Callum Tarren’s unusual footwear trick to prevent slipping
2 Min Read
Has five metal spikes on right shoe, but soft spikes everywhere else
Most golfers can only dream of creating the speed and distance that PGA TOUR player Callum Tarren does. For the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season, Tarren ranked 15th in driving distance, hitting it 312.4 yards on average. He was also ranked 12th in Club Head Speed, averaging 121.56 mph per drive.
At those speeds, any loss of stability can have negative effects on balance and ball flight.
Catching up with Tarren at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open, GolfWRX learned that he uses a unique trick to keep his right foot from slipping out from under him.
While most golfers have the same style of spikes throughout the soles of their golf shoes – whether it’s metal spikes or soft spikes – Tarren uses a combination of both in his FootJoy Premiere Series Tarlow shoes.
“In the right shoe, I have metal spikes in the front five [spike slots], and then soft spikes in everything else,” Tarren told GolfWRX. “Just because, when this shoe came out, I was getting a little right foot slip. And then I went to see Dr. Greg Rose at TPI (Titleist Performance Institute), and he said a guy my speed should be wearing metal spikes.
“He said to try metal in the front five,” Tarren continued, “and ever since then I’ve had no slips. Obviously with ground pressures and ground forces, it helps me stay stable through the ball.”
It comes as no surprise that Tarren opts for a black colorway in his golf shoes, either, since he’s known in the equipment world for using custom black Titleist irons and wedges.
According to GolfWRX.com, Tarren uses a combination set of Titleist T100 (3-iron), Titleist 620 CB (4-iron) and Titleist 620 MB (5-9) irons, all with a black PVD finish. He also uses Titleist SM9 Jet Black wedges (46, 52, 56 and 60 degrees).