Earlier this year, Jordan Brand reimagined its golf lineup with the introduction of a new “flagship” golf shoe, the Air Rev.

A $280 golf shoe with the “latest” and “greatest” tech.

More like a $280 flop.

After spending some time playing in the Jordan Air Rev, I can confidently say two things:

What I reported in my initial article (which I was flamed for, by the way) was correct, and secondly, that this is the worst golf shoe I’ve personally worn this year.

Give me a second to explain. It ain’t pretty.

The Bad

So, why is the Jordan Air Rev so low on my list? There are three big reasons why: construction, traction and the Flight Lock technology.

Let’s start with construction.

Cheap Construction

If I gave you the Jordan Air Rev and asked you to guess the price based on feel, I estimate most of you would guess somewhere in the $100-$130 range. In no world should a synthetic leather shoe like this one cost more than the premium products you’re getting from FootJoy, adidas and PAYNTR.

It’s one of the cheapest-feeling upper materials I’ve seen in a while. It creases in all the wrong spots, and hours of wear left my pair looking like they’ve been worn for months.

On top of this, the hardware (the buckle) on the strap is made from plastic, not metal. Seriously? If I’m paying nearly $300 for a shoe, I expect the details to feel premium and polished. I don’t feel like that’s asking too much.

Not to mention, Jordan Brand is saving money elsewhere on the shoe. The lacing system (a dial system) is not an actual BOA dial, meaning JB didn’t pay the hefty licensing fee for that part of the shoe, even though multiple NIKE shoes utilize the real thing. Another odd choice, in my opinion.

Traction

I cannot understand why Jordan/NIKE insists on creating their own spikes rather than using something from Softspikes or the likes. Obviously, the “spikes” on the Jordan Air Rev aren’t replaceable, meaning once they’ve worn down, the shoes are toast.

Oh, and they aren’t particularly effective, either. It was fine in dry conditions, for the most part. But a little moisture starts to really impact the grip negatively. If you generate a lot of force and torque, I doubt your swing will be compatible with this outsole.

Flight Lock Technology

The Flight Lock tech is the big selling point for the Jordan Air Rev. It’s the tech story. The foundational pillar of its performance. Yet, in every scenario I threw at it, I didn’t notice any performance difference.

I didn’t notice the Flight Lock tech at all. I couldn’t even feel it. No matter how hard I tried.

The idea is fairly simple. The shoe has a strap. On the lateral side of the strap, there’s a slot to slide in a Air Zoom unit (for your trail foot) and a Formula23 insert for the lead side. In theory, you should be able to push against the Air Zoom unit in the trail foot to help you get to your lead side, where your impact is cushioned by the Formula23 foam.

The problem? Any movement I made in the shoes caused the straps to bow outwards, making it impossible to feel, push off, or up against the Air Zoom Unit.

In short, it’s essentially a $280 gimmick. Harsh? Sure. Accurate? Yep.

One or two things I liked

It wasn’t all bad. Just mostly. The actual cushion setup isn’t bad. It’s on the firmer side for sure, but it did provide decent stability with some step-in comfort.

Oh, and despite not using an actual BOA dial, I felt that the lockdown of the actual lacing system was still pretty solid. I did struggle to get the bottom few sections of the lacing system to tighten down, though, so those with an extremely narrow foot may want to look elsewhere.

Not worth your time

If you skipped to the end, congratulations. You don’t need to read all of the above to figure out that this shoe isn’t worth your cash.

I can’t even congratulate Jordan Brand on the attempt at doing something different here. It feels half (maybe even quarter) assed in all facets of design, performance and pricing.

Please, Jordan. Stick to retroes.

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