Guys,

I'm looking for a good website that sells sport/Oakley type prescription eye/sunglasses at a fairly reasonable price. I can play without my glasses, but play better with them. When summer comes here in SC it will get very hot and you don't play without sweating, so I'm looking for a good frame that sits off the nose a little to minimize the number of times I have to take them off and clean them, plus I would love a transitional shade lens.

If you have any websites to recommend, any experience purchasing or make/model recommendations, give me a response please.

Thanks, Alan

Try SportRX.com. Wide range of makes, Oakley included. I just got a pair of prescription (single vision) lenses for my Oakley Flak Jacket frames I had leftover from when I wore contacts. Absolutely thrilled with them & think I paid about $126 for them.

Sports Optical out of Denver is also really good. They can put almost any Rx in almost any frame and have a ton of tint and mirror options. My family has probably purchased 20+ different pair of sunglasses from him over the past decade and they all have been spot on

drn92

I ordered some sunglasses from Zakeyes.com. They’re not super sport specific, but I found a lightweight pair that I dig (the thinner version of “rectangle”). They come in at $175 including prescription.

The first 2 are going to be your best bet. I wear bifocals but have a pair of Oakleys that are set for far, but there is a lot of distortion one the edges. When I address the ball to put the ground appears to slope to my left. Not confidence inspiring to say the least, especially when you are struggling.

I have grown accustomed to wearing my regular bifocals, but they are clear. However, I just got a new pair, with transition lenses. They rock!

PLEASE don't order prescription sport sunglasses without taking a look at REKS first!

I wore prescription Oakleys for years, but just got tired of the absurd prices. About two years ago, right after getting a new prescription pair of Oakleys, I had a partial detachment of the retina in my right eye, with the result being a change in my prescription for that eye. I flinched at the idea of another $450 or so for Oakleys, and I had become aware of REKS and decided to give them a try.

Long story short, great company, great product, great customer service, great product. The optical quality is every bit as good as Oakley, they make a golf-specific lens, they offer photochromatic lens, everything, and you'll get two pairs for what one pair of Oakleys cost. I couldn't be happier with their product, and now can't quite imagine paying what I was paying before.

Never been a huge sunglass guy, but I have found that wearing a regular pair of glasses that has nosepads instead of sitting right on your nose works much, much better.

I would recommend prescription sunglasses over transitions. Transitions lens are great for what they do but aren't a replacement for the sun protection you get from polarized sunglasses. I second the Reks suggestion as we have a lot of patient who enjoy them. Oakley also makes a prism golf lens thats pretty cool.

I could be wrong, of course, but I don't believe that there is any connection between polarized and sun protection IF we're talking about UV protection. Most golf-specific lenses, including Oakley and REKS that I'm directly familiar with are NOT polarized, but are fully UV protective.

While there are a lot of golfers who don't mind polarized lenses for golf, I think the consensus is that at least for reading greens, golf lenses should not be polarized; great for fishing, not great for golf.

I believe my original point was polarized sunglasses vs transitions as far as sun protection (UV protection) right? I also said prescription sunglasses instead of transitions in my first sentence but didn’t say anything about polarized.

quality lenses will have UV protection regardless of if they are clear, tinted, or transition. The most important thing for me has been deciding if I want single vision (distance Rx) or progressives, and if I want a more traditional base curve or a more “sporty” base curve like a lot of wrapped sunglasses. The higher base curves are challenging to make in Rx, particularly higher value Rx.

drn92

sYou'll have to help me out here; I must be missing something.

Transition/photochromatic lenses are 100% UV protective; there is no difference in that regard from a polarized lens IF the polarized lens has been treated to be UV protective. In fact, what I've read and been told when I've ordered both Oakleys and REKS over the years is that polycarbonate AND photochromatic lenses block 100% of UV rays without any additional treatment. All of that is true, I think, whether the lens is prescription or not.

In short, I've been wearing non-polarized prescription photochromatic/transition lenses for golf for many years now; I never play without them. And, according to Oakley, SportRx, and REKS, I've had 100% UV protection all along.

If I've got that wrong, forgive me and post a link; I'll use it in the lawsuit when my eyes go bad.

Most people don't like progressives for golf because of the distortion areas on the lens cause problems tracking the golf ball. If you're outside I always suggest a more sporty (wrapped) pair for the additional sun protection. Wrapped sunglasses are harder to make in a progressive lens and higher powers but you'll be happier.

While Transitions can block out UV A and UV B that's only from sun rays coming directly into the lenses. Lets say if the sun is beside you the rays bounce back into the eyes off the glasses unless you have some sort of back coating like crizal sun UV. That's why sunglasses offer better protection as they often wrap around or provide less space for the sun to come in from behind or on the side and will usually have a back coating. Also as I'm sure you know the transitions don't fully change in the car or sometimes on cloudy days which can cause the protection to not be as good.

http://www.crizal.ca/en/crizal-coatings/crizal/

I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. You and both my optometrist and the eye surgeon I see every three months because of a partial retinal detachment in my right eye are not on the same page about any of this. For the time being, I'll stick with them.

Each Dr. has his own opinion. I’ve been out of school for 4 years and trained in all the newest technology and equipment but once again agree to disagree. As long as people understand the importance of sun protection I’ve done my job.

Good info. guys, looks like REKS is going to have just the lens I'm looking for at a fair price! Thanks

How/where do I find my prescription etc.? I have no idea what paperwork they want me to send them. Thanks.

You'll need to go to an eye doctor to get your prescription.

Haven’t read through the thread but the Oakley Targetline in the Prizm Dark Golf has been outstanding for me.

I recently ordered some prescription Flak Jackets from Oakley and it has been a rough transition. I have some nasty distortion when I line up to the ball, everything looks smaller and my depth perception is off. I wear normal Oakley eyeglasses all day long and have not experienced this with them. Hopefully I get used to them but it's pretty frustrating right now. Just a friendly heads up.

I wear the 3d progressives all the time and I can't say I've ever had a better lens, don't really need them for far distances, but anything inside 20 feet is crystal!

I agree, you can pay a steep price for prescription sunglasses through some retailers. Just last month I purchased an Oakley frame with prescription golf prizm lenses through SportRX. They at least have a 30% off discount right now. Well this frame ended up being not what I wanted. Contacted them and allowed my return no questions asked and ended up getting a pair of Flak 2.0 with 2 different lenses for them. To me, it's worth it if you can't wear contacts. It's your eyes, take care of them. I was able to save in an HSA to use for the cost, however.

If you dont NEED a specific frame, Costco has fairly good deals on prescription sunglasses.

There is a lot of discussion of wearing polarized lenses for golf, and none of the golf specific lenses are polarized. FWIW, Costco does NOT sell non-polarized prescription sunglasses; I get my regular glasses there, and I ask every time. Just one of those Costco things...

Found it very Difficult to get the right fit and style in many brands. Found an eye Dr who partnered with Maui Jim prescription and have not looked back.

I like Warby Parker sunglasses. Customer experience is great....virtual fitting the tools and easy to order online.

Guys, I went with the Reks Sling Blade with the Trivex Transiton progressive lens, I have only played one round in them. I was concerned they might get too dark for me, but they turned out too be a little on the light side which I would rather have than too dark, other than having a little trouble getting them to sit stable on my face and some adjusting to getting used to the field of vision with the progression I must say I think these are going to do the trick. Going to try an adjustable retainer for stability.

Thanks for all the input! CAD

Hey Cackmandu, I ordered all of the Reks frames to try on and I noticed that the Sling Blades had quite a loose fit for me. However, if I pulled the temples up from the top of my ears so that they were resting on top of my hat rather than on top of my ears then they fit much better.

How are you liking the progressives? I want to play in progressives but my last pair gave me a warped field of vision. I'm convinced it was because it had a lens curvature of 8, like the Sling Blades.

So I'm going to try a progressive lens in either the Nike Maverick Free or the Rudy Project Spinair 58...they are both semi rimless like Oakley Flaks or the Rek Sling Blade but have much less lens curvature so they might work better with a progressive lens. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to go with a single vison lens.

Do you guys know if single vision lenses will give a warped field of view in a wrap style frame with a lens curve of 8? My distance prescription is not very strong.

Rob, Still just have a round and a half in them, the adjustable retainers really helped with fit, but they are still a little bulky with the progressive lenses (they are thick). It will take a few more rounds to get used to them and a slightly different field of vision than my every day wear glasses! I do love the transition tint in full sun, but I would probably stick with my regular glasses on days when I'm not going to sweat as much and/or there isn't full sun. Wish I could tell you to just go for it, but I'm still in the getting used to stage! Good luck

I picked up a set of the Reks Wrap Arounds w/ the HD Trivex golf prescription lenses and couldn't be happier. The lenses are so clear that it feels like I am not even wearing glasses compared to my RayBan Wrap Around prescription lenses which were polarized (messed with my depth perception). The REKS are not polarized and for me this made a huge difference. I will be picking up another pair w/ normal lenses I love them so much. Wanted to give my .02 in case anyone else out there is looking for a nice pair of prescription golf sunglasses that won't break the bank. Good quality at I great price!