The Golf Towel Buying Guide (Waffle vs Microfibre vs Cotton)

Clean grooves produce measurably more spin. A wedge shot from a dirty face can lose a third of its backspin and release five metres further than you intended. The towel is the cheapest performance equipment you will ever buy, and most golfers carry a decorative one.

The three fabrics

Waffle weave wins because the raised texture physically lifts sand and grass out of the grooves rather than smearing it. That matters far more in a desert climate, where every bunker shot leaves fine sand in the face.

The two-towel system

1. 01A wet waffle towel clipped to the bag for club faces and grips
2. 02A dry towel inside the bag for hands, and for drying the grip before you swing

One towel doing both jobs means you either dry your hands on a dirty cloth or clean your wedge with a dry one. Two towels costs almost nothing and solves both.

What to look for

• 400 gsm or heavier — light towels stop absorbing after four holes
• A carabiner rather than a slit hole, which tears within a season
• Dark colours or a two-tone design; a white towel in Dubai looks used by the third hole
• Machine washable at 40°C without fabric softener, which clogs microfibre