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

Bullitt5339

Bullitt5339

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OK, I guess I have to tell the story behind this one before it will make sense (at least in my own head).

2 years ago I was a 12 handicap and playing pretty decently and improving and then it seems the wheels fell off and all of a sudden, I was struggling to break 100 consistently. I chalked it up as I had just lost my swing and was dedicated to working to get it back, but it has been going very slowly. That is, until today.

Last week, I went in for my first eye exam in 2 years and my vision had actually gotten better in my left eye. I went in to order a new pair of glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses and realized while I was trying on glasses that while my current glasses were trendy and looked nice, the actual lens area is pretty small, and I find myself looking at the ground underneath my glasses. So when I ordered the new sunglasses, I purposely went for something where the lenses extended down closer to my cheek bones to extend my downward field of view.

I picked up the sunglasses today, but the regular eyeglasses were not ready because they had to order the lenses. I went to the range later in the day and once I got on the range, I realized that I was looking underneath my regular glasses at the ball quite often, especially on short/mid irons so I decided to try the new sunglasses out and went and grabbed them out of the car. I immediately noticed that I could keep the ball in my field of vision for longer throughout the swing and it seemed to make an immediate difference in the quality of my ball striking.

Then I realized that the time line of my game going downhill coincided with my current pair of glasses. I've also been getting more headaches than normal in the past 2 years. Maybe the prescription just has never been quite right, since it changed, but I never put the pieces together until I put on a new pair of glasses and started striking the ball. I guess it makes sense that if you can see the ball clearly, you can strike it better and I'm sure my depth perception without looking through the lenses of my glasses on isn't exactly great, since my vision is pretty bad without them on.

Only time will tell whether I was just striking the ball reasonably well today, or whether increasing the size of my field of view downward actually made a difference. Thoughts or experiences with this?
 
I wear glasses at all times and play with them on as well. I guess I keep my chin low enough that there is nothing to see looking down below the frames. Glasses and golf has never been a issue for me. I have transitions lenses, so I never switch to sunglasses.
 
I've noticed the same thing. I had glasses several years ago and couldn't play in them due to what you described about looking under them. I couldn't hit the ball and see where it went because my eyes couldn't pick it up after I hit it going from non-lense to lense. When I got new frames and the lenses were slightly bigger I didn't have any problems seeing the ball. Glasses aren't a requirement for me, but it sure helps out being able to see the ball in flight sand where it lands.

I don't have the same swing/scoring issues that you do by not wearing them (I never played in the smaller frames) , but it sure makes it easier to play when you can see.
 
So who has tried to play golf with bifocals and a cataract on one eye :hello:
 
I guess it may be magnified depending on how bad your vision is. Mine is horrible without my glasses on. I can't function without them on at all.

And the smaller frames have been my only set of glasses for the past 2 years.

I was thinking about the transition lenses, but I needed sunglasses to drive in and my son's won't darken fully in the car because of the UV protected windshield and window tint. A call to Transitions confirmed that they won't darken correctly in a vehicle, so I went with separate Sunglasses.
 
Ole Gray said:
So who has tried to play golf with bifocals and a cataract on one eye :hello:
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I was borderline for needing bifocals, but I will not concede that I'm getting old yet. I do have a playing partner that forgot to bring regular glasses and played in bifocals and had a rough day on the course.
 
I wear contacts when I play, they are comfortable and there is no missing coverage. Before I got my eyes checked I didn't wear anything. My scoring average dropped by at least 5 strokes and now I'm the guy that tells my partners where their shot ended up.
 
Bullitt5339 said:
I was borderline for needing bifocals, but I will not concede that I'm getting old yet. I do have a playing partner that forgot to bring regular glasses and played in bifocals and had a rough day on the course.
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haha hold off for as long as you can Bullitt :D. Trust me it's a different animal all together.
 
Ole Gray said:
So who has tried to play golf with bifocals and a cataract on one eye :hello:
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Both, my regular glasses and sun glasses are progressive bifocals and there is some degree of cataracts on both eyes. The ball on the tee is easy to see, it just disappears in thin air after hitting it.
 
Lefty78 said:
Both, my regular glasses and sun glasses are progressive bifocals and there is some degree of cataracts on both eyes. The ball on the tee is easy to see, it just disappears in thin air after hitting it.
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Poof! Where'd it go :bulgy-eyes: :D... I hear ya partner. lol
 
Ole Gray said:
haha hold off for as long as you can Bullitt :D. Trust me it's a different animal all together.
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Only real golfers wear bifocals, they aren't for wimps.
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I don't need glasses but I have 2 pairs. One pair is a bolder pair, the other is a lightweight conservative pair. I passed my drivers test without them, eye exams during physicals, etc. But I have them because they do help me see things that are far away a little more clearly. I wear the lightweight pair of glasses I have off the tee on par 4's and 5's. It helps limit the amount of balls I lose. Other than that, I've tried wearing them for other shots but never saw any benefit. Never helped me read greens better, strike the ball better or attack pins more effectively.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I wear glasses at all times and play with them on as well. I guess I keep my chin low enough that there is nothing to see looking down below the frames. Glasses and golf has never been a issue for me. I have transitions lenses, so I never switch to sunglasses.
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Same for me as well, the transitions are awesome, but I do always try and get larger lenses in all my glasses and sunglasses, I could see how they get small enough it would be a problem.
 
I have worn glasses and bifocals for many years. My issue is astigmatism. I could not wear contacts for many years, because of this. Recent advances have allowed me to find a pair that fit. This has made a huge difference in my ability to see the ball. My handicap has steadily decreased since I started wearing them to play golf.
 
I wear glasses all the time but absolutely can't play golf in them, my lenses are on the smaller side as well and they mess with me being able to see the ball. I have contacts specifically for playing sports only, it is a mist for me.
 
LargePhil said:
I have worn glasses and bifocals for many years. My issue is astigmatism. I could not wear contacts for many years, because of this. Recent advances have allowed me to find a pair that fit. This has made a huge difference in my ability to see the ball. My handicap has steadily decreased since I started wearing them to play golf.
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Same problem here. I played for a long time without my glasses, but just went with prescription Oakleys and love them.
 
Heh, my eyes are so bad that I really doubt I could address the ball with a 460cc driver without my glasses lol.
 
Soon to be optometrist here.

For most people, the best option is to play in contacts. Without getting all science-y, it typically removes the possibility for magnification differences, prism (bad when trying to hit a golf ball), and looking outside of the lens. Still, if your new glasses make the difference then it was probably due to you being able to see (or not) outside of the lens or maybe inducing some prism at the bottom edge.

Wear contacts if you're able, sunglasses (prescription or not) are a good option too.. Just stay away from polarized glasses if you're going to use them for golfing!
 
What is the problem with polarized sunglasses and golfing?
 
Bullitt5339 said:
What is the problem with polarized sunglasses and golfing?
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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.
 
I wear glasses but for sports (and on my motorbike) I do tend to wear contacts, although due to a slight eye infection I have played badminton wearing my glasses the last couple of times and I haven't suffered

Playing golf wearing my glasses has never been a problem to me but I can understand if your prescription is quite strong then anything near the frames could potentially cause problems with your view/focus
 
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.
 
Ole Gray said:
So who has tried to play golf with bifocals and a cataract on one eye :hello:
Click to expand...

How about bifocals and blind in ine eye? It really messed me up when I first got them until about two rounds later when I realized the ball slid into the reader part during my back swing that was why I was topping the ball. I figured out real quick I should take them off when I golf. Last year I got prescription sunglasses so now its either them or nothing.
 
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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There are two options:

1. Bifocal contact lenses are a great option for daily life, but your vision isn't quite as crisp and your depth perception can be knocked off a bit. Neither are good for golf.

2. Get some cheap dollar store bifocals and clip them onto the steering wheel when you're not writing your score down.

3. Get a big magnifying glass.

4. Monocle.
 
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