It’s style. It’s substance. It’s the most iconic footwear brand in history taking one of its most well-known kicks and applying its decades-long learnings to the golf course.
Add it all up, and you get the Nike Air Max golf shoe – which has, once again, been designed and updated for some of the sport’s biggest names at golf’s biggest events.
Nike Air Max day is celebrated annually on March 26, which marks the day Nike (originally called Blue Ribbon Sports) launched the Air Max 1.
The year was 1987 when the brand dropped the first shoe that – you know the one – featured Air Max cushioning with a ‘window’ in the heel that allowed people to see what you were working with.
According to Nike lore, a Swoosh designer, Tinker Hatfield, cut that window after being inspired by the open architecture of Paris. The ‘air’ was visible for the first time.
Move the clocks up 30 years and Air Max hit the links for the first time with a trio of models that had increased stability, a waterproof overlay, and integrated traction – features demanded by the best in the world when Nike pivoted some of its most well-known shoe icons into golf. Especially around the major championships, it’s likely you’ll see special Nike Air Max drops.
Some of the biggest names in golf have been seen rocking various versions of the Air Max over the years.
Jason Day, a former world No.1, nearly always wears them, same with Tony Finau. Ditto Cameron Champ who once wore one white and one black Air Max 97 in a tournament to honour Black History Month and his mixed heritage.
"It's not where you come from, but it's where you're going."@Cameron__Champ wore one black and one white shoe for Black History Month, while paying tribute to his Grandpa Mack. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/eyoICGgYfk
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 14, 2020
On the LPGA Tour, Nike athlete Lily Muni is an Air Max fan, and when Michelle Wie-West tees it up (less often these days) she can be spotted with the iconic kicks. Nelly Korda has worn Air Max off the course and on social media, but her first LPGA Tour campaign as a Nike athlete is just a little young to yet know if she’ll translate that off-course cool to the course this year.
At Golf Town, you can find both the Air Max 270 and Air Max 90.
Here’s everything you need to know about both.
AIR MAX 270
This particular silhouette is a “stitch-for-stitch” reconstruction of the original Big Air icon, but, there’s now breathable mesh and innovate traction to help golfers perform their best. The mesh has a flexible overlay to help keep out water and make it easier to clean. The external heel counter helps to stabilize your foot while the integrated traction pattern is designed to both perform at the highest-level while being versatile enough to wear off the course.
AIR MAX 90
The Air Max 90 stays true to the OG icon but with plenty of updates made for golf like that same integrated traction and a tin overlay to help keep out water. A foam midsole plus the Max Air unit in the heel helps cushion every step while the versatile grip and underfoot comfort makes this street-inspired shoe fit for the fairways. This is a bit more of a casual look and feel than the Air Max 270
Both the Air Max 90 and Air Max 270 are available at Golf Town for men and women, plus, no matter your favourite colour palette there’s likely an Air Max for you!