Are golf gloves a pointless affectation?

In todays ghastly wind I endured a nightmare start to my round and by the third had lost interest.
At this point I turned off my skycaddie, removed my glove and proceeded to get home in one over in some pretty tough conditions.
So although I was more relaxed and not concerned about my score I began to wonder what the point of a glove is. I felt no loss in performance and struck the ball perfectly well with no loss of grip, if anything I probably had a bit more feel.

So, is there really any point in a glove, or do we simply wear them out of convention?

I've never worn one, wouldn't know.

Plenty of pros don't wear them either, though one wears two!

I don't wear a glove either. It seems to be a needless expense for me.

Got a comp tomorrow at Kingsbarns so I'm going to try no glove and see how I go.
Only used to wear one on full shots anyway.

Been a good few years since i've had a round but never worn one.

Never wear one for anything inside about 125yards because I never bother to put one on for short game practice so it feels odd and clumsy now for short game shots.


I wouldn't bother to wear a glove at all were it not for me having issues with the positioning of my left hand on the club. I tend to fiddle/fidget with the position of my left hand on the club so can end up with blisters if I don't wear one. Blisters on the hand of course not always being due to a hard grip.

Those teenage witches struggle don't they Mac, you need a strong grip.

Interesting question. I've had a couple of periods where I haven't worn one at all. Currently do and I think it's only because it feels a bit odd if I hit shots without it that I continue with it. I certainly don't wear one if it's at all wet and I suspect if I just practiced a bit without one it would feel completely natural and I wouldn't bother at all. That said, if it was warm/humid I'd probably want one in case hands were tending to become a bit sweaty.
I'm betting most wear one as it's "the done thing" but haven't ever thought about whether it's actually an advantage.

Used to wear one all the time, for every shot. Then went through a wannabe tour pro phase where it came off between every shot and not on for shot game or putting. Then for some reason it felt uncomfortable and bothered me so I stopped wearing one all together. I used to have corded grips at the time so I ended up with some callouses around the crease at the bottom of my fingers. I have a callous just above my wedding ring that I'll never get rid of.

I have since changed grips to tacky Winn grips so they're a little softer and more comfortable to grip. When it's really hot and my hands are slipping I'll sometimes wear a glove to stop this.

Grumps,
A lot of people do get rid of their wedding ring . . . . . . . .

Mine seems to be shrinking every year Kwini, either that or I'm getting fatter.

Would have cleaned up on the book at the wedding. 14 years and counting.

Dunno, never wear one of them either!
Stops the callouses!!

Have never worn a glove, and do not have my clubs re gripped all that often, as it takes me ages to get used to the feel of them again.

Is blokes wearing a wedding ring a new thing?

I notice at work some of the older guys that would have got married in the 70's and 80's dont wear rings but the more newly married guys do?


Super
You will know I have moved on the fantasising over the girl from Twilight.


back to gloves;

Does it really make me a tour pro wannabe to remove my glove short game shots? I hope thats not what my playing partners think when I do it.

McLaren wrote:Is blokes wearing a wedding ring a new thing?...

No, but maybe those not doing so in the 80s were trying to be a bit macho? You know, all Michael Douglas in "Wall Street"...

I was married in the 70s and wore my wedding ring for the first 6 months, but have not worn it since

I never use a glove around the greens for chipping or putting as I prefer the feel I get without it. That said anything that involves even a half swing I find if I don't wear a glove I can't get comfortable.

My grip gets really inconsistent without a glove. That said, I don't wear it when I don't have a full shot or in the rain.

Very early on in my golf "career", I disliked the one white hand syndrome, so I started taking the glove off after every shot and just putting it on to hit the ball. Then realised that it didn't make any difference wearing one and haven't ever since (oh except on a couple of occasions when I had a problem with my hand and felt it gave a little more support)

Tried most of today w/o wearing a glove and played pants.....nothing to do with the lack of glove though. TBH, may well continue w/o one.

Played decent without a glove today, would have been excellent had I not putted like a Gareth Hunt, but I never wore a glove to putt before today anyway.

Obviously it's possible to play (well) without a glove but I personally feel much more comfortable with one on. I do believe they offer a better grip.

I believe they offer a better grip as well and always play with a glove.

If it's raining I will have 4 or 5 gloves in my bag.

I also think they give me a better (or possibly better known) feel and do not take the glove off (unless to change it - or if caught short ) from 1st tee to 18th green.

Mind you, if I thought for one second it would make me putt better, it would be on and off quicker than a 15 year old doing the hokey cokey.

Very interesting topic ... yesterday my better half took thing 1 to a swim meet, and I took things 2 and 3 to the pool. I then proceeded to take a few clubs and walk over to the range. Simply forgot my glove but still hit balls anyway. How did it feel? I'm convinced I didn't hit any worse or better than I would have otherwise.

So, to answer the question ... just maybe!

I imagine a glove might be useful should you have sweaty palms or soft skin etc, but after the weekend I didn't really notice any change at all either.

I've only ever worn a glove to avoid blisters when I've been playing regularly... never noticed any other difference