I’ve had a FootJoy RainGrip in my golf bag for about fourteen years. Don’t worry, I bought a fresh one for this test, but this is a glove I know intimately — and my opinion hasn’t changed. If you play in bad weather, this is the number one glove you need. Full rankings in our best golf gloves guide.
Fit and Feel
Fit runs snugger than a standard FootJoy glove — intentionally so. The synthetic grip material expands slightly when wet, so the tighter starting point makes sense in practice. The wrist ribbing is noticeably tighter than most gloves here, again by design — it needs to stay put when other gloves would shift. Plenty of stretch throughout, and Lycra panels on the back of the hand keep things lighter and more responsive than older versions managed.
Feel is not the point here. You’re not buying this for the leather experience — you’re buying it because the club is slipping out of your hands in the rain and you need it to stop.
Grip
The synthetic material is genuinely unique — it gets better when it gets wet, not worse. The confidence it gives you when conditions turn is hard to overstate. Nothing else in this 17-glove test comes close for wet-weather performance.
Worth saying something that often gets overlooked: this isn’t just a rain glove. If you suffer from sweaty hands — the kind that turn a leather glove hard and crusty after a few holes — just wear a RainGrip full time. It handles moisture from any source.
Durability and Value
It will wear faster in dry conditions than a leather glove would — that’s the honest trade-off for a specialist material. Compared to older versions, FootJoy have made it noticeably thinner with better construction on the back, so it stays lighter and more responsive when thoroughly soaked rather than going heavy and soggy. The performance benefit in wet conditions is well worth the reduced dry-weather lifespan.
Golf Insider Verdict
Best for: anyone who plays regularly in the rain, or golfers with sweaty hands who struggle to keep a leather glove in good condition. This solves both problems better than anything else in the test. Avoid for dry summer rounds if feel and longevity are the priority — the Srixon Cabretta Premium or Titleist Players Flex will serve you better in those conditions.
What we liked
- ✓Unmatched wet-weather grip — it genuinely improves as it gets soaked
- ✓A quiet fix for sweaty hands: handles moisture from any source
- ✓Redesigned to stay light when wet, where older versions went soggy
- ✓Snug, secure fit with a tighter wrist that stays put in bad weather
Worth knowing
- ✗Wears a little faster than a leather glove in dry conditions
- ✗Lower on pure feel and looks than the premium leathers — it’s a specialist
- ✗Expand-when-wet fit runs tighter than a standard FootJoy
I’ve had a RainGrip in my bag for about fourteen years, so this isn’t a first-impressions verdict — it’s experience. In the wet there’s nothing better; the grip improves as the glove gets soaked. And here’s the tip most golfers miss: if your hands sweat through leather, just wear one full time.
Best for: anyone who plays in the rain — or whose sweaty hands turn a leather glove hard after a few holes.
Check price ↗Alternatives
Callaway Weather Spann — the best all-weather synthetic in this test if you want something that performs in damp conditions but still feels decent in the dry. Not a replacement for the RainGrip in heavy rain, but a better all-round compromise.
Srixon All Weather — budget-friendly all-weather option with a magnetic ball marker. Good fit for a wide range of hand shapes; won’t match the RainGrip in serious wet conditions.
Srixon Cabretta Premium — our top-ranked glove overall, but for dry conditions only. If you’re building a two-glove setup — leather for dry, RainGrip for wet — this is the natural partner.
For the full ranked comparison, see our best golf gloves guide.