Yes, I said it...

Bring back metal spikes, damn it!

Too many numbskulls tearing up the greens as it is right now. Not necessary to go back to regular cleats.

Nah. Hard pass.

Greens had nothing to do with banning spikes at your local course. It was all about the carpets.

So, why do we have bifurcation on spikes (Tour pros OK; everyone else bad) and can't have it on the golf ball again?

(That ought to raise some blood pressure . . .)

You should see what my spikeless vapors do to green; exponentially worse than any other spike or cleat bottom. By FAR.

I have never felt I needed more than the current spikes

I feel like guys in the old days had some crazy swings with a lot of lower body movement, maybe it made more sense then

Me too. Almost started a thread about this. No sound like walking across a parking lot or down a cart path to play. I miss that sound.

I don't miss all the spike marks on the green though. So many people drug their feet and wouldn't repair it.

My new FootJoy SLs leave worse imprints on soft greens than a few spikes.

Makes a lot of sense to me now that we can repair spike marks.

I bought some champ stinger pro metal spikes a few years ago. Played a few rounds with them, realized they did nothing for my game, took them back out and gave them away before I busted my backside on a cart path.

Everyday I see scuff marks on the greens, imagine if those foot draggers wore metal spikes. Personally I would like to wear them myself: easier to clean the bottom of your shoes, and you don't have to change the cleats.

Well you are talking about different things here. The USGA does not ban steel spikes and there isn’t a rule of golf forbidding steel spikes. This is a policy of your course or club. Just like the USGA doesn’t say you have to wear a collared shirt, but your course or club can. Your course could just as easily make a policy on a ball if they wanted to.

Oh, come on. When did you have your humorectomy?

“Yes, I said it”

How dare you!

I also remember what some wooden chairs in grill rooms looked like, too. As one guy already posted,it was real exciting going into a bathroom with a tile floor with steel spikes.

I miss pegs. Especially on damp mornings. But, the new cleats are pretty good. You can get some pretty aggressive "soft" cleats.

I don't miss hard spikes one bit. Around here, they could and would leave spike marks on greens even if the golfer wasn't dragging their feet. That, combined with the old stupid rule about not being able to fix spike marks in the line of the putt, was a ridiculous situation.

And while effects on carpets, wood floors and stairs were a real factor, I do think that their effects on greens was definitely a very strong, if not dominant, factor in them being banned for non-pro golfers.

Finally, I know some complain about the damage soft spikes can do by foot draggers, but honestly, I just don't see that very much. Maybe that's a demographic difference and it's more common in other locales where the golfer demographics are different. Or maybe it's an agronomic thing - different grasses are affected in different ways. But the vast majority of muni/public courses in my area (Colorado) are not riddled with foot drag damage.

Hard pass on the hard spikes.

(I will admit the sound of spikes on hard surfaces and gravel was pretty cool. That said, I also like the sound of clattering clubs and a well flushed blade. Those are good enough to keep my ears entertained.)

Yes, bring back metal spikes now that you can repair spike marks in your line on the green. Also, they aerate the greens and the fairways. It's a good thing.

Playing in hard spikes (pro stingers) is low key pretty damn awesome. But, they have their drawbacks. I play in some really firm turf where I live with baked out fairways and just hard packed stuff. The spikes can help in that but can make your feet pretty achy. My go to cleat is either black widows or pulsar depending on conditions and both of those are miles ahead in comfort, not to mention, permitted on courses.

But if you play on softer courses or wetter courses, spikes could be the play. They’re just not so far ahead that I would wanna swap out them for a round here or there.

It’s the clickty clack on concrete that I miss. Just something about it. I am sure that it is probably more of a nostalgia thing than any real performance benefit. I think my first pair of golf shoes had metal spikes but even then, I had to change them out pretty early to soft spikes. I have been extremely tempted to through some ‘spikes’ into an old pair of FJ Classics that I still have from back in the day.

Look be honest, metal spikes are going to make as much a difference in the average golfers game as the “special” tee. Yeah it sounds cool (I loved it when I played baseball) on the concrete but that’s it. You forget how horrible your feet feel afterwards.

This is no more than “hey I want to be like the pros.” Vast majority probably play better with soft spikes or spineless.

On 8/10/2020 at 10:46 AM, qtlaw said:

Look be honest, metal spikes are going to make as much a difference in the average golfers game as the “special” tee.

Hold on. I'm pretty sure I've gained at least 4 yards using this tee.  Are you saying that's not true? That may cause me to reconsider getting several of the gadgets I've been seeing on TV lately that are guaranteed to improve my game. There's a putter that stands up by itself, and a sweet square chipper that I'm sure would help.

(Full disclosure - I do use these tees. Not because they are magic, but they are the most durable tees in the world. My buddy gave me a pack two years ago that I'm still using. )

Greenskeepers would like to have a word with you

On 8/8/2020 at 2:38 PM, Soloman1 said:

Greens had nothing to do with banning spikes at your local course. It was all about the carpets.

So, why do we have bifurcation on spikes (Tour pros OK; everyone else bad) and can't have it on the golf ball again?

(That ought to raise some blood pressure . . .)

Because no R&D, manufacturing, molds, etc go into metal spikes compared to a golf ball. 

Also casual golfers are idiots and greens would look like it was attacked by a cougar. 

On 8/8/2020 at 10:09 PM, bigred90gt said:

I bought some champ stinger pro metal spikes a few years ago. Played a few rounds with them, realized they did nothing for my game, took them back out and gave them away before I busted my backside on a cart path.

The Champ stinger pro spikes is all I wear, I love them.  I just take my shoes off after the round before I go into the clubhouse.

On 8/8/2020 at 6:05 PM, Hawkeye77 said:

My new FootJoy SLs leave worse imprints on soft greens than a few spikes.

Imprints, not damage.  Come back in 30 mins and you won't notice.

8 hours ago, ode said:

Imprints, not damage.  Come back in 30 mins and you won't notice.

 

Actually, not always the case at all.

Grew up with spikes and problems with spikes on greens were not really that prevalent and somewhat overblown these days.

13 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

 

Actually, not always the case at all.

 

Grew up with spikes and problems with spikes on greens were not really that prevalent and somewhat overblown these days.

Yeah, my memory gets worse the older I get too !!!

Maybe there is a superintendent on here that could chime in on this topic.