Playing winter Golf and getting cold Hands?
I know I am not alone in having to brave the cold whilst playing Golf, my
hands take most of the punishment, so what are the best hand warmers for Golf?
There are a lucky few who manage to play Golf in sunnier climes all year-round. The majority of us live where this is not so. Golf is a sport, most people play in all weather conditions.
Even if we class ourselves as “fair-weather golfers” we can still get caught in conditions that are far from ideal. Hence, we need all sorts of clothing and accessories to keep us warm and dry whatever the weather throws at us.
Whilst there is a myriad of clothing options that will suit the everchanging conditions, and budget, keeping our feet and hands warm can prove to be a lot trickier. Hands especially present a major problem because of the increased exposure and the need to keep them free to hold and swing the club.
Wearing a single glove, albeit a leather one, doesn’t offer much respite. It can shelter your hand from some of the cold, but that still leaves the other hand! Also after any length of time, the thin leather is certainly not sufficient to keep your hand warm.
Even on a relatively mild day, our extremities can feel the cold fairly quickly, the older you get, the quicker this becomes. Thrusting our hands into our trouser pockets or a jacket is not an easy option. In between walking and pushing a trolley, our hands spend an awful amount of time exposed and start to get colder and colder.
Walking with hands in pockets and pushing a cart/carrying a bag at the same time produces many complications. Most of us feel hindered by having anything bulky on our person whilst playing anyway. Whether this is extra layers of clothing, second pair of gloves, or anything that can hinder the swing. Often than not, this is a very annoying distraction.
Storage, as we know isn’t necessarily an issue, providing you don’t carry your bag!
Therefore, what are the best hand warmers for golf? Which one/s is best suited for your particular needs? There are quite a number of products on the market to choose from and I hope the details below can help you make a choice.
What are the options for hand warmers?
When deciding to purchase hand warmers for playing golf there a number of factors you will need to consider. Taking a look at the various products in order and looking at their strengths and weaknesses will hopefully give you an idea for what best suits your particular needs.
Gloves – Mittens
These break down into two types a) standard gloves b) “wet weather” gloves.
Taking the standard gloves first, these are usually made primarily of wool with maybe a mixture of other materials in some cases. These are used as “over” gloves which would be worn in between shots. The relief from cold is gradual, usually by the time you are set to take your next shot, they may not have warmed your hands sufficiently.
Their drawback is, each shot you play you need to remove the gloves and put them somewhere…on the ground, on your trolley, in your pockets? The difficulty is, if you put them down you are liable to forget to pick them up again.
If you place them on the trolley, you may forget about them and they are prone to dropping off the trolley and being left behind. Stuffing them in your pockets isn’t an answer due to them impeding shot play. If it is raining there is the additional problem of the woollen gloves getting soaking wet! Cost-wise woollen gloves are relatively inexpensive.
All-weather gloves or “wet-weather golf gloves normally are sold as a pair. Unfortunately as with all hybrids (in this case trying to keep your hands warm and to be able to hold the golf club) means they do neither job particularly well i.e. they make holding a club and playing a shot more difficult and they are not very good at keeping your hands warm or dry.
It could be argued that these type of gloves are just to improve grip, if that is the case I would suggest that your money might be better spent regripping your clubs and playing in bare hands!
To summarise, if woollen gloves are your thing, that’s fine but I would suggest they don’t work for most people, Whilst this is subjective, the wet-weather gloves may be a waste of money.
Single-use disposable gel packs
Single-use disposable gel packs have a number of advantages over using woollen gloves whilst playing golf. Immediate heat is foremost. The pack emits almost instant warmth as soon as it activated with greater intensity than a glove will give you.
They are also small and compact so they will slip into pockets and not impinge your game. Even whilst in your trouser pocket, they are giving you a “well being” if not warming your hands.
However, in today’s climate, the dislike for disposable products is becoming less attractive or fashionable. As society becomes more waste-conscious so this product becomes less viable.
Whilst they are relatively inexpensive one-off purchases the costs rise as you use more and more of them. In conclusion whilst single-use gel packs might be handy for emergencies they probably have a limited viability long term.
Re-usable gel packs
These are similar in size to the single-use gel packs so they have all the advantages they have. The main difference being, they are able to be used time and time again.
To do this the gel pack is placed in hot/boiling water for a few minutes to allow the chemicals to revert back to their original state. Inside there is a metal clicker which then re-activates the gel pack when you next require it.
The disadvantages are a) Cost. The reusable gel packs cost more initially however because they are reusable, over time they become a cheaper option. b) Environmental. The gel pack has a finite lifespan.
When it comes time to dispose of, they have the same issues as the one-use packs in that the materials are plastic & chemical’s which have an impact on the environment.
Electrical Handwarmers
The main advantage of an electric hand warmer is the ability to use them many times. They may also have multi settings for heat output. Some also allow you to charge your phone.
The downsides are, they are bulkier. This may not be an issue playing golf as they will into a trouser pocket easily enough. They only have a finite number of changes. They are also much costlier.
Fuel filled Hand warmers
These are run normally on lighter fuel and took ‘like (also made by) lighters and are relatively cheap to use. They are quite small so can fit into your browser pocket quite easily.
Their downsides are, the initial cost is quite high. They can be hazardous but only if they get into the wrong hands or you are particularly careless!
Heated golf trolley gloves.
These are gloves that are attached to your trolley and have a heating element that is powered by the battery. The main advantage obviously is they are much warmer than a normal pair of gloves. but this is where it ends.
The downsides are you have to have your hands on your trolley to use them, This ok if you play a course where you can place your trolley next to your ball, a lot of courses don’t allow this, especially in winter. They are expensive and also will drain your battery quicker. You can only use them if you have an electric trolley!!