Equipment

Puma takes crown for lightest shoe with Faas Lite Mesh

Published

13 years ago

May 15, 2013

There’s a new champ in the race to have the lightest golf shoe on the market.

Starting in June, Puma Golf’s newest shoe, the 6.5-ounce Faas Lite Mesh, will be available for purchase. The launch date for these shoes — which will be sold for $90 — is June 5, and they will be the lightest footwear option on the market.

“The new, spikeless footwear style is designed to take you from the street to the course in lightweight, maximum comfort and trend-setting style,” said Tom Manthe, global marketing manager for Puma Golf.

The Faas Lite Mesh embraces the barefoot movement, something that has been a driving force in a number of releases in 2013. It got started back in January with Adidas announcing its 10.6-ounce adiZero shoe (full review can be found here) and continued later that month with Oakley’s 9.2-ounce Cipher 2 (full story can be found here).

Since then, barefoot golf shoe originator True linskwear released its new PROTO (full story can be found here) and FootJoy went minimal with its M:Project golf shoe (Full story can be found here).

Puma will also start selling its slightly heavier, but still incredibly light, Faas Lite waterproof shoes which check in at 8.7 ounces. The waterproof versions contain all the same barefoot benefits as the Mesh version and will sell for $100.

The benefits of a barefoot shoe include a zero-degree drop from the heel to the toe, keeping the foot level in the shoe. That is supposed to give a more natural stride and promote better posture while swinging.

Puma is also promoting its use of corrugated flex grooves that move with the foot for a more natural movement, provide optimal flexibility and more ground contact while swinging.

There will be a women’s version of Faas Lite Mesh ($80) and the Faas Lite waterproof ($90) starting June 5 as well.

A new Puma release wouldn’t seem complete without a Rickie Fowler-inspired edition, and the Faas Lite comes through with one. Taking inspiration from Fowler’s 2010 “Golf Art,” a special-edition shoe, the Faas Lite Splatter ($110), will feature a paint splatter design on a white outsole with an orange (no surprise there) foam stripe.

Related Topics:Puma

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Andrew Prezioso

Andrew Prezioso is a freelance sports reporter and photographer (http://amprezioso.smugmug.com/). You can follow him on Twitter @AMPrezioso. He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, after graduating from the University of Richmond in 2012.

6 Comments

Dustyn

Sep 4, 2013 at 10:13 pm

There light and comfy till you swing, No protection on the front of toes and no grip!!

Reply Report comment
Santiago

Aug 5, 2013 at 1:03 am

These shoes are awful. I love how confortable they are but durability is a big issue. I am on my second pair and both lasted 3 rounds until the sole separates from the shoe in the left side of left foot (right handed golfer), exactly where they get most do the stress. My second pair lasted a week and is going back to the store tomorrow. Really bad quality!!!!!

Reply Report comment
Chad

May 28, 2013 at 8:05 pm

I run in Puma Faas shoes and they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. So much so that I bought a few pairs for running and a few for casual wear. Puma already has a Faas golf shoe, I believe, but it was leather and only came in white/black and black/orange. These new ones may make it into my lineup, depending on the color selection.

Reply Report comment
Eagle006

May 28, 2013 at 4:45 am

Golf shoes are now running shoes. The two things have essentially merged and are barely indistinguishable from each other. If someone had suggested this 15 years ago, they’d have been rightly ridiculed.

I welcome increasing comfort and decreasing weight in golf shoes, but it seems to be being done at the expense of grip. Sorry, but a few small knobbles on the sole isn’t really going to cut it. Surely it’s not beyond these companies to produce a light shoe which still offers exceptional grip and traction? Either way it’s a far cry from Hogan ordering shoes with extra metal spikes, because he gripped the ground so much through his swing.

Reply Report comment
Justin Quirke

May 20, 2013 at 11:30 am

This article deserves a good proof reading before it got publicized. In graph 3, barefoot movement got started by adidas? then the next sentence says barefoot originator True Linkswear? Which is it, was the barefoot movement originated by the adidas or by the true? And Faas Lite waterproof are listed as $100, then $90? University of Richmond must not have taiught how to outline a story. This is awful.

Reply Report comment
- Zak Kozuchowski
  
  May 20, 2013 at 2:15 pm
  
  Justin,
  
  Adidas launched its adizero shoe in January 2013, which was extremely light and had barefoot elements. Then we learned of Oakley’s Cipher at the 2013 PGA Merchandise show, which was even lighter.
  
  Now Puma has gotten into the mix with its Faas Lite Mesh, which is even lighter than that. But the first company to bring barefoot to golf was True, which is why they are mentioned.
  
  The mesh version of the Faas Lite (6.5 ounces) is $90, while 8.7-ounce waterproof version of it is $100. In women’s, the prices are $80 and $90, as Andrew states in the ninth paragraph.
  
  It’s not Andrew’s fault, or the fault of his university, that you chose not to comprehend the information he provided.
  
  – Zak
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:

(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.