FootJoy Packard Golf Shoe

While the golf shoe world has certainly evolved into more contemporary and athletic styles, plenty of players still prefer a classic dressy and rigid design. If there’s one brand that has led the industry for decades in that category, it’s easily FootJoy. The FootJoy Packard is one of their latest premium classic models intended to also deliver impressive performance.

The Looks

If classic dressy is the vibe you’re going for, the FootJoy Packard certainly delivers. Players that have always preferred the looks of the FootJoy Icon or Classics will definitely find the Packard to be more in their wheelhouse. While there are a handful of standard color options available (interestingly, brown is not one of them), the Packard can also be ordered with custom color combos should you want something to pair well with that whacky pair of pants you have in your closet or your favorite team, school, etc.

Comfort Level

As wild as it sounds, I believe comfort is a really subjective characteristic. I think it’s one that people can easily agree on, but what makes a shoe comfortable to someone will vary amongst personal preferences. It’s important to keep that in mind for this section. In my opinion, I didn’t find the FootJoy Packard to be all that comfortable. I know a lot of the focus is making it a more comfortable shoe that keeps up with the modern market while maintaining classic vibes, but I much preferred the various Icon platforms that came before.

The Packard’s “OrthoLite EcoPlush FitBed” does provide a more pleasant experience on your foot, but I just felt like the shoe didn’t provide great support overall. It’s tough to explain, but I’ll try. It’s like you’re standing higher up on a stable platform, but the shoe’s upper is almost too low profile so I didn’t feel “contained” on top of the shoe. Throughout 18 holes, this made for a somewhat unpleasant experience to me. By the end of my round, the pain in my feet was different than you’d typically expect. It was more in the top of my foot from trying to control my balance.

Could I walk 18 holes in them? Of course. Would the Packard be my first choice for walking with all of the other options out there these days? Not at all. This is just my own experience, however. Others may totally disagree with me, because like I said, defining comfort can be quite subjective.

On-Course Performance

As I always say in this section of a shoe review, comfort will play a huge role in performance. If you don’t get along with the shoe from a comfort perspective, it’s going to be an uphill battle getting optimal performance out of that shoe. But as I pointed out – comfort being subjective – it’s still worth pointing out some additional notes of the FootJoy Packard. In terms of traction/grip, FootJoy did a great job with the Packard. The 360º traction pattern provides multi-directional grip that will support all types of swings. The “traction elements” vary in hardness so as to accommodate a variety of different surfaces. In short, the Packard has aggressive traction and slipping definitely won’t be an issue if you’re able to control your balance.

Final Thoughts – FootJoy Packard Golf Shoe

The Packard is a tough one for me. On one hand, I feel like FootJoy is doing a good job making a classically-inspired golf shoe that’s more contemporary. On the other hand, I feel like there’s a degree of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Maybe that’s just me. I’m sure there are plenty of players that have been swearing by the Packard. If this style is your preference, it’s definitely a good looking premium golf shoe. What I will say is that I always thought the various FootJoy icon platforms (special shout out to the 1857s, man those were nice – they were also $750 when they came out) provided great performance and a rigid stability, but I feel like the Packard just doesn’t have that same level of structure.

Let it be known, I’m far from a FootJoy hater. I have MANY pairs, including MyJoys, that I think are tremendous shoes. For whatever reason, the Packard and I just didn’t get along. It happens. I will certainly continue to keep trying out different FootJoys in the future as the brand has a proven track record in knowing what it takes to deliver a strong golf shoe.

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