Do you often find yourself losing grip on your discs when playing in humid, wet, or cold weather conditions?
To me, there’s nothing more frustrating than having your fingers prematurely slip off a disc sending your disc careening into the treeline at a mere 50 feet from the teepad.
Humid weather is very common here in the Georgia summers. If you’re like me, my hands tend to sweat a lot during summer rounds. Yes, towels and birdie bags help to a degree, but they can become cumbersome having to wipe down discs or drying off my hands after each throw.
Lately, we have also had lots of rain in the past month or two—a lot more than I remember in quite some time. We all know how bad your barehanded grip can be when the ground and your discs are wet. But does wet weather deter you away from the disc golf course during those weeks where it seems to rain every day? I hope your answer is “no.” I would like to think that you’re a dedicated enough of a player that you wouldn’t let any inclement weather get in your way—that is, assuming it’s safe weather. But what if there was a possible solution to helping with your grip?
I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I don’t have the best circulation in my fingers and toes. This makes playing in frigid temps all the more difficult and uncomfortable when you can barely feel your fingers. Hand warmers and wearing gloves in between throws help to a degree, but when your bare fingers hit that air… yea, you know that feeling. Over the years I have looked for some sort of “throwing” glove that had decent grip on it as well as to keep my hand warm during winter rounds. The gloves I’d come across were either too bulky or had so much grip that I ended up griplocking the heck out of the disc. Regardless of the glove type, the gloves were still too thick. I was missing that feeling, that connection, of disc to my fingers—that grip of confidence.
Now fast forward to the last tournament I played in back in November. It was a cold, damp morning with temps in the upper 30s for the first round. My fingers were freezing! When my fingers are cold, I can forget having any kind of reliable grip to the disc. I made the lead card in my division for second round. I got paired with a few guys that were wearing these black gloves. I didn’t think much of it at first, because “Hey it’s freakin’ cold and lots of players here are bundled up in beanies and gloves, etc.”. But later in the round I noticed that three of the guys all had on what appeared to be the same brand of black gloves with an iconic yellow emblem. Ok now that observation piqued my interest, so I had to ask what they were. “Friction Gloves”, they said.
That was the first I had heard of them. They swore by them and kept talking about how much they enjoyed the gloves and what an improvement they felt that gloves had made to their throwing. One of the guys offered to let me try the other glove. While I had struggled with keeping my drives in the fairway at the start of this round, I couldn’t chance trying out something new and different on my hands. My first thought was these things have got to affect my release. What if they were too grippy and I griplocked? I can’t afford for that to happen now, not on lead card, I told myself. He did admit that it took him a few throws to get used to them, but they were awesome.
Ok so yea, I really wanted to try it but after the tournament. I found him after the tournament and congratulated him on his 1st Place finish. He still spoke highly of the gloves and asked me if I wanted to try them. I took him up on the offer and did maybe 10-15 test throws in the field nearby. Still cold out and my arm was already pretty sore from throwing two rounds, but I still gave it a shot. It took me about 3 throws to get the right feel for them, but I was actually getting a bit more distance after several more throws than I had thrown all day! And this was after 36 holes. Hear me though, I’m not saying these gloves are going to give you more distance. I’m saying that these gloves can improve your grip during unfavorable playing conditions.
Playing in the dead of summer and your hands are sweaty? Try a Friction DG Glove.
Playing an early morning round with dew on the ground? Try a Friction DG Glove.
Playing in frigid temperatures and can’t feel your fingers? Try a Friction DG Glove (or better yet the Friction Warm version).
QUICK NOTES:
- These gloves are allowed in PDGA play.
- Comes in Men’s and Women’s sizes.
- Available in Left- and Right-handed models.
- Very thin, somewhat breathable material.
- They are not tacky. A subtle grip that made a big difference to me.
- Consistent grip in every playing condition
- Great for playing in humid, wet, and cold weather
- Single glove is around $17
- A pair is around $25
- They also offer an Ultimate Frisbee version glove
Don’t just take my word for it though, give Friction Gloves a try.
I would love to hear from you guy’s if/when you use them and what you think.
starting October 23 when these awesome disc golf backpacks hit the shelves. This promo won’t last long so don’t delay!
