Can You Play Golf Without Wearing a Glove? &nda...

Anyone can see that golf is a sport with many quirks. As with any kind of discipline that involves a lot of precision, golfers have developed many habits and superstitions. While some of them do have logical reasoning behind them, others don’t. Then some others have been around for a long time, and yet many people do not know the actual purpose of them.

One of the most popular practices golfers engage in is the use of gloves for playing golf. To be more specific, in most cases only one single glove is used. This can leave many newcomers scratching their heads. And no, it is not an MJ tribute! In this article, we are going to explain the reasons why golfers wear gloves. And most importantly, can—or should you, for that matter—play without one? You are about to find that out…

Why Wear Golf Gloves?

The first item on the to-do checklist is to tell you why golfers wear gloves in the first place. The reason is so obvious it can fly above our heads, figuratively speaking. It is for grip purposes.

As you may already know, like in tennis or other sports that involve the use of hands, you have a dominant hand and a non-dominant one. If you’re left-handed, your dominant hand is the left one, and the non-dominant one is the right one. In the case of right-handed people, the same thing happens oppositely. While the dominant hand is highly important, both hands play a significant role in the swing. If both hands aren’t employed adequately, chances are the shot will be lackluster.

When you swing the club, you have got to hold it in place, limiting unnecessary movements. You should move it in such a way that the only motion done is one that propels the ball where you want it to go. The glove becomes handy—I beg your pardon for the pun—when shooting because it aids in locking the club into its right place. The hand that has the glove on will be the one having “extra grip”.

Going into further detail, the club won’t turn inside a player’s hand while swinging with the use of a golf glove. Under hot weather conditions, the glove will retain moisture and help with the adherence of the hand to the club because of the friction.

As with everything, there are specific gloves designed for each specific weather to ameliorate grip (e.g., rain, cold weather, etc.)

Quick tip: If you like to swing with a rather loose grip, it would be a good idea for you to employ a golf glove (you will get a much better grip while exerting less force).

How to Properly Wear a Golf Glove

In reference to which hand it should be put on, the glove needs to be fitted in the non-dominant hand. This is because you want to have as much club feel as you possibly can in your dominant hand, to apply a proper power output. Both the swing and the overall movement’s speed are controlled by the dominant hand. In summation, the non-dominant hand is the one that absorbs the largest proportion of the swing’s energy.

This means that if you play as a right-handed person, you should wear a glove on your left hand and vice-versa if you play as a left-handed player. In case you don’t know yet, the dominant hand goes above the dominant one.

In regards to fit, it should be snug. If the glove is loose, it will provide you with little to no grip due to the poor fit itself. Thus, you’ll be more concerned about wrangling the glove than about the golf shot in itself.

Should You Wear One Glove, Two Gloves, Or No Gloves at All?

In reality, this boils down to personal preference for each golfer. In the vast majority of cases, golfers only wear one glove for the reasons showcased above. But, there are still players of the likes of Fred Couples that opt to wear no gloves. There is an even smaller minority that chooses to wear two gloves while golfing. A clear example is Tommy Gainey. aka "Tommy Two Gloves"

When Should You Wear Golf Gloves?

Once again, this can also be determined by your personal decision and choice. Oftentimes, the glove is worn when utilizing woods, irons, hybrids, and wedges.

For shorter shots such as putts, most players decide not to wear one. When you putt, you want to have as much feel of the club as possible for the shot. Therefore, the bare skin on the putt will give a much more trustworthy feel for the force you must exert for a successful shot. Besides, the chances of having the putt fly out of your hands due to poor grip are much lesser than when teeing off, for instance.

Benefits of Wearing a Golf Glove

Although you can play golf without one, wielding a glove holds several advantages over not doing so. Some of them are these:

Comfort
No blistering of the hands
Better grip
Keep hands dry
Better control of the club

Costs of a Golf Glove

In general terms, some golfing items tend to be on the expensive side. The upside to golfing gloves is that this doesn’t apply to them. Any glove from any reputable golf brand can be found for $10 or $15. In some cases, they can be found for less than that. Gloves that are built for specific purposes tend to be more expensive. Also, if you want rather sophisticated styles and materials, the prices will surely increase, though.

Usually, most sold golf gloves come in different sizes, generally varying between S and XXL. Most of the time, you have to measure the length of your middle finger and the circumference of the upper part of your palm (where the knuckles are) to find out your size.

When talking about color schemes and materials, they are mostly fabricated in leather. As a convention, most golfing gloves come in white, or white-and-black color schemes. Yet, you can find many different colors for them.