What cadet actually means
A golf glove comes in two cuts at each size. A regular glove is the standard proportion. A cadetglove is cut for a hand that's relatively broad across the palm but shorter in the fingers — same hand width, shorter finger length. A golfer whose fingertips push into the end of a regular glove while the palm fits fine usually wants a cadet. It's a fit refinement, not a different size, and most golfers never need to think about it.
Which one they need
The honest answer for a gift buyer: unless you specifically know they wear cadet, buy regular. It fits the majority of hands, and a golfer who needs cadet almost always knows it and can tell you. Guessing cadet for someone with standard proportions makes the fingers too short; guessing regular for a cadet hand leaves the fingertips bunched. Regular is the lower- risk default when you're not sure.
The mistake that matters far more
Cadet-versus-regular is a minor fit question. The error that actually ruins a glove gift is the hand. A golfer wears one glove, on their weaker, top-of-the-grip hand: a right-handed golfer wears it on the left, and a left-handed golfer wears it on the right. Get that wrong and the glove is simply unusable. It's the single most common mistake non-golfers make — we cover it in full in which hand a golf glove goes on.
How to check their size
The cleanest way to get glove size right is to check a glove they already own — the size is printed inside near the wrist, and it'll say "Cadet" if it is one. Note the hand it fits while you're there. If you can't check, a two-pack in a standard size hedges your bet, and our glove sizing guide walks through measuring a hand from scratch.
Which to buy as a gift
Buy regular unless you know they wear cadet. Confirm the hand before anything else. And if you can, check the size in a glove they own. Get those three right and a glove is one of the best golf gifts there is — consumable, always needed, and rarely bought in advance. The picks are on the golf glove guide.