GOLF TOWEL SIZE GUIDE

Golf towel sizes compared

What each size actually gives you in usable cleaning surface, and which one suits the way you carry.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Golf towels come in three sizes. 40 x 65cm is the compact magnetic format for buggy, trolley and golf cart golfers. 40 x 100cm is the tour format for stand and carry bags, long enough to keep a wet end and a dry end. 55 x 105cm is the caddy format, wide enough to drape through the irons. Size decides how long the towel keeps working, not how good it looks.

The three golf towel sizes side by side

Every PINSEEKER towel, by the numbers that matter.

Spec	Magnetic	Tour	Caddy
Dimensions	40 x 65cm	40 x 100cm	55 x 105cm
Material	400GSM waffle microfibre	400GSM waffle microfibre	550GSM cotton
Attachment	N52 magnet, 48kg pull	Centre-slit and loop	Centre-slit, drapes
Best setup	Buggy, trolley, golf cart	Stand and carry bags	Any bag, full coverage
Wet zone / dry zone	One zone	Two zones	Two zones, full length
Runs out of dry surface	Around the tenth in rain	Holds all eighteen	Holds all eighteen

Magnetic

Dimensions: 40 x 65cm
Material: 400GSM waffle microfibre
Attachment: N52 magnet, 48kg pull
Best setup: Buggy, trolley, golf cart
Wet zone / dry zone: One zone
Runs out of dry surface: Around the tenth in rain

Tour

Dimensions: 40 x 100cm
Material: 400GSM waffle microfibre
Attachment: Centre-slit and loop
Best setup: Stand and carry bags
Wet zone / dry zone: Two zones
Runs out of dry surface: Holds all eighteen

Caddy

Dimensions: 55 x 105cm
Material: 550GSM cotton
Attachment: Centre-slit, drapes
Best setup: Any bag, full coverage
Wet zone / dry zone: Two zones, full length
Runs out of dry surface: Holds all eighteen

WHY SIZE MATTERS

Golf towel surface area is a time limit

On a wet day you will make roughly 40 to 50 cleaning passes across eighteen holes, plus the same again drying grips and clubs. Each pass uses a patch of towel about the size of your palm and leaves it damp. A 40 x 65cm golf towel runs out of clean, dry surface somewhere around the tenth, and from that point you are moving water around rather than removing it. Doubling the length roughly doubles the point at which that happens.

Size is not vanity. It is how long the cleaning routine keeps working.

CLEANING PASSES40-50PER ROUND

On a wet day, across eighteen holes, plus the same again drying grips and clubs.

DENSITY400GSM

Roughly twice a standard 200GSM towel, so total absorption is size multiplied by density.

SIZE AND MATERIAL

Golf towel density counts as much as dimensions

Size tells you surface area. Material tells you what each square centimetre does with water. Microfibre absorbs several times its own weight and releases it when wrung, and its 1 to 4 micron fibres enter the 0.35mm groove channel on an iron to lift debris out. Cotton fibres run 15 to 20 microns, so they bridge across grooves instead of entering them, but cotton holds more water and drapes far better over clubs.

Absorbency also depends on density. GSM is grams per square metre: a 400GSM golf towel holds roughly twice the water of a 200GSM towel of the same dimensions. Total absorbency is size multiplied by density, which is why a dense compact towel can outlast a thin larger one. Judge a golf towel by both numbers, never either alone.

ATTACHMENT

Bigger golf towels need a different fixing

Attachment and size are linked more tightly than most golfers expect. A magnet holds a 40 x 65cm towel securely, but hang a metre of wet fabric off the same magnet and its own weight works against it in wind. A centre-slit threads over a bag rail or through a D-ring and carries any length without strain, which is why longer towels use it. A clip or carabiner works at any size but leaves the golf towel swinging, and a swinging towel is the one that ends up on the ground.

CARE

Washing and drying golf towels by size

Larger golf towels take longer to wash and dry, which matters if you play twice a week. Wash microfibre at 30°C with no fabric softener, because softener coats the fibres and kills absorbency, and remove any magnet first. Air dry cotton flat to preserve loft rather than tumble drying it. A towel that goes back in the golf bag damp will smell by the next round whatever size it is.

MATCH THE TOWEL TO THE GOLF BAG

Which golf towel size fits which golf bag

Stand bags and carry bags suit 40 x 100cm: long enough to reach every club, narrow enough not to swing into your legs while walking. Buggies, trolleys and golf carts suit 40 x 65cm on a magnet, where compact beats long because there is steel to attach to and no benefit to extra length. Cart bags take any size, so the choice comes down to how much cleaning you actually do in a round.

Larger towels are not automatically better. Hang a metre of wet fabric off a magnet and its own weight works against it in wind, and a long towel on a small pencil bag drags on the ground. Match the towel to the golf bag and the attachment, and the size question answers itself.

WHAT THE TOWEL IS FOR

Cleaning clubs, drying grips and wiping the ball

A golf towel does three jobs across eighteen holes and size affects all of them. Cleaning clubs is the obvious one: clearing grass and soil out of the grooves after every shot so the face grips the ball. Drying grips is the one golfers underrate, because a wet grip makes you hold the club tighter and grip pressure affects tempo. Wiping a golf ball before a putt is the third, and it needs a dry patch of towel you have not already used on a wedge.

That is why usable surface matters more than total size. Three jobs, forty to fifty passes, and only the dry areas are any use for two of them.

KEEPING IT WORKING

How to wash a golf towel without killing it

Absorbency is the spec you paid for and washing is how most golfers lose it. Wash a microfibre golf towel at 30°C with no fabric softener: softener leaves a coating across the fibres that stops them lifting water, dirt and sweat off a club. Remove any magnet first. Tumble dry low or air dry.

Cotton is different. Air dry it flat to preserve loft rather than tumble drying, and expect it to soften and absorb better over the first few washes. Whichever you play with, do not put a damp golf towel back in the golf bag at the end of the round. That is what makes a towel smell long before it wears out, and a quick air on the line after a course visit costs nothing.

WHAT TO COMPARE

The key features that decide golf towel size

Three numbers decide how a golf towel performs on the golf course: the dimensions, the density and the weave. Dimensions give you cleaning surface. Density tells you how much water each square centimetre holds. The waffle weave decides whether dirt is lifted off the clubface or pushed around it.

Larger towels give you more cleaning surface, which matters most in wet conditions, but a 400GSM waffle weave at 40 x 65cm can hold more water than a thin 200GSM towel twice the size. Judge both numbers before you buy golf towels on dimensions alone.

ON THE GOLF COURSE

What each golf towel size handles in a round

A golf towel does more than clean a clubface. Across eighteen holes it wipes sweat from your hands and forehead, dries grips between shots, cleans golf balls before a putt and lifts dirt and grass from the equipment in your bag. Every one of those jobs uses fresh surface.

Compact 40 x 65cm magnetic golf towels give you a single working zone, which is enough on a dry day and runs short in rain. The 40 x 100cm tour size gives you more cleaning surface and a genuine dry end. Cotton towels at 55 x 105cm give the most of all, which is why the caddy format suits golfers who want one towel to cover the whole round.

Shop the three formats

Pick by how you carry, not by which looks biggest on the bag.

40 x 65CMMagnetic Golf Towel400GSM microfibre, N52 magnet

The compact format. Snaps to any steel frame and returns to the same spot every hole.

£21.99Shop Magnetic Towel

40 x 100CMTour Golf Towel400GSM microfibre, centre-slit

The full metre. A genuine wet end and dry end that lasts all eighteen holes.

£19.99Shop Tour Towel

55 x 105CMCaddy Golf Towel550GSM cotton, centre-slit

The widest format. Drapes through the irons and covers the clubs, no hardware needed.

£22.99Shop Caddy Towel

Shop the range

View all

Magnetic Golf Towel - Whiteout £21.99

Magnetic Golf Towel - Blackout £21.99

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

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 size golf towel is best?

It depends entirely on how you carry. 40 x 65cm suits a magnet on a buggy, trolley or golf cart, where a 40 x 65cm towel sits flat against the frame and does not catch wind. 40 x 100cm suits a stand or carry bag: folded once it hangs at 50cm, clears the ground while walking and still gives you a wet zone and a dry zone. 55 x 105cm is the caddy format for golfers who want the towel to cover the clubs as well as clean them. Density matters alongside size, so judge GSM and dimensions together.

What is the standard size of a golf towel?

There is no single standard. Compact towels are around 40x65cm, tour-length towels around 40x100cm, and caddy towels around 55x105cm. Anything smaller than 40x40cm will run out of dry surface well before the end of a round.

Is a bigger golf towel always better?

No. A large towel on a magnetic attachment catches wind and swings, which pulls on the magnet at an angle it was not designed for, and a long towel on a small carry bag drags along the ground. Bigger only helps if the attachment can carry it and the golf bag has the clearance. What you are actually buying with size is usable cleaning surface across the round, and a dense 400GSM compact towel can give you more of that than a thin 200GSM towel twice the size.

How big is a caddy golf towel?

Around 55x105cm. The extra width is what lets it drape over the tops of the clubs rather than just hanging beside them, which is the point of the caddy method.

Does towel size matter more than GSM?

Neither alone tells you enough. GSM is density, size is surface area, and total absorption comes from both. A 400GSM compact towel can outlast a 200GSM large one, so check both figures.

What size golf towel do most golfers use?

The two common sizes are 40 x 65cm and 40 x 100cm. The compact 40 x 65cm suits anyone with steel to attach to on a buggy, trolley or golf cart. The 40 x 100cm tour size suits walkers, because the extra length gives a genuine wet end and dry end without needing a second towel.

What size golf towel fits a stand bag?

A 40 x 100cm tour towel is the natural fit, because it threads through a D-ring or over a bag rail using its reinforced centre-slit and hangs without fouling the legs. A 55 x 105cm caddy towel also works on a stand bag if you want full club coverage and are happy to drape rather than clip.

Do I need more than one golf towel?

Many golfers carry two: one for clubs and one kept dry for hands and grips. If you would rather carry one, choose a length that gives you two zones on the same towel, so one end stays dry through the round. That is the practical argument for the 40 x 100cm and 55 x 105cm sizes.

What size golf towel is best for wet weather?

Length matters more than width once it starts raining, because you are rotating through clean surface faster. A 40 x 65cm towel typically runs out of dry surface around the tenth in steady rain. Doubling the length roughly doubles the point at which that happens, which is the whole case for the tour size.