Winter Golf Gloves vs Rain Gloves vs Mitts: Which To Use
If you have never given winter golf gloves a thought, the first properly cold round of the year usually changes that by the second tee. Your fingers have gone stiff, the leather glove that felt perfect in July now feels like cardboard, and a thin iron sends a jolt up your arms that lasts until the turn. Then a shower rolls through and the grip starts to slide.
Winter golf gloves, rain gloves and mitts each solve one of those problems, and none of them solves all three. A winter glove keeps your hands warm while you swing, a rain glove grips better the wetter it gets, and a mitt keeps your hands warm between shots but comes off before you hit. Many golfers who play through the colder months end up carrying two of the three. This guide shows you which two.
Why Cold And Wet Weather Beat Your Regular Glove
Your hands are the only part of you touching the club, and cold hits them first. In a laboratory study published in the journal Human Factors in 2010, researchers found that grip strength fell by 12 percent after 40 minutes of cold exposure, and skin temperature was the best predictor of how much dexterity people lost. The good news from the same work is that grip strength came back within 15 minutes of rewarming. Warm hands are not a luxury in winter golf, they are how you keep your normal grip pressure.
Water is the other problem. A standard cabretta glove is built for feel in dry conditions. MG's own DynaGrip uses a tanning process that adds moisture resistance for hot or humid days, but humidity and a steady rain are different things. Once leather is properly soaked it gets slick, and it is slow to dry. That is why the specialist gloves exist, and why the choice depends on whether your problem is cold, wet or both. If you are still working out layers for the rest of your body, our guide to what to wear golfing in cold weather covers it temperature by temperature.
Winter Golf Gloves: Warmth You Can Swing In
A winter golf glove is a full golf glove with insulation added. Most are built with a fleece or thermal back and a palm made of leather or a grippy synthetic, and some are sold as a pair so both hands stay warm. Golf Monthly's 2026 roundup, last updated in July 2026, gives a good picture of the range: the FootJoy StaSof Winter puts cabretta leather on the palm and fingers under a fleece upper, the FootJoy WinterSof uses a knit synthetic palm with a foam fleece back, and the Under Armour ColdGear Infrared is sold in pairs with a heat-retaining lining.
The trade is feel. A thicker glove puts more material between your fingers and the grip, so chips and putts feel slightly muted. Golf Monthly's testers found some winter models kept feel intact around the greens, while one fashion-led cold weather glove did not "give you the same performance as an actual golf glove." Sizing is the other catch. Fleece adds bulk, some models run small, and the reviewers recommend trying a winter glove on before you buy. Start from your normal size, which our golf glove size guide will help you confirm, and only go up if the fingers bind when you make a fist.
Winter gloves earn their place on dry, cold days when you want to keep a glove on for the whole hole. They are less useful in a downpour unless the model is specifically waterproof, and Golf Monthly singles out the WinterSof as one that is.
Rain Gloves: The Glove That Grips Better When Wet
Rain gloves work the opposite way to leather. They are made from microfibre, synthetic suede or textured fabrics that are designed to hold the club when soaked, and several models genuinely grip better the wetter they get. National Club Golfer's 2026 test describes them as designed to offer excellent grip and control even when wet, and many are sold as a pair and worn one on each hand.
That last point surprises golfers the first time. Wearing two gloves feels strange for a few holes, and the testers admitted it "will always feel a bit alien" at first. The payoff is that the club stays put through impact when everything else is dripping. A few things to know before you buy:
- Rain gloves are at their best in the wet and can feel less secure once the weather dries up, so swap back to leather when the rain stops.
- Some models, such as the MacWet Micromesh, are designed to stay on for the whole round and are awkward to take off and put back on between shots.
- For some models the testers advise sizing up, so check the fit notes before you order.
- They are not warm. Thin rain gloves can feel cold when wet, which is why the same reviewers suggest carrying mitts in prolonged rain.
Your top half needs the same thinking. Our guide to choosing a windshirt or a rain jacket explains when each layer earns a spot in the bag.
MG Senior Golf Balls
Built for golfers looking for a higher launch, hotter feel and more distance, particularly when driver distance is under 250 yards.
- Designed for extra distance
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DynaGrip Elite
A lightweight premium Cabretta leather glove made for golfers who value soft feel, grip feedback and comfort.
- Soft premium Cabretta leather
- Thin construction for better feel
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- Men's, cadet and women's sizing
MG600S Laser Rangefinder
A compact 6X rangefinder with slope-adjusted yardages, pin-lock confirmation and an external LCD display.
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Golf Mitts: Warmth Between Shots
Mitts are not gloves at all. They are large, insulated covers you pull over your hands while you walk, wait on the tee or line up a putt, then slip off before you swing, because you cannot hit a shot in them. That is exactly why they work so well. Your hands spend far more of a round waiting than swinging, and the same study found that grip strength recovered once cold hands were warmed up again.
Today's Golfer's 2026 mitt guide recommends mitts that are waterproof, have a thermal lining and come off quickly, with expandable cuffs or a clip for the bag. Some are big enough to wear over your normal glove, some have pockets for chemical hand warmers, and some attach to a push or electric trolley handle so they are always waiting for you. GOLF.com's Zephyr Melton made the same point in his cold weather tips in January: "Your hands are your only connection to the club," so keep a couple of hand warmers in your pockets and your fingers in there between shots.
The big advantage of mitts is that you keep your normal glove and your normal feel for the swing itself. Pair them with a fresh cabretta glove, and if you are unsure which, our comparison of DynaGrip, DynaGrip Elite and TechGrip explains the differences. Many golfers will not need a dedicated winter glove at all on cold, dry days.
Which Glove To Use In Which Conditions
Here is how the three options line up. Treat it as a starting point, then adjust for how cold your hands run.
| Conditions | What to wear for the swing | What to use between shots |
|---|---|---|
| Cool and dry | Your normal leather glove | Pockets or a hand warmer |
| Cold and dry | Normal leather glove, or a winter glove if you keep it on all hole | Mitts |
| Light showers | Leather glove, with a spare kept dry in the bag | Umbrella and a towel |
| Steady rain | A pair of rain gloves | Umbrella; mitts if it is also cold |
| Cold and wet | Rain gloves, or a waterproof winter glove | Waterproof mitts with hand warmers |
Whatever you choose, carry more than one glove in winter. A leather glove that gets damp on the front nine will be cold and slick on the back nine, and rotating two or three gloves through a round keeps each one drier. It also helps them last, as our guide to how many rounds a golf glove lasts explains, because wet leather and poor drying leave a glove stiff and worn out far sooner. At $8.75, a spare DynaGrip glove is a cheap insurance policy, and it belongs on any golf bag essentials checklist from November to March.
What The Rules Say About Gloves And Hand Warmers
Winter and rain gloves are legal for normal play as long as they are plain gloves. The USGA's equipment rules say a glove must have smooth materials on the full palm and gripping surface of the digits, with no padding more than 0.025 inches thicker than the surrounding material, no straps and nothing that sticks to the grip. Material added for moisture absorption or wear resistance is allowed, provided it does not count as padding.
Hand warmers are fine for your hands, but keep them away from your ball. Rule 4.2a(2) says you must not make a stroke at a ball whose performance has been deliberately altered, and heating it counts. National Club Golfer's Steve Carroll notes that the penalty for hitting a heated ball is disqualification. If a ball has been sitting in the warm pocket, swap it for another before your next stroke. Cold does change how far the ball goes, and our guide to how cold weather changes golf ball carry distance covers the legal ways to adjust.
Winter Golf Glove FAQs
Do you wear two gloves in winter golf?
Often, yes. Several winter and rain gloves are sold as a pair and worn one on each hand, which keeps both hands warm or both hands gripping in the wet at the cost of a little feel.
Are rain gloves good in dry weather?
Not usually. Rain gloves are built to grip when wet and can feel less secure once conditions dry out, so switch back to a leather glove when the rain stops.
Can you swing with golf mitts on?
No. Mitts are worn between shots and taken off before you swing, which is why quick-release cuffs and a clip to attach them to your bag or trolley are worth having.
Should I size up for winter golf gloves?
Start with your normal size and try the glove on. Fleece linings add bulk and some models run small, so go up a size only if the fingers feel tight when you close your hand.
Keep Your Hands Warm And Your Glove Dry
For most golfers the simplest winter setup is a pair of mitts plus two or three normal leather gloves, with a pair of rain gloves tucked in the bag for the days the forecast gets it wrong. Add a dedicated winter glove if you play in genuinely cold conditions and hate taking a glove on and off every shot. Before you head out, it is worth checking your current glove too: the wear patterns on an old glove will show you where your grip pressure and hand position are wearing through the leather, and a soaked glove wears out faster than a dry one.
And on the days when it is simply too cold or too wet to be out there, the work does not have to stop. A mat and a net at home keep your hands and your swing sharp, and our indoor golf drills for the winter show you exactly what to practice.
