Product Reviews

ECCO Shoes Extremely Comfortable
By BRUCE VITTNER

One of the companies that made a big splash at the PGA Merchandise Show was ECCO shoes. They brought in Julie Inkster and others to be at their booth and extol the virtues of their new golf shoe line, and have recently signed on Aaron Baddeley, Thomas Bjorn and Colin Montgomerie to wear and promote their golf shoe line.

Ecco is Denmark-based shoe company founded by Karl Toosbuy in 1963 and is currently the seventh largest shoe manufacturer in the world. They have always been known for quality and they have carried that over to their golf shoe lines.
     

The shoes are not inexpensive with retail prices from $140 to $400, but they are unique. They opened a subsidiary in Londonderry, New Hampshire in the 1990’s, and Jeff Street, general manager of the Sport Division said, “we represent the highest value, quality, neat-looking comfortable shoes, and we want the folks in the United States to find out about us.”
     

Per Aagren, general manager of ECCO’s golf division said, “2004 was our best year for acceptance and demand for our shoes, and our 2005 line represents further evolution in comfort and technologically-advanced shoes while maintaining fashion consciousness that helps set ECCO apart.”
     

I’ve been wearing them for the past two months and have found them extremely comfortable. Kathy Dyson has been wearing them longer and had this to say. “I wore my new ECCOs for four rounds recently in South Africa. They were so comfortable and passed the foot test-no blisters. No desire to yank them off after the round.” She added, “You have to see the bottoms of the shoes. They are a unique design-almost like an Andy Warhol painting—very retro.”
     

You can get more information about the ECCO line by going to their website at www.eccousa.com. The sizes are European, so make sure you make the adjustment. It will not be long before you find these stylish, comfortable shoes in all the pro shops and golf stores.