How To Choose The Right Golf Glove

How To Choose The Right Golf Glove

Your hands are the only point of contact you have with a golf club, so it is important to have a golf glove that allows you to create a comfortable and assured grip. There are a lot of different glove models out there, and getting the right size is something too many golfers are getting wrong.

Here, we're going to give you some top tips on how to find the right size glove for your hand as well as give some advice on which type of glove is right for you. 

Watch: Dan Parker discusses how to choose the right type of golf glove as well as how to find the right size for your hand. 

Fit

You wouldn't wear a golf shoe that's the wrong size, so why wear a glove that doesn't fit? Over half of golfers are wearing the wrong size glove and most of them are wearing gloves that are too big for them. Fit is vital to allow you to get the most benefits from a golf glove as well as to help them last longer. Indeed, any golf glove with loose material is likely to wear out quicker. 

The golf glove should act like a second skin and have no loose material on the palm or around the fingers. If you can pinch any material from the palm with your hand fully open, the glove is likely too big for you. Similarly, if there is any material loose on the top of your fingers, the glove is too big. 

Another way to work out whether the glove is the right size is on the Velcro strap. The strap should only come around 75% across the back of your hand, leaving you room for adjustment either way. If you can easily bring the Velcro strap all the way around, the glove is likely too big. Likewise, if it only covers 50%, the glove is too small.

If you don't want to get a glove just by eyeing it up to see if it fits, there are some specific measurements you can take to determine an exact size. You can do this by measuring your middle finger from top to bottom as well as the circumference of your hand around the knuckle. Use these two measurements against the FootJoy Sizing Chart to determine your fit more precisely. 

FootJoy also offers Cadet sizing whereby the fingers are shorter than a standard glove, allowing golfers with wider hands or shorter fingers to still find a glove that fits like a second skin. If you're stuck between glove sizes, we'd recommend going a size smaller as you'll get the tight fit you need and the glove stretch to your hand size after a few uses. 

Type of material 

There are a number of different types of materials available in golf gloves. Full Cabretta leather gloves offer the Tour-level softness and feel that can be expected from premium leather. Leather gloves offer a seamless fit to the hand and give you a close sensation to the grip on the golf club. The CabrettaSof glove from the FootJoy range offers one of the most feeling gloves in the range Unlike most other gloves out there, leather is used throughout.

Then there are hybrid gloves like the FootJoy CountourFLX or FootJoy HyperFLX, which use a mixture of materials to offer a soft feel with plenty of comfort around the knuckles. While these types of gloves still use soft Cabretta leather in the palms, they utilize a net mesh in the knuckles to improve fit and flexibility. Even gloves like the FootJoy StaSoft, which is popular on Tour thanks to the premium leather used throughout the palm, utilize net mesh around the knuckles to provide a better, more flexible fit. 

Finally, there are gloves like the FootJoy WeatherSof which utilizes more synthetic materials to provide a glove that lasts longer than its fully leather counterparts. Leather is still added to these types of gloves in key areas of the palm to create a soft, close feel to the golf grip but more synthetic materials are used around the knuckles and fingers to help the glove last longer. If you prefer to use a full leather glove when playing, gloves like the WeatherSof are ideal to use for practice or on the driving range. Leather gloves will wear quickly if you regularly use them to play and practice in, so it can be a good idea to preserve your leather gloves for golf and use a longer-lasting synthetic glove for the range.

Choosing which one is right for you often comes down to preference of feel as well as how much you want to spend. Ultimately the full Cabretta leather gloves cost more than gloves that are primarily built using synthetic materials. Luckily with the breadth of the FootJoy range, there are gloves to suit all preferences of material as well as price points. 

Winter and wet weather gloves

Aside from your leather or hybrid options, there are specially designed gloves to use in wet and cold weather that can help keep you enjoying the game all year round. Wet weather gloves often come as a pair and the beauty of them is they get better as they get wetter. The FootJoy RainGrip gloves use QuikDry material that makes this slightly thicker glove still as breathable as the leather counterpart whilst keeping your hands dry. There is also autosuede knit material in the palm which provides a solid grip in wet or humid conditions. Like a standard glove, they are designed to fit like a second skin to still offer you plenty of feel in the golf club even in wet conditions. 

There are also options for when the weather gets particularly cold and you need a bit of help keeping your hands warm. Cold hands aren't conducive to a good grip on the golf club, so the StaSoft Winter Gloves use a performance fleece fabric to help maintain warmth in the hands. This pair is water resistant, but excels most in dry, cold conditions and allows you to continue to confidently grip the golf club even in the chilliest conditions. Having wet or cold weather gloves stowed away in your bag is a must for any serious golfer who likes to play all year round.