Some points about spikes:
~Modern, plastic golf shoes are made for softspikes. There is more give in the plastic soles, and they could be very uncomfortable, walking on hard surfaces with metal spikes in them. Manufacturers, selling the newest-design golf shoes, pressure their staff players to wear the newest shoes. And, with adidas and Nike becoming big players in golf, there is a lot more focus on shoe contracts. I remember the days when, at a Tour event, 90% of the players wore all-leather FootJoys. That number is now about 10%, and shrinking, since FootJoy closed the Brockton shoe plant.
~Metal spikes are about four times more prevalent on the European Tour than on the US Tour. Ditto the whole European market.
~There are a lot of hybrid designs that are popular now on the US Tour that would not be allowed if we tried to do it at our own courses. i.e., the Champ Stinger, which is a metal post inserted into a plastic thread-body.
~I got in a debate with somebody once about the % of US Tour players who wear metal spikes. So I counted the entire field one pleasant sunny day at Warwick Hills for a Buick Open. I was honestly surprised at how few guys wore metal. Elkington did, of course, and so did TAIII. And so did a Mr. T. Woods from Florida. This was on a Saturday, so it was after a cut. Less than a dozen guys in all. Of the guys who were wearing metal, all but one had old-style leather soled shoes. Tiger was the only guy with modern shoes that had metal in them.