Since it started designing some of the best golf shoes in 2016, Under Armour has always cast itself as a the 'performance' brand in the market, delivering grip and support through the foot on the golf course. It's a position it should rightly cast itself in with its most recent iterations coming out as one of the best spiked golf shoes from and out and out performance perspective in our testing.
So, how was the brand going to go about bettering itself in 2024? Well, the all-new Drive Pro - and its sister spikeless model the Drive Pro SL- have been redesigned from the ground up with extensive help from world renowned biomechanist JJ Rivet as well as the brand’s most high profile Tour player Jordan Spieth. Two years of research and development led to what it's calling a Swing Support System - otherwise known as S3. S3 covers everything from traction and the midsole all the way up to a new lacing system developed by the Under Armour team. Indeed this Drive Pro is the exact shoe Jordan Spieth will be wearing on Tour for the foreseeable future, with no changes to the one you'll be able to pick up off the shelf.
It's a comprehensive system, one I'll briefly touch on as I go through this review, but the topline news is that I simply cannot fault the performance and feel of these golf shoes on the course. The S3 system works faultlessly to keep the foot planted on the ground while offering the foot the support it needs to move in the shoe while also supporting it in key areas you need to. It's a fallacy that you want your foot to be totally 'locked-in' during the golf swing. What you actually want is the foot to be supported in areas it needs it through the swing, but with the ability to move where it needs to. Under Armour's work with JJ Rivet and the wider R&D team has paid dividends.
I've criticized some of Under Armour's previous models - including the Hovr Drive 2 that this shoe replaces - for being a touch on the firm side when you first put them on. Thankfully, they've been listening to feedback on this and worked hard to improve the new Hovr midsole - which is part of the S3 system. The new HOVR midsole utilises softer, energy returning foam on the medial side of the foot and paired that with firmer, more supportive materials on the lateral side of the foot to support it through the movement of the swing. It's noticeably softer in certain areas than on previous Under Armour models but still not the softest feeling shoe in the world.
Under Armour decided to utilise nine spikes on each foot this time around, with the toe spiked moved slightly more centrally to optimise grip. It also went about designing its own S3 spike especially for the Drive Pro. The S3 spike makes up four of the nine spikes - the other five are the new Soft Spike Tour Flex Pro - and were developed to help with rotational resistance. JJ Rivet wanted these spikes turned precisely 10° clockwise to hit a previse angle of slip that he wanted to resist. The results are comprehensive. The shoes offered me truly assured footing on every possible lie while also not feeling too 'locked-in' it easily matches if not pips the likes of the FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon and Nike Air Zoom Tour Victory 3 to that overall sensation of assured grip.
The final part of the S3 system is the new Lockdown Lacing System as system that - as Under Armour describes it - gives biomechanically correct support throughout the entirety of the foot, from the lateral ball to the medial arch. As is the whole construction of this shoe, I found this system to also work brilliantly at locking my foot in place where I need it, but also giving it room to move where it naturally needs to through the swing and as I walk.
Despite all of this technology, support and grip through the foot, Under Armour has managed to keep the Drive Pro an incredibly lightweight golf shoe at just over 12oz per shoe. That's not to say it feel flimsy - quite the opposite in fact - but it will mean for a much more comfortable walk than some of its heavier rivals, with less foot and leg fatigue after 18 holes.
Much like on the Drive Pro SL spikeless model, Under Armour has opted to shout about its S3 system by printing out some of its key features of the side of the shoe. I'm really not a fan of this and I think it distracts from what is a decent looking silhouette. Under Armour do make some really good looking golf shoes - just take one look at the Phantom Charged SL - so I'm not sure how the design team thought this would be a good idea. My only other issue with the shoe is that the quality of the upper materials don't quite meet that of its direct rivals, which offer softer, more premium materials throughout the upper. This seems fair though considering the reasonable £150 asking price and that, ultimately, the quality of the upper materials doesn't affect how well these shoes perform.
I will say this is a classic looking spiked golf shoe. Not in the sense of a brogue style like the FootJoy Premiere Packard or G/FORE Gallivanter, but in the sense of a athletic spiked golf shoe like the Adidas ZG23 or FootJoy HyperFlex Carbon. I would say these two aforementioned shoes are a touch more eye catching than the Drive Pro, but that's all down to personal preference. This is by no means the most comfortable or most premium spiked shoe on the market, but if performance is your number one priority, the Drive Pro should be right at the top of your wish list this year.
