Imagine, just for a second, a world with no noise. No distractions. Complete peace.
Sounds enticing, doesn’t it? Perhaps for a few minutes, it would be relaxing. But after a bit, it would start to get boring.
There’s nothing quite like the cry of a newborn baby. The roar of a raucous crowd. A theme park packed with screaming riders. Sometimes, it takes a little chaos to fully experience the highs and lows that make life so extraordinary.
Golf is the same. There’s a place for peace and quiet on the golf course. Golf’s most defining moments often start with complete silence. But it’s not the silence before Tiger’s putt to force a playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open that people remember. It’s the primal roar from both Woods and the crowd that lives forever.
Golf is better when there’s chaos. That’s ultimately the idea behind adidas’ flagship spikeless golf shoe, the CODECHAOS 25. An extension to my favorite franchise in golf footwear, the new CODECHAOS 25 is, among other things, “impossible to ignore.”
But it’s not just what’s on the outside that has me so excited. A look under the hood of the new chaotic silhouette paints a clear picture of adidas’ true No. 1 goal: performance.
CODECHAOS 25: Performance with a purpose
It’s hard to follow up on a winning performance. It’s even harder to do it years later. Both the original CODECHAOS and the CODECHAOS 22 were standout performers and perennial award winners.
Nearly three years since we last saw CODECHAOS (there was somewhat of a line refresh with the introduction of the laceless version in 2023), the new pair has, no pun intended, big shoes to fill.
CODECHAOS has always rested its laurels on four attributes: comfort, stability, traction and cosmetics. Each of these four integral pieces of the CODECHAOS DNA has been retooled and revamped to (hopefully) make CODECHAOS 25 the best ever.
Two foams are better than one
When speaking of golf footwear, more often than not the comfort of the shoe tells me all I need to know about it. Why make a shoe designed for walking that isn’t comfortable?
In past years, CODECHAOS has relied on adidas’ flagship foam, BOOST, to provide excellent step-in comfort. BOOST is great but it can be unstable due to its “squishy” profile. To combat the potential drop-off in stability, adidas wrapped the BOOST midsole in its firmer, more responsive LIGHTSTRIKE foam. It’s worth noting that LIGHTSTRIKE is often used in both adidas’ basketball line and their performance running footwear, two areas where stability is just as important as comfort.
“It’s a good combination, having that comfort of full-length BOOST inside, but then having that added stability that you’re getting from the dual foam setup.” said Kelly Kikuta, Director of Footwear Design, adidas Golf.
“We weren’t really sure that it was going to be received very well. But through our testing and through our feedback, people are liking it.”
Dual-foam setups aren’t new. If anything, 2024 is the year of dual-foam cushioning. Most every big-name brand has a flagship shoe with two foams because that allows footwear manufacturers to fine-tune every performance attribute.
The LIGHTSTRIKE carrier adds stability and helps prevent you from rolling over while the full-length BOOST provides that same world-class comfort that CODECHAOS is known for.
Total torsion
In addition to the new dual-foam cushion setup, the CODECHAOS 25 now features a 3D Torsion Plate. The original pair had a similar shank plate but the most recent 2022 offering did not. The 3D Torsion Plate works in tandem with the dual-foam midsole to provide even more stability.
Where the LIGHTSTRIKE provides medial and lateral support, the plate provides torsion support, i.e., support against twisting. Not only does this prevent energy loss but it ensures your lower extremities are less fatigued at the end of a round.
“Through our feedback and some of our research that we’ve done, we were actually finding that after, you know, walking 18, the feet were maybe getting a little bit more fatigued than we would like,” Kikuta quipped about the previous model.
“So having that stability in that plate to support your foot, support your arch, (it) just added that much more to the shoe. And (it) brought that fatigue factor down.”
Traction
The CODECHAOS franchise has always had stellar spikeless traction. That TWISTGRIP just hits different. Rather than reinvent the wheel here, adidas made a few small tweaks that should pay real performance dividends.
The lugs of the TWISTGRIP spikeless traction were given more sharp edges, made slightly taller and spaced further apart. These three subtle tweaks should provide better penetration, more grip and stop the shoe from becoming clogged with dirt and debris.
“We wanted a bit more performance in this new version,” said Kikuta. “You’ll notice the spacing of the lugs in the new version are a bit more further apart than the original version. So that’s going to really help with the de-clogging. But you also notice the shapes are a little bit more aggressive. There’s a little bit more angles to them.”
Cosmetically chaotic
If there’s one thing CODECHAOS is known for, it’s the brash, polarizing cosmetics. Each model is seemingly more polarizing than the previous one. The CODECHAOS 25 is no different. The multi-layer upper stacks layers of moisture-wicking fabric, jacquard and mesh with a clear PU overlay to show off the chaotic design elements.
The shoe is unmistakably CODECHAOS and, as mentioned earlier, definitely “impossible to ignore.”
The BOA-shaped elephant in the room
“What the heck is a BOA dial doing on the CODECHAOS 25? Where are the laces?” I can already see you keyboard warriors typing away.
Firstly, the laced version is coming in November. Secondly, you shouldn’t wait for the laced version before trying this shoe out. There’s a reason adidas chose to launch the CODECHAOS 25 in BOA which features BOA’s PerformFit Wrap system.
“We spent (those) 18 months trying to develop a shoe that fundamentally fits better, does things differently than you can do with laces.” said Dan Feeney of BOA. “When you’re wrapping the foot, you’re coming over the mid foot, you’re fundamentally changing your connection to the product. You’re going to make the product more effective in that way by being better connected to it.”
It’s OK to be skeptical. You’ve been wearing shoes with laces forever. I’m no BOA truther but there’s something about the fit on the CODECHAOS 25 and the PerformFit Wrap that has me intrigued about the future of golf shoe performance.
“I just invite people to try it. I’m really confident we’ve had thousands of people come through our lab over the last six years.” Feeney said. “Sometimes it’s their first time and it’s very rare that we have somebody that doesn’t immediately feel a difference. And we can often see that in the data. So I’d recommend just give it a shot.”
My life could use more chaos
For all intents and purposes, the adidas CODECHAOS 25 looks to be another solid addition to their most recognizable spikeless shoe franchise. While the jury is still out on performance (I’ll await our Most Wanted Spikeless Shoe testing to make a ruling), I can’t find any faults with the upgrades.
If three years is what it takes to improve upon an already stellar golf shoe, then three years is what I’d wait to try the new CODECHAOS 25.
My closet is looking a little too boring, anyway.
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