It's often said that golf balls are the only equipment you use on every single shot. However, that's not entirely true. There's another piece of equipment you use on every single shot (barring a strange water incident): your golf shoes.
Golf shoes help keep you connected to the ground, using it for stability and power generation. Having highly stable shoes makes it easier to play your best. However, many golf-shoe manufacturers neglect the insoles in their products. The insoles are often a cheap widget that cost less than 50 cents -- even less than 25 cents -- per shoe. They're placed to offer some additional padding and energy absorption, but they're not adding any performance benefit.
Now, though, golfers have a performance insole option that works in tandem with their shoes to help them play better golf.
Blumaka is a relatively new company in the marketplace, and the Blumaka Konnect insole has been a part of my game since the summer of 2022.
The insole is made from 85 percent recycled material, and its appearance makes that a standout feature by showing off the materials put together to create the product in a blue-white color scheme.
The top of the Konnect has an anti-slip coating on it, designed to help athletes from all sports to keep their feet stable in the shoe. Keeping your feet in place in the shoes means having more control over what you do with them.
However, Blumaka figured a way to make their product better by offering a lower-profile Konnect insert. There are several reasons why the low-profile product is an upgrade. While a golfer does give up some of the padding that may make the insert comfortable, they gain some performance benefits.
The biggest benefit is a better fit. Some golfers just like being lower to the ground and having less padding will help them fit in their shoes better -- in addition to lower.
The other big benefit is actually somewhat inversely correlated to comfort. With less material, there's less energy absorbed by the insole that can be transfered to and from the ground. This means golfers can get a slightly bigger power benefit from the stability offered by the Konnect low-profile insole. While most golfers might not notice a difference between the two insoles, a better player would.
In golf, there's a discussion brewing around the cost-benefit of energy-returning foams, with data suggesting too much energy return can have a negative impact on the use of ground forces in the swing. Blumaka claims data showing the original Konnect insole returns energy 14 percent more efficiently than the average insole tested, while reducing force on the foot by 17 percent. Expect more efficiency from the low-profile Konnect.
The low-profile is just as comfortable to me in walking 18 holes as the original, and I know I'm getting a better performance benefit. That's an easy sell, while still getting a better connection with the ground and within my shoes. I'm coming out ahead and feeling as comfortable as with the originals.
The insoles, regardless of which you choose, are $59 per pair. That might seem like a lot. However, the good news is that you can easily transfer the Konnect insoles into other golf shoes, and they're designed to last for years. Besides, that's the cost of a dozen Tour-caliber golf balls. Make the investment in your game and perform better with the Blumaka insoles.
