There is a lot more to the game of golf than owning a set of golf clubs, if you want to be successful you will need to wear the right gear. One of the most important items of your gear is your golf shoes and even more importantly than the shoes are the golf spikes that you place in them. While many people refer to the whole shoe as the spikes much in the same way a baseball players call his shoes a pair of cleats, the spikes themselves are actually the small pins that protrude from the soles of the shoes.
The purpose of golf spikes is to help the golfer keep his feet firmly planted on the ground during his swing. While you can play the game without a set of spikes you might find that you have a hard time keeping your feet and managing to put any real power into your shot off the tee or out on the fairway. They also serve to provide the player with traction when walking out on the fairway and in the sand traps.
On the average pair of golfing shoes you will find that there are 12 golf spikes arranged with 8 on the front part of the sole and 4 on the heel. These spikes are removable as they do tend to wear down over time and are made from a variety of different materials allowing the player to choose his spikes either to suit his own tastes or the conditions of the course that he is going to be playing. The spikes are screwed into threaded holes built into the soles making them relatively easy to remove and replace.
There are three basic types of spikes and players can choose anyone of the three to suit conditions and playing style. The soft spikes are made from polyurethane and are designed not to damage the grass on the course, some golf clubs actually insist on these spikes. The only problems are that they do not provide as much traction as the other styles and they wear out quickly.
The ceramic golf spikes provide excellent traction and are very long lasting making them the preferred choice of many professional golfers, however they are quite expensive. Then there is the ultimate steel spike that provides the longest lifespan and superior traction. Both of these use metal threaded posts and sockets that have to be kept clean and rust free or they will get to the point where they cannot be removed. With ceramic and steel spikes you risk damaging the grass and many golf clubs and courses do not permit them to reduce the amount of damage to the course.