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Very few eye injuries occur while playing golf. Those that do
are a result of a stray ball, or standing too close to someone while they are
swinging. However, golf glasses are an accessory that can help improve your
game. Most golfers have a pair of golf shoes, but few have a pair of glasses
specifically for golf. Most just wear their regular sunglasses. However, glasses
made specifically for golf can help you better distinguish fairways and greens,
help you follow your ball in flight, and most importantly, not interfere with
you swing. At the same time, they will protect your eyes from ultraviolet light,
and from the rare instance of injury. Here is what to look for:
Ultraviolet Protection:
Since golf takes place outdoors, you glasses should protect you
from 100% of ultraviolet radiation. (See UV
and its Effects on the Eyes for more information on UV).
Lens Color:
A lens that absorbs blue light will help you read greens better
and follow your ball in flight. The greens and white ball will
be enhanced, while the blue of the sky will be muted. Look for
brown or amber lenses to increase contrast. Or, some people
prefer more natural vision and lenses that do not distort.
For those, choose a neutral gray or G-15 green gray lens for true
color perception. Some golfers also like polarized lenses to
reduce additional glare. However, polarized lenses can make it
harder to read the greens and they will tend to make surfaces look
flatter.
Frame Styles:
Most golfers have found that their regular pair of sunglasses
interferes with their swing. As they go to swing, their head turns
slightly, and the bottom edge of the frame interferes with the
direct gaze of the ball. Look for frames that do not have a
frame on the bottom to interfere with your line of sight, or
oversized frames so your gaze does not cross the frame border.
Frame Fit:
Since you start your golf swing looking down, unproperly fit glasses
can slide off the nose and distract you. Make sure you choose
frames that have temples that can be adjusted to fit so that they do
not slide down the nose.
Prescription Lenses:
Most golf glasses can be fit with prescription lens. However,
those who wear a bifocals or progressives probably have noticed that
they must put their head down a little more to properly see the
ball. This is because the bifocal often interferes with the field of
view, since the ball on a tee falls into your intermediate or
distance vision, not your near that a bifocal is designed for.
This creates an uncomfortable head position. A golfer that needs
both distance and near corrections should consider special golf
lenses. This would be a bifocal fit very low and temporally so
that you can easily see the ball in the distance range without
creating an uncomfortable head position, while at the same time,
have the bifocal there to read and record on a score card.
Stick-on
bifocals are also a popular option as they can be removed when not
needed.
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Golf Eyewear
Look
For
-100%
UVA/UVB protection
-Lens Color
-Frame Styles
-Frame Fit
-Prescription Capability
Recommended Styles
Golf Specific
-Adidas
-Bolle Golf Series
-PeakVision
-Rec-Specs Golf Series
-Rudy Project Gplf Series
-Wiley-X
(PT-1 or PT-3)
Polarized:
(Styles marked with *)
-Adidas
-Anarchy
-Native Eyewear
-Peppers
-Smith
-Vuarnet
Prescription Information
Golf Accessories
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