Shoes to put you on line

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April 5, 2007

Putters, used as make-shift plumb bobs, have traditionally been the tool used to read the slope of greens. Now there’s shoe to do it.

Putters, used as make-shift plumb bobs, have traditionally been the tool used to read the slope of greens. Now there’s shoe to do it.
Forward-thinking inventers in Northampton, home of the shoe making industry in the UK, have come up with a pair golf shoes that will give it’s owner a much better read on undulating greens, which in turn should help him cut his number of putts per round.
They have inserted mini spirit levels in the toe of each shoe, the left shoe containing the level indicatimg left to right slope and the right toe air bubble positioned in such a way as to tell the the golfer if he’s putting up or down hill.
For left-handed golfers the spirit levels are reversed.
Explaining the thinking behind their innovative new shoe, a company spokesman said, “One of our designers – a keen golfer who was excited at the build up to last year’s US Masters – was trying to replicate the speed of putts at Augusta on the laminate flooring he had put down in his lounge.
“He then noticed the correlation between the subtle slopes and the spirit level he’d been using.
“He thought it would be a cool idea to fit miniature spirit levels into golf shoe toe caps so a golfer could check the slope he was standing on while addressing a putt.”
The designers of the shoe, to be known as GreenReaders, have applied for a patent and will need to submit their brain-child to The R&A and the USGA for approval.
When approached by Golfmagic.com this week, a spokesman for the R and A said, ” I can confirm we have received samples and these are currently being investigated by the implements committee.
“It’s a novel idea in the light of many current shoe designs claiming to put extra yards on drives and others claiming more stability at impact.
“Shoes, however, that help golfers hole more putts, will have to be seriously considered by our legal boffins and may yet be found to contravene the Rules for elite players, who play on faster, more undulating greens.”
In the meantime GreenReaders went on show for the first time this week at Collingtree Park where a conmpetition was staged to commemorate the British Masters.
They are expected to sell at a RRP of around £104.07