The ECCO Street Premiere is the entry “street” shoe in ECCO’s lineup. It offers good looks and quality, though we found them one of the heavier shoes in our tests. The shoes aren’t waterproof, so those who pay in the rains or morning may want to consider other options. They will likely appeal to players desiring a street-shoe look on (and off) the course, and those willing to pay a bit more. Competing spikeless shoes can be found for less, though this is the lower-cost spikeless street shoe from ECCO. We don’t have serious reservations, but if you are considering this shoe we would recommend you also check out the ECCO Street, which adds a few improvements.
Retail price: $150
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DESIGN
The original ECCO Street Premiere was the first golf shoe we tested that you could legitimately wear to the bar after a round and not look (entirely) like you had just stepped off the course. Indeed, the ECCO Street Premiere (and the ECCO Streets) are described as “street inspired.” We chose the Licorice-Coffee–Fanta color scheme (for those who aren’t in ECCO marketing, this means brown with orange highlights). It has a distressed upper and looks much like any other street shoe, blending in quite nicely off the course. Detailing includes suede at the toe, center (with four Fanta dots) and heel tab. Should you try to wear it to the office and hope that your boss won’t notice? Maybe, but only if he doesn’t play – no reason to arouse suspicion that you are prepping to leave work early to hit the golf course.
There are six different color combinations, all of which have a white midsole with slight color accents, and soles ranging from yellow to a traditional brown. The Street Premiere (and for that matter, the Street) comes with two pairs of shoelaces in different colors…the Fanta-colored laces we received are still in the box.
CONSTRUCTION AND DURABILITY
We played with the Street Premiere for more than a season, and haven’t experienced any issues with their construction or durability. The shoe unfortunately isn’t waterproof, and as we haven’t spent excessive time in the rain with them (most of our golf is played in Northern California), we can’t attest to how they would wear under wet conditions on a regular basis. From frequent play at Shoreline Golf Links, we can attest that this shoe is goose-crap-proof, however. The insole of the Street Premiere is one the most basic you will find in a golf shoe, with no support or cushioning to speak of. For those who want additional support, the insole is removable and could be replaced by a 3rd party insole (such as one from Superfeet).
Both ECCO models have a standard width throughout and feature the same rubber sole (including the same pattern with rows of circular “spikes” that have additional rubber extending from them at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock to provide additional traction). While we assume that wearing these shoes on pavement or other hard surfaces will result in faster wear, we have kept these on for a reasonable amount of time off the course (although we don’t go so far as to use these as a replacement street shoe or sneaker) and haven’t noticed any troublesome wear to the soles. Both models are well-made and pass ECCO and Critical Golf quality controls.
COMFORT AND ON-COURSE USE
We were initially hesitant about purchasing a pair of spikeless golf shoes, worrying that we would slip while playing (on both dry and wet days). We can honestly say that over the course of the entire season we can’t recall any shot where we slipped as a result of wearing the ECCO Street Premieres. The caveat is that, as mentioned above, we play primarily in Northern California and don’t venture out in the pouring rain. We do, however, play on mornings with dew or frost on the ground, and more than one of our local courses overwaters to the point of having extremely soggy sections of turf. We do try to be mindful of keeping the soles clean, just as we would with spiked shoes.
The Street Premieres weighed 1.8 lbs. for the pair, weighing just a fraction more than the ECCO Street in our tests. At this level they rank as one of the heavier shoes in our tests.
The ECCO Street Premieres are “street inspired”, and having a standard width throughout results in a bit more pressure across the width in the toe box late in the day. While the overall shape of the shoe didn’t fit our feet perfectly, we’ve never regretted the purchase of the ECCO Street Premieres. The Street Premieres were very stable, and we never found ourselves missing spiked shoes.
VALUE
The ECCO Golf Street Premiere retails for $150 (the ECCO Street is a step up at $170, with the extra $20 buying you an upgraded insole, camel leather uppers, and a more breathable lining). We couldn’t feel any difference in midsoles between the ECCO models, nor could we see a benefit of the lining, though we haven’t played in them in 90+ degree conditions. At this price it runs about average within our category, but still a good bit more than the adidas Crossflex and reduced TRUE tour. What we bet swings people to the ECCO Street Premiere are the combination of looks and price point within the ECCO line.
