WET ROUNDS

Golf rain gear that keeps you playing

Rain does not usually stop a round in the UK. It just makes everything harder to hold. The kit that matters is the kit that keeps your hands, grips and clubface dry enough to make a normal swing.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Buy in this order: something that keeps your hands and grips dry, then a cap that sheds water off the brim, then a waterproof jacket, then trousers. A dry grip is what actually saves shots in the rain. A towel that is already soaked cannot dry anything, which is why a second towel, or a double-sided one kept under the bag hood, does more for a wet round than most of the expensive kit.

FIRST PRIORITY

Dry hands and dry grips

Every mishit in the rain traces back to the same thing: the club moving in your hands. Grips shed water badly once they are saturated, and a wet glove goes slick rather than tacky. The fix is not more grip pressure, which costs you clubhead speed. It is keeping a dry surface available for the whole round.

That means a towel that is still dry on the eighteenth. The Tour Golf Towel is 400GSM waffle microfibre at 40 x 100cm and threads onto the bag through a centre slit, so you can fold it and keep the inner face out of the weather. Double-sided means one face works the grooves while the other stays back for grips and hands.

SECOND PRIORITY

A cap that moves water off your face

A cap does a job in the rain that a hood cannot: it keeps water off your glasses and out of your eyes without blocking your peripheral vision at address. What matters is the brim holding its curve when wet and the shell shedding water rather than soaking it up.

The Performance Golf Cap uses a hydro-repellent DWR shell that beads rain and clears it off a pre-curved brim, with laser-perforated venting so the crown still breathes when the weather turns muggy rather than cold. It is water-resistant, not waterproof, and that is the right call for a cap: see the waterproof golf cap guide for why.

BEING STRAIGHT

What we do not make

PINSEEKER does not make waterproof jackets, waterproof trousers, rain gloves or umbrellas. We make towels and caps. For the rest, the things worth checking are a taped-seam construction on a jacket, articulated sleeves that do not pull at the top of the backswing, and rain gloves bought as a pair, because they work by gripping better when wet rather than by staying dry.

We would rather say that than pad a page with categories we do not stock.

THE HABIT

Where the towel lives when it rains

Under the bag hood, not on the outside rail. A towel clipped to the outside of a stand bag in steady rain is a wet towel by the fourth hole, and a wet towel dries nothing.

If you ride, the Magnetic Golf Towel locks to the buggy frame with an N52 magnet rated to 48kg of pull, which means it stays on over rough ground but comes off one-handed. Keep it on the sheltered side of the frame and the dry face stays dry. If you carry, keep the Caddy Golf Towel (550GSM cotton, 55 x 105cm) folded under the hood as the reserve: cotton holds far more water per wipe than microfibre, which is exactly what you want when everything is already wet.

The order to buy in

If the budget is finite, this is the sequence that pays.

01. Keep one face dry
Fold a double-sided towel so the reserve face never sees the sky. Use the damp face for grooves and the dry face for grips and hands.
02. Stow under the hood
A towel on the outside rail is soaked by the fourth hole. Under the bag hood, or on the sheltered side of a buggy frame.
03. Dry the grip, not the glove
Wipe the grip before each shot rather than trying to dry a saturated glove. A second glove in a sealed bag beats drying the one you have.
04. Clear the face every hole
Water plus grass on the face is a flier waiting to happen. One wipe per shot is the whole routine.
05. Air it out afterwards
Hang towels to dry fully before they go back in the bag. Shape the cap and let it air rather than putting it away damp.

What each piece has to do

Judge rain gear on the job, not the label.

TOWELSDouble-sided, 400GSM and 550GSM

Two working faces on every towel, so one stays in reserve. Tour and Magnetic are 400GSM waffle microfibre; the Caddy is 550GSM cotton for maximum water held per wipe.

CAPHydro-repellent shell, vented crown

A DWR-treated shell beads rain and sheds it off a pre-curved brim, while laser-perforated venting keeps the crown breathing. Water-resistant, not waterproof.

ATTACHMENTMagnet, slit or drape

N52 magnet at 48kg of pull for buggy and trolley frames, a centre slit and loop for a stand bag ring, or a straight drape over the bag for the Caddy.

MICROFIBRE WEIGHT400GSM

Waffle weave, double-sided, on Tour and Magnetic.

MAGNET PULL48KG

N52 neodymium, rated hold on a steel frame.

GUARANTEE12MONTHS

Manufacturing defects and material failure.

Kit for the wet months

Double-sided towels and a vented, water-resistant cap.

FOR THE BAGTour Golf Towel400GSM waffle microfibre, 40 x 100cm

Threads on through a centre slit and loop, long enough to fold and keep a face in reserve.

£19.99Shop Tour Golf Towel

FOR THE BUGGYMagnetic Golf Towel400GSM waffle microfibre, N52 magnet

Locks to a buggy or trolley frame at 48kg of pull and comes off one-handed.

£21.99Shop Magnetic Golf Towel

FOR YOUR HEADPerformance Golf CapFive-panel, laser-perforated venting

Hydro-repellent shell beads rain and clears it off the brim. Blackout or Whiteout.

£16.99Shop Performance Golf Cap

Shop the range

View all

PINSEEKER Tour Golf Towel in Whiteout, full length with the hanging loop and centre slit

Tour Golf Towel - Whiteout £19.99

PINSEEKER Tour Golf Towel in Blackout, full length with the hanging loop and centre slit

Tour Golf Towel - Blackout £19.99

Magnetic Golf Towel - Whiteout £21.99

Magnetic Golf Towel - Blackout £21.99

PINSEEKER Caddy Golf Towel in Blackout, 550GSM cotton with the reinforced centre slit

Caddy Golf Towel - Blackout £22.99

PINSEEKER Caddy Golf Towel in Whiteout, 550GSM cotton with the reinforced centre slit

Caddy Golf Towel - Whiteout £22.99

What is the most important piece of golf rain gear?

Whatever keeps your hands and grips dry. A wet grip makes the club move at the top of the backswing, and the instinctive fix, gripping harder, costs clubhead speed. A dry towel face and a spare glove do more for scoring in the rain than a more expensive jacket does.

Do you need waterproof golf clothing in the UK?

For winter and shoulder-season golf, a waterproof jacket earns its place. For summer showers, a water-resistant cap and a dry towel usually cover it. Buy the jacket for the months you will actually play in rather than for one wet round in July.

Is a water-resistant golf cap enough in heavy rain?

For most rounds, yes. A DWR shell beads water and sheds it off the brim, which is the job: keeping water out of your eyes. In sustained heavy rain any cap will eventually wet out, which is why the shell is treated to shed rather than sealed to block, so it still breathes.

How do you keep a golf towel dry in the rain?

Keep it under the bag hood rather than clipped to the outside rail, and use a double-sided towel so one face stays in reserve. On a buggy, keep the magnetic towel on the sheltered side of the frame. A towel that is soaked through cannot dry a grip.

Should you use microfibre or cotton in wet conditions?

Both, if you can. Microfibre lifts water off a surface faster and dries quicker between wipes, so it suits grooves and grips. Cotton holds far more water per wipe, so a 550GSM cotton caddy towel is the better reserve when the course is genuinely wet rather than damp.

Does PINSEEKER sell waterproof jackets or rain gloves?

No. We make golf towels in three formats and a performance cap. This page names what to look for in the categories we do not stock rather than pointing you at products we do not make.