What Is the Purpose of a Golf Towel With a Hole in the Middle?

If you’ve opened a new golf towel and wondered why someone cut a slit through the middle, it isn’t normally a defect. The opening is a practical attachment feature used on many larger caddie and tour-style towels.

As of 2026, center-slit towels remain common because the idea is simple. The towel stays accessible while leaving plenty of fabric available for cleaning clubs, golf balls, grips, or hands when the Rules allow.

Why Does a Golf Towel Have a Hole in the Middle?

The middle opening lets you support a large towel near its center instead of hanging the entire towel from one corner. That keeps more fabric within easy reach and reduces the need for extra attachment hardware.

Definition: A center-slit golf towel is a golf towel with a reinforced opening near its middle that can slide over a club, alignment stick, or compatible bag support.

Many golfers also call this a center-cut towel, caddie towel, or tour-style towel. The exact construction varies, but the purpose is broadly the same.

• Secure placement: The opening helps keep the towel positioned around your clubs or bag.
• Better balance: Fabric hangs on both sides instead of all its weight pulling from one corner.
• Quick removal: You can often lift the towel off without opening a clip.
• More usable fabric: A long towel can provide separate areas for dirty and clean jobs.

A good real-world example is Club Glove’s microfiber caddie towel. The manufacturer lists a 17-by-40-inch size and specifically describes its center slit as a way to secure the towel over golf clubs.

That explains why this design is especially common on larger towels. A 40-inch towel hanging from one corner can sit much lower than the same towel supported near the center.

How Do You Attach a Golf Towel With a Hole in the Middle?

The simplest method is to slide the center slit over a suitable club or alignment stick so the towel hangs down on both sides. You want the towel secure without blocking access to the clubs you use most often.

1. Find the center slit. Open the towel fully and locate the reinforced opening.
2. Choose a support point. An alignment stick or suitable club can work with many towel designs.
3. Slide the opening over it. Let both sections of the towel fall naturally.
4. Check the height. Make sure neither end drags on the ground.
5. Test club access. Confirm the towel doesn’t make removing clubs awkward.

I prefer the idea of using a stable, less frequently moved support point when possible. It makes little sense to put the towel over the club you’re pulling from the bag every second hole.

Also check how the fabric sits around graphite shafts and grips. The towel should hang freely rather than becoming tightly twisted between clubs.

If you’re riding, you can reposition the towel somewhere accessible before leaving the cart for a shot. Walking golfers may prefer keeping it directly around the bag’s club area for quicker access.

What Should You Use a Center-Slit Golf Towel For?

A center-slit towel is mainly a convenient cleaning and drying tool. The opening doesn’t change what the towel can clean; it simply makes a larger towel easier to carry and reach.

During a typical round, the most useful jobs include:

• Clubfaces: Remove grass, soil, and loose debris after shots.
• Grooves: Wipe away material before it dries into the face.
• Golf balls: Clean the ball when the Rules permit cleaning.
• Grips: Keep moisture away before you make a swing.
• Hands: Use a cleaner section when your hands become damp.
• Putters and wedges: A towel can help keep grips off wet ground around the green.

There is one Rules detail worth remembering. The USGA’s Rule 14 explains that a ball lifted from the putting green may always be cleaned, while several exceptions apply when a ball is lifted elsewhere.

That matters because having a towel nearby doesn’t automatically mean you’re allowed to wipe the ball whenever you want. In competition, confirm why the ball was lifted before cleaning it.

For clubs, the practical routine is much simpler. Wipe mud and grass away before they harden, then use a cleaner part of the towel for the final dry pass.

More Learn

How Do I Use a Golf Towel With a Hole in the Middle? → What Is a Golf Towel With a Slit in the Middle? →

Center-Slit vs Clip-On vs Magnetic Golf Towels

No attachment style is automatically right for every golfer. A center slit works especially well when you want a large towel with minimal hardware.

A carabiner has one obvious advantage: once clipped correctly, the towel stays attached while your bag moves. That’s helpful for golfers who walk and don’t want to think about losing a towel.

The center-slit approach feels simpler. There is no clip to open, and the towel can be removed quickly when you want to carry it toward the green.

Magnetic towels focus even more on quick removal. Their usefulness depends on having a suitable magnetic attachment point nearby.

For a traditional large caddie towel, I would choose the center slit when the priority is surface area and uncomplicated access. A clip makes more sense when maximum attachment security is the main concern.

Should Part of Your Golf Towel Be Wet?

Yes, keeping one portion slightly damp can make a golf towel more useful for removing dried dirt and grass. Keep another portion as dry and clean as possible for grips, hands, and final drying.

A simple setup looks like this:

• Damp section: Clubheads, grooves, mud, sand, and grass.
• Dry section: Grips, hands, and moisture removal.
• Clean section: Golf balls when cleaning is allowed.

The center-slit format works nicely here because a large towel hangs in separate sections. You can mentally assign one end to dirty cleaning jobs and protect the other end.

Wet-weather golf makes this even more important. PGA guidance for playing in rain specifically emphasizes bringing towels and protecting grips from moisture.

Don’t soak the entire towel unless that’s what you need. Once every section becomes wet and muddy, you lose the dry surface that can matter most late in the round.

This is one reason I like longer caddie-style towels for changing weather. More fabric gives you more room to separate jobs without carrying several tiny towels.

What Mistakes Should You Avoid With a Center-Hole Towel?

The biggest mistake is assuming the slit means the towel must be permanently tied to something. In most designs, the opening exists to make attachment and removal easier.

Avoid these common problems:

• Letting it drag: Reposition the towel if either end touches the ground.
• Covering key clubs: Don’t place it where it constantly interferes with club selection.
• Using one filthy section: Separate dirty club cleaning from grip and hand drying.
• Leaving it wet in the bag: Let the towel dry after your round.
• Ignoring the care label: Follow the manufacturer’s washing instructions.
• Cleaning a ball automatically: Check the applicable Rules before wiping a lifted ball.

The broader equipment rules are also worth understanding if you play competitions. The R&A’s Rule 4 guidance covers how equipment may and may not be used during a round.

For routine care, shake out loose debris before washing. Mud, sand, and grass left deep in the fabric make the next cleaning job harder.

Let the towel dry completely before storing it in an enclosed pocket. That small habit keeps the towel fresher and ready for your next round.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the hole in the middle of a golf towel supposed to be there?

Yes. On a center-slit or center-cut golf towel, the opening is intentional and is normally designed to help secure the towel over clubs, an alignment stick, or another suitable attachment point near the golf bag.

Do you put a golf club through the hole in the towel?

You can with many center-slit towels. Slide the opening over a suitable club or alignment stick and allow both sides of the towel to hang down, while making sure it doesn’t interfere with club access.

Why not just use a carabiner?

A carabiner works well and may provide a more fixed connection to the bag. A center slit removes the need for a corner clip and can make a large caddie towel faster to remove and reposition.

Can you take a center-slit towel to the putting green?

Yes. You can remove the towel and carry it with your putter and wedge when needed. It can be useful for cleaning allowed items and for keeping grips away from wet or dirty ground.

Can you clean your golf ball with the towel?

Yes, but only when the Rules permit you to clean the ball. A ball lifted from the putting green may always be cleaned, while Rule 14.1c lists situations elsewhere on the course where cleaning is restricted.

Is a center-slit golf towel better than a normal golf towel?

It isn’t automatically better. Center-slit towels suit golfers wanting a large cleaning surface and easy removal, while grommet-and-clip towels may suit players who want the towel firmly connected to their bag throughout the round.

What size is a center-slit golf towel?

Sizes vary by manufacturer. One verified example is Club Glove’s microfiber caddie towel at 17 by 40 inches, showing why the center-slit design is particularly useful on longer tour-style towels.

The simple takeaway is that the hole is an attachment feature, not missing fabric. It lets a large golf towel hang conveniently around your clubs or bag while keeping plenty of material available for cleaning and drying.

Set one section aside for dirty clubheads and keep another section cleaner and drier. Once you use the towel that way, the center hole starts to make a lot of practical sense.