Under Armour Drive Pro Clone SL Shoe Review: Is This The Perfect Spikeless Golf Shoe?

I've just finished writing my review of the Under Armour Drive Pro Clone, the spiked counterpart of the Under Armour Drive Pro Clone SL, and I'm finding it hard not to repeat myself, such are the similarities between the two. Same new technology, same refined Swing Support System, same look, just a different outsole. I'd copy and paste my paragraphs from that piece into here, but that's lazy, poor journalism, and Google doesn't like that very much, so here I go again. Luckily, this is such a good golf shoe that I'm more than happy to tell you all about it. Is this the best spikeless golf shoe I've ever tested? I'll do my best here to explain why it might be.

The Drive Pro Clone SL replaces 2024's Drive Pro SL with a brand new, revolutionary upper material that offers golfers an adaptive fit that compromises neither on performance nor comfort in a new, much more refined silhouette. The goal of the Drive Pro Clone family of shoes is to address the longstanding issue most golfers have likely faced in that traditional designs often struggle to match the natural shape of the foot and the unique foot shapes that we all have. How can any shoe manufacturer make the same size 8 shoe to fit every size 8 foot on earth?

To address and hopefully solve this, Under Armour has introduced a proprietary auxetic material, the properties of which the brand has explained to me, 'behaves less like a traditional upper material and more like a dynamic surface.' By expanding, contracting and shaping itself to the unique shape of an individual's foot, Clone creates a more adaptive fit that remains consistent throughout the round.

It didn't take me ten minutes with either the spiked or spikeless Drive Pro Clone shoes to get a feeling for this new material. It holds snug on areas of your foot whilst simultaneously giving any awkward parts of your feet the room to manoeuvre. Often on 'performance' style golf shoe, I get a bit of pinching on the outsides of both of my feet. Normally, this goes away after a few holes of walking, and I put it down to the price of having a performance-built shoe that is keeping my foot locked into place.

With this new upper material, I felt no such sensation of pain or pinching in this often problematic area of my foot, yet I still felt I had the support from the shoe throughout the swing. This is my best effort at describing what the new upper feels like. In short, this is a golf shoe I'd encourage you to at least try on to get a feel for the sensation of the fit, if my description thus far has piqued your interest.

The new upper material has also had a strong part to play in the premium look and feel of these shoes. This is a huge leap forward in terms of aesthetics from the old Drive Pro, and I simply love the way these look. While they're an athletic silhouette still - not like a FootJoy Premiere Series of G/FORE Gallivanter - they still ooze class and quality.

The upper material is textured ever so slightly, adding some depth to the look, while the additions of silver detailing at the bottom of the laces and the Under Armour logo on the rear of the shoe help elevate the premium look of the silhouette. It's night and day in terms of looks from the old Drive Pro, which offered a clunky colourway and some less-than-classy touches like writing on the side of the shoe. I am vehemently against any kind of text on a golf shoe.

This, however, is clean, unfussy, premium and right on trend with where I think golf fashion will be heading over the next few years as we pull away from manic busyness in favour of calm cleanliness.

Elsewhere, Under Armour has either kept the same or refined the three elements of the Swing Support System that made the Drive Pro Clone's predecessors extremely high-performing golf shoes. The Lockdown Lacing has been refined and repositioned to offer more comfort and a better fit, while the Hovr midsole technology carries over, too, offering the ideal mixture of support and cushioning.

The best thing Under Armour could've done, and has done, with this shoe is keep the spikeless outsole the same. It mixes TPU with rubber nubs, with the firmer TPU positioned from the lateral heel to the medial toe in the most important areas for grip. It provides ground penetration and lateral support that is as close as I've tried, alongside the Adidas Adizero ZG, for a spikeless outsole that can nearly mimic the true feeling of a spiked outsole.

Though I've turned into a bit of a spiked snob over the last few months (in that I'd personally rather wear spikes at any opportunity), the spikeless market is still massive, and there are plenty of golfers out there who simply prefer spikeless, and that is fine. This spikeless outsole is one of, if not the, best on the market, so you spikeless fans out there need not worry.

As was the case with the spiked version, there has to be some room for improvement - no one and nothing can be perfect! This isn't the most breathable shoe on the market. In very cold and very warm conditions, I found my feet got a bit sweatier than usual versus, for example, a knit construction spikeless shoe. Perhaps this is one of the very few drawbacks of the new upper material, but it in no way reduced by enjoyment of Clone as a product.

So, as I asked in the title, is this the perfect spikeless golf shoe? Well, that depends on your preferences. I don't like to think anything can be truly 'perfect' for everyone, and I don't like speaking in too much of the hyperbole that plagues the internet; however, I can confidently say that I think the Drive Pro Clone SL is the spikeless golf shoe for 2026 that will suit the absolute majority of golfers out there.

Thanks to the adaptive fit, stunning looks and all-around wearability, there shouldn't be a golfer out there who can't enjoy this shoe. Since I got my sample in October, I've barely been out of it, and the spiked version, and I've barely had to think about it on the golf course, such is the subtly at which it goes about its business.

So, it's a case of going and trying one for yourself to experience them. If you're this far into my review, you're clearly interested, so go on, get out there and find a pair and let me know how you get on in the comments.

The Under Armour Drive Pro Clone SL will be available from February 6th with a retail price of £140/$170.