Golf Glove Size Calculator

A golf glove is sized from the circumference of your hand, and then there is a second question no other glove asks: regular or cadet. Cadet is not a smaller size, it is a different shape, for a wide palm with short fingers. Measure around your knuckles for the size, add your hand length and we will settle the cadet question too.

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Cadet is a shape, not a size

Golf gloves ask a question no other glove asks. Alongside small, medium, large and so on, there is a parallel range called cadet, and the name misleads almost everyone who meets it. Cadet does not mean junior, and it does not mean smaller. A cadet large is exactly as large as a regular large. It is cut differently: about a quarter of an inch wider across the palm and a quarter of an inch shorter in the fingers.

That exists because hands are not scaled copies of each other. Some are long and narrow, some are broad and short, and a glove tight enough to play in has no slack to absorb the difference. If your fingers are short for the width of your palm, a regular glove either bunches at the fingertips or squeezes across the knuckles, and neither is fixable by changing size. Cadet is the fix.

The formula

size = hand circumference around the knuckles
expected length = circumference − 0.5 in
cadet = your length is at least 0.25 in under that

Men's bands run 7 to 7.5 inches for small, 7.5 to 8 medium, 8 to 8.5 medium large, 8.5 to 9 large, 9 to 9.5 XL and 9.5 to 10 XXL. Women's run 6 to 6.5 small, 6.5 to 7 medium, 7 to 7.5 large and 7.5 to 8 XL. For a normally proportioned hand, length measures about half an inch less than circumference. Cadet is a proportion test against that expectation rather than a size test, which is why a hand can be cadet at any size, including the smallest one.

Worked example

Say your hand measures 8.5 inches around the knuckles and 7.5 inches from wrist crease to fingertip. The circumference puts you in a men's Large. Now the proportion test: for an 8.5 inch circumference we would expect a length around 8 inches, and you measured 7.5, half an inch short. Your fingers are short for your palm, so the answer is a cadet Large. Same width across the hand, a quarter inch less glove past your fingertips. Had you measured 8 inches of length, you would have been right on the expectation and a regular cut would have been correct.

Your golf glove size is not your glove size

This one catches people who have already looked up their glove size somewhere else. A golf glove is cut to fit like a second skin, because any slack between hand and grip is slip. A winter glove or a work glove is cut with room in it, because the job is warmth or protection and a little space helps. Same hand, same measurement, different answers.

In practice the gap is about one size. A hand measuring 8.5 inches around the knuckles comes out a medium on the standard glove charts our glove size calculator uses, and a large in golf. Neither page is wrong. They describe two garments that happen to share a name, which is a recurring theme in this corner of the site: a boxing glove is sized by the weight of its padding and a baseball glove by the length of the glove itself, and none of those numbers mean anything to each other.

Which hand, and how tight

The glove goes on your non-dominant hand: left for a right handed golfer, right for a left handed one. That is the hand at the top of the grip, and it does most of the holding while the lower hand does more of the steering, which is why one glove has always been the convention rather than two. Nothing in the rules stops you wearing two, and plenty of golfers do in cold or wet weather, where grip is the entire problem.

On fit, err tighter than feels natural. There should be no loose material across your palm, no space beyond your fingertips, and the closure should fasten comfortably rather than straining to reach. New leather feels slightly restrictive and that is correct, because it will stretch. A glove that fits beautifully on the first tee of the first round is usually a glove that will be sloppy in a month, and a sloppy glove twists on the grip at exactly the moment you would rather it did not.

When to replace it

Sooner than you think. A golf glove is a consumable rather than a piece of equipment, and it stops doing its job long before it looks finished. The failure is stretch, not wear: the leather relaxes across the palm and around the heel of the hand, the fit goes from snug to merely present, and the glove starts moving independently of the hand inside it. You will usually feel that as a grip that needs regripping, or as a swing that has developed a hold problem, well before you notice the glove.

The cheap test is the closure. If the fastening is now noticeably further across than it was when the glove was new, the leather has stretched and the glove is past its useful life. And if you have just fitted new grips, do it wearing the glove you actually play in, since grip size and glove condition interact more than either page will tell you on its own. Our golf grip size calculator handles that side of it.

Frequently asked questions

What size golf glove do I need?

Measure around your hand at the knuckles, leaving the thumb out. For men, 7 to 7.5 inches is small, 7.5 to 8 medium, 8 to 8.5 medium large, 8.5 to 9 large, 9 to 9.5 XL. For women, 6 to 6.5 is small, 6.5 to 7 medium, 7 to 7.5 large. Brands shift these by a quarter inch or so, so check theirs if you are near a boundary.

What is a cadet golf glove?

A cadet glove is the same size with a different shape: about a quarter inch wider across the palm and a quarter inch shorter in the fingers. It is for hands that are broad relative to their length. Cadet is not a smaller glove and it is not a junior glove, which is the misunderstanding the name invites.

How do I know if I need cadet or regular?

Measure both your hand circumference and your hand length, then see which size each one lands on. If your length points at a smaller size than your circumference does, your fingers are short for your palm and cadet will fit better. If both land on the same size, regular is right. That comparison is the whole test.

Which hand does a golf glove go on?

Your non-dominant hand, which is the one at the top of the grip. A right handed golfer wears it on the left hand, a left handed golfer on the right. That hand does the holding while the lower hand does more of the controlling, which is why one glove is the norm rather than two.

Should a golf glove be tight?

Yes, tighter than feels natural if you are used to other gloves. It should sit like a second skin, with no loose material in the palm and no space beyond your fingertips, and the closure should fasten without straining. Leather stretches with wear, so a glove that fits perfectly on day one will be loose within a month. Snug now is correct.

Is my golf glove size the same as my regular glove size?

Usually not, and it typically runs a size larger. Golf gloves are cut to fit tight while winter and work gloves leave room, so the same hand can measure a medium on a general glove chart and a large on a golf one. Compare with our glove size calculator if you want to see the gap on your own measurement. Never assume one size carries across.

Do I need a glove on both hands?

For normal play, no. One glove on the lead hand is the convention, because that hand grips hardest and slips first. Two gloves are common in cold or wet weather, where grip is the whole problem, and some golfers wear two in the rain by preference. Nothing in the rules stops you either way.

Do golf gloves come in women's sizes?

Yes, and they are cut differently rather than just scaled down: narrower through the palm and slimmer in the fingers, on their own size ladder that runs roughly an inch below the men's at the same letter. Cadet is mostly a men's line, so a woman with a broad short hand is often better served going up a size in a women's glove than hunting for a cadet.

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