If you’re among those weekend golfers that play golf without sunglasses, think again. Sunglasses aren’t just for show or to make you look cool. They’re a critical piece of equipment you should always use-as vital to your eyes as sunscreen is to your skin. They also help your golf handicap. That’s why you almost always see PGA pros wearing them when they play.
Unfortunately, many weekend golfers don’t wear sunglasses when they play-whether it’s bright and sunny or gray and overcast. These golfers remove their sunglasses and store them before playing a four- to five- hour round of golf, putting them at risk every time they step onto a tee. Not wearing sunglasses also leads to a high incidence of eye damage. In fact, golfers have as much as twice the incident of UV-related eye disease as everyone else. Those are sobering statistics.
But you wear a cap, you say. That’s not the same. The cap’s visor doesn’t do much to protect your eyes. About all it does is shade your forehead. Every day elements, like sun, wind, pollen, and dust- can damage your sight, leading to permanent problems you might not discover until it’s too late. Reading golf tips or taking golf lessons won’t correct this fault. That’s why wearing sunglasses is a must for every golfer, in all weather and sunlight conditions.
UV Protection Reduces Radiation
The biggest reason for wearing sunglasses is to block out the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV rays penetrate our atmosphere constantly, causing our skin and eyes to burn. Without protection, excessive exposure to these rays leads to all sorts of problems including cataracts, macular degeneration, and skin cancer around the eyelids. These skin problems are serious and often permanent.
UV rays are dangerous because they don’t travel just in a straight line. They refract and reflect in virtually every direction. Sunglasses block 98 to 100 percent of these rays, protecting your eyes from short-term and long-term damage. This protection comes from a special coating applied to the lens. It has nothing to do with the glasses’ color. So always check the UV rating on the glasses. It makes a difference
Polarization Reduces Glare
Polarization reduces glare and improves clarity and focus-especially near flat, highly reflective surfaces. When light rays reflect off water or flat, smooth surfaces like a fairway, sand, or road, the light bounces off the surface on a horizontal plane-right in the direction of your eyes. This causes eyestrain from glare, and excessive squinting and focusing on long and short distances.
Contrary to popular belief, polarization doesn’t block out UV rays. But it does alleviate eyestrain. It adds a special coating or film to the sunglasses that naturally align on a horizontal lane, blocking out horizontal rays and allowing vertical light rays through. It also limits peripheral vision and increases distortion. But advances in tinting allow different levels of light to pass through, alleviating these problems and letting golfers choose lens that work for any light conditions.
Colorization Improves Sight
Like polarization, colorization doesn’t block out UV rays. Instead, it blocks out high frequency blue light-a major factor in ocular-damage. Research shows that the most favorable formula is to block out 93 to 98 percent of blue light, which lets just enough light in to prevent distortion. Some sunglasses have different tints for varying conditions. Others come with interchangeable lens to help you match your exact needs on a daily basis.
Brown/amber tints help golfers with depth perception by reducing blur and sharpening edges. They’re good anytime. Gray/green tints-the most popular-yield the least color distortion and filter haze. They’re ideal for sunny days. And purple/rose tints are well suited for contrasting against green and blue backgrounds. They’re good for courses with numerous water hazards and few trees.
Wearing sunglasses while playing might is critical. They help protect your eyes from permanent eye damage, like cataracts, macular degeneration, and skin cancer. If you don’t wear sunglasses when you play, rethink that practice now that you know the dangers. You have one pair of eyes. Protect them all you can. They’re more important than any golf tip you read or golf lesson you take.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros. He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. Free weekly newsletter available with the latest golf tips, lessons and instructions