Prologue: The Doubt That Ignited the Question
From day one, we knew skeptics would raise the question: Is this a gimmick? A square-toed shoe for golf looked unconventional. Yet all innovation looks odd until it proves itself. Our founding story is rooted in that doubt — and how we turned it into validation.
The Founding Story: Where Golf Began the Conversation
In the earliest conversations among the founders, one truth stood out: almost all golf shoes were built in the same outdated mold. Narrow forefoot, rigid midsole, heavy structure — none of which aligned with how a real foot is supposed to move. We challenged each other: why should foot-shaped design follow fashion when performance was the goal?
We often say that your foot is like a car chassis — no matter how powerful the engine, if the foundation is wobbly or misaligned, the energy is lost in inefficiency. That analogy became central in nearly every product development meeting.
Over time, we refined that analogy:
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The foot is the frame.
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The toes are like the suspension arms that help adapt to the terrain.
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If you cramp or squeeze them, you lose mechanical advantage.
We wanted shoes that worked with the foot and not against it.
The Golf Era: Testing the Ground Connection
Golf was our proving ground. Every swing begins with ground force — a push into the turf that returns upward through the chain of motion. Proudly, we say that many shoes are made not to let the foot use the ground the way it’s supposed to.
By adjusting foot geometry — freeing the toes, expanding the base, and stabilizing the midfoot — we saw measurable differences in player performance. In controlled testing (such as with SuperSpeed protocols), golfers wearing SQAIRZ recorded +4.2 mph club speed and nearly +17 yards carry over conventional shoes. That kind of difference comes simply from letting the foot do what it wants to do, rather than forcing it into an unnatural shape.
Tour pros and amateurs alike began remarking: “My foot stayed planted. I felt more connected to the ground.” That sentence echoes the tone from David Savarese’s blog in which he says: “My foot stayed planted, and I felt more connected to the ground.”
We also collaborated with Sir Nick Faldo on a signature model, where his feedback about balance, leather selection, and overall design led to the creation of the NF1990MO. This shoe with only 1,000 pairs made worldwide celebrated Sir Nick Faldo’s legacy with his back to back wins in 1990.
Recognition followed in golf media: Most Stable Golf Shoe (MyGolfSpy), Best Golf Shoes (Golf Digest), Best Performing Golf Shoe (Sports Illustrated), and repeated reader’s choice mentions in Golf News Net — all giving the brand legitimacy beyond marketing hype.
The LT Series was our next milestone: we stripped away weight while preserving all the mechanical benefits. Lighter materials, updated midsole and outsole design, and breathability upgrades combined to produce a golf shoe that feels like a walking shoe but performs like a tour shoe.
We knew then that if a lightweight golf shoe could not compromise stability or force transfer, the same principles would hold true in other sports where ground connection matters.
Expanding to the Diamond: Baseball and Softball Breakthroughs
We didn’t wait long after the LT success to explore baseball. Cleats had long been an afterthought — spikes attached to old sneaker tooling. We saw the same mistakes as in golf: shoes restricting foot mechanics, limiting how well players could drive into the ground.
At testing facilities like the Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center, the gains were immediate and measurable:
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Exit velocity up by +3.5 mph on average
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Sprint times shaved by up to 0.38 seconds
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Balance and stability metrics improved by ~60%
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Pitchers adding +2.1 mph in velocity in controlled trials
More than 25 Major League players adopted SQAIRZ GFP™ in that first rapid-growth window. Our roster includes notables like Ramón Laureano, Liam Hendriks, and Rachel Garcia, among many more rising stars across majors, minors, and college.
At youth events, the response was even more visceral. At Diamond Allegiance in Temecula and HSBNC (High School Baseball National Championship), kids tried SQAIRZ GFP™ mid-event and visibly changed their approach: stronger push-offs, cleaner footwork, improved balance. Coaches measured jumps in exit speed and smoother pivots right there on site.
Softball was next. Many of the same principles apply: the circle, the base running, the drive off the plate. Athletes like Rachel Garcia embraced the brand, confirming that ground force advantages translate across diamond sports.
Perfect Game: A Milestone Collaboration
Perfect Game is arguably the highest-profile amateur baseball platform in the country. The collaboration resulted in The Palm, a limited-edition SQAIRZ cleat built entirely on the GFP™ (Ground Force Platform) foundation.
Now, youth and high school players compete on the same footwear platform trusted by MLB pros.
Final Validation: The Players Speak
None of this reads as gimmicky when MLB and MiLB players validate it day after day. When pitcher after pitcher shows +2.1 mph velocity, when hitters jump exit speeds without altering swing mechanics, when high schoolers feel more planted and coaches measure real gains — that becomes clear evidence, not hype.
SQAIRZ holds these key official partnerships:
Each relationship reinforces that this is real performance.
Full Circle Back to Golf
And through it all, golf remains our foundation. The biomechanics we proved there—ground force, foot geometry, energy return—carry forward into every sport we touch. The tools that helped golfers gain yards now help pitchers add mph, sluggers add exit velocity, and youth players find consistency.
So yes — skepticism is fair. But after countless independent studies, athlete testimonials, and official sport-level partnerships, the label “gimmick” no longer fits. This began as a golf insight. It’s grown into a validated performance platform across diamonds and beyond.