Why Most Golf Gloves Harden or Crack—And Why Ours Don’t

Every golfer’s been there: your glove feels perfect on day one—soft, grippy, responsive. But after a few rounds, it’s stiff. Cracked. Like cardboard.

What happened?

It’s not just the sun, or the sweat, or that you didn’t air it out (although those matter). The real culprit is cheap leather—and the shortcuts brands take to make gloves feel soft at first.

The Truth Behind Leather Breakdown

Most gloves are made with lower-grade cabretta leather—often Grade B or C. These hides may look fine, but they:

• Have looser grain structures

• Are more porous

• Require heavy chemical softening to feel nice out of the package

The result? Gloves that start out soft, but dry out quickly and become brittle after just a few uses.

Worse, many brands use very thin leather (0.40–0.45mm) to cut costs. Thinner leather = faster wear, less moisture retention, and more cracking when flexed.

Why Circle 15 Gloves Stay Soft

We use Grade A cabretta leather, the highest-quality cut available. Our leather is:

• Thicker (0.55mm) for better durability and moisture resistance

• Naturally tighter-grained, which helps retain softness

• Less chemically treated, so it breaks in—not down

The result? A glove that stays playable longer—without getting stiff, cracking at the fingers, or losing feel halfway through the season.

How Cheaper Gloves Fake Softness

Here’s the trick: many brands over-soften their leather with chemical processing so it feels great when you try it on. But that softness isn’t built to last.

Think of it like cheap dress shoes. They shine and feel smooth in the store—but after a few wears, they wrinkle, crack, and fall apart.

That’s what’s happening to your glove.

Tips to Maximize Softness

Even the best leather benefits from proper care. Here are 3 quick tips to extend the life of your Circle 15 glove:

1. Let it dry out after use—don’t leave it bunched in your bag

2. Store flat or in the original glove packaging to prevent curling

3. Rotate gloves if you’re playing multiple rounds a week

But at the end of the day, it all comes back to the leather.

Final Thought

If you’re tired of gloves that turn stiff and crack after just a few rounds, you don’t need new habits—you need a better glove.

At Circle 15, we’re not just making gloves that feel good today. We’re building gloves that feel good on round 10, too.

👉 [Shop the Circle 15 Glove]
👉 [Next: Tour Glove Myths—What They Don’t Tell You →]