Available in cadet* fit: No Weather: All

About this glove: As the only golf glove you could wear to a heavy metal concert and not look out of place, Asher’s Death Grip is unique. To say the least.

A skeletal finger design lies on a bed of leather, with a small skull on one side of the palm. It comes as no surprise that shock rocker and avid golfer Alice Cooper wears Asher’s Death Grip glove on the course.

So, who is this Asher, and what’s the company’s story? The Utah-base outfit started in 2009 aiming to bring golf “a high quality glove with a little flavor and awesomeness… at a price everyone could afford.”

The Death Grip, as you might imagine, is Asher’s highest-profile product. The company also offers a colorful, all-cabretta Premium Collection, plus the Chuck lineup of $10 gloves (an ode to Trader Joe’s famous “Two Buck Chuck” wine) and the hybrid-material Birdie glove, as well as gloves for women and apparel for on and off the course.

As for the Death Grip, we know what you’re thinking: It might look cool on Halloween, but it can’t be much more than a novelty. We admit to having the same misgivings. Did testing confirm our doubts, or does this glove really rock? Read on to learn more.

Appearance: Slip into the Death Grip glove and immediately you’ll want to toss up the goat horns sign and nod your noggin like a head banger. Go ahead, get it out of your system. There’s not a whole lot to say about the Death Grip’s appearance. Either you’ll think it’s the baddest golf glove on the planet, or vow that you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing such a ghastly mitt.

Comfort: The Death Grip combines perforated Cooltech synthetic leather with cabretta at key spots in the palm, thumb, ring and little fingers; stretchable lycra is strategically positioned in the fingers, too.

We have to say, the Death Grip is a lot more comfortable than it looks (or sounds). It’s very light, very breathable and plenty soft. While synthetic leather doesn’t feel quite as plush and cool as cabretta, Asher’s faux sheepskin is good stuff. We give the Death Grip a mildly surprising plus mark in this category.

Feel: There’s nothing thick about this glove, so the hand can sense the handle perfectly well. Feel is right in line with other models in the $12 – $18 range – and another check in the Death Grip’s favor.

Tackiness: With quality cabretta in all the right places, the Death Grip locks the club in a… What’s the term we’re looking for? Oh yeah, a death grip. In this case, that’s a positive. It takes very little pressure to secure the handle, and the club never slips or slides. Also, much like Callaway’s Apex Tour glove, the palm perforations impart a sense of suction that enhances the glove’s tackiness. That’s a third check in the Death Grip’s “plus” column.

Durability: Any glove made mostly of synthetic fabric should hold up well over repeat rounds. The Death Grip glove offers a long lifespan – we’d estimate 20 rounds, easily, under normal circumstances. It manages moisture (outside and inside the glove) extremely well, drying like a champ thanks to the synthetic material and all those tiny holes. Give it a thumbs-up in this column, too.

Bottom line: In case you lost count, that’s four checks, no minuses in the key performance categories. Surprise, surprise—Asher’s Death Grip does, indeed, fulfill its practical duties. In the appearance department, well, it’s definitely not your father’s golf glove. Unless pops is into Black Sabbath and drives a Harley. If so, then choosing a Father’s Day gift should be a cinch this year.

*Cadet gloves have shorter fingers than regular gloves of the same size; e.g., a cadet medium glove has the same palm fit with shorter fingers than a standard medium.