Confession: I really used to dislike golf. It was the one sport I avoided watching, and I had no interest in playing it, unless it was miniature golf (which really doesn’t count!). I admit I never really gave it a chance—it just seemed too slow for me. It wasn’t until the last five years when I finally opened myself to it. Thanks to OAKLEY, I had the opportunity to play several times, and on one particular occasion, I played rather decently for a beginner and was lucky enough to be on a team of serious golfers and ended up winning first place in a tournament. I came home with a fabulous trophy that still sits on my desk.

Recently I had the chance to play again with Oakley inviting me to join them for an exclusive golf experience in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and I got to show off my amateur golf skills at the Sawgrass Country Club. I wore Oakley’s new sunglass style TargetLine, a lifestyle frame equipped with performance features including the new Prizm Dark Golf lenses. It was a sunny day—perfect conditions to try out these new lenses. I have long depended on my Oakley sport sunglasses and Rx lenses for running, so I had no doubt the new TargetLine frame and Prizm lenses would enhance my golf experience. Optimized for bright sunlight, the Prizm Dark Golf lens is engineered for the golf environment to precisely filter light and improve visual contrast so golfers can not only read the green, but better see grass textures and more easily differentiate grass conditions and grain direction. I’m just an amateur, so how could I possibly know what all of this means? I won’t pretend to be an expert, but I also don’t need to be one to see the sharp optics provided by these lenses. I compared them to the lenses in my everyday sunglass and was blown away by the precise detail of the grass and how bright and colorful everything around me looked—it felt like I was seeing my environment with the naked eye without squinting from the sun’s glare. One certainly sees how this can benefit golf enthusiasts, whether it’s a pro or someone who enjoys it leisurely.

As part of my golf experience, I also attended The Players Championship, a major tournament on the PGA Tour. Held at the beautiful Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, the home course of the PGA Tour, The Players is one of the most coveted titles on the PGA Tour. As host of the Benefactor hospitality suite at The Players, Oakley provided a fabulous view overlooking the famous 17th hole situated on the island green. We attended the practice round as well as the first day of play, following all the action surrounding the top names in golf including Oakley athlete Bubba Watson. During the practice round, Oakley took us inside the ropes (that means on the golf course with the players) and introduced us to its newest pro golfer, Austin Cook. As a newcomer to the PGA Tour scene, it felt pretty surreal standing just a few feet away from Cook, watching him drive the ball across the water to the 17th hole. After spending a few days immersed in the golf world both playing and watching, I’ve definitely become a fan and even found myself watching the final round of play on TV when I arrived home. I may not have taken home a trophy this time around, but I left with a newfound appreciation for this sport. And thanks to Oakley, I have a great new pair of eyewear for the next time I golf.

—Christine Yeh