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Prescription Eyeglasses and golf (It's the little things that kill you)

Kobey said:
I'm glad this thread came up. I'm at the point now where I need bifocals but haven't gotten any yet. If I need to read small print I take my glasses off and hold it right up to my face. Now I'm going to have to figure out what to do for golfing. If I wear contacts, I can't read small print at all. A scorecard might give me problems. So I was going to get some bifocal sunglasses to help with that. Now after reading this thread, that doesn't seem like it might be such a good idea. Maybe I'll have to just get some reading glasses for when my contacts are in. It will be a pain switching all the time, but I don't want to make the game any harder.
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If you get the no line bifocals, they are a bit easier to adjust to. In fact once you get adjusted you may not even notice you're wearing them.
 
Had a very similar issues a couple years ago... Figured out I was playing much better in my old prescription Ray Ban sunglasses than the new glasses I had gotten over the winter. The new glasses were the smallest lenses I ever had & something was getting screwy in my view of the ball... It got to where I would wear the sunglasses all the time. I have worn bifocals since the 1st grade & I think with the small lenses I was looking thru the bifocal portion of the lense & it was changing my depth perception. The glasses I got next have larger lenses & I really don't have a problem.
 
CardboardRob0t said:
Again, trying not to be too science-y. If you're really interested, there are some articles I could point you towards that talk about polarized light.

Polarized sunglasses work by only allowing vertically polarized light through. The sun (and other light sources) sends out unpolarized light in every direction. Light is then polarized based on what it bounces off of. Horizontal light comes from roads, cars, water, etc. Vertical light comes from vertical sources.

Horizontally polarized light tends to be harmful when driving, walking, and looking at water. However, it is 'harmful' when attempting to read the green as it stops you from being able to see gradients as you normally would. You'll still see the big stuff, but subtle ridges and slopes can be completely missed.
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Wow, maybe will take my polarized lenses off when reading greens then! Had no idea...

Anyways, yeah I play with my prescription polarized Ray Bans. Love em, and would have trouble playing without them, because I lose the ball in the air on longer drives (nearsighted). I don't think my vision is bad enough that it really affects my ball striking when I don't wear glasses, but it is sure irritating when I lose the ball in the air :angry:
 
I have recently started wearing my glasses while golfing. It really really helps me track the ball in the air. That's about the only reason I would wear them
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Wow, maybe will take my polarized lenses off when reading greens then! Had no idea...

Anyways, yeah I play with my prescription polarized Ray Bans. Love em, and would have trouble playing without them, because I lose the ball in the air on longer drives (nearsighted). I don't think my vision is bad enough that it really affects my ball striking when I don't wear glasses, but it is sure irritating when I lose the ball in the air :angry:
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Glad I could help! I wear my polarized glasses when I'm golfing as well, but I take them off as I near the green to give my eyes time to adjust to the brightness, and to read the green. They really won't hurt your distance game, just the putts.
 
CardboardRob0t said:
Glad I could help! I wear my polarized glasses when I'm golfing as well, but I take them off as I near the green to give my eyes time to adjust to the brightness, and to read the green. They really won't hurt your distance game, just the putts.
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Thanks for the info, the tip on polarized should help in reading greens. I just started wearing prescription glasses and sunglasses. Amazing how much better I can see things now, didn't realize how bad my eyes were getting until I got the glasses.
 
KellyBo and I both need to new glasses. It's been two or three years since we last had our eyes checked. Golf equipment or glasses :confused2:.
 
Ole Gray said:
KellyBo and I both need to new glasses. It's been two or three years since we last had our eyes checked. Golf equipment or glasses :confused2:.
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Think of the glasses as golf equipment!
 
I sometimes wear my no-line trifocals when I'm golfing. I don't really need to wear them at all and perhaps that's why they don't really seem to affect my game. I can see everything I need to see fine looking out the distance portion of the lens.
 
I've been playing with prescription sunglasses for years (polarized too, I consider putting to be one my strengths and don't recognize any problem using polarized lenses, ymmv)

I've had bifocals, forever it seems. I am not vain and have never been willing to sacrifice 'seeing' for vanity. I have LINE bifocal and large lenses.

The bifocal line has a tendency to get in your field of view when looking at the ball. But, as you know, without it you can't read, or see the gps, or scorecard.

The way I worked around that was to have a pair of glasses made where I asked them to make the reading part AS TINY AS POSSIBLE. Since I only need it to read the scorecard. You can barely see that part on the lens its so small. It NEVER gets in my field of view when playing yet works PERFECTLY for the scorecard ... no different than my regular glasses really ... wouldn't work well for the computer, but that's not what I use them for.

These are sunglasses, polarized, prescription, line bifocals. For me the transitions lenses just don't get dark enough so I went with sunglasses .... downside is dark cloudy overcast days ...


Kobey said:
I'm glad this thread came up. I'm at the point now where I need bifocals but haven't gotten any yet. If I need to read small print I take my glasses off and hold it right up to my face. Now I'm going to have to figure out what to do for golfing. If I wear contacts, I can't read small print at all. A scorecard might give me problems. So I was going to get some bifocal sunglasses to help with that. Now after reading this thread, that doesn't seem like it might be such a good idea. Maybe I'll have to just get some reading glasses for when my contacts are in. It will be a pain switching all the time, but I don't want to make the game any harder.
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I have prescribed a bifocal that works great for golf where the bifocal is in the bottom right hand corner of the right lens (for right handed golfers). There is no bifocal in the left lens. That way it does not get in the way of the swing yet you can tip you head such that you can read the score card as desired.

Also, although polarized lenses may filter out the silver side of the grass leaf, the benefits still far outweigh the negatives when it comes to these lenses. I highly recommend them for golf. Typically a grey lens is most natural and a brown lens works best on hazy days.
 
I give eye exams in Columbus at Ohio State's College of Optometry. I've got one free exam left to give on April 3rd at 1:30PM if anyone needs a new prescription and eye exam.

Now that my shameless plug is done, I agree with Idrops that polarized glasses have benefits that far outweight the costs, but around the green on tricky putts they can ruin a PB round. If you're having one of those days, just take them off when you are reading the putt. Also, that bifocal setup is the smartest I've heard of for golf. I'll have to keep that in mind for my golf-oriented patients!

I guess I never really thought about how much glasses, especially bifocals, affected golf until now..
 
I wear trifocals with an older prescription sunglasses. Turns out that viewing the ball at address through the trifocal part is a perfect image. I use this to my advantage by keeping the ball within the trifocal as I make my backswing. This helps me to keep my head still because if I move my head the ball passes out of the trifocal. So I keep my head still enough to keep the ball within the lens. Works for me....
 
Idrops said:
I have prescribed a bifocal that works great for golf where the bifocal is in the bottom right hand corner of the right lens (for right handed golfers). There is no bifocal in the left lens. That way it does not get in the way of the swing yet you can tip you head such that you can read the score card as desired.

Also, although polarized lenses may filter out the silver side of the grass leaf, the benefits still far outweigh the negatives when it comes to these lenses. I highly recommend them for golf. Typically a grey lens is most natural and a brown lens works best on hazy days.
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I know who is going to be reading my putts for me in May! :D
 
I wear my prescription glasses/sunglasses all the time while playing golf. I find it really helps me pick up the ball when its in the air, as well as scouting out balls on the fairway from the teebox.

On the down side, I get asked a lot by my playing partners where their ball ended up.... I usually just pretend I wasn't watching ;)
 
Idrops said:
HaHa, not me. I get fooled often trying to read the greens. There are some people that are naturals at it. I'm not one of them.
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Me either. I think once I get done with SPi and get more confident with my putting speed and line, I'm going to go attend an AimPoint clinic and learn how to read greens scientifically, since I apparently can't see the read. I often just stare after the putt wondering "How in the heck did it do that?"
 
Bullitt5339 said:
Me either. I think once I get done with SPi and get more confident with my putting speed and line, I'm going to go attend an AimPoint clinic and learn how to read greens scientifically, since I apparently can't see the read. I often just stare after the putt wondering "How in the heck did it do that?"
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I resemble this remark :D. It's that deer in the headlights look :bulgy-eyes:
 
Ole Gray said:
I resemble this remark :D. It's that deer in the headlights look :bulgy-eyes:
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Me too. Now I can blame the polarized sun glasses.

On the plus side, I can see balls in the water really well. :silly:
 
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