Why Tiger Woods only wears glove on certain short-game shots

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.

Golf gloves are a crucial piece of equipment. Not only can they prevent uncomfortable blisters and calluses, they also prevent the grip from slipping during the swing when you get a little sweaty. That’s a win-win.

The drawback of wearing a glove is that it can limit your feel — specifically on shorter shots. That’s why you’ll often see golfers take off their glove when they are putting, or even on shorter shots around the greens. When you need a little more touch on a shot, it’s wise to make sure you’ve got a good feel for the club.

But while taking the glove off is typically standard around the greens, there are certain shots that you might consider keeping the glove on for. In the video below, Tiger Woods explains why he sometimes opts to leave his glove on — even when it’s a shorter shot.

Why Tiger leaves his glove on

As we covered above, wearing a glove can reduce your feel on shorter little touch shots. That’s why Woods — and most other pros — typically go no-glove when playing short-game shots. However, there are certain shots around the greens that Woods will leave his glove on for.

“I used to use a glove all the time,” Woods says. “Then I realized that I had more touch and more feel without a glove. But out of the bunker, because I’m hitting it so much harder, [the club] was twisting in my hand. So I put on a glove for traction on bunker shots.”

To hit proper bunker shots from greenside, you’re typically going to be swinging much harder than other short-game shots. And when you’re swinging harder, the club is more likely to slip around in your hands. Because of this, Woods uses a glove to make sure he can keep the clubface stable.

“When I hit a full-swing flop shot, or I have to fight a lot of resistance, like hitting it out of high rye grass or hitting out of sand, hitting behind it, it’s going to want to twist in my hand,” he says. “The glove gives me an added sense of security that it won’t twist.”

While touch and feel are important around the greens, it’s also important to make sure you’ve got control of the clubface. If you’re struggling to hit solid shots from the bunkers without a glove, it might be time to take after the 15-time major winner and see if adding a glove helps.