Is it harder to play golf with glasses?

[j.a.]

I have a good amount of myopia and astigmatism, normally I use progressive glasses but for golf I switch to single vision with Transitions lenses or contacts. Those Transitions lenses get dark in bright sun and light on cloudy days, when fully activated, they are brown to reddish which are great on the course. I simply can’t putt well with progressive lenses.

When I’m wearing contacts, I use Bollé Golf sunglasses, this is the combination I prefer although I need the reading glasses to see the card ?

[Hawkeye77]

Contacts. Any rare occasion when I find myself contactless I’ll play without anything vs. glasses. Glasses mess me up.

[Mikey5e]

Your post is exactly what I would say and do. For the life of me, I don't know how anybody plays with glasses on? I know they do, and good for them, I wish I could do it, but I just can't.

[Pepperturbo]

Regardless of conditions, I wear glasses 99% of the time. Consider using self-discipline when wearing glasses during golf. Maybe you'll experience some of that self-discipline affecting your game in a positive way. When people say "I can't", they limit themselves in ways they can't imagine. Just a thought from an ole man that rely's on self-discipline to stay alive and to keep playing decent golf. Have a good day.

[falken19150]

I do prescription Oakley's as I can't do contacts.  Never been a problem except playing in the rain which I won't do anyway. 

[Mikey5e]

Appreciate the post. I have tried several times to play with many varieties of prescription glasses on and it just doesn't seem to work. I understand the strength of character to continue to try but when the glasses deceive the lay of the land it pretty much seems impossible to me. What I mean by the lay of the land is that when I look at the ground with my glasses on the ground slopes upward from where my feet are to 6 feet out or so. When I take the glasses off the ground is actually level or sloping the exact opposite way. How does one have confidence hitting the ball seeing the grade of the turf sloping one direction when in actuality it is sloping the opposite way? I don't see how strength of character could allow a person to be consistent under those conditions regardless of how much they try.

[Pepperturbo]

As I said I been wearing glasses since my twenties, playing golf for the last thirty-years and a hunter, including birds, since childhood. During my younger years was also a 600-700 meter shooter. If properly fit by a optometrist and or ophthalmologist that understand various aspects of the sport or golf, don't know why you're experiencing those issues.

My regular glasses are progressives, distance top and reading bottom. However, I don't wear them during golf even though lens are Transition. When looking down at the putter the reader portion distorts the putter and part of putting line and turf closest to me, and bunker topography. Also, I wanted to be able to read the score card, etc. My optometrist came up with the answer using my Oakley Jupiter Squared frames and Oakley G30 golf lens which are expressly made to enhance turf and green undulations.

He had a custom mini-prescription reader lens built into the lower right corner of the right eye lens, out of my normal line-of-sight, and totally unnoticeable. Now even though I have to pull the card a bit closer to my right eye and look somewhat down, I can read the score card and still use regular distance lens for all other aspects of golf. It cost a few more bucks but worth it. Not saying that is the answer for you or anyone else. Just takes a creative Doctor(s) that understands various aspects of golf to find an answer for your vision issues.

[LeoLeo99]

I have no problem hitting a golf ball with glasses. I can hit it fine without glasses but I can't always see where it goes past 100 yds. I've experimented putting with and without glasses and I stink both ways.

[Socrates]

What kind of lenses and strength? No way glasses should be doing that to you.

[nitram]

I recently tried to wear glasses (no line bifocals) while hitting balls. While it was great to be able to track a ball from a 7-iron all the way to where it stops (for the 1st time in 3 years), I had the same issue as you mention. Wedges to 5-iron worked perfectly. But anything with a headcover caused me to lose sight of the ball out the side of my glasses about 3/4 way through the back swing and then pick it up again about the same spot on the downswing. To say this is very distracting is a gross understatement and quite honestly caused more than one whiff. I'm gonna try and have my prescription put into an Oakley lens and see how that goes.

[Pepperturbo]

This post is NOT pointing to anyone particular. Just reading posts brought a recent round to mind.

If poor vision prevents the tracking of a golf ball in-flight and know where it lands, it's not only a problem for that person with poor vision but becomes part of the more significant pace-of-play dilemma.  Why? If on Par 4's and 5's someone requires visual aid from others to keep track of their ball and then has to hunt for said ball, with the help of others, he/they can too easily abuse allotted search time and then still have to play themselves.  Also, if on every shot, someone needs yardage assistance from another person that prevents the other person from focusing on his pre-shot routines. Do the math.

We all like to be helpful, but time can quickly add up. I saw it recently on the first tee with someone in my tee group.  After he hit he said he couldn't see well and never knows where the golf ball lands.  Well, it was happening on nearly every par 4/5 hole, taking valuable time from everyone because he couldn't keep his ball anywhere near the fairways and couldn't see past 100yds or about.  He'd say it landed near X when it landed thirty-fifty yards short.  Our group ended up behind expected pace by ten minutes.  Translated, on the first par-five "5" hole, the tee group in front of us were seen walking off the green when we walked on to the tee.

My issue isn't with helping friends but with the stranger that shows up to play a tight challenging course looking for others to pick up the slack for their vision constraints and or lack of yardage measuring technology.  Generosity is each individual's to give or not. Nobody is entitled to it or permitted to affect pace-of-play because he's cheap and too slow to quickly pace off yardage.  Let me remind readers, poor eyesight of one golfer leads to all four golfers hunting for his golf ball on most Par 4's and Par 5 holes and falling behind pace of play. One man's relevant rant. 

[@_the_crook]

needed corrective lenses since I was in grade school. then bifocals. couldn't see my hands in front of me without them.

bifocals for golf always altered the view. no way to prevent that but you do what you can.

two years ago - cataract surgery. had the choice of near - far or monovision lens implants (that's when one eye gets the close lens and the other gets the far lens)

no way was I going to depend on glasses for distance again so I had the first eye done for distance and then stood in the eye surgeon's hallway with a putter, two balls and a scorecard.

tried the monovision option with a temp contact. worked OK but I knew it would come with a loss of depth perception.

went with long distance lenses in both eyes. now I can read the ball logo in my outstretched arm. can wear off the rack sunglasses.

able to read the numbers on my laser as that has a diopter adjustment. only need cheaters for arms length and closer.

neat trick - had no line bifocals made with clear tops and cheater bottoms. they work really well at the office.

for golf, there's pair of FG progressive bifocals in the bag. inexpensive and only needed for the fine print on the scorecard.

after all, the sign at the tee box is large enough to read anyway and the fairway markers are clearly visible while walking.

this is so much better.......

 

 

 

 

[Mikey5e]

Strangely, I am a bit envious of your position. I am 64 years old and have the beginnings of cataracts. Actually, it's getting difficult to drive at night time, and exponentially bad if it happens to be raining. I am hoping the doctor recommends cataract surgery for me so I can alleviate division problems that I now have in life in general, and on the golf course. I find it too difficult for me to acclimate two glasses, while others think I should be able to do this? For golf, one of the things I hate the most is asking other people to watch my tee shot to see where it lands because I can't see very well at distance lengths while going without glasses. Contacts have been my best option so far.

[Bad9]

I have been a glasses wearer since my teens and therefore my entire golfing life. I have no issues with a single vision pair. I got bifocals 2-3 years ago and cannot play with them on. I have a pair of single vision glasses I put on for golf and had a pair of sunglasses with Transition Drivewear lenses that I use for most rounds. They don't get totally clear like some of the other Transitions products but are fine for even overcast days and to near dusk. I have never been comfortable with contact lenses.

[Miss_Tee]

I started wearing glasses (progressive lenses) four or five years ago. I absolutely cannot read without them, so I have to wear them if I want to use my range finder or see the score card.

For me, the hardest thing to get used to is that when addressing my ball it looks like the ball is in a valley - like the area between my feet is several inches lower than the ground behind my back foot. (Does that make sense? It's hard to explain) It takes a while to get used to this every spring when I get back out on the course, but I do get used to it. In fact, one Saturday afternoon last summer, I had taken off my glasses while enjoying a few cocktails in the clubhouse. When a few of us went back out to play "one club" I was having a heck of a time making solid contact. At first I blamed it on the alcohol, but then I realized I wasn't wearing my glasses. I think that was the problem . . . or maybe just part of the problem.

But yeah, I think if you consistently wear your glasses, even progressive lenses, you will get used to golfing with them.

[@_the_crook]

to both Bad9 and ladygolfer2, I'd say that any type of bifocal eyewear is brutal on a golfer for several reasons.

for one - the wearer is not meant to see much further than arm's length with the lower portion of the lens.

that blows away all manner of proper behavior for play at address, green reading, etc. depth perception is flawed. think of viewing a straw in a half filled glass of water.

at one time I did have a pair of single vision glasses for course use. it was manageable, though swapping reading glasses, single vision, sunglasses on the course was a hassle. Bad9 - if you're having troubles with your night vision , time to see your ophthalmologist for referral to a good surgeon, my friend. you'll be amazed with the results post procedure.

best to you both.

 

 

 

[Miss_Tee]

I guess I look through the middle of the lenses for intermediate distance when addressing the ball. I remember when I first got progressive lenses, they warned me to be careful going downstairs . . . to make sure I didn't look through the bifocal part of the glasses. It was tricky at first but I got used to it. I think with enough repetition you just adjust, same with wearing them golfing. At least for me. I do sometimes slide them way down on my nose and look over them when reading a green.

[farmer]

I'm 69, and have the same problems Mikey described. That night vision thing really sucks. I've been to an ophthalmologist twice and surgery was not on the table, he said the cataracts were not ready, whatever that may mean. As an aside, I've worn glasses since 1953, bifocals since 1959, and I'm so used to glasses, I'm uncomfortable without them.

[Hawkeye77]

LOL, after wearing glasses and contacts since I was in the 5th grade in a wide variety of contexts, little did I know it was simply a lack of my own self-discipline vs. actual physical differences between wearing glasses and contacts and known personal results holding me back.

 

Um ....... no.

 

 

[Mr. Grumpy]

Ive been in progressives for a while,, it was hard at first, but now I am used to it. Lately I have been struggling to read greens but this may be due to my cataracts. Hopefully my next exam will show a need to have them corrected.

[Tlazur08]

Absolutely! My depth perception gets thrown off and I tend to chunk the ball

[BB28403]

I just got some new ones in from Warby Parker. $175 Out the door costs. Scratch coating, metal frames, cut down coke bottle look, prescription. First time having glasses in years. Def hard to get used to , and yes would be very hard to play golf in. They do offer prescription sunglasses starting at $99. Might try a pair of those, as I lose the ball pretty bad.

also in larger cities like here in Raleigh, they have some retail stores you can walk into to get adjustments or any service needed on the glasses. I think they will even ship them back for you free if they cannot fix them there. The only downside was it took a bit to get them, as in almost 10 business days. I don't really know why it took so long , but I was not in a big hurry. At $175 instead of $500 at a local optometrist, I can wait.

[deadsolid...shank]

I always get them confused, but I think I’m near sighted (wife and I had to ask Siri to be sure?).

I had glasses with a distance correction and it was nice seeing the ball finish for a change. Problem was at address I was basically looking out the very bottom of the glasses, any head movement at all and I was in trouble. My new glasses with bifocals are a disaster, not even worth trying to play in.

I wear one distance contact now. I see better for distance, not great but can at least read road signs before I’m on top of them, and can still see up close and read fine. Not optimal, but it’s the best compromise I’ve found. Also allows me to wear off the rack sunglasses this way.

[Cwing]

Any real sources of info out there on this subject?

[Socrates]

I think a lot of problems have to do with how strong your correction is and the quality of the lens (and grind). Having gone the cheap glasses route in the past, I would never do it again. About all they got decent was the distance portion of the progressive lenses. Wore them for a bit and donated them to charity.

Also, it has lot to do with if you switch back and forth between using your glasses and not. Whether that means no correction of using contacts. I have zero issues going from glasses to contacts. I do have some issues going from contacts to glasses because there is some astigmatism and other corrections that aren't there with contacts. My cousin who has really bad eyes has used progressives for years and noting else, has no issues playing sports with them. I think most problems arise when people try to compare their normal corrected vision with a different lens or nothing.

[Mikey5e]

I have tried several different grinds of golfing glasses, after discussing what I wanted to use them for with the optometrist. No matter what pair was made for me there was always the inherent distortion in the lay of the land so to speak. Addressing the ball the ground always looked like it was on an uphill lie, when actually it was either level ground or sloping the opposite direction. How can a person hit a ball consistently when they are so deceived by the lay of the land. It's not a matter of willpower or the act of quitting, it is pretty much impossible to be consistent under those conditions. Everybody's eyes are a bit different and the grind on their glasses is different , so it's difficult to judge another's situation based on somebody else's situation.

[Socrates]

Then I would stick with the contacts until you get the cataract surgery.

[Houstonhacker]

Last time out, I wore my progressive lens glasses--for three holes. Now, I think I know why it didn't work out. Just now, I came across this item on Zeiss's website. Zeiss is a respected maker of high-end optics, and I trust their views:

"Unlike many other situations in everyday life, experts strongly advise against wearing progressive lenses for golf. Two distances which are important for golf are not sufficiently taken into account by progressive lenses: the distance to the ball before tee-off, and during putting – in other words, when the ball is on the green and not in the air. In traditional progressive lenses, these ranges are blurred or distorted. The result: mis-hits that might never have happened with the right lenses."

[tolmij]

Never started playing golf until I already had glasses so I have never bothered. My son purchased a set of add on lenses that enhance the ball colour to make them easier to find off the fairway, after reading all the comments in this thread though I can now blame them on my overblown handicap.

[uitar9]

Started playing and had already been wearing glasses. Progressives with transition lenses. I'm far sighted and my close vision problem has expanded to beyond ball distance.

No problem, plus I can read anything I need to, scorecard whatever.