Keeping a glove fresh as long as possible

[Liko81]

Until this last buy, I've been fine with Nike Durafeel gloves. This time around I decided to give FootJoy WeatherSof a try and picked up a two-pack. After the first couple of rounds/rage trips, one potential disadvantage is obvious; they come packaged in an acetate plastic. I normally put the glove, flat, back into the package so it doesn't end up crumpled at the bottom of the bag pocket, and with the heavy card containers for the Durafeels that wasn't a problem, but after just a couple rounds of this treatment with the WeatherSof glove, not only did it come out of the package with the thumb stuck to the palm, and reeking to high heaven, but the other glove in the two-pack smells like a tannery in August as well. I generally get a season or sometimes more out of each glove, but the first glove of the two-pack only lasted a couple months.

So, the question to the gallery is, how do you store your gloves between rounds, and how long do they last you with that treatment? Yeah, they're just gloves, but the less I spend even on "disposable" items like gloves, balls, etc, the easier it is to justify to the family accountant.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Liko81

[Brian W]

I like to keep them on my towel ring between rounds or even if I am switching between gloves in a very sweaty round.  I generally keep one older one in the bag for when I go to the range or for when I am chipping or something in the back yard.  I like to have the newest feeling on my glove during rounds.

Check out this thread

 

[arturo28mx]

I've been using the same glove for the last two years!!! It's really beat up but it has no holes and I feel I can grip the club just fine. Maybe it's time to get a new one!!!

[dave s]

Seems to me that sweat shortens the life of a golf glove more than anything.  Just back two weeks ago from a Gulf Coast golf trip.  It was steamy.  Started with a brand new Titleist Players' Glove.  It was pretty much soaked after each round.  By the third round of filling it full of sweat and letting it dry out naturally, it was pretty much brittle and smooth.  Lost all suppleness and gripping ability.

If it's not wet after the round I agree with OP that taking it off carefully, reforming it and putting it back in the original packaging envelope is probably the best way to keep a glove clean, dry and in good working order.

Down south?  I guess those guys keep the golf glove guys in business because the weather lays waste to gloves.

dave

[Groucho Valentine]

I just let them air out naturually in the trunk of the car until i wear out a hole in the thumb. Regardless of condition or stinkiness. For hot humid days, i just try to have more than one glove in the bag (two or more) so i don't completely soak one glove. Used ones seem to do better in humid conditions than brand new ones. 

[BamaWade]

I'm like you - prolong your investments!  And so I make glove maintenance/cleaning a bit of a science.

Being in humid Alabama, I used to buy WeatherSofs, but found I didn't like the feel, and they don't clean well for me.

I've gone to FJ SciFlex, and really like them so far.  A few more $$ per glove than WeatherSofs, but higher quality, to me (and a much softer feel).

Depending on the heat/humidity here, I cycle through 3-5 gloves per round in the summer (and soak every one through by the end of the round).  Post-round I take an extra few minutes to prolong their life.  I pull them off the bag and gently stretch each back to form, straighten them, and lay them stretched across my towel in the cabin (not in the trunk with the clubs!).  Once at home, I take them inside, lightly stretch them again as needed, and hang them each over a rail in the house to dry in-form.

After ~4-5 rounds (when they start showing dirt and losing feel), I wash them.  You can do that by hand with a little dish-soap and cold water (never use hot water!), but I've had great success (and it requires much less effort) tossing them in the washing machine on cold/gentle.  Once finished, I simply stretch them gently back to form (a little light massaging on the leather) and hang them to dry for 10-12 hours (overnight).

I notice a huge difference in their life by following the above practice, and it requires only a couple of minutes effort post-round, and a few more on the wash/hang-dry.

I find that, after drying, they will feel a tiny bit stiff, but you can put them on one-by-one, and gently massage over the leather, and it will quickly soften, and you'll really appreciate the feel of a clean glove.

Key points:

• Don't package them back up post-round, especially wet!
• Don't leave them on the bag/in-trunk post-round.  They will dry crumpled
• No matter your wash method (hand/machine), only use cold water
• To dry them, never use heat!  Only hang-dry stretched to form
• Stretch/massage them post-round, then again when hanging post-wash
• Be disciplined about this process; one lazy leave in the trunk/on-bag can mean glove=toast
• My gloves last me about 5-6 wash cycles before the leather starts to give up the ghost

Hope that helped!

BamaWade

Edited September 13, 2016 by BamaWade

[Mop Bucket]

I feel your pain. I tend to have a few gloves on me at all times. If they're fresh and dry, I keep them in a separate pocket from everything else, but if one is damp from a previous round, I'll hook it on a towel ring.

The best way to keep a glove fresh though is just to only wear it when you need it. Whenever I'm in between shots or putting, it's always in my back pocket or on my bag. 

[hilmar2k]

People go through a lot of work for a golf glove.....

I play a lot, 3-4 times per week. I never do anything for my glove other than take it off between shots. I do hang it from the velcro glove attachment on either my bag or my push cart to help it dry a little, but it goes right into the bag at the end of the round. 

I wear the Weathersofs and get a ton of rounds out of them. I just wear them until I wear a hole. They stay nice and soft for me the whole time. I think I got nearly a season (probably 60 rounds) out of my last one. At the price they are, and how long they last, I couldn't imagine wasting time washing it.....

[Liko81]

On 9/19/2016 at 2:40 PM, hilmar2k said:

People go through a lot of work for a golf glove.....

I play a lot, 3-4 times per week. I never do anything for my glove other than take it off between shots. I do hang it from the velcro glove attachment on either my bag or my push cart to help it dry a little, but it goes right into the bag at the end of the round. 

I wear the Weathersofs and get a ton of rounds out of them. I just wear them until I wear a hole. They stay nice and soft for me the whole time. I think I got nearly a season (probably 60 rounds) out of my last one. At the price they are, and how long they last, I couldn't imagine wasting time washing it.....

I'll try taking it off between shots and letting the glove and my hand air-dry a little. However, I'll bet you a pair of Pro V1s that the reason your glove has lasted longer is that you haven't been playing/practicing regularly in 100-degree heat and high humidity (whether naturally or just because the range has the misting fans going). If I were playing in a climate where 97* was a record high for July instead of the average daytime high, I'd probably get a lot more out of a glove too, because I'd be sweating a lot less into it. I think the rain glove suggestion (if I can find a good white one; no way I'm wearing a black synthetic glove on a clear, sunny Texas day), along with letting leather gloves thoroughly air-dry as much as possible, are the takeaways for me here.