Introducing the adidas MC80

With an idea to create a Modern Classic, adidas Golf have released the MC80 to market, a traditionally styled golf shoe with the performance only adidas can offer. Yoshinori Kobayashi, Senior Product Manager FTW, Global Brands, explains how they brought the stunning new model to market.

How long have MC80 been in the works?
Approximately 18 months from dream phase to physical product.

Tell us about the ideation and history behind the shoe?

adidas has long history of shoe making in golf since the 1970s. In mid-2020, we looked into different trends and found that the classic look was something golfers today were looking to see. We explored our archives and realised our classic styles were still just as premium and relevant today, so we looked for ways to lean on the styles of the past
and infuse them with today’s technology.

We took full inspiration and detail on upper design from the archives and built that into our progressive bottom tooling with advanced material such as BOOST, LIGHTSTRIKE and Thermo-Polyurethane (TPU). Direct inspiration for the fundamental shoe construction came from our 86’/87’ catalogue and the Cherry Hill model that executed brogue, kiltie and branding, suitable for where adidas in 2023 can excite the markets.

What made you decide to produce a more traditional shoe?

There’s always been a scale of golf design. Traditional styling sitting at one end of the scale to ultra progressive designs that challenge the expectations on the other. As a sports brand that has been creating golf shoes for more than 40 years, we have a lot of models in our archives. We saw a trend forming that meant golfers were starting to dress for the occasion. Honouring the traditional looks of the game and using their wardrobe and footwear to portray a golfing uniform for their round.

What makes MC80 different to other traditional golf shoes?

To stand apart from the competition, we add the injection of technology that only we can do. Despite being a classic shoe, it’s utilising our most modern cushioning technologies. A hidden BOOST heel pad gives you the ultimate comfort while walking the course. We then wrap that BOOST with our weight-saving LIGHTSTRIKE technology. Not only does this provide the amazing cushioning properties but gives you a stable platform for your swing and saves weight from the shoe, meaning you’re carrying less weight on your feet making it nicer to walk and less fatigue at the end of your round. The extra flavour of heritage is also using our iconic TORSION BAR, featured in many sports across the late 80’s and early 90’s to add stability to the twisting of the foot during the swing.

Would you say this is a tour-level product?

Footwear at the highest level is a mixture of both performance and preference. Some players want a spikeless model, while others will only wear a spiked shoe in competition.
MC80 is built into a spikeless construction with TPU material, so more tractable than any type of rubber material but we are confident to say it could be worn by any of our tour athletes.

Was the style designed for Bogey Boys first? If not, why use the collaboration as method to launch the model?

We brought MC80 as part of Bogey Boys because of the unique nature of the collaboration with their brand. Bogey Boys represents our core theme of modernising the classic look in golf culture while not relying too much on the retrospective approach in colour usage and detail orientation.

Long term, do you see this more traditional style of golf shoe becoming a staple of the brand?

We can’t speak about what’s to come, but we are certainly always looking at ways we can bring style and performance together in unique ways when it comes to both footwear and apparel. Our sport is made up of broad demographic of people who each have their individual tastes. Traditional styles will always feature in our line up, but you can count on us to always inject the technology needed so that golfers can perform on the course.