CHAMP Spikes Challenge Review Thread

[thedue]

With almost 4" of rain on Thursday and another 1" Friday evening the course was extremely soft on Saturday and another great test for the Champ Zarma spikes. I played the front very poorly, 49, so I found myself all over the course and in places that often times was right along flood water and mud, but I did not slip a single time. The back nine was a completely different animal as I found my game and shot a +1 37 which was much less a test playing from the fairway and seldom in any kind of trouble.

I would call my swing pretty aggressive most of the time and I'm really trying to slow things down a bit to smooth the swing out, but these Zarma's do a great job of keeping my feet planted even when I'm swinging hard. I do have a habit of sliding my back foot and you can see this in the little video below, but it's a bit tougher to do with spikes that hold wel.

[video=youtube;-CMO5atgtYI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CMO5atgtYI[/video]

 

[royalwulff]

Ok time for me to catch up, I have been on vacation but I did manage to get a couple of pics and i played two different courses with very different conditions. I also did something a bit different and put the Champ Zarmas in only one shoe to compare them. The spikes already in the shoes only have two rounds on them, so i figured it would be a good comparision. For my round next week I will swap them to the other foot and compare them on different feet. so now for the pics.

These are the new Champ spikes

These are the OEM spikes with two rounds
Day 1 Seven Canyons Golf Club
Conditions hot and dry teed off at 10:30 AM
Ok I will be posting some pics of this course in the course review thread, but being in Arizona you can imagine it was hot and dry and the fairways and greens fast and furious. Lots of rock and hard dirt off the fairways.
Testing Ok so i had the champ spikes on the right foot and the OEM spikes on the left foot. I was struggling today so I was given the opportunity to test from a variety of locations. The Champ spikes being in the right shoe really gave me lots af traction as i was pushing off the foot and transfering weight. whether on the tee, fairway, or out in the cactus and native grasses, not once did I feel my right foot have any slippage. I had felt some slippage on this foot before with the OEM spikes. The greens were hard and fast like i said and I was looking to see if the Champ spikes left any identifiable marks on the greens that differed from the OEM spikes and due to the condition of the greens, I was hardly able to see any spike marks at all.
I was also looking for any more cushion or a softer feel while walking on the cart path or to my ball in all the different conditions and there did seem to be more cushion or softness in the Champ spike over the OEM spikes.
Result
I really like the added stability that the Champ spikes gave me over the OEM spike, espicially on the driving or pushing foot. I didn't mention anything about how they collect grass and dirt as the conditions did not give much opportunity to evaluate that aspect. Now the next course will be a whole different story on that issue.

Day 2 Sedona Golf Resort
Conditions Warm and really wet teed off at 7:15 AM
Once again I will post some pics from this course in another thread but man what a change in conditions. We stayed at this resort and I know they watered the course every night so the fairways were really soft and even spongy in a lot of areas, the greens were also extremely soft, approach shots on the greens left huge ball marks and the ball maybe went a foot from the ball mark and most of the times shorter. they also mowed the alot so lots of grass clippings in the fairways.
Testing
The spikes are still on the same feet as yesterday. I have to say that the Champ spike shined for me on this course, with these conditions. The tee boxes, fairways and greens all felt really spongy for me. Once again the Champ spikes gave me great stability on the driving foot and with these conditions, I think that really speaks volumes for how these spikes grip the turf. I made sure to walk through some piles of grass clippings with both feet getting thier fair share and while both sets collected grass clipping the Champs did not seem to collect anywhere near as much as the OEM spikes did. After i got to the cart I cleaned to bottoms of both shoes into different piles of clippings and the OEM spikes collected way for that the Champ spikes. On the greens the Champs spikes did seem to leave more of an impression of the spikes on the green but by the time I was done putting you could not see the spike marks from either shoe. I was tough to tell anything aobut the cushioning with the conditions but on the cart path the Champs did seem to provide more cushioning.
Results
In these soggy conditions the Champ spikes really shined and out did the OEM spikes on the other shoe. They didn't collect as much grass and really seems to give me a lot more tractions and stability that the OEM spike. I was wishing I had the champ spikes in both shoes while on this course.
Oh by the way I shot a whole lot better on this course.

 

[10YardDraw]

Great video Due and nice update RW. I think it would bug me having to different sets of spikes in each shoe, did one foot feel like it was higher than the other?

 

[royalwulff]

Great video Due and nice update RW. I think it would bug me having to different sets of spikes in each shoe, did one foot feel like it was higher than the other?[/QUOTE]

Only when i was walking on the cart path and even then not enough to bother me or find it overly noticeable. I did not notice it at all once I was on dirt and grass.

 

[10YardDraw]

Great video Due and nice update RW. I think it would bug me having to different sets of spikes in each shoe, did one foot feel like it was higher than the other?[/QUOTE]

Only when i was walking on the cart path and even then not enough to bother me or find it overly noticeable. I did not notice it at all once I was on dirt and grass.

Thats good you could not tell on the course, that would play mind games with me.

 

[royalwulff]

Thats good you could not tell on the course, that would play mind games with me.

I thought it would with me also but it just did not seem to.

 

[checkered]

If you've never changed your spikes before, make sure to take your shoes with you when you go to the store. There are several types of 'threads' so one set of spikes wont fit every type of shoes. Luckily, the CHAMPs come in several different types of threads so you should find what you need.

Thanks for the heads up on this. I've been doing some reasearch on it, and trying to figure out how I can get a spike out to check them out and make sure I get the right ones.

 

[ddxu]

Thanks for the heads up on this. I've been doing some reasearch on it, and trying to figure out how I can get a spike out to check them out and make sure I get the right ones.

Here's a site that might be helpful depending on how old your shoes are. Just take your shoe with you to a shop and they should be able to help you pull one out.

 

[marshallucf]

Thanks for the heads up leiruagetro on the icon, also nice thoughts on the spikes.

Good stuff there marshallucf, I am feeling pretty much the same as you about the Zarma's. I am now primarily a rider so I am wearing my spikes anytime I am at the course, parking lot, walk up to clubhouse, all over the course to see how they hold up for us older golfers who don't walk the course as often as we used to.

if i was testing these i would be doing the same thing, but since i just purchased them and want them to last i will not haha. i look forward to your review about how well they spring back after being abused.

 

[Golf Ghost]

Played this morning. Ground a little wet, ball got down into a ditch, had to go and get it. Thank god for my SS spikes. Things just grabbed like a depressed girl at a bar.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Played this morning. Ground a little wet, ball got down into a ditch, had to go and get it. Thank god for my SS spikes. Things just grabbed like a depressed girl at a bar.

Lol, that's a great way to put it, but they really do old on tight!

 

[10YardDraw]

Played this morning. Ground a little wet, ball got down into a ditch, had to go and get it. Thank god for my SS spikes. Things just grabbed like a depressed girl at a bar.

Thats a good way to put it lol, cant wait to put these in play this coming weekend!

 

[INgolfer]

Over the last few weeks I have replaced the spikes in both pairs of my shoes. In one pair I put some of the Softspikes Pulsars, on the other pair I put the Champs Scorpion Stinger, I definitely feel like the Scorpions are giving me better traction and the Softspike ones that I have been using seem to be wearing pretty quickly and I walk a lot so thats not a thing I like to see. I'll probably put the Champs on that pair of shoes here shortly. Definitely seeing the benefits of changing spikes which I haven't done in almost two years, haha.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Over the last few weeks I have replaced the spikes in both pairs of my shoes. In one pair I put some of the Softspikes Pulsars, on the other pair I put the Champs Scorpion Stinger, I definitely feel like the Scorpions are giving me better traction and the Softspike ones that I have been using seem to be wearing pretty quickly and I walk a lot so thats not a thing I like to see. I'll probably put the Champs on that pair of shoes here shortly. Definitely seeing the benefits of changing spikes which I haven't done in almost two years, haha.

That's good, I really like the champ spikes better than the soft spike I used to buy at wally world. I really like the traction as well and after two weeks of testing they still give me the stability and traction that I expected. I also don't see as much wear as the soft spikes either.

 

[Dr. Teeth]

I got out for a little golfing weekend and these spikes performed fantastic. A little reminder, I got the Zarmas because I prefer to walk. So on Friday I walked 18 at Chambers Bay. The Zarmas are advertised as being more comfortable to walk in and I don't know about how much more comfortable they are than the spikes that were in my shoes before, I can say that they are no less comfortable and provide far more grip. On Saturday I played at Wine Valley and walked 54 holes. Again, no slipping and I can say that my feet were less tired after 54 than they have been other times when I have walked 36. I am a fan. I cannot imagine getting any more traction out of a spike, they are indeed comfortable for walking and, as a bonus, these spikes collect less gunk than any spikes I have used. They are really easy to clean after a round. Definitely a winner!

 

[jefrazie]

I am finally back in the country today and will have an update with pics tonight.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I got out for a little golfing weekend and these spikes performed fantastic. A little reminder, I got the Zarmas because I prefer to walk. So on Friday I walked 18 at Chambers Bay. The Zarmas are advertised as being more comfortable to walk in and I don't know about how much more comfortable they are than the spikes that were in my shoes before, I can say that they are no less comfortable and provide far more grip. On Saturday I played at Wine Valley and walked 54 holes. Again, no slipping and I can say that my feet were less tired after 54 than they have been other times when I have walked 36. I am a fan. I cannot imagine getting any more traction out of a spike, they are indeed comfortable for walking and, as a bonus, these spikes collect less gunk than any spikes I have used. They are really easy to clean after a round. Definitely a winner!

I've noticed they are really easy to keep clean too, I'm curious now, what does the condition of the spike look like now that you've walked more than 54 holes?

 

[Dr. Teeth]

I've noticed they are really easy to keep clean too, I'm curious now, what does the condition of the spike look like now that you've walked more than 54 holes?

I have walked over 100 holes in the past week, so I will get a picture for you later to see. But (spoiler alert) they look great. I wear hard on the spike on the outside back on both feet, but that is from the way I walk and having to walk on a few cart paths. Other than that one spike on each shoe, they look great.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I have walked over 100 holes in the past week, so I will get a picture for you later to see. But (spoiler alert) they look great. I wear hard on the spike on the outside back on both feet, but that is from the way I walk and having to walk on a few cart paths. Other than that one spike on each shoe, they look great.

Holy crap that's amazing, well I guess if they still have traction after 100+ holes than they have to be some great spikes. I kind of expected that from the stingers since they seem tougher but thats really cool that the zarmas are just as durable!

 

[thedue]

Another day out on the course, yesterday, with my Champ Zarma spikes. I played in a scramble that lasted virtually all day and just cannot believe how well these spikes cushion my feet while giving me the needed grip to keep me planted. It's a bit too early to say how the wear will turn out on these, but so far so good. They showed a little wear after the first round of course and just seemed to settle in at that point.

I would say these spikes do everything they claim to do and in my opinion the company could market the comfort level more than they do. Great addition to my golf game and I will likely be a Champ Zarma user from now on.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Another day out on the course, yesterday, with my Champ Zarma spikes. I played in a scramble that lasted virtually all day and just cannot believe how well these spikes cushion my feet while giving me the needed grip to keep me planted. It's a bit too early to say how the wear will turn out on these, but so far so good. They showed a little wear after the first round of course and just seemed to settle in at that point.

I would say these spikes do everything they claim to do and in my opinion the company could market the comfort level more than they do. Great addition to my golf game and I will likely be a Champ Zarma user from now on.

As much as I enjoy testing the stingers, I love the traction, stability and durability, I may go with the Zarmas since I hear such good things about them. Don't get me wrong the stingers are superb, I can just really feel them dig up into the shoe which is kind of uncomfortable when I walk the course.

 

[bhilton]

I got out for a little golfing weekend and these spikes performed fantastic. A little reminder, I got the Zarmas because I prefer to walk. So on Friday I walked 18 at Chambers Bay. The Zarmas are advertised as being more comfortable to walk in and I don't know about how much more comfortable they are than the spikes that were in my shoes before, I can say that they are no less comfortable and provide far more grip. On Saturday I played at Wine Valley and walked 54 holes. Again, no slipping and I can say that my feet were less tired after 54 than they have been other times when I have walked 36. I am a fan. I cannot imagine getting any more traction out of a spike, they are indeed comfortable for walking and, as a bonus, these spikes collect less gunk than any spikes I have used. They are really easy to clean after a round. Definitely a winner!

You walked 54 holes in one day? I love to walk and all, but that's absolutely nuts. No way I would ever do that. However, this post and your next post just about have me sold on the Zarmas.

 

[Dr. Teeth]

You walked 54 holes in one day? I love to walk and all, but that's absolutely nuts. No way I would ever do that. However, this post and your next post just about have me sold on the Zarmas.

Haha! I like to walk I finished 36 and felt like I could keep going so I did. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get back to that course anytime soon, so I needed to get my fill. Great course BTW! I HIGHLY recommend it along with the Zarmas!

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Haha! I like to walk I finished 36 and felt like I could keep going so I did. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get back to that course anytime soon, so I needed to get my fill. Great course BTW! I HIGHLY recommend it along with the Zarmas!

Dang I guess being at sea level helps, I can't' do more than 18 without feeling rough, I hate walking more than that haha.

 

[Kmac]

Haha! I like to walk I finished 36 and felt like I could keep going so I did. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get back to that course anytime soon, so I needed to get my fill. Great course BTW! I HIGHLY recommend it along with the Zarmas!

And the last time you put your clubs on a cart the whole bag got jacked, you may never ride in a cart again.