Under Armour’s Spieth 2 golf shoe includes some key upgrades over the original version thanks to input provided by its namesake.

Under Armour may have taken a long time to bring its first golf shoes to retail — waiting two years to make the Drive Ones that Jordan Spieth debuted on the PGA Tour in 2014 available to the public — but the Maryland-based company always had big things planned for its marquee golf man: Footwear he could truly call his own. And hey, when a guy is going to join the rarefied air reserved for the likes of that other Jordan and Tiger Woods by getting a shoe named in his honour, he’s going to want to make it perfect, especially when he’s as particular as Spieth.

Rotational resistance spikes were the key technology in the Spieth One shoe, which Under Armour unveiled in 2017. Working with Champ Spikes, Under Armour designed a cleat with an outer wall and an under-cut that rotates into the turf to prevent slippage. The reason for that is because of Spieth’s somewhat unusual golf swing, which sees him significantly rolling his left ankle at impact and into his follow-through. As Spieth described in a UA promotional video, the spike system “provides a softer landing” for his front side. The three-time major champion was very involved in the design process of the Spieth One, making several trips to Under Armour’s headquarters and welcoming members of the design team into his Dallas home.

“He’s the best,” said Mike Forsey, Under Armour’s director of global golf footwear. “He’s very articulate. He knows what he wants. He knows what he doesn’t want.” In addition to a single-seam, waterproof upper and several comfort and cushioning advancements, two Spieth-suggested features in the original version were tiny perforations (in JS shapes) to allow moisture to escape and stark alignment lines flush with the bottom eyelets to help with his putting setup.

But there was room for improvement. According to Forsey, Spieth provided very specific marching orders for this year’s Spieth 2: Make it lighter; make the forefoot more flexible; and make it more breathable.