Carbon fiber golf shoes help Im Sung-jae win his first PGA

Before the Honda Classic that began in the last week of February, South Korean golferIm Sung-jae, who won the Rookie of the Year for the 2018~2019 PGA tournament, decided to take a risk: He changed his golf shoes. Finding the perfect golf shoes is as important for golfers as finding the right golf clubs because they spend half the day on the field. That’s way few golfers would want to experiment with their shoes during the season.

Luckily for Im, it has turned out to be a change for the better. With a total score of six under par, 274, he won the PGA TOUR for the first time, which has long been his dream. He is now leading the FedEx Cup with 1,458 points after he was ranked third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The new shoes that Im wore were “PRO/SL carbon edition,” a new model of FJ. “PRO/SL carbon edition,” which is an upgrade from FJ’s flagship model “PRO/SL,” has carbon fiber in the midsole.

Carbon fiber is often considered “a dream new material,” weighing only a fourth of steel yet having 10 times more strength. According to the global market research firm “Research and Markets,” the global carbon fiber market is expected to be worth 12.49 billion U.S. dollars by 2027. Although most used by the aerospace industry, the new material is also used to make sports equipment such as snowboards, skis, fishing rods and rockets. In terms of golf, it has been primarily used for golf clubs.

Im Sung-jae was thrilled to have found the new carbon fiber shoes because of his experience at the Korn Ferry Tour. “Not only does the Korn Ferry Tour have very winding fairways but it also has many mountain courses, so I wanted something more comfortable,” the 22-year-old said. “I love the new SPO/SL carbon edition because it holds and gets back into shape very quickly. You can feel that it has exceptional grip, too.”

Along with the carbon edition shoes, FJ launched the “carbon apparel collection” that anti-static electricity and anti-bacterial.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com