smallmouth's Full Review: Mizuno Golf Retroflex Glove
I guess what I am trying to say with the title of this review is that it is better than par, or the rest of the filed but it can be improved upon.
I still have not found the perfect golf glove but I am getting closer. The Mizuno Retroflex is the most comfortable glove I wear. It is durable and water repellent while offering a nice grip on the club. The only problem I have had with it is that it wears in the palm near the heal of the hand. There are a couple of other minor flaws with it such as construction and it’s ability to pick up dirt, and breathability. I will get more in depth into the pro’s and con’s further into this review. On the plus side however, is that it is a great feeling glove, it fits correctly over all of my hand, not just the thumb or certain fingers, it is comfortable, and looks pretty good too. Check it out.
This is an extremely comfortable fit for my hand. I wear an XXL on my left hand when golfing. There are a couple of different times you need to compare the comfort level of a golf glove. Is it comfortable when using it and is it comfortable when just wearing it. Another time to evaluate it would be after some usage. Some gloves feel great in the store but while gripping a club and taking some swings they feel uncomfortable and can be a distraction. Other gloves get more comfortable as you break them in and some get less comfortable. The bottom line with comfort is that if it doesn’t feel comfortable when trying it on in the store and moving your hand around a little bit and opening and closing your hand, then it will never be comfortable on the course. After a glove passes the first step of feeling comfortable while trying it on, I take it over and grip a club and make a couple of movements with the glove and club. Salesmen usually frown upon trying out a glove with a full swing but they never say anything when you just grip a club.
I no longer have to test this glove as I have gone through a couple of them and know my size and what I am going to get from it. This glove is a nice snug fit over my hand including all four fingers and the thumb. I have tried gloves that fits snugly over my thumb but are too long in the fingers and even the opposite. I have tried some that were incredibly comfortable but only lasted a couple of rounds. So now I am trying to balance comfort and durability and Mizuno offers both with the Retroflex.
The only points of concern with comfort that I have had with this glove are the fingertip stitches. This is the construction complaint I mentioned earlier in the review. For each finger, four different flaps of leather come together at the point of the fingers. The stitches are internal and can be felt on the inside of the glove. I guess they do this similar as with the construction of socks, for appearance, because if they constructed these with the thought of comfort alone they would put the pleat or stitches on the outside where they would not be felt. I guess they would not look as good so they tuck them in the inside where they slightly hinder comfortability.
There are a couple of nice designs on this glove that improve the comfort level drastically. The point across the knuckles where the glove makes a longer fold when the hand is clenched is made from a soft stretch material. This really aids in comfort so when one section of the glove tightens, another one loosens. The last three fingers beyond the index finger have the same material on the first knuckle diagonally across the fingers. I am not sure why they didn’t continue this across the index finger, possibly to provide that point with the more durable and tougher leather. The stretch material is incredibly soft and is black which helps break up the white and adds to the overall appearance.
You have to understand that when I talk a about durability and I part with about $15 for a golf glove, I want the thing to last for a little bit less than forever. However, I know they won’t and if I can get a bunch of rounds from one glove I have grown accustomed to being happy. I never really counted just how many rounds I can get from a glove but I am guessing that I got around 8 or 10 from the Retroflex. I think I will start making an ink line on the wrist section after a round similar to a gunfighters notch on his handle after I complete a round with each glove to monitor durability.
The thing that drew me to the Retroflex initially was the double layered thumb. The thumb has an extra layer of leather stitched over the top of the thumb, This has been an area that I have had problems with other gloves wearing through. It is a strange spot to sprout a hole and wear through but that is one of my wear points with my grip. Since using the Retroflex I have never worn through the top of the thumb and the fingers are incredibly durable. The point where I wear through on all of the Retroflex gloves is the heel of the palm. It feels like there is adequate protection there but with only a single layer of leather that is the spot that usually ruins the glove. FootJoy has doubled up the leather in this area and I haven’t had any problems wearing through this spot with them yet they are not as comfortable and they don’t have a double layer on the thumb. It seems like it rips at first as the leather gets worn thin or broken down and without warning there is a small hole that rapidly grows with every swing.
I would rank the durability of this glove at about an 8 as I have worn through the palm area several times after several rounds of usage. It’s too bad to wear a hole through when the ret of the glove is in excellent condition. I guess I should probably learn how to sew a piece of an old one over the hole. I would try to pull the two sides back together but I am sure the stitches would rip out and the leather has probably shrunk enough so it would not be comfortable. But for under $15 just keep buying new ones.
This is a good looking glove because of the contrast of black and white. There really aren’t too many designs on it, the Mizuno symbol and name are on the velcro flap and the wrist is trimmed out in black. All of the ventilation holes are symmetrically punched. I don’t like the all white gloves, I have never been a white glove kind of guy so when I see an all white glove it turns me off. Some of the Titleist gloves I have tried were all white with no other color to break it up. These days, you have to look good while golfing. The soft stretchy black material used for the knuckles on the Retroflex breaks up the white nicely and adds some flash to the gloves appearance. Mizuno also pleated the wrist and the metacarpal region with an interior elastic band for added comfort and a snug fit. The stitches add a little bit of decoration as well.
-------------------------Grip and Feel:------------------------
One of the most important features of the glove is the grip that it provides. Contrary to popular belief, golf gloves aren’t just for show and style, they serve a purpose. That purpose is to provide the golfer with a good grip on the club in wet or dry conditions. Some people also suggest that the glove prevents stingers, but I wouldn’t know with my cavity back clubs, soft balls, and solid contact. Even with the shots I have hit off center, I have never had a stinger come back up the club and vibrate into my hand like a baseball bat will sometimes do, especially on a cold day. The Retroflex has a slightly tackier feel than a lot of other gloves I have tried. The leather is slightly porous and tacky without a glossy sheen. The feel it provides is excellent and I no longer worry about sweaty palms, loose grips, or a club slipping during a swing Dang, there goes all of my excuses. The palm is a little bit thin for added feel and the inside of the thumb is double layered for extra strength. None of the stitches or seams interfere with the feel or grip on the club.
-------------------------19th Hole Final Thoughts:------------------------
Some of the problems I have had with the Retroflex deal with dirt and durability. Overall I would say that it is a good durable golf glove and it has outlasted most of the Callaway and Titleist gloves I have tried but I would love to see another layer or tougher leather in the palm where I have worn this one out. The problem with it getting dirty is surprising to me, maybe the leather is too soft or porous and it collects dirt and gets discolored very easily. After just two rounds I notice a discoloration even with new grips. I am not overly carful with keeping it clean and once it goes on at the beginning of the round I usually leave it on. It fits so snugly and is comfortable enough to keep it on even when I am putting and I don’t feel like I lose anything with it on. The problem with it getting dirty is that I like to try to clean it with some soapy water. This works to get it clean but it shrinks the leather a little bit and I stretch it out and it gets thinner and is more prone to rips or tearing. So I just live with the dirty glove and only wash or clean it if it gets sweaty or smelly. I do a lot of my golfing in Florida and South Carolina where it can get hot and humid which produces sweaty hands. That is why I wear a glove. This isn’t the best ventilated glove I have worn but it isn’t too bad. There are some holes punched into the glove and the stretch material also helps the glove breath and get air into the interior. It actually becomes even more tacky and provides a better grip when wet or in wet conditions. Make sure if you do clean it with soapy water you get all of the soap out of the leather for obvious reasons. To prolong the life of the glove try to keep it dry and let it air out and dry after a round. Keeping it flat and fighting the urge to just roll it up into a ball and throw it into a pouch on your golf bag will help to prolong the life of this glove. It does not come with a complimentary ball marker like FootJoy gloves provide.
-------------------------Price and Availability:------------------------
I paid $11.99 for the last one I bought at Golf USA, $13 for the one from Martins, and around that price for the same glove at various stores. I have never spent more than $15 on this glove. They are a popular glove from a popular brand name company and are stocked in most sizes when stocked at all. I have only seen it in the primary white and secondary black coloration.
Mizuno's Retroflex Golf Glove is a redesign of Mizuno's original flexible insert panel tour glove. Boasting an improved leather finish with a Hydrocar...More at Amazon Marketplace
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