© TITLEIST Golf

Glove tested: Titleist Perma-Soft (men’s) Retail price: $18 Material(s): Cabretta leather, mesh Colors: Solid pearl; pearl with red, green, orange, blue, medium blue, taupe, dark fuchsia, lime, grape, coral, black or pearl; all black Hand: Left, right Sizes: S, M, ML, L, XL, XXL

Available in cadet* fit: Yes (left hand only) Weather: All

About this glove: Titleist doesn’t make a whole lot of gloves – only three models as of this writing (2015). No surprise there, as it’s the sibling company to golf’s No. 1 glove manufacturer, FootJoy.

But Titleist being Titleist, its few offerings are considered top-of-the-line. The Players ($24) is Titleist’s flagship glove, with the Players-Flex ($22) next in line. The Perma-Soft may be the least expensive at 18 bucks, but it’s still considered a premium model.

The Perma-Soft features a CoolMax mesh strip across the back of the hand to promote breathability and flexibility in harmony with the hand’s movement. It’s made from a cabretta leather specially tanned, Titleist says, to resist moisture and retain its shape over time.

We’d heard lots of good things about Titleist’s Perma-Soft glove. Let’s see if it lives up to that lofty rep.

Appearance: Kudos to Titleist – the ultimate traditionalist brand – for offering a little color in the Perma-Soft lineup. Granted, a thin strip of red, green or fuchsia mesh across the backhand isn’t exactly punk rock, but at least you’ve got options. All in all, Perma-Soft is a smart, conventional-style glove with just a touch of flair if you want it.

Comfort: It’s cabretta, so you know its soft, smooth and light as a feather. Slipping into and out of the Perma-Soft glove is a breeze, and it holds shape well over repeat rounds.

Feel: Titleist is synonymous with feel, which undoubtedly influences any tester’s ability to judge a Titleist product with zero bias. So we admit, we expected the Perma-Soft to deliver the goods in this department. It did. While it’s ever so slightly thicker than the Titleist Players model, Perma-Soft hardly suffers by comparison. Light on the palm and in the fingers, it conducts feedback very, very well.

Tackiness: If a glove makes you grip the club a little harder than normal, it’s not tacky enough. This is rarely if ever an issue with a new glove, but the surfaces of some will wear thin and slick after a half-dozen rounds. Perma-Soft stays tacky deep into its lifespan, though we highly recommend cleaning the glove after four or five outings. This will assure a nice, grabby grip for several rounds thereafter.

Durability: Not the strong suit of Titleist gloves, but no worse than your average cabretta model. Super-thin, premium cabretta leather is prized for its comfort and feel, with the tradeoff being a little less durability than synthetic or lower-grade leather models. The choice is yours.

We will say, though, that the Perma-Soft gets a slight nod over the Players glove in this department.

Bottom line: If we had to choose between Titleist’s Players glove and the Perma-Soft, we’d go Perma-Soft. Not because it’s a better glove, but because there’s little if any difference except price. Given Perma-Soft’s minor edge in durability, and the ability to customize colors, it’s clearly a better value.

*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.