Many golfers choose a wraparound style for their sunglasses, for added eye protection, and to prevent light reflecting off the back of the lenses and frames. It’s critical that golfers wear sunglasses when they hit the links to protect eyes from damaging ultraviolet light. Your choice of lens in your golf sunglasses can make a difference in your visual acuity and your game. Many golfers choose lenses in the brown family, as you can see here on Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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Here are some more tips about choosing the right shades for golfing.
Copper and Brown Lenses
Copper and brown lenses are a top choice for golfing because they do a great job of blocking blue light and preserving contrast. It’s easier to see a white golf ball against the fairway, sand, or a blue or hazy sky if you’re wearing copper, bronze, or brown tinted lenses. The Costa Del Mar Ansil with a Tortoise frame and Copper polarized lenses is a great example of sunglasses that are perfect for playing golf.
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Rose or Red Lenses
Lenses made in shades of pink, rose, or red are just right for playing golf on overcast days, because they enhance contrast without darkening overall vision too much. These lenses are not, however, good in brighter conditions because they don’t sufficiently darken the field of vision to prevent eyestrain. The Oakley Fast Jacket XL Infrared Red Iridium & VR28 is a good choice, because the lenses are interchangeable, so you can get another set of lenses for golfing in different conditions.
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Green Lenses
Some golfers find green lenses to be comfortable and to provide good contrast of the white ball against a blue sky or the fairway. The key is not darkening the field of vision too much. Giorgio Armani makes a gorgeous Havana Green style with green lenses that are dark enough, without being too dark. As a bonus, they look great off the fairway too.
(image: shadesdaddy.com)
Golf may not be as fast-paced as tennis, cycling, or water skiing, but it’s still important that you take care of your eyes. Any time you spend a prolonged period outdoors, you should protect your eyes from ultraviolet light with a great pair of sunglasses. This not only helps prevent long term damage, it also prevents eye strain, which can compromise sports performance. Choose your golf sunglasses wisely, and you’ll be more comfortable on the greens, and will have the visual acuity you need to play your best game.
