Golf gloves are more than just a fashionable accessory. They can improve your swing by adding traction to your grip. But in order to get the benefits golf gloves offer, you need to know which type to buy, how to take care of them and when to wear them. To help you find the right ones, we've answered the seven most-asked questions about golf gloves.

1. Why Should You Use Golf Gloves?

    Golf gloves prevent blisters from forming on your hands and keep your club from slipping out of your hands when you sweat (Purner 101). Wearing golf gloves also increases your control of the club by offering better traction, which helps to keep the club from twisting during your swing (Kroen 33). If you are prone to gripping your golf club too-tight, golf gloves may help you relax. The traction provided by golf gloves enables golfers to loosen their grip (Linkin 36).

2. Are There Different Types of Golf Gloves?

    There are three different types of golf gloves: leather, synthetic and hybrids made of leather and synthetic materials. The most expensive gloves are thinner and made of cabretta leather (Linkin 37, Davis 42). While they give you the best feel of the club, they also wear out the quickest (Linkin 37).  Thick leather gloves do not wear out as quickly; however, they do decrease your feel of the club (Carrick 73).
    Synthetic gloves are cheaper and more durable than leather gloves; however, they do not breathe as well, which means your hand may sweat more (Linkin 37). Although, some synthetic golf gloves offer wicking and quick-dry features that can be appealing (Davis 42).
    In many ways, the hybrid golf gloves offer the best of both worlds. They have the durability of synthetic golf gloves and the feel of leather golf gloves. Hybrid golf gloves have leather on the palm and fingers of the glove and synthetic material everywhere else (Linkin 37). Regardless of which type of golf glove you get, remember that the best golf gloves are ones that are supple (Purner 101).

3. How Can You Tell if a Golf Glove Fits Right?

    The best way to determine the proper glove size is to make a fist. If you can make a fist and move your fingers comfortably without the glove being too loose, then the glove fits right (Davis 42).

4. When Should You Get a New Golf Glove?

    As soon as you start to see a hole forming in your golf glove, you should get a new golf glove (Carrick 73). If you find that your golf gloves are wearing out too quickly, the cause for holes in your golf gloves may be your grip. According to Jim Linkin and Patrick Livingston, "Most gloves wear out because the club either rides too high up in the palm crease of our left hand or we are holding the club too far out on the end. Both scenarios cause friction and will wear holes in your glove (37)."

5. How Do You Care for Your Golf Gloves?

    You should never golf with a wet golf glove, which means you should remove your golf glove and let it air dry between shots (Kroen 33). If you are playing on a very hot, humid day you may want to bring an extra glove so you can rotate golf gloves throughout the day (Linkin 37). When you are finished golfing never stuff your golf glove in your bag. Your golf glove should be air-dried; otherwise it will be hard and crunchy the next time you play (Linkin 37). You should always dry your glove naturally because using heat will cause your golf glove to lose its feel and shrink (Carrick 73).

6. Which Hand Should You Wear Your Golf Glove On?

    Normally, right-handed golfers wear their golf glove on their left hand, and left-handed golfers wear their golf glove on their right hand (Davis 42). However, you can wear a golf glove on both of your hands if you would like to protect your hands from blisters or find the extra traction improves your swing.

7. When Should You Use a Golf Glove?

    Wearing a golf glove is only important when you need to protect your skin from blisters or keep your club from flying out of your hands. In other words, one is only needed when driving or hitting shots from the fairway. When you are putting or chipping, you are better off not wearing a golf glove because golf gloves can decrease your feel of the club resulting in missed shots (Pierre 22).