Olukai Finally Made a Serious Golf Shoe

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

What We Tried:

The Olukai Mākena golf shoe, the latest golf-focused footwear offering from my favorite sandals brand. Yes, it’s OK to have a favorite sandals brand. You’ve got to let the dawgs breath, ya feel?

Who Tried It:

Connor. Director of Content and resident sneakerhead. I’ve tried some of Olukai’s other golf shoe offerings and have never been too impressed. The Mākena has me excited and hesitant.

Meet Mākena

According to Olukai, “mākena” translates to many, numerous; often, much.

If the name is any indication of how frequently I’ll be grabbing this pair over the numerous others in my overflowing golf shoe closet, then that’s a good sign.

Let’s get this out of the way. The Mākena is not my favorite golf shoe ever. But it is Olukai’s best ever by far and that gives me hope for the brand as they continue to evolve their golf footwear.

When compared to Olukai’s initial golf offerings, the Mākena is leaps and bounds ahead. For that, I must give Olukai major props. They finally made a serious golf shoe.

Here’s what I mean.

First things first

I can generally tell you whether a golf shoe is good or not based on eyesight alone. There are a few “tells” of sorts that key me into a golf shoe’s performance before I lace it up.

The first thing I noticed about the Mākena was the TPU outsole. This type of outsole is generally (but not always) reserved for spiked shoes. One, to provide stability and, two, to give the spikes somewhere to sit.

On a spikeless shoe like the Mākena, it allows for torsional rigidity (resistance to twisting) which gives the much-needed stability that so many spikeless shoes are missing.

The other “tell” that keyed me in was the upper construction. The Mākena has a synthetic upper, complete with a thin TPU coating for waterproofness. While I’m typically a fan of leathers and suedes, a syntethic upper like the one found here lends itself well to real-world golf shoe performance.

It’s not that leather can’t be good but it’s harder to implement correctly. It was nice to see Olukai choose synthetic here and offer real waterproofing. It’s worth noting that despite the change to synthetic materials, the price point here is still fairly steep.

Cushion you’ll love or hate

If you’re a fan of Olukai’s sandals, you’ll likely be a fan of how the Mākena feels on foot. While it has a larger-than-most stack of fluffy foam, most of the underfoot feel comes from the included PU footbed. It’s definitely on the firmer side but that’s what I’ve come to expect as someone who wears Olukai sandals on a daily basis.

If you’re expecting HOKA-level squish and comfort, you’re better off taping your pillow to your foot. The Mākena takes the more middle-ground approach. It’s neither too soft nor too firm.

Tricky traction

Reviewing the traction on the Mākena is a tricky task. I’m typically not a fan of traction patterns that focus more on the pattern than they do the actual traction. For example, the Mākena has a wavy, ocean-inspired traction pattern. While it looks really, really cool, it would have been more effective had Olukai gone with a more tried-and-true pattern of nubs.

Skepticism aside, the traction performed well enough in dry conditions. I’d be leery if you often play in wet conditions, though … which is ironic considering the amount of moisture that much of Hawaii gets on a yearly basis.

If I had one big gripe with the shoe, it would be the traction. Waves are cool but performance-driven traction is cooler.

Much improved

Compared to Olukai’s other offerings, the Mākena fits the bill as the flagship golf shoe. It’s not the best golf shoe I’ve ever worn but it’s most definitely the best Olukai has put out thus far, and that’s a good thing. Progress is progress, no matter how quickly you get there.

As for me and my feet, the Mākena won’t crack my current rotation. But it will stay in my closet because of my affinity for the brand and the off chance I get back to Hawaii soon for a round.