Best Golf Gloves 2023

Jun 21, 2023

The best golf gloves might be the most underrated and under-appreciated accessories in the game. A pair of gloves are treated like a formality for most players—an understood obligation that they must be worn. Sure, you’ll find the occasional player who doesn’t wear gloves, but this simple garment stands as the only gear element that remains in touch with both the player and the club simultaneously. For that reason, you’re going to want a pair of golf gloves that help you grip it and rip it with confidence, swing after swing.

Almost skin tight, the best golf gloves maintain a comfortable grip and protect a player's hands ... [+] from blistering.

When shopping for the best golf gloves, you’ll need to consider the garment’s dual purpose. First, a glove makes your unique golf grip easier. As the classic golf lesson states, “You want to grip the golf club like you’re holding a baby bird,” so the gloves allow you to hold the club lightly while the sticky, tactile leather does the job of holding the shaft in place. And second, it’s the glove’s job to prevent blisters as the club grip rotates in your hands during the swing. Without a glove, you’ll quickly wind up treating hotspots after a casual round with friends.

The gloves that are right for you depends on your abilities, the day’s conditions and your budget. I consulted a variety of industry experts to identify gloves that stand out from the rest and improve your game and tested the gloves in this guide on courses around the world. My top pick overall is the Callaway OptiColor Leather Glove, which is thinner than most gloves on the market but just as durable. For a more affordable pair, your best bet is the Mizuno 2020 Tour Golf Glove, which you can order for $25 on Amazon. Ahead, all the best golf gloves in every category.

Amazon

There’s a little bit of magic in the Opti Feel+ Callaway leather used in this simple glove design. It’s thinner than the leather used in many gloves on the market, but it somehow holds up longer than most options on the market.

That thinner, lighter leather makes for an extremely comfortable golf glove that barely feels like you’re wearing anything at all. The palm of the glove holds up longer than many of the OptiColor’s rivals, and I’ve never had a single one of these gloves tear along the finger seams. Finally, perforated lines along the fingers help the glove breathe and dry.

Add a very modest sticker price of only $20, and this Callaway entry is a clear winner.

Amazon

The Bionic StableGrip Golf Glove uses a blend of spandex and thicker leather to build up a glove that feels beefier and more assuring across the hand. The manufacturer also installs an additional leather pad on the palm for extra support, and to increase the durability of the glove in that all-important spot that bears the brunt of so much friction.

The StableGrip includes thicker seams along the fingers that you can use to guide and strengthen your grip along the club. Bionic employs a patented, anatomical pad relief system to smooth out the surface of the hand, encouraging an easier and more confident grip.

Amazon

There’s something oddly counterintuitive about golf gloves for rainy play. When still dry, the outer material of many branded gloves feels more slippery than standard gloves, but golf gloves function a lot like rain slick racing tires. When the materials combine with moisture, they actually become stickier.

The TaylorMade Rain Control Gloves fit all of that unusual description by using the company’s Element Tech microfiber material and suede for damp grip conditions and nylon fabric to provide flexibility and breathability. As with all brands of rain golf gloves, the TaylorMade entry does not look to keep your hand dry. Its function is to use a wet-on-wet relationship between glove and golf club grip to maintain maximum contact before, during and after a swing.

Amazon

When a golf accessory company wants to make a glove that exudes a little more class, it usually rushes over to the makers of Cabretta leather. If you head over to your local leather worker, he or she will tell you Cabretta is not from cows but from South American and African sheep. Its thinness and lightweight feel makes it ideal for fancier golf gloves.

The (take a deep breath here) Callaway Golf X-Spann Compression Fit Premium Cabretta Leather Golf Glove (now exhale) puts that Cabretta to work along with Callaway’s X-Spann 4-Way Stretch and its Opti Fit Adjustable Closure for a secure, lockdown fit.

There’s a smoothness and gentility to the feel of this Callaway Cabretta that lends it an air of class on the course, so don’t be surprised if you catch a compliment or two.

Amazon

This is a surprise inclusion because, realistically, you might look at the sticker price of this Mizuno glove and question if it’s really a bargain. After all, you can find workable golf glove options out there for less than $10. However, a dedicated player probably won’t be well-served by a glove so ridiculously cheap.

We turn to this Mizuno Tour model because the Japanese manufacturer doesn’t make half-baked equipment. Whether its clubs, apparel or accessories, Mizuno likes to sell mid-or upper-range products that stand out in the golf market, so finding its Tour-level glove for around $20 is a bargain. This Mizuno option uses a Cabretta leather palm, a contoured fit for the palm and a double-stitch thumb for extra support at that joint. It’s simple, refined and it comes in over 10 different sizes to suit any set of hands.

Amazon

Some beginner golfers approach the game on a “maybe if” basis. “If” they try golf and “maybe” like it, they’ll pursue it for enjoyment. Those players often start out with basic or used sets of clubs and a simple, three-compartment golf bag, and the Bridgestone Fit Golf Glove will stand in nicely as that first hand protection accessory.

Bridgestone’s EZ Fit Technology uses a two-way nylon knit construction for an easier fit and improved flexibility. To keep this Bridgestone glove very affordable, the company uses a digitally-designed synthetic palm and thumb for better grip, since the beginner player probably hasn’t mastered club contact yet. And it rounds out the design with a comfortable fit that lets you focus on the fundamentals, instead of your hands.

Payntr

Payntr stands out as one of the newer faces in the golf accessory world. They came out of the gate making technologically-advanced golf shoes, and now offer gloves. The namesake gloves use thin Cabretta leather for a snug fit and a light feel, and the company’s Perf X design promotes airflow to improve breathability.

In an interesting design addition, Payntr added water-resistant elements of a rain glove with its Neverwet “superhydrophobic solution.” While golf polo-makers love to encourage moisture wicking as it channels sweat towards the edges of the fabric, that’s usually a bad idea for golf gloves as you don’t want wet fingers on the club. To that end, Payntr’s fabric blends water-resistance with non-wicking elements to coax unwanted moisture off the glove entirely.

Finally, note that V-angle in the wrist closure—I believe it’s there because of the Apple Watch and its many wrist-based rivals. With that, the cuff of the glove doesn’t bump and activate the watch functions. It’s a brave new world.

Amazon

A great quest of the golf accessory world is an effective winter golf glove. In addition to offering additional tackiness for a lighter hand grip, any glove for golf must be thin to promote tactile feel and contact with the club, which means the terms “thin” and “winter gloves” don’t go to together peacefully or effectively. As a result, there’s a constant struggle to find a glove thin enough to work in a golf swing and thick enough to keep the hands warm.

The FootJoy StaSof Winter Gloves uses the company’s own Taction3 Advanced Performance Leather by Pittards of England to create a glove that’s comfortable, durable and at least a tad bit warmer than any standard golf glove out there. They won’t keep your paws toasty warm, but no winter golf glove does. Still, these StaSofs keep your hands dry while maintaining optimum grip, so they stand out as the best option when the time comes to brave the elements.

Once we collected sample units for the gloves on this list, the testing process was simply a matter of taking countless swings both on the practice range and on a variety of golf courses around the world. It required four months of testing to guarantee durability in each of the above gloves. A couple sessions or rounds of golf is not enough to test the seams or that all-important section of leather on the outside bottom of the gloves’ palm.

In addition to standard testing protocol, gloves designed for special circumstances (rain, wind or cold weather) required exactly those conditions for testing. Those gloves that gave out fairly quickly (tearing on the palm after experiencing swing friction, or loosening in the fingers) didn’t make the cut.

Since most of the best golf gloves sell for between $20 and $40, price doesn’t often come into play for most golfers. With MSRP out of the way, the most important factors for choosing the best golf gloves for your game then become fit, comfort and durability.

For these options, fit and comfort go hand in glove (sorry). Beyond choosing the right size for your hand, it’s important the glove you choose fits like a second skin—this makes it perhaps the tightest glove in all of sports. When you find that snug fit within comfortable material, that’s your golf glove.

While $20 to $40 isn’t a significant expense for most golfers, nobody wants to give money away. As a result, durability is important. You want your glove to stand up for at least a good portion of your golf season. If you play often, you can’t expect your glove choice to last more than a few months (based on your grip pressure). Still, if the palm or fingers of your golf glove give out in a couple of rounds or practice outings, that’s simply not good enough. Move back to one of the choices in this collection.