Distortion Sunglasses ?

Yesterday I have encountered something strange at a weekly tournament, it was a very bright day ..... so I decided to bring sunglasses (Smith Action Optics, not a cheapoo Wallmart something).

At the first hole a simple straight forward par 5 I pushed my teeshot a little to the right, just of the fairway into the first cut. After hitting my teeshot I put the glasses on to give my Eyes some protection from the bright light and walked to my ball.

As There was no way I could hit it 275 yds to the green from the first cut, I decided to leave myself a 100 yds full gapwedge into the green and took a 5i out of the bag, made a few practice swings and took my set up and planned to put ith shot in a certain area of the course.

Instead of hitting the ball, the clubhead went into the ground about 3 inches behind the ball and the ball hopped about 1 ft further ...... I couldn't believe how this was possible, do I took my set up again and it happened again, and again and the 4th one went 30 yds. orso ......

I immediately thought .... maybe it is the glasses .....

I took of the glasses and nailed my 6th shot center of the green with a 3W ....... ended up with a tripple bogey at a hole I normally make par or birdie.

Could this have been distortion of the glasses or was it me ?

It can be strange playing golf with glasses on. Especially if it was your first time. I know I can't do it anyway

I dislike playing with Sunglasses because to avoid distortion you have to put out a lot of $.  To see if the glasses have distortion just hold them in front of you and look at anything with a vertical line (tree trunk, building edge, etc.) and see if the line is straight as it goes from being viewed in air to being viewed through the glasses.  With most glasses, including some expensive ones, there will be a discontinuity in the line at that transition.  But having said that around here it is advisable to use sunglasses most to the time and especially in the Summer unless you like cataracts. But you can always take them off to hit the ball and putt or spend a lot of money for good sunglasses.

My cheapo Target sunglasses distort the crap out of the ball, so I take them off when I swing.

I never had an issue with distortion. Should you really, the swing is the swing, it should bottom out despite who you look at the ball. To me, that means your compensating for something..

Well I tried at the range today and as much as I would like to agree with you, I hit many bad contacts with and many good contacts without the sunglasses........

I did the same experiment a couple of years ago and got the same results.  Never was sure if it was the glasses or my head but I now remove sunglasses as part of the pre-shot routine.

One of my playing partners and myself can not hit a ball with sunglasses on. It is to the point that if one of us forgets to take them off before swinging, the other one reminds them to remove them.

Look at Annika and Duval, there heads are all ready turning away from the ball before the hit it. I think with practice you can get use to glasses of any type. I think its mostly learning to have the same arc every time.

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Besides guarding against cataracts, proper sunglasses can increase the contrast of the ball against the sky as you track your shots.

When I changes glasses prescriptions, it takes a week or so to adjust my alignment/set-up to the new optics. I will probably get some clip-ons from the company that made my glasses frames, rather  than buying prescription sunglasses.

Living in Arizona, and having light blue eyes, I have to use sunglasses.  If I take them off even just to set up and then hit the ball, it is almost instant headache.  I always hit with sunglasses on.  It gets frustrating because I always make better contact without them.

I have been playing with Oakleys for years and the only time I take them off is when I am putting.  Otherwise, I see no problems with how I contact the ball.  In fact, I don't think I can swing as well without them now.

I would recommend buying a pair of glasses that is made for Golf.  Not skiing, fishing or any other activity.  The visual dynamics in golf would be different than what you would need for other sports. So therefore, it makes sense to purchase golf glasses.  Oakley, Sunsport Optics and others are out there, just find the pair that suits you best.

Hope this helps you out.

I wear Tifosi sunglasses. There was a review on thesandtrap that led me to them. They're $60 retail (i suppose you might be able to find them cheaper) and I never notice them on my face. From the first time I put them on, there's been no effect on my game. They're made specifically for golf and come with 3 different lenses depending on the playing conditions. I bought mine from Edwin Watts. I highly recommend these sunglasses.

Gerald, you are not the only one.  I have a similar problem with my Adidas Adiviasta sunglasses.  Don't know if I would call it a distortion, more a changed perspective for me.  I didn't notice it in the store, even when I went outside to test them in bright sunlight.  Noticed it on the range when my swing was off immediately like yours, and on the putting green, where I felt I had grown some slightly longer legs.  I am considering buying the Oakly Flack Jacket XLJ with G30 glasses now.  So if anyone has feedback on those ...

I live here in sunny/bright Tucson, AZ and try to wear sunglasses when I play (green eyes + bright sun = bad...). But, even with my Radar's G20 lens made specifically for golf, I have difficulty with depth perception when swinging a club. Normally I have to take them off to swing. I recently got a pair of Callaway golf sunglasses, that are better, but not ideal. I can make a full swing, most of the time, but for putting forget it. I need to take them off. Maybe it's  because my eyes are getting old, and need more light? Dunno.

I have 2 pair of Tifosi's that I wear.  The ones I use for golf have the high speed red fototec lenses in them.  These work great for all light conditions that would require sunglasses.  I have never noticed any distortion when wearing sunglasses to golf.