Have you ever found that pair of golf shoes that you just love so much that you think about getting them in every color option offered? This must have been on the mind of the R&D department at Nike Golf when developing their new line of golf shoes. The new Nike Air Embellish golf shoes are quite possibly the most innovative shoes to hit the market in 2011. Nike has created a shoe with interchangeable saddle strap colors giving you the opportunity to make that favorite shoe look like four different ones in less than thirty seconds!
The concept seems so simple yet it is nothing I have ever seen before. The Air Embellish comes in either white or black as the base shoe color and then each shoe has two removable, reversible, saddle straps. For the purpose of this review we will be discussing the white shoes that come with the black/white and charcoal gray strap as well as the pink and blue reversible strap.
On the day the shoes arrived I was feeling pretty lazy and really had no intentions of going to the course, but once I removed them from the box my laziness went away. I was so excited to give these a try that I picked my saddle color, blue was on the menu today, laced it up and off to the course I went. I want to start by explaining how the removable saddle straps work. This is truly a simple and easy process that will take you less than 30 seconds to do. Your shoes will come with a saddle already attached and if it’s not the color you want then you simply remove the laces, which are holding the saddle in place, switch the saddle or flip it if the color you want is on the other side, then you place the color you want on the shoe and lace the shoe back up. With in 30 seconds you have a totally different shoe then when you started and you are ready for the links! It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Once I had my saddle color in place I was ready to put these shoes to the real test which is comfort and performance. We will start with comfort because, for me, that is the most important aspect of a golf shoe. I took the Nike Air Embellish to the range, as mentioned, and hit two large bucket of balls. Throughout my time there I thought these shoes were extremely comfortable, however, I have never really felt that the range is a great place to determine true comfort of a shoe so I took these out on the course for more accurate feedback. I should say that I am a rider not a walker on the golf course but I still do a fair amount of walking because there is no telling where my ball will end up. After 18 holes my feet felt great. I am not sure my body would have held up for another 18 but I can assure you my feet would have. I did not experience any foot fatigue or blisters or rubbing on my ankle. The ankle issue has always been a problem for me with shoes. I hate when golf shoes ride a bit too high on my ankle because it always ends up rubbing the skin raw. Even though these are lower on the ankle you still have a ton of support and never once did I feel like I was unstable. I also had no issues with my sock slipping which is another big issue for me. The insole offers great arch support and added extreme comfort throughout my entire round. I would say for comfort these get an A+.
With comfort comes performance and I was once again very pleased with the Nike Air Embellish. I played both an afternoon round and an early morning round with these shoes and not once did I have any issues with performance. We had a very foggy morning here in Florida and the ground was covered in dew, which normally means quite a bit of slipping and sliding on the course, but that was no concern with the Nike Air Embellish as my feet stayed firmly in place the entire time. I had great traction on the ground from start to finish.
Now the I covered the technical aspects of these shoes I can let the girly side of me come out and I can talk about the look. Simply put, I love the look of these shoes! They have the traditional saddle shoe design which is timeless and goes well with any outfit. Even if you are wearing the most trendy outfit you own this style will still complete the look perfectly. I will admit I am not one to frequently play 36 holes but if I did then within seconds I can have the appearance of an entirely new outfit with a quick change of the saddle color and the addition of a jacket. For a fashionista like myself, this is gold! The process of changing the saddle straps is so quick and easy I could actually make the change at the turn if I wanted. On style, these shoes scored extremely high marks.
As a woman who likes her shoes (golf and otherwise) the Nike Air Embellish have opened my eyes to an entirely new world of golf shoe fashion. These shoes truly cover all the bases not only from the look and feel but also from a killer price point. For around $100 you can have four different looks from the same shoe. It can be hard to find one shoe that has comfort, style and performance for $100 let alone a shoe that can offer you four looks in one for the same price. If you are in the market for new golf shoes I highly recommend taking a look at the Nike Air Embellish. They can be found on their website here and other retail stores around the world.
Your Fashion Guru,
GolferGal
Pretty slick concept by Nike. I like it. Very thorough review GG. Well done.
Great price and an idea that I hope can be used in men’s shoes as well.
Great review GG. A nice idea by Nike. I’m pleased to see they didn’t go all show on this one, and they still perform.
Just like THP not to get caught up by the style and focus on the overall product. Way to go.
I love this concept and think that it really makes for a great looking shoe. I’m glad to hear you liked them, great review!
Leave it to Nike to re-invent golf shoe fashion! Great review GG! This is truly a great concept.
This is so innovative and will surely be a hit. Nice work on the review GG!
Fantastic concept that should have been developed years ago! Great job by Nike!! The men’s shoes need the same treatment too!
Great review Morgan. What will they come up with next? That’s a great concept, I wish Liz golfed, lol.
This is NOT a new concept. Lotto and several other companies have been doing it for over a decade for School Cheerleading shoes and other team sports shoes. Leave it to Nike to make it look like they created a new concept!
Tried out about a dozen pairs yesterday and settled on these because of the comfort. Like a glove from the moment I tried them on and glad to hear the news in this review. Only found out about the interchangeable saddles after, really neat.
Love them, bought a pair this fall most comfortable golf shoe I have ever owed.
How can I buy just the saddle piece in other colors?????
Okay – totally color coordinated. I want more saddle strap options…..I’ve looked and don’t see it yet….
I think they want us to buy more shoes but I want more straps! Have cute new skirts that need the complete look. 🙂
Love my comfy shoes. Where can I get more saddle colours?
I love my Nike air embellished golfshoes,? Where can
I buy more saddlestraps?