That is the simple truth when it comes to the new adizero Tour Golf Shoe from adidas. Weighing in at a svelte 10.6 ounces, a pair of adizero feel lighter than one classic leather welted metal spiked golf shoe. In fact, they feel a lot lighter.

Lightweight translates into less fatigue throughout and after a round. However, players shouldn't mistake lightweight for lack of support, technology or traction. Nor should they equate the adizero with the kind of spikeless street-golf shoes Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Justin Rose and others made popular not too long ago, and still wear today. The street shoe category, though light, is not nearly as ethereal as the adizero. What's more, the shoes express an irony not often encountered in the measured and logical game of golf. Designers and shoe engineers found to their surprise that Tour level players like Couples really didn't need the kind of overall weight, perimeter support and traction that classic welted leather shoes and their metal spikes offer, simply because their balance and body motion work so precisely during the swing.

On the other hand, higher handicappers actually benefit from the more massive type of golf shoe, and the support it lends to the pivot. That said, it must be pointed out that on Tour today, many players still opt for the classic welt, which only proves the old cliche that one shoe doesn't fit all.

The adizero unabashedly provides ten standard soft spikes on each shoe for a copious degree of traction, while saving weight by omitting the ground gripping knobs, wedges, and ridges added to almost all other golf shoe outsoles these days. In other words, while golfers don't have to have the footwork of a Sam Snead-whose barefoot practice sessions have become legendary-to wear adizero, they nevertheless can use them to sense the ground as a source of their swing power, rhythm and flow, as did Snead.

Ethereal, yes, but not invisible, the adizero delivers the adidas signature contemporary/athletic styling. Four men's color combinations, a men's Sport model featuring a breathable mesh upper and an ounce less in weight, and a woman's adizero complete the line-all proving that less can be more when it comes to golf footwear.