Sun Day Red has unveiled Tiger Woods’ Pioneer Cypress shoe.
Garrett Byrum/Red Sun Day
From the time Tiger Woods showed up to the 2022 Masters, his first official event since a car accident in February 2021, saw his signature Nike golf shoeswe knew something was coming.
On Tuesday, it finally became Woods’ new brand of golf apparel Day of the Red Sun released its first retail golf shoes, the Pioneer Cypressdesigned from the prototypes Woods has worn on the course during the 2024 season.
In all, nearly 20 prototypes went into the design process to create a shoe for Woods, who began putting them into play at the Genesis Invitational in February, the same week the Sun Day Red was branded. announced at a celebration in Los Angeles. Another one Casual style spikeless golf shoes was shown at that launch party, but that product has yet to hit retail.
Sun Day Red Executive Creative Director Charley Hudak said the design team took an approach focusing on four pillars — fit, comfort, performance and style — to create the Cypress Pioneer specifically for Woods, perhaps the most demanding and demanding golfer. special on the planet. Hudak could not say exactly when the design process began, but the typical process is more than two years.
“It was clearly like a Blue Sky project where, you know, we just had to satisfy one individual, and our mentality was like if we could satisfy that individual, we’d satisfy the whole community,” Hudak said. “Building off of those four pillars, we started working with (Woods’) physique, his trainer and, we did all the research and had him go through the rehab process at the same time.”
Hudak said this was the first project he had ever worked on where there was no target price point.
With fit and comfort being key, and Woods’ public struggles to simply walk 18 holes, the designers created a shoe that’s not as durable, using a more modern, athletic construction that makes the design more flexible. The more flexible construction is also why Sun Day Red claims the shoes require no break-in period
They also created a shoe that’s lower to the ground, which Hudak said is key to balance and stability. The shoe’s classic silhouette also added to the overall stability thanks to a wider base.
“We had the impression that we would deal with athletics (look), but it was his call. He wanted more classics,” said Hudak. “We talked about some of his old shoes that he was wearing and one of his things was that they didn’t meet his criteria and I think that’s one of the main reasons why the opportunity to work with him arose.”
Throughout the shoe there are subtle nods to Woods, such as some of his motivational phrases – “Do the work” and “Put in the time” – on the bottom of the sockliner. The bottom of the outsole also features tiger claw patterns, as well as a tiger stripe pattern on the back of the heel.
Cypress Pioneer will launch exclusively on SunDayRed.com on December 4 in five colors and one with a two-year waterproof warranty. The first three, Black/Silver, White/Silver and Grey/Navy, will each be available for 250 dollars. The other two, black/red and white/red, will be limited edition offerings 275 dollars as Woods’ personal favorite colors with a red outsole and other hints of red detailing.
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