Putting with Progressive Lens

[djake 100]

This year I really struggled with my putting.  At first I could not figure out what was the reason. No consistency on how I was missing putts.  In past past the bulk of all of my misses went right of the cup.  This year missing both right and left.

So I went to work on lag and this season by far I achieved the best distance control I have ever had.  I worked on green reading, putting to a tee, 3', 5' 10' putts.  

Then one day on the 17th green I stood over my ball and froze, I backed away and then stood over it.  I backed away again and my playing partners asked what was wrong and I told them that I couldn't line up my putt.  That moment I realized my one consistent problem was I could not line up my putt.  When I realized that I started to try and figure it out.  I got so frustrated I even bought a new putter.  All that did was confirm my issue.

Yesterday what I felt was the issue my wife confirmed to me.  We were putting in our office on our commercial carpet and she watch me and without me asking my wife declares very loudly that my putting issue is my glasses.  

My question to all who have progressive lens, do you golf with them or do you have glasses for golf that do not have progressive lens?

If you putt with progressive lens how did you adapt?

[iacas 9,861]

Do you look out of the bottom of your glasses? If so, why? How do you make full swings with your glasses on?

In other words… do you not look out of the center of your glasses when you're in your putting stance?

[djake 100]

12 minutes ago, iacas said:

Do you look out of the bottom of your glasses? If so, why? How do you make full swings with your glasses on?

In other words… do you not look out of the center of your glasses when you're in your putting stance?

Full swing has not been an issue.  I am guessing because I am standing further away from the ball and looking out at a point in the distance.  Plus I tilt my head to the right and look down at the ball with my left eye, like Nicklaus did.

When putting I am a lot more over the ball, putter thru Sam Put Lab set at 3*.  When I go from ball to hole that's when issues happen.  I am always moving my head to see everything clear, then my putter changes it's position and it all starts to get out of whack.

This is a more of an issue on shorter putts as I am trying to make them so I am going back and forth with the cup.  On distance putts I put to a point in the break.  I really don't have an issue then.  I am a lot more comfortable with long putts because of that.

Edited November 19, 2020 by djake

[JuanTheGolfer 51]

I have been wearing progressive lenses for years.... at least 20 years.  I learned that to see clearly I just had to learn to point my nose at the object I was trying to read.  So when putting I do not put my head down and try to look through the bottom part of the lenses.  I bend my neck so that my nose points near the ball, and then rotate my head to see the line.  The key is rotating your head, like if you head was on a stake, and you swivel it.  If you turn and not swivel, I find it hard to see things.  I hope this offers some insight and helps you.

[Missouri Swede 470]

3 hours ago, djake said:

This year I really struggled with my putting.  At first I could not figure out what was the reason. No consistency on how I was missing putts.  In past past the bulk of all of my misses went right of the cup.  This year missing both right and left.

So I went to work on lag and this season by far I achieved the best distance control I have ever had.  I worked on green reading, putting to a tee, 3', 5' 10' putts.  

Then one day on the 17th green I stood over my ball and froze, I backed away and then stood over it.  I backed away again and my playing partners asked what was wrong and I told them that I couldn't line up my putt.  That moment I realized my one consistent problem was I could not line up my putt.  When I realized that I started to try and figure it out.  I got so frustrated I even bought a new putter.  All that did was confirm my issue.

Yesterday what I felt was the issue my wife confirmed to me.  We were putting in our office on our commercial carpet and she watch me and without me asking my wife declares very loudly that my putting issue is my glasses.  

My question to all who have progressive lens, do you golf with them or do you have glasses for golf that do not have progressive lens?

If you putt with progressive lens how did you adapt?

I wear progressive lenses for daily wear, and I was even able to get my RayBan sunglasses in progressive lenses for auto driving.  But for golf, I wear single vision:  my Oakley sunglasses are single vision (which is what I usually wear for golf), and I also have non-tinted single vision glasses I keep in my bag for backup and twilight.

[sjduffers 172]

I have been wearing progressive lenses for a while (10+ years?), including for golf but I have them made such that the neutral position is for the long distance and only if I lower my eyes and/or look through the bottom of the glasses does the near correction kick in. The default is to have the area where the transition happens much higher, like in the middle. I had to have multiple sets of lenses remade because of that until they finally figured it out and put a note in my file...

Still, I had adapted well enough to play golf, even if during some portion of the stroke the ball is not clearly in focus, in part because of the narrower field of vision with progressive lenses, in part because of the change in the area of lens correction depending on what my head does. Low light (as we are facing now if attempting to play in the afternoon) was causing all kinds of problems too as for me I think the confortable area of transition varies with the light level. Not sure why, but it seems to be the case.

Anyway, I had my most recent sunglasses done with distance correction only and I use those to play golf now, at least until the light level becomes too low (so that problem is not really addressed), and now the golf ball stays in focus the whole time, to the point that it becomes weird when I switch glasses at the end of the round (low light) or after, and I feel that my vision is actually worse with the progressives. It's hard to explain.

[dennyjones 1,019]

12 hours ago, JuanTheGolfer said:

I have been wearing progressive lenses for years.... at least 20 years.  I learned that to see clearly I just had to learn to point my nose at the object I was trying to read.  So when putting I do not put my head down and try to look through the bottom part of the lenses.  I bend my neck so that my nose points near the ball, and then rotate my head to see the line.  The key is rotating your head, like if you head was on a stake, and you swivel it.  If you turn and not swivel, I find it hard to see things.  I hope this offers some insight and helps you.

This:

I have progressive bifocal lenses and bifocal sunglasses.   I've not had any issues that I could contribute to my eye sight.

[boogielicious 2,773]

12 hours ago, Missouri Swede said:

I wear progressive lenses for daily wear, and I was even able to get my RayBan sunglasses in progressive lenses for auto driving.  But for golf, I wear single vision:  my Oakley sunglasses are single vision (which is what I usually wear for golf), and I also have non-tinted single vision glasses I keep in my bag for backup and twilight.

I wear bifocals but do the same as you for golf. I can play in bifocals, but it is distracting.   I played a course in Maine with @billchao with my bifocals once because one of my Oakley lenses broke. 

[billchao 2,653]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I wear bifocals but do the same as you for golf. I can play in bifocals, but it is distracting.   I played a course in Maine with @billchao with my bifocals once because one of my Oakley lenses broke. 

As I recall, you were so good at tracking the ball that we started calling you “Eagle Eyes.”

[uitar9 74]

I wear progressive transition lens glasses. I normally pick my line from behind the ball, line up and hit my mark. (usually) Never found it to be a problem. But I started golfing years after I started wearing the transitions. Maybe I'm just so used to them

[klineka 837]

18 hours ago, djake said:

When putting I am a lot more over the ball, putter thru Sam Put Lab set at 3*.  When I go from ball to hole that's when issues happen.  I am always moving my head to see everything clear, then my putter changes it's position and it all starts to get out of whack.

This is a more of an issue on shorter putts as I am trying to make them so I am going back and forth with the cup.  On distance putts I put to a point in the break.  I really don't have an issue then.  I am a lot more comfortable with long putts because of that.

Have you considered or tried an intermediate target instead of looking all the way at the cup? Maybe once you get your aim point, find a blade of grass or something that's like 6 inches in front of the ball in line with your aim point and go back and forth between the ball and that. Less head movement might help?

[djake 100]

15 hours ago, sjduffers said:

I have been wearing progressive lenses for a while (10+ years?), including for golf but I have them made such that the neutral position is for the long distance and only if I lower my eyes and/or look through the bottom of the glasses does the near correction kick in. The default is to have the area where the transition happens much higher, like in the middle. I had to have multiple sets of lenses remade because of that until they finally figured it out and put a note in my file...

Still, I had adapted well enough to play golf, even if during some portion of the stroke the ball is not clearly in focus, in part because of the narrower field of vision with progressive lenses, in part because of the change in the area of lens correction depending on what my head does. Low light (as we are facing now if attempting to play in the afternoon) was causing all kinds of problems too as for me I think the confortable area of transition varies with the light level. Not sure why, but it seems to be the case.

Anyway, I had my most recent sunglasses done with distance correction only and I use those to play golf now, at least until the light level becomes too low (so that problem is not really addressed), and now the golf ball stays in focus the whole time, to the point that it becomes weird when I switch glasses at the end of the round (low light) or after, and I feel that my vision is actually worse with the progressives. It's hard to explain.

Your first paragraph hit it spot on. 

This is my second pair of progressive lens, my first set was a lot milder and lower in the lens.  This set the transition is stronger and it is starting in the middle.  Since reading your post I have been moving my head up and down non stop looking for the transition.  I look like some bobble head sitting at my desk and walking around the office.

This is the first golf season where I have been wearing my progressive glasses with a clip on for sunglasses as well.  Never played golf with progressive lens much in the past, only for moments when my sunglasses wear to dark.

 

 

[boogielicious 2,773]

2 hours ago, billchao said:

As I recall, you were so good at tracking the ball that we started calling you “Eagle Eyes.”

I also recall my left knee stopped working during that round. Good eyes, bad knees.

[djake 100]

17 hours ago, JuanTheGolfer said:

I have been wearing progressive lenses for years.... at least 20 years.  I learned that to see clearly I just had to learn to point my nose at the object I was trying to read.  So when putting I do not put my head down and try to look through the bottom part of the lenses.  I bend my neck so that my nose points near the ball, and then rotate my head to see the line.  The key is rotating your head, like if you head was on a stake, and you swivel it.  If you turn and not swivel, I find it hard to see things.  I hope this offers some insight and helps you.

I will try this during my next practice session.  Logically this should help

1 hour ago, klineka said:

Have you considered or tried an intermediate target instead of looking all the way at the cup? Maybe once you get your aim point, find a blade of grass or something that's like 6 inches in front of the ball in line with your aim point and go back and forth between the ball and that. Less head movement might help?

On 20'ish and longer putts I always putt to a point.  That does help and actually that became a strength in my putting this year.   

It makes sense to do this on all putts. It should be easier to square my putter up to that shorter point and then trust the line.  

[Esox 14]

I wear progressives for desk work and reading. Old school huge lenses with a longer focal length bifocal for operating equipment, the 46 switch labels are always further away than the standard focal length. And I use single vision lenses for golf, fishing and shooting. As I get older I can see up close pretty well with no magnification, so I just take off the glasses to tie a knot or read the fish finder or GPS.

[sjduffers 172]

On 11/20/2020 at 8:44 AM, djake said:

This is my second pair of progressive lens, my first set was a lot milder and lower in the lens.  This set the transition is stronger and it is starting in the middle.  Since reading your post I have been moving my head up and down non stop looking for the transition.  I look like some bobble head sitting at my desk and walking around the office.

Thanks. I would suggest you ask them to redo your lenses and position that transition lower so you don't have to do the bobble head thing all the time. It really bothered me (like when in traffic I had to lower my head to see from the top part of the lenses, in order to see properly something close, like the license plate of a car in front...), and so I did.  It did help with golf too, a lot!