Photo © iStock.com/JobsonHealthcare
By Sara Bonizio
Golf: It’s the stereotypical leisure, sporting and business activity associated with the Baby Boomer generation, and for good reason. Time outdoors on perfectly manicured courses, socialization, exercise, opportunities to talk business—retired and non-retired Boomers alike play a lot of golf (we’ve all heard of the classic “deal struck on the course”)—but in recent years, an increasing number of players who fall outside the old-school “typical” golfing demographic are being drawn to both leisure and competitive play.
Starting with Tiger Woods in the ’90s, golf seems to have been “getting younger.” Today’s up-and-coming golfers are focusing on fitness and strength more than ever as tools to hone the precision of their swings, and the image of the professional golfer as an athlete has attracted talented younger players who might not have considered golf “a real sport” in the past. There is also a growing number of female golfers, with many golf clubs now promoting increasingly family-friendly, (more) diverse clubhouses.
ON THE COURSE, CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT
Colors, lighting, textures and temperatures all affect playing conditions, and as golfers simultaneously adjust their approach to shots of varying distance (i.e., putts vs. tee shots), they also need to keep score. These days, in between swings golfers are also posting selfies to Facebook, checking the stock market and reading e-mail on their smartphones; some also track their golf performance over time, using an app. For golfers who require vision correction (especially presbyopes), these are other key near-vision experiences that should be optimized.
SHADY ACRES
Both weekend warriors and more serious golfers generally acknowledge the need to wear sunglasses on the course to block harmful UV rays (as well as high-energy visible blue light)—but many pro golfers on the televised tour circuit flip their sunglasses around to the back of their heads before taking their swings, potentially influencing laymen (and their peers) not to wear them during play, or to limit their use.
However, with a round of golf averaging over four hours—often during the hours when the sun is shining brightest—golfers are exposed to more UV in a single afternoon than some non-golfers are over multiple weeks. ECPs have a responsibility to educate patients about the value of protecting one’s eyes on the course; UV can cause short-term effects such as pinguecula, pterygium and photokeratitis—as well as contributing to cataracts, eye cancer and skin cancer around the eyes in the long term. But ordinary sunglasses can create problems on the course—the wrong lenses can create distortion in both color and object sight, and decreased depth of field. Recognizing the opportunity to elevate brand awareness as well as demonstrate the benefits of specialty protective sunwear on the course, many eyewear companies have sponsored both entire tournaments and individual golfers, promoting their eyewear’s unique attributes for golfers.
PUTT IT TO THE TEST
Are golf games starting to figure more prominently on your patients’ schedules than grocery shopping? ECPs located in areas where the climate is especially favorable for golf year-round would do well to engage/develop a referral relationship with an optometrist specializing in sports vision and testing. Sports vision specialist Lawrence Lampert, OD, FCOVD, notes on his website that “Low contrast sensitivity, especially in low-light conditions, will make it more difficult to track objects.” For patients interested in optimizing their athletic performance, he also recommends eye dominance testing, as well as an ocular alignment test to evaluate how well both eyes work together.
THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND
When selecting golf eyewear, the frame should be flexible and lightweight enough to be comfortable, fitting securely on the face and not slipping when a sweaty player looks down to take his or her shot. Nylon or plastic are lightweight materials, more durable than metal. A shield/wraparound style gives almost complete protection from the sun’s rays, whereas regular frames still let a small amount of light reach the eyes. The wearing position of the sunglasses is also very important—the closer they sit to the forehead, the less ocular exposure to UV and High-Energy Visible blue light.
LENSES FOR THE LINKS
In the past, making tour-style wraparound prescription sunglasses was mostly impossible in higher prescriptions. In a dramatically curved lens, both the amount of distortion and the thickness at the edge are increased. Advancements in lens technology, however, can now correct for this.
For golfers seeking performance sunglasses (in plano or prescription), a typical gray—the most popular and common sunglass lens color—is not ideal for golf because it is a neutral filter, flattening light evenly across the spectrum and thus not contributing to “ball pop.” However, as optician, industry thought leader and avid golfer Barry Santini observes, lens technologies are ever-evolving, and newer grays provide more uniform transmission and color enhancement “while avoiding the pitfalls of overly suppressing adjoining colors,” thus providing better chromatic contrast than in the past for patients who prefer this color. ECPs should also ensure that lenses are not too dark; transmittance levels 15 to 20 percent higher than typical general-purpose sunglasses are favored to achieve optimal depth of field.
Some golf sunglass lenses on the market suppress yellow light, while others block blue. Amber, brown, mauve, purple and green lenses are among the colors favored for golf performance. Golf lenses should heighten contrast and depth of field by enhancing definition and color for the wearer; in lower light, players will want to be able to perceive conditions as more vibrant (so that the golf ball will pop against the green grass of various hues and textures), especially during the early morning and late afternoon/evening. Photochromic lenses are an especially good choice for golfers, with their ability to adapt to ever-changing light conditions on the course.
When possible, ECPs should stick to sunwear lenses that already have been pre-manufactured in the desired color, rather than tinting: Walman Optical’s Chris Bowers notes that high-index materials don’t tint well, and that it’s best to avoid tinting (or be especially cautious) when an order also calls for an anti-reflective coating (since AR will bleach out tints). When using tinting to achieve a specific color and function, know that this will often limit options and/or require special consideration in the lab; ECPs should avail themselves of their labs’ updated guidelines prior to placing orders.
Since golfers use grass blade reflection and deflection to assess ground contour and wind direction, many performance golf sunglasses do not use polarization, which cuts glare—thus rendering it more difficult to read the grain and the slopes on the green. However, multisport athletes who engage in golf occasionally but not primarily might elect polarized sport sunglasses that meet the needs of multiple outdoor activities, given the polarized lens’ superior glare reduction.
‘FORE’ CORE GOLFERS OF A CERTAIN AGE: MULTIFOCAL CONSIDERATIONS
There are significant numbers of golfing presbyopes who complain that general-purpose multifocal lenses get in the way when they look at their golf ball or try to line up a shot. Some even resort to single-vision lenses to “get the blur out of the putt,” though these can create discomfort and frustration when the power they’re used to is not there (and gets worse as the patient’s add power increases). With some “golf lenses,” a small near segment is placed in the lower outside corner of just the dominant-eye lens. In this position, the near seg is completely out of the way during play, but provides enough near vision to read scorecards and food menus.
Progressive lenses for golf must ensure sharp viewing in all three critical focal areas—far (the distant green), the ball at one’s feet and to read the scorecard, as well as enhanced peripheral vision. Golf progressives that customize the lens’ power edge to edge purport to improve overall lens clarity; having as wide a distance area as possible facilitates dynamic eye movement for the golfer.
Photochromic progressive sun lenses can help enhance visual performance by delivering increased depth perception, better distance vision and clarity, while also adapting to changing light conditions. The varying contours of the different areas of the course will be more distinct, and the ball easier to see against them.
CHANGING COURSE
ECPs should consider their golfing patients’ playing frequency as well as their vision correction needs when evaluating which type of golf sunwear will best suit them (keeping in mind that a sporty wrap frame with atypically colored lenses may not appeal aesthetically to some golfers). Those who are serious about gaining an edge to their game, however, will usually welcome the opportunity to enhance their performance through whichever means they can—whether it be through increased physical conditioning, sports psychology, the latest in club technology, apparel that “breathes,” or specialty eyewear—sales associates and opticians should stay up to date on the latest advances in optical technology to ensure an ace in the hole (in one) fit for their golfer patients. ■
