Ecco combines classic, casual in hybrid shoe

• By Global Golf Post
• Mar 19, 2012 1:01 PM ET

Ecco makes golf shoes that fall into the classic footwear grouping, and also the category known as casual. With its new Biom Hybrid, the family-owned Danish company now offers a model that is a combination of both.

Available in four colorways, the Biom Hybrid melds the outsole of Ecco’s Golf Street shoes, which Fred Couples popularized when he wore them with great panache in nearly winning the 2010 Masters, with the company’s Natural Motion technology, which the footwear manufacturer originally developed for the running market and is designed to encourage players to land more toward the mid-foot than the heel.

A stabilization bar runs across the arch area of each shoe for better support, and a sole featuring 100 molded TPU traction bars creates more than 800 traction angles and is designed to last five times longer than traditional rubber.

Company engineers say the extremely low profile of the Biom Hybrid brings a golfer’s weight closer to the playing surface for greater stability, and they add that a direct injection process provides superior cushioning, stability and comfort in what is a one-piece shoe that is built without glue or stitching.

Another important attribute of Biom Hybrid is the Tibetan Yak leather used to make the uppers; Ecco officials claim that material is three-times stronger than ordinary leather and just as soft. In addition, the utilization of the shoemaker’s proprietary Hydromax leather treatment is designed to keep a golfer’s foot dry and comfortable in all conditions, as is a triple-component insole system that promotes a cool, dry shoe interior.

Couples is among those tour professionals now wearing the Biom Hybrid in competition, as are Graeme McDowell, Thomas Bjorn and Stuart Appleby.