What Is The Downside To Non-cleated Golf Shoes?

Golf shoes lacking cleats lose traction. Since cleats help anchor shoes in grass or dirt playing surfaces, cleatless shoes increase the risk of foot instability, balance problems, faulty biomechanics, poor swing mechanics and reduced power. Cleats provide a sense of physical security, which in turn enhances efficiency and sureness -- important aspects to a game as nerve-racking as golf can be.

Surface Adaptability

Golf is one of the few field sports in which the terrain can change quickly and vividly over the course of a single competition. Grass, dirt, sand, pebbles, peat moss and mud are all possible surfaces, and because golf requires controlled body positioning and movement no matter what you are standing on, cleats should automatically be part of your gear. Cleats grip turf and dirt like teeth, preventing excessive lateral motion. Without cleats, a shoe's sole provides little purchase, especially on a steep slope or hill, in a mud pit or in bunker sand, according to the Golf Course Superintendents Association Of America.

Biomechanics

If your feet are not secure, your upper jointed anatomy -- ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and even your neck -- is similarly destabilized. Your posture is rooted in your feet, and because your posture shapes your golf swing, shoes without cleats are biomechanical liabilities. You plant your feet according to weight and balance, the distance of your desired target and the amount of power you anticipate delivering. These delicate mental and physical calibrations literally work from the ground up: Your feet align everything. The front foot in your swing is especially important to proper tee shots since it acts as an anchor against which your body can generate power for your swing; a cleatless shoe is a less sturdy anchor.

Initial Energy Transfer

Golf physics starts with your feet. If your feet slip, you lose that critical, initial generation of force. During your swing, energy transfers from one object to another, beginning down low. When you stand poised over the ball, your feet and legs are loaded with static energy. As you begin your backswing, this static or stored energy turns into kinetic energy. Your body gains torque, or twisting energy, then transfers kinetic energy into your club. When you drive downward, momentum helps you transfer kinetic energy from the club head into the ball. After arcing upward and forward, the ball descend with gravitational energy.

Quality Of Play

Smooth soles can create a feeling of hydroplaning, even on grass that isn't all that wet. It takes only a thin film of moisture for grass to become slippery, and smooth soles behave like bald tires on a wet road, according to School For Champions' scientific treatment of hydroplaning and friction. Grass blades are smooth, so another smooth surface, like a cleatless shoe's sole, cannot grip it. Very wet grass can be especially hazardous if you don't have cleats, and deep mud or sand can engulf your foot, further reducing your ability to maintain control.