes in the game). But for a casual 9 holes, there's no better feeling than chucking on one of your favorite sneaker designs and heading over to the course. As soon as I unboxed the Air Pegasus ‘89 G, there was a new favourite in town.
This is one of Nike's classic silhouettes and it's been lovingly recreated as a golf shoe. While it's a near stitch for stitch remake of the original shoe, it's not just a sneaker with a golf outsole slapped onto the bottom—it's been designed specifically with golf in mind...
So with that in mind, how does it perform?
The wet rubber traction delivers superb multi directional grip on all types of terrain. Though, I wouldn't wear these in properly wet conditions; spiked golf shoes will always perform better. This is largely due to the fact the shoes are white with suede. The outsole will keep its grip if the ground underfoot is slightly damp.
The Air Pegasus '89 G has suede in various places across the shoe, including the Nike swoosh on either side. The upper is a composite of a number of different materials that I felt offered both practical advantages as well as some nice contrasts. Crucially, there's some synthetic leather overlays which give the shoes full waterproof protection. Nonetheless, I'd still spray some protector on the suede areas before you start using them, just to be safe.
These are one of my favorite spikeless Nike golf shoes I've tested so far. Why? The underfoot is remarkably soft. I even found the Nike Air Zoom Victory Tour 3 and the Nike Air Max 1 86 OG slightly firm underfoot. The Pegasus ‘89 has a hidden Zoom Air unit in the heel which contributes to this softness and sense of rebound as you walk.
Like the Air Max 1 86, the heel area of the Pegasus '89 is noticeably high. This takes getting used to but still offers good support as you transition through the swing. Again, this is nowhere near as supportive as some of the best spikeless golf shoes aimed solely at performance. But that's not what we're looking at here...
On to what this shoe is really all about: style.
I'll be honest, I think my enjoyment of this sneaker-like shoe was compounded by the stylish white/platinum/black colorway. The aesthetic is ideal for summer, the colorway matches with much of my wardrobe and it's incredibly versatile off the course too.
On the course or out of the town, these barely resemble a golf shoe so you can get away with them in nearly any environment. And with an RRP of $120.00 this is a very reasonably priced offering, especially when considering how much use you'll be able to get out of it. There are a lot of Nike golf shoes to choose from nowadays but, if it were my money, these are the ones I’d go for in 2024.
Thanks to their gorgeous aesthetic, extra softness and cushioning underfoot and the low profile but grippy outsole—the Air Pegasus ‘89 G has secured its place atop my favorite Nike Golf shoes.
