Peak Performance: Turbocharge Your Swing Speed

Welcome back to our Peak Performance series, where we take a closer look at the five key advantages SQAIRZ shoes deliver: a wider foot base, better balance, increased swing speed, greater distance, and improved comfort. Each provides an essential link in the chain of movement that produces your strongest game—from the ground up.  

Beginners often focus on their upper body during a golf swing because they believe that speed comes entirely from arm strength and position. This neglect of the lower body can lead to unstable movements that are riddled with inefficiencies, inconsistent from one swing to the next, and may even cause you to stumble off your feet.  

As we discussed in our first posts in this series, the secret to adding power to your swing is maximizing the ground force connection that transfers the kinetic energy you create with the ground into your swing while maintaining good balance. The better your ground force connection, the faster the clubhead travels, the more energy is transferred to the ball at impact, and the farther the ball will go.   

An independent study conducted by Golf Laboratories Inc. showed that, compared to other shoes, SQAIRZ added an average of 2.2 miles per hour in swing speed and 8.8 yards in distance off the tee. How exactly are these impressive results accomplished? Let’s break it down with a step-by-step analysis of how SQAIRZ shoes promote a more powerful swing throughout the entire sequence of movement.    

Starting Position 

During your swing set-up, your weight should be evenly distributed between your heels and toes and nearly centered between your lead foot—the left foot for right-handed golfers—and your trail foot. Approximately 55% of your weight on your lead foot is widely considered ideal, though you may adjust for different shots. Wearing shoes with a rounded toe box can squeeze your toes into unnatural angles, throwing off your balance before you’ve made a move. The patented squared toe box of SQAIRZ shoes allows your toes to spread into proper alignment, providing a stable platform that gives you a good feel for the ground and a clear sense of the pressure points in your feet.  

The Backswing 

As you swing the club back, roughly 80% of your weight shifts to your trail foot, most of it on your heel. SQAIRZ’s heel stabilizer supports this change in pressure while the premium upper material and patented Sta-Put laces maintain a snug, comfortable fit. These features prevent your foot from accidentally rolling or sliding inside the shoe—frequent problems with lightweight, sneaker-like footwear that lack proper structure.   

The Downswing 

Your weight shifts to the lead foot as the club descends during your downswing—up to 80% of your weight, with the majority of pressure driving into your heel. Your lower body begins this transition just before the upper body, so timing is critical here, as is stability, which is the result of good balance combined with postural control. With the widest base under the ball of the foot of any golf shoe, SQAIRZ delivers not only superior stability but the greatest possible ground coverage. This maximizes the power generated by your energy exchange with the ground as the club accelerates downward. 

Moment of Impact 

Depending on your technique, your trail heel may come up at the moment of impact with the ball or just after, your toes maintaining contact with the ground to keep you balanced. SQAIRZ’s strategically placed spikes help you control the rotation of your feet and ensure reliable traction even in the most challenging course conditions.   

Putting SQAIRZ to the test 

Terry Hashimoto, co-founder of the BodiTrak pressure mapping system, performed independent tests to determine the impact of wearing SQAIRZ shoes throughout the movements that comprise your golf swing. During the backswing, he found that SQAIRZ shoes kept the center of pressure in the trail heel more consistently than any comparative shoe. He also found that the initial shift to the trail heel occurred earlier in the backswing. This in turn increased acceleration during the transition back to the lead side, producing “impressive distance gains.” These gains were further supported by an improved range of motion in the knees, shoulders and hips, captured by 3D imaging in his tests. 

It's often said that, in golf, your toes are the brakes, your heels are the accelerators, and your ankles are the propulsion system. Scientific testing of SQAIRZ shoes demonstrates that the right shoes are the turbochargers that will have a measurable and significant impact on your swing speed—and how satisfyingly far you’ll smash that ball.  

Swing back for the next post in this series to discover other ways you can achieve greater distance with SQAIRZ shoes.