Best Golf Umbrellas and Towels: Small Kit, Big Difference

Umbrellas and Towels: The Short Answer

They are easy to overlook, but a good golf umbrella and a couple of quality towels are among the most useful things in your bag for British golf. A large, windproof umbrella keeps you and your clubs dry, while two towels, one dry for your grips and hands and one damp for cleaning club faces, keep you playing well when it is wet. Get these right and a rainy round stays enjoyable instead of falling apart.

Below we explain what to look for in both. Browse our golf accessories range, chosen by pros who play in real weather.

What Makes a Good Golf Umbrella?

A golf umbrella has a bigger job than a high-street one: it has to cover you and your bag, and survive wind on exposed holes. The features that matter are size, wind resistance, and build quality.

• Size: a large canopy, typically 60 inches or more across, covers you and your bag or trolley, not just your head.
• Double canopy: a vented, two-layer canopy lets gusts pass through instead of turning the umbrella inside out. This is the single most important windproofing feature.
• Sturdy frame: a fibreglass or reinforced frame flexes in the wind and springs back, where cheap metal frames snap.
• A comfortable, non-slip handle: that you can hold with a wet glove or clip to a trolley.

On an exposed links or clifftop course, wind resistance matters more than anything. A cheap umbrella that inverts on the fourth hole is worse than useless.

Why Carry Two Towels?

One towel is not enough in the wet, because it quickly gets soaked and then just moves water around. The professional approach is two towels with two jobs.

• A dry towel for grips and hands: kept under your umbrella or in a dry pocket, this keeps your hands and grips dry so the club does not slip through impact. Dry grips are the difference between a controlled swing and a thin, slippery one.
• A damp towel for club faces: for wiping mud and grass out of the grooves between shots, so your clubs keep gripping the ball.

Keeping your grips and hands dry is half the battle in British winter and rain, which is why our pros never head out with a single towel.

What Type of Towel Is Best?

Different towels suit the two jobs. A thick, absorbent cotton or microfibre towel is excellent for drying hands and grips and holds plenty of water. For the cleaning towel, a microfibre or waffle-weave towel scrubs grooves well and dries fast. In steady rain, a waterproof-backed or quick-dry towel keeps a usable dry surface far longer than a standard towel that simply saturates. Many golfers clip a carabiner towel to the bag for easy access and keep a second, drier one tucked away.

How Do You Keep Them Handy?

Kit only helps if you can reach it when the rain starts. Clip your cleaning towel to the outside of the bag with a carabiner or ring so it is always to hand, and keep the dry towel in a covered pocket or under the umbrella so it stays dry. A trolley umbrella holder is a genuinely useful addition, keeping the umbrella over your bag and your hands free to play. Small organisation like this is what separates a smooth wet round from a scramble.

Do These Really Affect Your Score?

More than you would think. Wet grips cause the club to twist and slip at impact, producing thin and mishit shots, while clogged grooves cost you spin and control. Staying dry also keeps you comfortable and focused, and a golfer who is warm and dry plays better than one who is soaked and miserable. For a few pounds of kit, keeping yourself and your clubs dry protects your scores on exactly the days when most golfers fall apart.

The Fayrway Take

Do not let cheap, overlooked kit ruin good golf in the wet. A large, double-canopy, windproof umbrella and two towels, one dry for grips and hands and one damp for club faces, keep you playing well when the weather turns. It is inexpensive, lasts for years, and makes British golf far more enjoyable. Browse our accessories range, picked by pros who know what a wet round demands.