How to Lace Golf Shoes

Tying your golf shoes seems like the simplest part of the game, but the specific way you lace them up can have a direct impact on your stability, comfort, and the power you generate in your swing. It’s one of those small details that, once optimized, gives you a surprising edge by creating a more solid foundation from the ground up. This guide will walk you through the most effective lacing techniques for golf and show you how to customize your fit to solve common foot issues on the course.

Why Your Lacing Technique Actually Matters

Think of your golf swing as a sequence of movements that starts from your feet. Your feet are your B-U-S. Your connection to the ground. They are responsible for balance, stability and helping you to generate power - also known as a ground reaction force. The more stable your connection, the more efficiently your body can rotate and transfer energy from the ground, through your legs and core, into the clubhead.

If your lacing is too loose, your foot can slide inside the shoe during the backswing or downswing. Even a few millimeters of movement can cause instability, leading to common swing faults like swaying or losing your balance at the finish. You lose power, and your body instinctively tries to make compensations, which harms consistency. Conversely, lacing your shoes too tight can be just as problematic. It can restrict blood flow, cause discomfort and pain on the top of your foot, and create pressure points that become a nagging distraction by the back nine. After walking a couple miles during a round, your feet will naturally swell a bit, so a shoe that felt snug on the first tee can feel painfully tight by the turn.

The goal is to find the sweet spot: a lacing technique that locks your heel securely into the back of the shoe, preventing slippage, while allowing the front of your foot enough room to breathe and adapt. When your feet feel securely ‘anchored’ without being painfully squeezed, you can build your swing on a rock-solid platform and forget about them entirely. A great golf shoe becomes unnoticeable... until you need it to hold fast to the terrain.

The Pro Golfer's Secret: The "Heel Lock" Lacing Technique

Many tour players and savvy amateurs borrow a technique from the world of running called the "Heel Lock" or "Lock Laces" method. This technique is specifically designed to prevent heel slippage, which is the number one cause of instability and blisters. It utilizes those two extra eyelets at the very top of your shoe that you've probably always ignored. Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to get it right.

Step-by-Step Guide to the Heel Lock

Follow these instructions for a locked-in feel that doesn’t require you to strangle your feet.

1. Start with a Standard Criss-Cross: Lace your shoes using the normal criss-cross pattern you’ve always used, but stop before you get to the final two eyelets at the top on each side. Keep the lacing taut but not overly tight as you go.
2. Create Two Small Loops: Now, take the lace on each side and, instead of crossing it over, feed it into the top eyelet on the same side. Thread it from the outside in, creating a small vertical loop on the outside of the shoe. You should now have one loop on the left and one on the right. Don't pull these tight, leave them as open loops.
3. Cross the Laces Through the Loops: Take the end of your right lace and thread it straight across through the loop you just created on the left side. Then, do the exact same thing with the left lace, threading it through the right loop. You will now have your two laces crossed over the tongue of the shoe, each running through the opposite loop.
4. Pull and Tie: Now for the "lock." Pull downwards and forwards on the ends of the laces. You will feel and see the loops tighten, pulling the material on either side of your ankle snugly inward. This action cinches the collar of the shoe around your ankle and "locks" your heel into the back of the shoe. Tie your bow as you normally would, and that’s it. You’ll be surprised at how secure your foot feels without feeling any painful pressure on the top of your foot.

This method provides incredible stability, especially through the rotation of the swing, ensuring your foot and shoe move as one solid unit.

Lacing Hacks for Common On-Course Foot Problems

Just as there are different shots for different lies, there are different lacing patterns to accommodate different foot shapes and solve common comfort issues. If the Heel Lock isn't right for you, or if you have a specific problem spot, one of these techniques might be your solution.

For High Arches or Pressure on Top of Your Foot

If you often feel pain or a pinching sensation across the top middle part of your foot, you can create a "window" or "gap" in your lacing to relieve that pressure.

• Lace your shoes normally from the bottom up to the eyelets just below the pressure point.
• Instead of crossing the laces over the tongue, run each lace straight up to the next available eyelet on the same side.
• From there, resume your standard criss-cross lacing to the top of the shoe.
• This simple trick creates an open box in the lacing, removing any direct pressure from the sensitive area while keeping the rest of the shoe snug. You can still use the heel-lock technique at the top for added stability.

For a Wide Forefoot or Squashed Toes

If you have a wider foot, especially in the toebox, conventional lacing can make the front of the shoe feel restrictive and uncomfortable, leading to soreness or numbness in your toes.

• To give your forefoot more space, start your lacing by skipping the very first eyelet at the bottom. Start lacing from the second set of eyelets.
• Alternatively, try lacing the first two eyelets differently. Instead of a criss-cross, run the lace underneath and up through the first two eyelets on each side, forming a straight bar across the bottom two.
• After this, continue with a standard criss-cross pattern. This adjustment frees up tension in the toebox area, allowing your toes to splay more naturally during the swing.

For Narrow Feet or General Looseness

If your feet are narrow, you might find that even after tightening your laces, there’s still too much room and your foot slides from side to side. We are back to the slipping we have been talking about!

• A great technique for a more secure fit is to use a "2-1-3" lacing pattern. You would lace the first eyelet normally, then loop it an extra time over itself before crossing to the next one. This adds more friction and allows you to really cinch the shoe down around your midfoot. But another great tool you can use an everyday Heel-Lock application - one of golfs simplest hacks to have a B-U-S.

Final Quick-Fire Lacing Tips

Keep these final points in mind for the perfect fit every time you head to the course:

• Check Tension Mid-Round: Your feet can swell from walking, especially on a hot day. It’s a good idea to quickly check your laces at the turn. You may need to loosen a perfectly tied shoe on the first hole as the day progresses. It is a sign you need to listen your shoes are too tight and could cause long team foot damage.
• The Socks Matter: Always adjust your laces while wearing the same socks you’ll be playing with. A thick winter sock and a thin summer sock can dramatically change how your shoe fits. Consistency is everything when trying to optimize how your body moves throughout the round. So it is no different with socks, keeping it the same gives your foot one less factor of change, which causes your footing to feel different, your touch to feel different with the ground, making it difficult to adjust mid-round.
• Quality Laces: Frayed or worn-out laces don’t hold tension as well. Consider replacing stock laces with higher-quality flat or oval ones, as they tend to stay tied longer and distribute pressure more evenly than round laces. This may be so obvious that most golfers over look it... but if this is an on going problem, it is one of the quickest hacks a player and his can to do to tighten his control with the terrain.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to lace your golf shoes for performance is about taking control of the small details that build a better, more confident golf swing from the ground up. By using techniques like the Heel Lock, you create a stable base that lets you turn and fire through the ball without a second thought.

Paying attention to the small stuff, like how your feet are anchored, is what bridges the gap between guessing and knowing you're prepared. After helping thousands of players, our goal with Caddie AI is to give you that same feeling of confidence on every shot. Instead of guessing about club selection or how to play out of a tricky spot, you can get instant, expert advice that lets you commit to your swing, knowing you’ve made the smartest play.