Glasses and Complete Shoulder Turn?

[ProV1Killa]

Does anyone have tips for adjusting to wearing glasses?

 

After 35 years of swinging a club without glasses I recently started wearing them and am having a hard time adjusting.   Watching swing video one of the biggest issues is that I am not getting a full shoulder turn in the backswing leading to hands being behind my body and getting very steep to compensate.  At address my head is noticeably rolled down, chin towards chest to see the ball through glasses, and in the backswing is basically in the way of where my lead shoulder should be.  If I force a full turn my shoulder is going around my chin leading to a very flat shoulder turn and the an out to in path.  

 

Has anyone gone through this?  How did you fix it?

[GolfGuitarsCars]

I’m not sure how wearing glasses is restricting your shoulder turn.

[GolfGuitarsCars]

Ok. After reading your post again, I understand.  I assume you’re wearing multi focal lenses.  I had a problem playing with trifocal lenses.  I had a pair of custom Oakley’s made with single vision lenses.  While they were helpful in keeping my chin off my sternum during the swing, I couldn’t even see the scorecard to keep score.  I finally gave up on them and after a few rounds with my trifocals, I got use to them and it’s never been an issue.  I suggest you give it a few more rounds.  Your swing will adapt.

[ProV1Killa]

9 minutes ago, GolfGuitarsCars said:

I’m not sure how wearing glasses is restricting your shoulder turn.

Maybe restricting isn't the best way to phrase what is happening.  I have an old school swing with almost no lateral head movement.  With glasses my head is rolling over to focus on the ball through the lenses, which pushes my chin in towards my chest.  With my normal swing motion my lead shoulder is actually touching the side of my cheek at about 75 degrees of rotation.  Normally, with a high head, that is where the lead shoulder would pass under my chin.  The only way to complete rotation is to let my head move laterally or flatten out my shoulders.  If it makes more sense this is coming into play more at the bottom of the bag, 6 through wedges.

[golfarb1]

Yes, glasses can significantly affect your ability to make a full shoulder turn in 2 ways

First it seems to cause you to set up with your middle back too rounded ( head rolled down , chin towards chest) . That setup posture makes it difficult to rotate your thoracic spine and can lead to injuries .There are numerous references to this “c” posture on the internet 

Second , most  players need to rotate their head slightly away from the target  in order to make a full shoulder turn . The frame of the glasses can easily disrupt your ability to do so, leading to a truncated shoulder turn .
I don’t believe there are any swing fixes to overcome these issues . On the contrary , adapting your swing to your glasses can cause long term deterioration in your swing as you compensate for these errors. 
You need to see an eye specialist , who can fit you with special sports glasses

[ProV1Killa]

4 minutes ago, golfarb1 said:

set up with your middle back too rounded (

Looking at setup in a mirror this is absolutely the case and this makes sense.  

 

Maybe I will try contacts for playing.

[TwistedSister]

I have no issues with my progressives.  Give them a chance so you can get used to them.  It is also possible the distance vision location on your lenses needs adjusted.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Or you might take your glasses off when you're swinging? 

 

Honestly, it's not like you won't see the ball, especially if your vision is OK enough that you've avoided glasses until this point in your life. Do you really need glasses for golf? 

 

I've worn glasses since my early 20s (I'm 45), and should have worn them earlier. But I can swing a club and hit the ball just fine without them. 

[umamimami]

I took a page from Rickie Fowler, he wears prescription lenses. Take a golf hat to the lens store and find a pair of sunnies that are able to fit *over the hat* and onto your nose so that the angle of the lens lets you look down and out to the ball. Regular frames tend to slide down my nose, I assume rickie had the same issue. He solved it by having the glasses sometimes rest on the outside of the hat. The key is getting sport frames like Oakleys that kinda squish/clamp onto your head rather than rely on resting atop your ears.

[st1800e]

4 hours ago, ProV1Killa said:

Maybe I will try contacts for playing.

Yes,  I wore progressives for years, but couldn’t golf in them.  Without correction the ball at address position was blurry, reading greens never sure I was seeing things properly, so I used contacts for golf.  
 

 Finally ditched the progressives, got tired of tilting my head up and down.  And yes,  had the prescription checked and rechecked.  
 

So I ditched the progressives, wear contacts all the time, and reading glasses when I need them.  Although I can read and mark a scorecard with just contacts when outdoors.  

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

17 hours ago, ProV1Killa said:

Maybe I will try contacts for playing

Exactly what I would recommend, as a fellow glasses wearer. In my case, they're just reading glasses.  For now.  So I can still see the ball without them though (knock on wood).

 

Also chiming in to mention that, at least for me, proper golf posture is something I have to constantly reinforce, with things like putting the shaft down the back to make sure I'm bending from hips, etc...  Good posture, and I can see the ball.  Bad posture (plus overswinging), and I have to contort myself to do it.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Jayjay_theweim_guy

[ProV1Killa]

51 minutes ago, Jayjay_theweim_guy said:

proper golf posture is something I have to constantly reinforce,

Absolutely.  Proper posture is the foundation of everything.  After 35 years of golfing that include 4 years with a college coach beating posture and alignment daily and that same coach as a swing coach for 25 years after, still beating on proper foundation, I have pretty much nailed it.  Any change feels like putting your right foot in the left shoe.

[Socrates]

19 hours ago, ProV1Killa said:

Looking at setup in a mirror this is absolutely the case and this makes sense.  

 

Maybe I will try contacts for playing.

Unless you've got bad astigmatism, contacts are the way to go.  I could play in my progressives, but until I HAVE to, contacts are the only way to go.  I need reading glasses, but I just write down the numbers and look at it later.

[Hawkeye77]

On 10/11/2023 at 12:27 PM, Socrates said:

Unless you've got bad astigmatism, contacts are the way to go.  I could play in my progressives, but until I HAVE to, contacts are the only way to go.  I need reading glasses, but I just write down the numbers and look at it later.

I've been wearing soft lenses since they were pretty much commercially available but don't need progressive lenses in my contacts or glasses.  When I've tried to play in glasses it's a real pain and it really does affect my depth perception and bugs the crap out of me, so I get it.  Good news is as I've aged my distance vision is actually much better, especially in my dominant eye, to the point that I've rarely worn my contacts this season to play.  I seem to read greens better with them on for some reason, but since I play the same course 95% of the time, not an issue.  

[phizzy30]

Contacts or lasik surgery.  My prescription is -11 and I have astigmatism as well and wear hard lenses when I golf because wearing glasses golfing really sucks and I lose sight when making a full shoulder turn for a brief micro second which can really throw off my swing. 

[Socrates]

2 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

I've been wearing soft lenses since they were pretty much commercially available but don't need progressive lenses in my contacts or glasses.  When I've tried to play in glasses it's a real pain and it really does affect my depth perception and bugs the crap out of me, so I get it.  Good news is as I've aged my distance vision is actually much better, especially in my dominant eye, to the point that I've rarely worn my contacts this season to play.  I seem to read greens better with them on for some reason, but since I play the same course 95% of the time, not an issue.  

10 or so years ago, my vision was -3.0 in both eyes.  As I've aged my vision has improved to -1.5.  My optometrist has told me that it is from my eye lenses starting to harden (they are changing their shape) as I age and resulting in the change in prescription.  I assume that it could just as easily gone the other way.  At some point, cataracts will be in my future - likely 5 yrs or so. 

[Soloman1]

Glasses are tools of the devil. Had the same problem playing with them. After wearing them for a long time for some near-sightedness in one eye, I dumped them and my eye strengthened, instead of the lenses doing the work.

 

I’m an old, over 70 geezer who uses 1.25 reading glasses when needed (like now!), but my distance vision is great. I feel like an eagle now. Our bodies are amazing. 🙂

 

Just my anecdotal experience . . .

 

[Socrates]

12 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

Glasses are tools of the devil. Had the same problem playing with them. After wearing them for a long time for some near-sightedness in one eye, I dumped them and my eye strengthened, instead of the lenses doing the work.

 

I’m an old, over 70 geezer who uses 1.25 reading glasses when needed (like now!), but my distance vision is great. I feel like an eagle now. Our bodies are amazing. 🙂

 

Just my anecdotal experience . . .

 

See above.  Likely what you experienced is the lens hardening and changing shape.  Not some miraculous event because you stopped wearing corrective lenses.

[Petethreeput]

I cannot wear contacts, and I have worn sunglasses golfing for about 25 years.

 

For me, I wear single focus wrap around to avoid any ball distortion during the swing.  I would encourage not skimping on the lenses.

 

Wraparounds, bc of the shape will have distortion, the better the lens the less distortion.  Glass tends to have better optics than plastic.  I try not to stray too far from Maui Jim or Costa Del Mar but I bet there are other companies just as good.

[Soloman1]

13 minutes ago, Socrates said:

See above.  Likely what you experienced is the lens hardening and changing shape.  Not some miraculous event because you stopped wearing corrective lenses.

 

Could very well be. I don’t know enough to know, so thanks for the info. I’m happy with result though!

[jimb6golf]

On 10/10/2023 at 6:09 PM, ProV1Killa said:

Looking at setup in a mirror this is absolutely the case and this makes sense.  

 

Maybe I will try contacts for playing.

Although I wear glasses most times, I wear contacts when playing golf.  Just can't get used to the glasses when swinging.

[phizzy30]

Just now, jimb6golf said:

Although I wear glasses most times, I wear contacts when playing golf.  Just can't get used to the glasses when swinging.

Same here.  I will wear contacts though on days where I'm doing Olympic lifts and speed training in the gym.  I don't want my glasses flying off during explosive movements, haha. 

[golf-RN]

On 10/10/2023 at 8:54 PM, betarhoalphadelta said:

Or you might take your glasses off when you're swinging? 

 

Honestly, it's not like you won't see the ball, especially if your vision is OK enough that you've avoided glasses until this point in your life. Do you really need glasses for golf? 

 

I've worn glasses since my early 20s (I'm 45), and should have worn them earlier. But I can swing a club and hit the ball just fine without them. 

This is basically what I do. I have progressives and I just cannot hit the ball with them on. I can see fine at distance and intermediate distance, just can't see well up close. The bifocal makes it to where I have to look over them and it just screws everything up. So my solution is I just leave my glasses in the car when I play and practice 🙂

[bellken]

I have progressive glasses, but, prefer contacts or single vision glasses for golf (if you need to read with single vision glasses, slide your glasses down your nose). I have high index lenses, and, with my progressive lenses, my vision is not as good, plus it is a bit distorted when looking down at the ball.