Jordan Spieth's third signature shoe is coming to a store near you.
Under Armour officially unveiled the Spieth 3 on Tuesday morning. It will be available to the public on Friday, Feb. 1.
Like with the first two versions of his signature shoes, Spieth was closely involved with the design and conceptualization of this shoe, which the Dallas native said is "the best version yet."
"This has been a couple years in the making," Spieth told The Dallas Morning News on Monday. "I'm more excited about this shoe than I was even with the previous couple versions."
Spieth's involvement in this project began with a somewhat odd request. He went to Mike Forsey, Under Armour's Director of Global Footwear, with a couple of pairs of his favorite training shoes and basically asked, "Hey, is there any way we can basically put the bottoms and the spikes we've had on previous shoes onto these tennis shoes?"
"This was me saying, 'Hey, I really want to see this.' And Under Armour coming back with 'Hey, let us know what you think. I think we just went another two steps beyond what you said,' and they just really came through with an awesome shoe," Spieth told The News.
Forsey and Under Armour took this process overseas, consulting with J.J. Rivet, who is no stranger to infusing science and sports. Along with being the biomechanist for the French Golf Team, Rivet also serves as the Head of Biomechanics & Sport Performance at the European Tour Performance Institute.
"J.J. Rivet's invaluable expertise and deep knowledge of the biomechanics of the golf swing helped the UA golf footwear team focus on specific key design elements in order to deliver the most technologically advanced golf shoe we've ever produced," Forsey said in a press release.
As the process evolved, Spieth ultimately concluded that this version of the shoe needed to have three "must-haves:"
- Traction to support the swing (which is where Rivet's science comes in)
- Comfort while walking the green (as Spieth notes: "It's lighter than the previous two shoes -- that's noticeable right away.)
- Waterproofing for any elements (Under Armour touts that this version was "given a waterproof and breathable membrane designed to release perspiration while keeping water from entering.")
Spieth told The News on Monday that "the most important piece of technology you can put on your body is a golf shoe." He thinks the Spieth 3 will help his game. And he thinks it could help others' games, too. He just hopes it doesn't help others too much.