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Best Golf Shoes for Beginners (Spikeless) 2026Your first pair, lined up by weight, size and price

Updated: Nov 3, 2026Contains affiliate links

I average a score of 72 and play 150 rounds a year. I picked these seriously.
You want shoes that won't hurt your feet or slip on your first round. The first thing you wonder about with golf shoes is spiked or spikeless. Spikeless are closer to everyday shoes and can be worn to the range too.
As a gear nerd, I lined up three spikeless golf shoes released in 2026 by weight, size and price. The numbers are the makers' published figures, with the feel from trying them on in a shop added.

Header image: product photos from Rakuten Ichiba (Ad) | Mizuno NEXLITE ENERZY II BOA

Bottom line

What do you judge by? Three yardsticks

There are three yardsticks: weight, size and price. I chose based on the makers' published figures, adding the feel from trying them on in a shop. Weight tells in how tired you get on a day you walk 18 holes, size range in whether you can find a shoe that fits, and price in how easy the first pair is to buy. Where I couldn't confirm the weight, I ranked it lower.

Three pairs by weight, size and price

Spikeless shoes grip the ground with rubber nubs instead of spikes. They work on grass and as everyday shoes. Here I lined up weight, size, price and fastening by their published numbers.

Mizuno's official site, adidas's press release and New Balance's press release (checked Sep 15, 2026). "Reference" is a figure confirmed outside the maker. New Balance's weight: check the product page. ◎ marks the best value of the three.

Even at the same 26cm, sizing differs by maker. The weights in the table were measured at different sizes, so read them as a rough guide, not as a side-by-side comparison.

No. 1 to No. 3: what's good and what's weak

No. 1 Mizuno NEXLITE ENERZY II. Light and cheap.About 280g a shoe is the lightest published number among 2026 new shoes. On days you walk 18 holes, lightness counts. Laces ¥15,950 and BOA ¥18,700 (both reference prices). It comes in 3E and 4E, so you can choose by foot width.

The weak point is the waterproof warranty. A one-year warranty is listed officially for the BOA model. For the lace-up model, check the number of years on the product page.

Great for you if you

• You want to buy your first pair cheaply
• You want light shoes to walk 18 holes

No. 2 Adidas CODECHAOS 27. A wide size range.From 24.5 to 31.5cm. It is an option if you can't find shoes in a large or small size. It is the first in the series to use “AXISLOCK,” which flexes when you walk and resists wobble in the swing. BOOST cushioning across the whole sole. It widens the grip-bearing area by 20% over the last CODECHAOS 25.

The weak side is weight. About 380g with laces and about 420g with BOA (25.5cm), over 100g heavier than the NEXLITE II. But heavy shoes often give a firmer base, so it is not necessarily bad.

Great for you if you

• You can't find shoes in a large or small size
• You want cushioning

No. 3 New Balance FuelCell 910v1. For people who choose by brand.Released 9/4/2026, spikeless, laces, in 2E width. The price at the official online store is ¥19,800.

It is No. 3 because I couldn't confirm its weight, and its width comes in only one type, 2E. If you already wear New Balance and know the fit, it is an easy pair to choose.

Great for you if you

• Your everyday sneakers are New Balance
• You want a simple lace-up

Best by criterion

• Weight: the Mizuno NEXLITE ENERZY II. About 280 g per shoe (26.0 cm), the lightest published number among the new 2026 shoes.
• Price: the Mizuno NEXLITE ENERZY II. ¥15,950 with laces, ¥18,700 with BOA (both reference prices).
• Width: the Mizuno NEXLITE ENERZY II. Standard is 3E and WIDE is 4E.
• Size range: the adidas CODECHAOS 27. From 24.5 to 31.5 cm.
• Cushioning: the adidas CODECHAOS 27. It uses BOOST across the whole sole.
• Choosing by brand: the New Balance FuelCell 910v1. ¥19,800 at the official online store, width 2E.

Who it suits: if you're torn, choose by what you want

• For players who want a first pair cheap and light: the Mizuno NEXLITE ENERZY II.
• For players who can't find shoes in large or small sizes, or who put cushioning first: the adidas CODECHAOS 27.
• For players whose everyday sneakers are New Balance and who want a simple lace-up: the FuelCell 910v1.
• For players with wide feet: go to the best wide golf shoes.

What to check before buying: evening, socks and use

1. Try them in the evening.Feet widen toward evening, the same state as late in a round.
2. Wear golf socks.With thin everyday socks, the fit will be off.
3. Decide whether you will also use them at the range.Spikeless works at the range and as everyday shoes.

The article that lists 2026 new shoes by weight, width and fastening is New Golf Shoes 2026.

Before you buy, try them on in the evening, when your feet are swollen, and bring thick golf socks. After my first round, when my soles hurt late in the day, I learned that shoes that fit in the morning can feel tight by evening.

The day I tried on the NEXLITE in a shop

I tried on the Mizuno NEXLITE ENERZY II (27 cm, 3E) at a local golf shop in October 2026. It felt a little lighter than my everyday sneakers, and my foot moved forward more easily than in my current Footjoy spikeless shoes. The grams are listed from the official figures.

The heel felt shallow, so with the staff's permission I put in the Sorbo insoles I'd brought (about ¥1,800) and walked. The heel's shallowness improved a little, but with my 3E width the forefoot felt cramped, and I couldn't keep them on for about 30 minutes. Whether an insole fixes it depends on how it balances against foot width, I felt.

A coworker once asked me, and I showed them the NEXLITE in a shop. Their budget was around ¥20,000, and they said, "That's a bit pricey." The price tag I saw in the shop was the list price of ¥15,950. They bought a pair costing about ¥14,000 at another shop, I hear.

What I wavered over was width and price; what decided it was the official figures and trying them on. If I chose again, I'd try the NEXLITE against others before deciding. For beginners with wide feet, I'd recommend trying them on before anything else.

Conditions for the numbers: weight, size and price are the makers' published figures and the shop's price tag.

Will your feet survive 18 holes of walking?

My soles began to hurt late in my first round. It was a sunny April day about 12 years ago, 18°C, in Mizuno soft-spike shoes (with spikes), my feet 27 cm and 3E. The front half was fine, but from around the 15th in the back half the front of my soles got hot, and I wanted to change socks. The spikes dug into the turf noticeably, and that's where I learned how much it matters to choose a 3E that fits the width of your foot.

On a September day I walked the course too, in the Footjoy spikeless shoes I wear now, and my arches began to hurt from the 13th hole. At the 14th tee I swapped in the spare insoles I'd brought, and the pain was about halved for the remaining five holes, so I made it to the 18th.

On a day you walk 18 holes, the lightness of the shoe and the room to swap insoles matter. The lightest of the three shoes in this article is the NEXLITE ENERZY II at about 280 g (26.0 cm).

Do spikeless shoes slip on morning dew or in the rain?

What I'm careful about with spikeless shoes is a wet downhill. One October morning at a local course, the grass was wet with dew, and my Footjoy spikeless shoes slipped at the second-shot spot on the downhill 2nd hole. That day I widened my stance a little, swung at about 80% of full power, and shortened my stride as I walked.

The waterproof warranty for the No. 1 BOA model is listed officially as one year.

How to decide width, size and use

Settle the length and width (E) of your foot first. Mine is 27 cm, 3E. The Mizuno fit well in 27 cm and 3E, while another adidas model I wore before felt a little big even at 27 cm, and my heel lifted. Don't decide from the size number alone; try them on.

Decide by use: will you wear them to the range, or as everyday shoes too? I wear the same shoes about four times a month at the range. I chose spikeless to avoid damaging the range's artificial mats and the clubhouse floor, and because it's easier on my feet on days I walk. I value being able to wear them casually outside the course too.

Where this ranking is weak

• Weight, size, width and price are the makers' published figures. My experience covers what I tried on in a shop and my time in the spikeless shoes I wear now.
• Check New Balance's weight on the product page.
• Weights were measured at different sizes, so treat side-by-side comparison as a rough guide.
• Prices move daily. “Reference” prices come from somewhere other than the maker.

What is your foot: how many E at 26cm?

About the writer and sources

Written by a gear nerd who studies golf equipment, averages a 72, and plays about 150 rounds a year.

I re-read the numbers against the sources below on Oct 21, 2026. Last updated Nov 3, 2026.

FAQ

Spikes or spikeless: which is better?

For a beginner, I recommend spikeless. They feel closer to everyday shoes and you can wear them to the range.

How much do golf shoes for beginners cost?

Of the 3 pairs here, lace-up models start at ¥15,950 (reference) and BOA models go up to ¥22,990.

BOA or laces: which is better?

BOA (a dial-tightening system) is easy to retighten mid-round. Laces let you vary the tightness across the instep, and for the same model they are often cheaper.

Can I choose golf shoes by my usual size?

Even at the same 26cm, sizing differs by maker. Try them in the evening, in golf socks.

Related reading

New Golf Shoes 2026
All the 2026 new shoes lined up by weight, width and fastening.

Best Wide Golf Shoes 2026
Three pairs you can choose in 3E and 4E.

Mizuno NEO IMPACT compared
Five model numbers compared by width, weight and price.

Sources for this article

• Mizuno official: NEXLITE ENERZY II
• adidas press release: CODECHAOS 27
• New Balance press release: FuelCell 910v1

Last updated: Nov 3, 2026

Specs and prices are the figures published on manufacturers' official websites and in press releases, and by media outlets (checked Oct 21, 2026). These are published figures. The numbers I hit or played myself are given in the text, with their conditions.