G-Tech Apparel Turns Heat Up on Cold-Weather Rounds
After a stretch of unseasonably warm and sunny October weeks in New England last year, the mercury dropped precipitously — seemingly overnight. By the month’s final week, the weather had reverted back to its customary, chilly form, but that didn’t deter me from squeezing in a late-season round.
As 124 of the world’s best players prepared to tee it up that morning at a PGA Tour event in Bermuda — where the island’s weather forecast projected the high to be a blissful 76 degrees — I pulled into the parking lot of my local golf club, at which point my Volkswagen’s digital thermometer relayed that the temperature outside was a not-so-blissful 42 degrees. A quick scan of the AccuWeather app on my phone did not offer any reprieves. The real feel, according to the app, was a brisk 34.
As a native New Englander, I long ago learned that if you want to extend the golf season, you have to contend with conditions like these. In previous years, I would break out the winter golf gloves and make the best of it, all the while trying not to focus on the awkward feeling that comes with wearing two golf gloves — thicker ones at that.
This time around, I had cause for optimism. Among my accessories that morning was a heated pouch made by G-Tech Apparel, the same pouch endorsed by Major League Baseball and one that’s used by 80 percent of the teams in the NFL. Made from a water-resistant material with a soft, polyfill down-alternative interior lining, the pouches, which cost $150, fasten around a user’s waist with a traditional nylon strap and plastic buckle. Inside, the pouches are equipped with a rod-shaped heating device that’s powered by a rechargeable lithium battery. Once the pouch is turned on and warms up, users can warm their hands by inserting them into either end of the pouch and gripping the heating rod.
The G-Tech heated pouch retails for $150.
G-Tech Apparel
With three heat settings (low, medium, and high), the pouches can be configured to the conditions. When kept on high, the battery will last for up to four hours, which means golfers can likely eek out an entire round with maximum heat, although only extremely cold, sub-zero conditions will warrant it.
However, Jesse Galvon, G-Tech’s co-founder, president, and CEO, suggests letting the pouch warm up for 10 minutes on high then switching to the medium or low settings. The pouch, he says, will retain plenty of heat and you’ll maximize the length of the battery’s charge. Set on medium, a G-Tech pouch will provide heat for up to six hours, and when set only on low it will stay charged for 12 hours. (Spare batteries, which cost $30 each, are sold separately.)
“It’s the easiest and fastest way to get the most concentrated amount of heat through your hands,” Galvon says of the gripping motion. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Galvon knows about cold. And as a former collegiate golfer who played for the University of San Francisco from 2005 to 2010, he also understands the challenges that come with trying to play high-level golf in a brisk climate. (After all, Mark Twain famously declared once that the coldest winter he ever experienced was a summer spent in San Francisco.)
Galvon and his partners always intended golf to be the company’s primary outlet — the MLB endorsement and as-of-now unofficial use by the NFL were happy byproducts — which is why in 2014, Galvon handed out 500 prototypes from the trunk of his car, visiting several PGA Tour events in the hope that he could get the pouches into the hands of professional players and that they would provide constructive feedback.
Over time, G-Tech’s team of engineers refined the product and, as Galvon acknowledges, the company’s goal is to now release an improved iteration every year. Most recently, the company enjoyed a breakout on the fairways last September, as both Ryder Cup teams officially endorsed the pouches. During those chilly Wisconsin mornings on the shores of Lake Michigan, players were often seen thrusting their hands into their G-Tech pouches with regularity.
“Nothing could’ve kept my hands warm like the G-Tech pouch,” says Bryson DeChambeau, who was first introduced to G-Tech’s heated pouches at the Genesis Invitational in 2019. “I knew immediately upon trying the pouch that this would be a product I would use during my warmup sessions on cold mornings.”
In reality, a G-Tech pouch can do more than just heat your hands. As Galvon learned during his research, heat escapes from three areas of the human body: the head, the feet and the hands. Given that golfers always wear shoes and almost always have a hat on — at least in cold weather —the hands are the last line of defense for staying warm.
“You’re actually creating blood circulation,” Galvon says. “So by keeping your hands warm, you’ll keep your entire body warmer.”
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Out on the course that chilly morning last October, I discovered what every Ryder Cup team member already knew: these heated pouches are a difference-maker. By the third hole, my hands were sufficiently warm and remained that way through the rest of my round. The pouch itself was lightweight, comfortable to wear, and easy to rotate to my back when I prepared to hit a shot. In fact, on the third tee box, I striped a hybrid to the middle of the fairway and then realized I had forgotten to shuffle the pouch out of the way — proof that it’s never really in the way to begin with.
As someone who’s always striving to extend the golf season in New England, I now have a powerful weapon in my arsenal to stave off Old Man Winter. The prospect of cold-weather rounds isn’t as daunting as it was before; and, as Galvon acknowledges, that was always the goal.
“We really just want people to enjoy golf,” he says, “no matter what weather they’re playing in.”
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