Tyler Stuart, John Krosky and Matt Mockus disliked golfing in dorky, uncomfortable shoes. Why couldn’t golf shoes be as cool as and feel as good as their favorite sneakers? The trio of friends, established entrepreneurs with a history of inventing solutions for outdoor sports, realized they needed to find a way to add traction to the soles of the sneakers. The solution is Golfkicks, a patent-pending kit that turns almost any pair of shoes into golf shoes, as long as the sole is rubber at least a half-inch thick. Maybe you are a Nike person or wear only Adidas or shop at Sneakers “R” Us. Maybe you wear orthopedic shoes. No problem. They can be your favorite golf shoes.
The founders of Golfkicks are an impressive team. Tyler, CEO, is a serial entrepreneur with several successful startups and a passion for design; John, Chief Revenue Officer, specializes in advertising, management and building customer relationships through social media; and Matt, Executive Officer and Promoter, excels in lead generation and customer acquisition across mobile, tablet, and desktop platforms.
The affordable Golfkicks kit comes with 20 spikes made of nylon and rubber in a variety of colors; a small Phillips-head screwdriver; a Sharpie to mark the soles of your shoes for pilot holes; and a 5/32 pilot tool. You will also need a hex handle for the pilot tool and Shoe Goo or other strong glue. The one kit will transform shoes for men, women and children.
Follow the easy instructions and you will have golf shoes in a matter of minutes. On the flat spots of the sole, place four cleats on the toe area and four on the heel—just like the cleats on golf shoes are arranged. Mark the spots, make pilot holes and screw in the Golfkicks. You have a new pair of golf shoes!
Golfkicks are meant to be permanent but can be removed. If they are, there will be small holes in the rubber, but (1) the holes do not go all the way through the sole and (2) the rubber will “heal” and be barely visible.
The Golfkicks team are environmentally responsible. They partner with an eco-friendly injection molding company that minimizes waste. The cleats are made from bioresins and recycled material (including mangled golf carts and old tees), and the packaging materials are recyclable. And old sneakers can retire to a life on a golf course rather than get buried in the sneaker cemetery—the landfill.
While Golfkicks are for golfers who want to be stylish and have happy feet on the course, customers are using them for yard work, mowing the lawn and paintball games.
