Junior Golf Gloves

Under armor junior golf glove

Junior Golf Gloves - Overview

Golf gloves have many benefits for juniors. Apart from kids liking the look, and feeling like a tour pro with their new glove, junior golf gloves can also improve performance on the golf course.

Golf gloves are tackier than skin and therefore juniors are able to hold the club with less pressure but still keeping the club from slipping. This is especially important in hot weather when hands become sweaty and slippery. Children's golf gloves will also prevent blisters and callouses which is obviously helpful for juniors that practice a lot. Since kids do not have the hand strength that adults do, a golf glove can also help them hold the club with less pressure while retaining grip and traction. 

Gloves are made from various different materials. Cabretta leather is the softest and gives the best feel, but tends to wear out quicker. Synthetic materials do not wear out as fast but may not have as good a fit as genuine leather. Hybrid gloves are made from both genuine and synthetic leather and attempt to combine the benefits of both. 

Good golf gloves will have fabric with perforation or mesh areas for improved breathability. Some brands have different color gloves or interchangeable colors - a fun option for both boys golf gloves and girls golf gloves. 

Fitting Information

The glove should fit snugly like a second skin with no loose material, as any movement will affect the shot. The fingers should be touching the end of the glove. The key measurements are the length of the fingers and the circumference of the hand as pictured below.

junior golf glove fitting

Source: footjoy.com

Footjoy golf gloves are some of the best on the market and they have a really nice golf glove fitting chart that can be used for juniors to see if they are ready to move into ladies' golf gloves or even men's small golf gloves. Click on the diagram below to go to the Footjoy golf glove site then print off the two measuring pages and simply compare your results to the table. You might be surprised to see that you junior no longer needs children's golf gloves and can use either ladies golf gloves or men's small cadet golf gloves.

footjoy junior golf gloves

Source: www.footjoy.com/fitting-men-gloves

Should juniors wear one or two golf gloves?

Most golfers wear only one glove on the hand of their leading arm (i.e. on the left hand for right handed golfers). There is a school of thought that believes wearing golf gloves on both hands can help improve grip, especially in very hot and humid conditions.

Tommy "two-gloves" Gainey is the most well-known PGA Tour pro who uses two gloves, mostly as a result of him moving from baseball to golf and being used to using two gloves for batting. On the other hand, there are a few tour pros who do not use a glove at all. Ben Hogan is one notable that never used a golf glove. 

Juniors might benefit from using both a right and left hand glove in very cold weather conditions. For cold weather golf you can either use both a left and a right hand regular glove or can you can use special winter golf gloves like the Footjoy cold weather gloves pictured below. Ladies winter golf gloves in a Small or X-Small size might be appropriate for younger juniors. Golf mittens can also be very helpful to wear in between shots (tip - put a hand warmer inside each mitten). 

winter golf gloves

Waterproof golf gloves also come in pack of two and they are extremely helpful for playing golf in the rain. Our favorite rain gloves are the Footjoy "Rain Grip" waterproof golf gloves - look for men's small cadet size or ladies small size for juniors. We recommend always keeping a pair of these in a zip-lock bag in your junior's golf bag. Ladies rain golf gloves in a Small or X-Small size might be appropriate for younger juniors.

waterproof golf gloves

When to move to adult gloves

Usually around the age of 10-11 kids will grow out of junior golf gloves and move to adult gloves. Start with women's golf gloves or men's golf gloves in a cadet fit (a cadet fit is simply a standard glove but with shorter fingers). There are plenty of very good women's gloves that do not come in pink or lavender and therefore will be acceptable to junior boys. The Footjoy fitting chart will help you to determine if your junior has grown out of kids golf gloves.

Read our teen test market reviews on adult gloves in Best Golf Gloves for Teen Players.

Review of Best Junior Golf Gloves 

We have included only  top quality brand names in the junior gloves reviewed in this post. While you can certainly find cheaper junior gloves, some of which have relatively good ratings on Amazon, we would caution against these "no name brands" - they might look good but the material quality and performance are not up to the same standards as companies that have been doing R&D and manufacturing golf gloves for many years.

Puma Youth Top Flex Golf Glove

Puma Youth golf glove
Description

These kids golf gloves have a textured palm that will provide enhanced grip for juniors.  The glove is made from synthetic leather and has four-way stretch Lycra to provide flexibility and fit. Perforations allow for good breathability.

These are understated but stylish golf gloves and your junior will like the cat logo on the close tab. Unfortunately for the leftie junior golfer they currently do not seem to sell any right hand junior golf gloves (i.e. they only have gloves for the left hand which is for right handed golfers).

Pros 


  • Good quality and fit
  • Good for hot weather, perforation all heat and sweat to exit
  • Synthetic leather is durable and will not wear out too quickly
Cons

  • Cobra/Puma does not provide a golf glove sizing chart or fitting guidelines. The Amazon Q&A does however provide some fitting feedback.
Our Rating

Footjoy Junior Golf Glove

Footjoy golf gloves
Description

Footjoy was established way back in 1857. In 1927 Footjoy shoes were chosen by Walter Hagen as the official US Ryder cup team shoes. Footjoy has been the leading supplier of Cabretta golf gloves for more than 35 years and more than 200 tour pro's use FJ gloves.

Their expertise in manufacturing high quality gloves has led to excellent junior golf gloves. They feature "Sure-grip palm" technology including soft MicroTac palm and patches that provide a comfortable grip. The spandex stretch panels result in a flexible customized fit that also accommodates growing hands. These are available in left and right handed kids golf glove options.

Pros 


  • Excellent fit and comfort
  • Quality materials resulting in a good non slip grip
  • Durability
Cons

  • No significant cons noted in over 30 reviews. A few people noted that the gloves run about a 1/2 size large.
Our Rating

U.S.Kids Good Grip 3 Golf Glove

USKids toddler kids golf gloves
Description

U.S.Kids is the premier junior golf equipment manufacturer and their gloves are no exception. These are a leather and synthetic combination with stretch side panels for improved fit. These gloves have an arrow for knuckle alignment and palm pad that helps juniors achieve the right grip.

The palms are made from soft cabretta leather for excellent feel. These gloves have 3 different color inserts that juniors can select and change out. 

USKids provides fitting guidelines as follows (remember to adjust as necessary for your child's relative size to age ratio): Small 4-6 years old, Medium 7-9, Large 10-11, X-Large 11-12 years old. 

Pros 


  • Great fit, comfortable
  • Good quality materials, durable
  • Excellent value for money
  • USKids provides a good golf glove sizing chart to help choose the right size junior golf glove. 
Cons

  • These golf gloves do not have some of the fun colors, flags, cat emblems etc. of some other kids golf gloves.
Our Rating
Under Armour Boys Junior Golf Glove
Description

Under Armor has produced a very good quality kids golf glove. The Under Armor youth golf glove is made from synthetic leather and has moisture and cooling technology (CoolSwitch) that pulls sweat away and keeps hands cool. Micro perforations provide good ventilation. 

Under Armor provide fitting guidance as follows: measure the distance from beginning of the palm to end of longest finger (see diagram below): Small: 6¼-6½, Medium 6½-6¾, Large 6¾-7 inches. Note that this golf glove fitting chart is not available on the Amazon site.

Gloves Fit Guide

Pros 
  • Good fit and nice fitting chart
  • Good technology for a junior golf glove, resulting in a glove that performs well
Our Rating

Zero Friction Junior Golf Glove

zero friction junior golf gloves
Description

The Zero Friction Compression-Fit junior golf gloves are a universal fit (one size fits all). This is a nice all weather synthetic palm glove. Kids will love the 6 different colors to choose from. The re-enforced palm and finger patch adds durability and grip. The glove includes an attached tee and a ball marker. Breathability is good thanks to the black mesh lycra throughout the finger, back of hand and palm. 

Pros 
  • Fun color designs for kids
  • Universal fit generally works well for kids from 7 to 10 years old.
  • Good quality materials resulting in decent durability
Cons
  • The universal fit/one-size-fits-all can be tricky. The gloves do stretch nicely but they generally fit well for ages from about 7 to 10 years old. Some kids younger than 7 found the glove too large and some kids older than 10 found the glove too small.
Our Rating

Callaway Golf X Junior Glove

callaway x junior golf glove

The Callaway X junior golf gloves are made primarily from synthetic leather and has a mesh material along the knuckles for improved flexibility and ventilation. The angled close tab helps to ensure a snug fit.  

Pros 
  • Since these seem to run very small, the small size glove may be good for younger kids a toddler that is taking up golf and wants to look like a tour pro.
  • Much of the same technology in the Callaway adult golf gloves including 4-Way Stretch Synthetic on Knuckles, Moisture Wicking, Breathability, Palm Patches, Opti Fit Adjustable Closure.
  • Good quality materials used in the construction. 
Cons
  • There are no fitting guidelines for this glove which has resulted in some confusion in ordering and some returns. The general feedback is that these gloves run small and the medium is only slightly longer than a $1 bill. Buyers have reported that mediums fit a 6-7 year old. 
Our Rating

Toddler Golf Gloves

Toddler golf gloves finger ten

If you are looking for a golf glove for your toddler we recommend looking at the Tot Jocks Toddler golf glove and Finger Ten kids golf gloves. Both are good options that are made for toddlers and have good feedback from buyers. 

Conclusion

These are a few of our favorite tips and tricks as is relates to golf gloves for junior golfers:

  • Always pack at least one spare glove. In hot weather alternate between gloves, switching out between holes.
  • Take the glove off between shots to let it dry out.
  • If your junior is using a push cart, put up an umbrella for shade and hang the gloves under the umbrella between shots/holes.
  • In wet weather pack a couple of spare gloves in a zip lock bag (also a spare pair of socks). 
  • Do not crumple up gloves and shove them into a golf bag pocket after the round. Rather, smooth them out and try keep them flat. Once dry, keeping them in a plastic zip lock bag will extend the life of the glove.

Once your junior gets to around about ten years old make sure to use the Footjoy fitting chart to see if they are ready to move into adult small golf gloves. Both women's and men's golf gloves have many more options and are generally better quality than kids golf gloves.

If you can, we recommend taking your junior to a golf shop and let them try out the fit of various gloves. Keep in mind that many of the large online golf stores such PGA Superstore have heavily discounted golf gloves so there is seldom the need to pay full price unless you have to buy a golf glove at the golf course pro shop. 




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