Why do some people have reallllly long golf towels?

[JP Labuschagne]

Hey everyone, 

Just curious to know why some people and tour player use really lengthy golf towels and not just a standard golf towel size?

 

[fozcycle]

There is no “Standard” size for golf towels. That said, most are the same length. I guess they should not drag the ground when hung from your bag. If carrying the towel, there is no size requirement. I have both, one hanging from m6 bag and one that I carry to the green to lay my putter on so it doesn’t get wet from dew. I also use the extra towel for sweat as some call it a sweat towel.


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[Chip Strokes]

some guys are just blessed, i guess. 

but it’s not all about the size of your towel, it’s how you use it 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

I definitely prefer my towels covering up my knees. But for golf purposes I have actually never honestly looked at how long they are (assumed they were all pretty much the same). I do carry 3 though because the red sox, patriots and bruins are all just fun to toss out there on threads.

[GolfSpy BOS]

Towel length doesn’t bother me, as long as you use it to clean your clubs.

It’s dirty grooves that is the real issue in golf. You can’t trust a guy who’s got 6 years of dirt in his grooves and a towel dragging on the ground.

For real though, I know of two sort of “normal size” towels. One has the clip on a corner, the larger is meant to be folded and pulled through a towel loop.

I guess the argument for is that you have more area to clean/dry your clubs so you could play more. The caddies on tour with large towels probably created a market by being seen on TV with them.

[cnosil]

. The caddies on tour with large towels probably created a market by being seen on TV with them.

That would be the amino vital towel. I remember when all the caddies had those and it was a highly desired towel in the consumer market. I guess people thought it rubbed magical properties onto the club when it was wiped off.

A towel is a towel but ideally a longer towel is better since you can dip one end in water and dry with the other. While you can do this with shorter towels, the moisture tends to soak the entire towel.

[MattF]

The really long ones you're referring to usually have a hole in the middle and are called caddie towels. The hole in the middle is to be able to put it over a club so you don't have to clip it to anything.

[tony@CIC]

I've got a small waffle towel and my wife carries a long one that is from a high end Club in Naples. They both clean the clubs just as well - so I guess it doesn't matter. 

[fixyurdivot]

The stainless steel sink I installed in our kitchen a few years ago came with a logo dish towel - a nice quality, black color one.  My wife promptly threw it into the rag bin.  I recused it and have been using it since.  The black color is perfect - never looks dirty.  I had a guy ask me once about the logo name... I'll bet money he spent time trying to find those clubs on-line .

[Mr. 82]

I need an extra long towel for the 15th hole at my course.  That's about the time I need to throw it and call the match after I shank one into the woods.  It's what I need when I can't take anymore of this insufferable game, and have had enough, and just throw in the towel and spend the last 4 holes suffering in misery as this game exacts more pain from me then I can tolerate for one round of golf.

[ga_pike]

I guess I'm weird but I carry several towels.  One is the standard towel used for clubs after each shot.  It clips on my bag.  My second is my Putter Tuck towel which is a putter cover/towel combo.  This goes to the green with me and is used to clean wedges, the ball, etc.  My 3rd is a larger towel I keep with me in the cart and is used to wipe sweat from the south Georgia heat or snot during the short brisk season.  Lastly, I have a small washcloth sized towel for various use that is stashed in the drink pocket of my bag.  

 

Granted, this is when I'm in a cart.  If I walk, its the club towel and Putter Tuck only.  

[Buffly]

4 hours ago, JP Labuschagne said:

Hey everyone, 

Just curious to know why some people and tour player use really lengthy golf towels and not just a standard golf towel size?

 

I always wondered if they just took it from their hotel room shower?

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, Mr. 82 said:

I need an extra long towel for the 15th hole at my course.  That's about the time I need to throw it and call the match after I shank one into the woods.  It's what I need when I can't take anymore of this insufferable game, and have had enough, and just throw in the towel and spend the last 4 holes suffering in misery as this game exacts more pain from me then I can tolerate for one round of golf.

Same time tomorrow?  

Does it help if you start the round with a clean towel?

[Mr. 82]

9 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Same time tomorrow?  

Does it help if you start the round with a clean towel?

Yep, just like that commercial where the dude goes ballistic in the parking lot, throwing his bag and trashing his clubs, while his 3 buddies look on silently.  They eventually get in the van, and temper tantrum dude goes, "So, same tee time tomorrow?"  

And it depends on how you define "clean".  I often dip my towel in the club wash bin to wet it down, where everyone coming off the range dips their clubs in the water to clean them off.  I really don't care, considering the sole purpose of the towel in non-summer months is to clean off my clubs and balls after they get dirty.  So what if the water is dirty.

[Kenny B]

2 minutes ago, Mr. 82 said:

Yep, just like that commercial where the dude goes ballistic in the parking lot, throwing his bag and trashing his clubs, while his 3 buddies look on silently.  They eventually get in the van, and temper tantrum dude goes, "So, same tee time tomorrow?"  

And it depends on how you define "clean".  I often dip my towel in the club wash bin to wet it down, where everyone coming off the range dips their clubs in the water to clean them off.  I really don't care, considering the sole purpose of the towel in non-summer months is to clean off my clubs and balls after they get dirty.  So what if the water is dirty.

I meant bring a clean towel from home.  Periodically, my wife grabs my towels and washes them because I tend to keep them on my bag beyond gross time.  I usually don't know it until my next round.  Does it improve my round to start with a clean towel...  not really.  

[Mr. 82]

Just now, Kenny B said:

I meant bring a clean towel from home.  Periodically, my wife grabs my towels and washes them because I tend to keep them on my bag beyond gross time.  I usually don't know it until my next round.  Does it improve my round to start with a clean towel...  not really.  

I wash all my golf towels on Monday, after a long weekend of abusing them with mud and dirt.  If I play on Friday it's clean, but who knows what it looks like by Sunday.

[Kenny B]

4 minutes ago, Mr. 82 said:

I wash all my golf towels on Monday, after a long weekend of abusing them with mud and dirt.  If I play on Friday it's clean, but who knows what it looks like by Sunday.

Our turf is very firm and I don't take much of a divot, so clubs don't get very dirty.  I get a little dirt but mostly grass in the grooves.  Since COVID we don't have any club cleaning water available on the range, and there is no water available on the course.  We have to bring our own.  In the summer a wet towel at the start of #1 is bone dry by #4.  That's why the bottle brush filled with soapy water is my goto club cleaner, and a dry towel just wipes off the wet club face.

[Mr. 82]

Just now, Kenny B said:

Our turf is very firm and I don't take much of a divot, so clubs don't get very dirty.  I get a little dirt but mostly grass in the grooves.  Since COVID we don't have any club cleaning water available on the range, and there is no water available on the course.  We have to bring our own.  In the summer a wet towel at the start of #1 is bone dry by #4.  That's why the bottle brush filled with soapy water is my goto club cleaner, and a dry towel just wipes off the wet club face.

our course gets wet in the winter and muddy, and because it doesn't get all that hot, it doesn't really have a chance to dry out.  So mudballs aplenty, and well, all of that.  I've got a groove tube too, but I honestly won't go to that unless I get stuck behind the group in front of me.  I literally don't have time to use it between shots.  The guys I play with don't screw around on the course, and just go.  So I clean the clubs and balls whenever I can sneak it.

And in case you were thinking it, I think it's rude to be making noise cleaning clubs and balls when someone else is hitting or addressing their ball.  And by the time they are done, the next guy is up, and I need to get to my next shot.  Well, you get the idea.  There literally is no time to be cleaning clubs or balls during my round.  The wet towel is about the best option for me, and I just soak it to the max before tee off, and it typically stays wet through about 15 or 16 holes.

[Kenny B]

10 minutes ago, Mr. 82 said:

our course gets wet in the winter and muddy, and because it doesn't get all that hot, it doesn't really have a chance to dry out.  So mudballs aplenty, and well, all of that.  I've got a groove tube too, but I honestly won't go to that unless I get stuck behind the group in front of me.  I literally don't have time to use it between shots.  The guys I play with don't screw around on the course, and just go.  So I clean the clubs and balls whenever I can sneak it.

And in case you were thinking it, I think it's rude to be making noise cleaning clubs and balls when someone else is hitting or addressing their ball.  And by the time they are done, the next guy is up, and I need to get to my next shot.  Well, you get the idea.  There literally is no time to be cleaning clubs or balls during my round.  The wet towel is about the best option for me, and I just soak it to the max before tee off, and it typically stays wet through about 15 or 16 holes.

So, it has dried out about the time you throw it.  

[pulledabill]

Long towels for caddies as they throw them over their shoulder which makes them easy to use. 

[Rchang]

Because they want people to think they are a hoppy frood who knows where his towel is. 

[BKordon]

It's about economics and compartmentalization. Go to your favorite department store and drop $5 on a very absorbent bath towel that will actually hold water for four hours, or drop $25-$30 on a brand logo'd washcloth. I then make a point to replace them every year, as they lose their ability to hold water. Besides, I get scolded if I borrow bath towels from the bathroom. 

[dlow206]

I don't know if the Frogger towel is considered a long towel or not, but mine ends up a muddy mess during a round in the rainy PNW

[downlowkey]

14 hours ago, cnosil said:

A towel is a towel but ideally a longer towel is better since you can dip one end in water and dry with the other. While you can do this with shorter towels, the moisture tends to soak the entire towel.

This is correct and you’ll often see it woven through the sticks of solid players. When you’re a serious gamer, it’s equally important to have clean grooves and dry hands. A lot of professionals also detest bag chatter and the extra length helps caddies keep things nice and quiet.

[SlowNLow]

IMHO you can't have too many towels. I got my half-dry/half-wet for stuck-on things, the nasty towel for the initial swipe of muddy clubfaces, then the not-so-nasty for final rinse, and the dry and buff for just-cleaned clubfaces and grips.  These are on the towel rings fixed on the bag.  Wash them about once a month whether they need it or not.

Then I got to have really big, soft one that is loose for the human (me) person parts, to get ready for the beer cart girl and on-course interviews when its hot and/or humid.  No one but me can, or should, touch this towel.   That's all I want to say about that.

[HardcoreLooper]

2 hours ago, downlowkey said:

This is correct and you’ll often see it woven through the sticks of solid player. When you’re a serious gamer, it’s equally important to have clean grooves and dry hands. A lot of professionals also detest bag chatter and the extra length helps caddies keep things nice and quiet.

This.

Towel technology has advanced quite a bit since the late 80's / early 90's when I really was a Hardcore Looper.  The best players in the club wouldn't be caught dead with something clipped to their bag.  If they had to ride, they'd grab one of our shop towels that the caddies all used.  They're not quite bath towel length (too long, will drag on the ground when draped around the clubs), and they're definitely not bath towel weight.  Someone joked about swiping a hotel towel, but it'd have to be a pretty awful hotel to have towels thin enough for a good caddy towel (I've stayed in a few in my day).

You want one end wet to clean the clubs and the other end dry for when your loop goes into Speith-mode and has to work the towel because he's losing his mind .  But seriously, you want a dry end to wipe down grips when it gets sweaty out.  

If it's hot, you'll keep the towel around your neck about 50% of the time (and always when you're at the green, so you can clean balls before putting).  If you're a righty, you'll keep the wet end to your right for easy club cleaning.  And your t-shirt will have a brown spot by the end of the round.  48% of the time, the towel will be draped around the bag on your right shoulder, and for one hole you'll put it on the bag on your left shoulder, and you'll wonder why the hell you did that (since you're not lefty).  If it's cold, you won't put it around your neck at all, because a wet shirt is no fun when it's 45 and windy.

The new waffle-weave towels really are awesome.  Light but absorbent, and the texture helps get dirt out of grooves.  I carry a fairly long one with the caddy hole looped around my alignment sticks, and the black ones look good for a while between washings.  

 

[downlowkey]

1 hour ago, HardcoreLooper said:

If you're a righty, you'll keep the wet end to your right for easy club cleaning.

Dominant hand oriented wet end is also essential for efficiently catching, cleaning and returning the ball your loop often errantly tosses at you after marking.

Never.Drop.The.Bird.Egg.Looper - that kind of bad luck is likely to cost the entire team some money 

[Buffly]

4 hours ago, HardcoreLooper said:

This.

Towel technology has advanced quite a bit since the late 80's / early 90's when I really was a Hardcore Looper.  The best players in the club wouldn't be caught dead with something clipped to their bag.  If they had to ride, they'd grab one of our shop towels that the caddies all used.  They're not quite bath towel length (too long, will drag on the ground when draped around the clubs), and they're definitely not bath towel weight.  Someone joked about swiping a hotel towel, but it'd have to be a pretty awful hotel to have towels thin enough for a good caddy towel (I've stayed in a few in my day).

You want one end wet to clean the clubs and the other end dry for when your loop goes into Speith-mode and has to work the towel because he's losing his mind .  But seriously, you want a dry end to wipe down grips when it gets sweaty out.  

If it's hot, you'll keep the towel around your neck about 50% of the time (and always when you're at the green, so you can clean balls before putting).  If you're a righty, you'll keep the wet end to your right for easy club cleaning.  And your t-shirt will have a brown spot by the end of the round.  48% of the time, the towel will be draped around the bag on your right shoulder, and for one hole you'll put it on the bag on your left shoulder, and you'll wonder why the hell you did that (since you're not lefty).  If it's cold, you won't put it around your neck at all, because a wet shirt is no fun when it's 45 and windy.

The new waffle-weave towels really are awesome.  Light but absorbent, and the texture helps get dirt out of grooves.  I carry a fairly long one with the caddy hole looped around my alignment sticks, and the black ones look good for a while between washings.  

 

This looks alot bigger than the towels I see in the golf stores = huge.

[ZMendle10]

On 1/5/2021 at 8:34 AM, MattF said:

The really long ones you're referring to usually have a hole in the middle and are called caddie towels. The hole in the middle is to be able to put it over a club so you don't have to clip it to anything.

When I would be caddying for someone I loved when golfers had this towel as it allowed me to keep one dry side and one wet side to clean clubs throughout the round.  

[DubiousPro]

Those short towels don't make it easier to dry off after hitting your ball out of the pond LOL.