Golf and Cataract Surgery Recovery

[DaveLeeNC]

I am having cataract surgery this week - right eye on 1/17 followed by the left eye on 1/31. My replacement lense will be a fixed lense that will focus at a distance (reading will require reading glasses as will, probably, typing on my computer). I am severely near sighted right now so this will turn my visual world upside down (where I can comfortably read without glasses right now at a distance of 12-14 inches). 

 

So what can I expect from my golf game during this transition? I will be removing the right lense from my current eyeglasses in the time between 1/17 and 1/31. But I have no idea if I will be able to hit a ball during that time. What have others experienced here (particularly for those who are severely near sighted like me)? 

 

Thanks. 

 

dave

[Springsteennut]

I found I hit the ball better. The month before I had my eyes done I really struggled making good contact. Following the ball and reading greens were also difficult. It was amazing the next spring( I started my process near the end of the golf season) how much better I was striking the ball and reading greens. 

[DaveLeeNC]

@Springsteennut Thanks for the reply. How did thing go for  you in the interim when you had one good eye (no cataracts and distance vision correction) and one bad eye (still has cataracts and that eye also needs vision correction)? I am assuming that you needed vision correction before you had a cataract issue. Maybe that is not the case for you.

 

 

[Springsteennut]

47 minutes ago, DaveLeeNC said:

@Springsteennut Thanks for the reply. How did thing go for  you in the interim when you had one good eye (no cataracts and distance vision correction) and one bad eye (still has cataracts and that eye also needs vision correction)? I am assuming that you needed vision correction before you had a cataract issue. Maybe that is not the case for you.

 

 

My surgery and recovery were not exactly textbook. Both eyes had complications. One was about a 10% and the was about 1% of happening. Lucky me. The important thing is the end result.My brother in law had his done this past year. He actually played the day before his second surgery and played again about 3 weeks after the second. He was very glad he had it done. Less than a year before the cataract surgery I had both retinas detach within 3 months of each other. Cataract recovery is a cakewalk compared to retina surgery recovery.

[DaveLeeNC]

34 minutes ago, sandyraps said:

Mark my words, after full recovery there will a few moments in time while waiting for a light to change, or sitting on a front porch, etc., it will come out of nowhere and unexpected you'll say to yourself 'Wow".  The colors are so vivid it almost seems like they're fake.  I can't explain but it's pretty cool.   

 

I recall when I got my first pair of glasses at around age 13. I had no idea that I needed glasses at that point (our school stopped eye testing somewhere around the 4th grade). What I recall most clearly is seeing individual blades of grass (I was not a golfer at that time) and seeing individual leaves on trees. 

 

dave

[Reasonability]

After the first eye getting done, your depth perception is going to tank.  Brain is not getting binocular vision so it's going to be like pinning the tail on the donkey.   YMMV but in my case, there was no point in playing until a couple of weeks after both eyes were done.   Starburst patterns around oncoming car headlights are a touch spooky at first.  Its so severe at first you are sure it won't subside.   That gets hugely better in fairly short order.   As said, expect the colors of the whole world to become incredibly richer and deeper.   You've been looking through a pair of dirty sunglasses.  That's about to change.

 

Not to worry about how near-sighted you are going in.  Mine had gotten so bad I was considered legally blind.  And yes, you'll need the readers for your scorecard.  You're going to be so glad you did this.  You can say goodbye to firing a golf ball out there and having no idea where it came down.    Stick with the drops they want you to take, including the lubrication ones that continue for a good while.  They're the best for a speedy recovery.  

 

Best of luck.  

 

 

[Redpro]

I had cataracts removed and new tri-focal lenses installed 3 years ago. The process takes about 6 weeks when you account for completing the eye drops required for healing. It takes some time for the brain to accept the fact that you are seeing things more clearly, and depth perception seems "off". Proprioception is the word for this, awareness of your body and other objects in space. I was told to absolutely wear sunglasses for any outside activity. I've always done that so no big deal. I did have my bifocal lenses in my sunglasses replaced with regular lenses. $75 per sunglasses by Maui Jim. 

 

Colors became so vivid and unreal, recalling some of my days and nights on the beaches of SoCal in the 60's ! LOL

 

I could follow the flight of the golf ball and where it landed, amazing.

 

Eyes are more important than golf, so follow the eye drops regimen and recommendations about physical activity in recovery. You'll get to play golf soon enough!

 

Good luck and congratulations on taking care of your eyes!

Edited January 15 by Redpro