Playing Golf Without A Glove (3 Tips)

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

While the majority of golfers wear a glove, there are some that prefer the natural feel of not wearing a glove.

Freddie Couples comes to mind as the most popular golfer to not wear a glove.  Our current professionals include Lucas Glover and Arron Oberholser.  They choose not to wear a glove because of the personal choice measured by their performance with a glove and without a glove.

Can you play golf without a glove?

Yes, a golf glove is not a requirement to play golf, but it is highly recommended.  The majority of golfers will benefit from wearing a glove due to the improvement in the grip and the confidence that the club will not slip during the golf swing.

Why do golfers wear one glove?

Tips for playing golf without a glove

  • Carry a towel that is half wet and half dry
  • Clean your grips between rounds
  • Change your grips frequently

If you aren’t going to wear a glove there are some important steps to take to ensure you can keep a proper grip on the club to help perform at the highest level and to ensure the safety of all golfers.

What hand do you wear a golf glove on?

A golf glove is recommended, but there are 3 key tips if you choose not to wear one.

Tip #1: Carry a towel that is half wet and half dry

This is the single most important tip, whether you wear a golf glove or not.  It is important to wipe down your grips before and even after every shot.  It helps the grip stay tacky and clean and provide the best possible grip.  If the grip becomes dirty or gets the oil from your skin on the grip, it will not be at a highest performance level.  

On those extra hot and sweaty days, this practice becomes even more important. You will also want to use the towel to wipe down your hands to keep them free of sweat.  Without a glove it does take some extra attention to your grips and your hands to ensure they are clean and free of sweat and oil.

How long should a golf glove last?

Tip #2: Clean your grips between rounds

After every round, in order to get the longest life out of your grips, you will want to wipe them down and clean after every round.  Many golfers just simply end the round, drive to their car and put their clubs in the trunk until the next round. 

 If you want your grips to perform at their highest level and last the longest, getting in a routine of cleaning your grips after every round is highly recommended.

Tip #3: Clean your grips frequently

Sometimes you don’t realize how bad your grips are until you get new grips.  Make sure you check out your different options, but change them frequently.  I would recommend every 50-100 rounds depending what type of weather you typically golf in.  

If you play in hot and humid conditions or wet conditions frequently, you will want to change closer to every 50 rounds.  If you play in a 70 degree and low humidity and you clean frequently, you will be closer to the 100 rounds.

Final Thoughts

I would highly recommend wearing a glove if you have the opportunity to do so.  Unless for some reason, you simply do not feel comfortable or perform at a higher level without a glove, even one shot per round where you lose your grip or become tentative during the shot is enough to bring out the glove.

One other advantage is if you are hitting a lot of shots over the course of a week and putting in plenty of practice time, the glove golf can help protect your hands.  I hit golf balls almost everyday of the year and have plenty of calluses, but wear a glove to provide that extra layer of protection.

Golf is a game played over 4-5 hours and every shot counts.  The last thing you want is to lose your grip and have a poor shot over something that could have been avoided.

Why do golfers take off their glove to putt?

Helpful Products

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently.  About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.  I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer.  I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.  I can practice or play rounds of golf.  I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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