© Callaway Golf
Glove tested: Callaway Apex Tour (men’s) Retail price: $19 Material(s): Cabretta leather, lycra Colors: White with black Hand: Left, right Sizes: S, M, ML, L, XL
Available in cadet* fit: Yes (left hand only) Weather: All
About this glove: Feel the need to vent? Try Callaway’s Apex Tour golf glove.
Where most gloves feature tiny holes along the fingers and backhand, this one adds a perforated palm for maximum breathability and moisture release. Other features include Callaway’s X Spann flexible fabric along the back of the hand, base of thumb and knuckles of the pinky and ring fingers, plus a terry cloth wrist cuff to absorb sweat.
The Apex Tour is, in essence, Callaway’s No. 2 glove behind its Tour Authentic model. While the company says the Apex Tour is made from “Tour Grade Leather,” we’ll assume it’s cabretta like other high-end gloves.
Let’s take Callaway’s Apex Tour glove for a test drive… And approach shot, pitch and chip…
Appearance: A sharp combo of classic and modern. Available only in white (the leather) and black (lycra pieces and trim), the Apex Tour isn’t a head-turner compared to, say, a wisteria-colored G/FORE glove or Bionic’s techno-fueled Performance Grip. But it looks nice and goes with everything.
Comfort: This glove fits very well in the fingers, which definitely benefit from the flexible knuckle strips. In ours, the palm needed a little wearing in as it stretched a bit tight at first. No worries. A few holes in, it was fine. The Apex Tour is a very light, soft glove; not the thinnest on the market, but certainly thin enough.
The perforations on the palm seemed unnecessary at first. If this was such a great idea, after all, why didn’t more gloves have them? In time, though, we came to appreciate the extra ventilation. Golfers with sweaty palms should benefit from getting more air flowing into the glove, as well as more moisture evaporating through the tiny pores.
Feel: The Apex Tour performs well in this all-important category. It’s not up there with the likes of FootJoy’s $30 Pure Touch Limited, but neither is its price. Golfers content with less than the best will get plenty of feedback through the palm and fingers. The perforations don’t detract from feel; if anything, they may actually enhance the hand’s sensitivity.
Tackiness: Sure and secure. The Apex Tour’s surface supplies ample friction against the club’s handle, while all those pores double as miniature suction cups. At least, that’s how it feels. As long as your clubs’ grips aren’t worn to the nub, you can apply light pressure in the Apex Tour without fear of slippage.
Durability: Funny how this works: Mid-priced gloves generally have slightly thicker leather than premium models, which makes them less sensitive but more durable and, therefore, a much better value. That’s our finding with Callaway’s Apex Tour. The stretchable lycra components also stave off tears that happen sooner in all-leather gloves.
Bottom line: The Callaway Apex Tour doesn’t get a lot of hype, but it’s a solid choice in the $15 – $20 range. Its standout feature – superior ventilation – will definitely please hot-weather players and those with perspiring palms. In short, there’s a “hole” lot to like about this glove.
*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.
