Eye sight

[Monkeypaws]

Backstory:
I am far-sighted. Generally ony wear readers when I need to, well, read, either print or on-screen. My distance vision has deteriorated to a degree, but I feel I still okay without glasses outside.

Question:
I wonder if vision has a connection to putting accuracy. I see the basket, I throw at basket, but perhaps there is some depth perception lacking, I don't know.

Has anyone had a change of game from glasses, contacts, etc.?

 

[jfb3]

I've played some of my best rounds wearing only one contact.
I had trouble tracking the disc on drives over 335 but the guys on my cards were very helpful.
Maybe it made me concentrate more on putts...I dunno.

 

[lyleoross]

I wear prescription sunglasses, and yes, it makes a difference. At about 15 feet, I break over to the basket being fuzzy with no glasses. That change impacts my routine.

 

[CreemCheese]

I wear contacts 99% of the time. If I'm wearing glasses, I'm better to just stay at home. My depth perception gets way off;close isn't bad, but the farther away stuff is, the farther it feels and it's an exponential type thing. 10 can feel like 11, 30 like 40, and keeps getting worse. That changes depending on how far my glasses have slide down my nose.

 

[joecoin]

I'm near sighted. I bought some prescription "sport" glasses. they have a band to hold them on my face. Depth perception is much improved with them.

Now I can also see the iron leaf that I am guaranteed to hit.

To answer the OP's question; I don't notice much difference on short putts, but I think they help on longer (20 feet plus) putts.

 

[Reniger]

I've played some of my best rounds wearing only one contact.
I had trouble tracking the disc on drives over 335 but the guys on my cards were very helpful.
Maybe it made me concentrate more on putts...I dunno.

lol! I just have to ask... why? Seems like only one contact would make me queasy. I'm near-sighted and can't read road signs until I am at the stop light, so, my vision is not so grand. I've played without glasses a couple rounds (broken or rain issues) and it hasn't been awful as long as I know the course well, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Halcón]

Before I got my newest lenses (I'm near sighted), my depth perception was off and I would under/over throw on approaches. It definitely improved with clearer vision.

 

[Jenga54]

I wear contacts most of the time, and give my eyes a break on evenings and weekends with glasses. prescription is positive, so without correction things look farther away. glasses magnify just a little more than the contacts. putting is OK, but I don't play in glasses due to throwing. on a full power drive i use a "proper" technique with a head turn and full reach. but at control power levels I don't do a full head turn and keep the target in the peripheral vision. maybe bad form, but i'm super accurate in the woods, and i'm not going pro.
glasses really screw up that peripheral vision and mid throw I lose that target. with glasses i start spraying all over the place, and that sucks when you know you can hit that line.

 

[cmcolomb]

I wear contacts 99% of the time. If I'm wearing glasses, I'm better to just stay at home.

yea, same boat... but i am blind as a bat at -8.25

when your vision is THAT bad, you (or at least I) have almost no peripheral vision when wearing glasses

 

[kfeldt]

I wear contacts most of the time. I still see well with my glasses, but it seems to change my vision just enough that it throws my putting off.

 

[curmudgeonDwindle]

Astigmatic here, and have virtually no distance deterioration since I was 19. I wear glasses exclusively. I've always been a little envious of other golfers with excellent vision.

I think for putting if you have decently corrected vision, the (a) key is keeping your fovea centered on the (your) target throughout the entire throw. The rest is your read and 'feel'.

I have heard many people complain of depth perception issues when wearing sunglasses and it's a fact that sunglasses do affect this aspect of vision.

I appreciate a clever course designer, who use the differences in contrast (light vs. shade) to make play more challenging. It's an under-appreciated skill...anyone else have this observation?

 

[Pymm]

I wear my glasses to play because they have those transition lenses and double as sunglasses. In that regard they are helpful. I don't know if my eyesight being improved is helpful, as I can see the basket with or without them. I bought one of those straps to hold them on; works great.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Sunglasses can affect your depth perception based on the color tint of the lenses. Yellow tint helps with blue background like the sky and rose colored glasses can improve depth perception with green background like foliage. Take a look at the non-prescription tinted glasses available for hunters. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting-Glasses-Buyers-Guide/532383.uts

 

[slowplastic]

I just found out I'm very mildly farsighted...do simple reading glasses (of the correct power obviously if you know from tests) help out enough for simple things?

I think the depth perception for putting is true though...I refused to play with cheap sunglasses that I didn't trust before, but with good lenses now (non-prescription, just trusted brands) I have confidence with putting as if I weren't using them. For example I wouldn't play catch with a baseball with the cheap sunglasses before, at risk of misjudging and taking a ball to the teeth, and I wouldn't disc golf in them either because I felt it would mess my putts. I imagine vision correction for those who need it is at least as necessary.

Edit: To add to Cgkdisc's post above, I like brown and grey-green shades for disc golfing. Both can help depth perception and ground reading. Brown is great for in the woods...dulls out the background sky but keeps the foliage bright.

 

[Cgkdisc]

For what little data we have on official night rounds plus personal experience, players don't seem to play any worse on average in the dark versus light. I wonder if the position of the lights placed on baskets in the chains or on top helps keep your eye focus high enough to reduce low putts?

 

[slowplastic]

^Weird, I've practiced putting at dusk and my % goes WAY down. Depth perception completely thrown off. Driving isn't much different, just grip and rip.

 

[Cgkdisc]

^Weird, I've practiced putting at dusk and my % goes WAY down. Depth perception completely thrown off. Driving isn't much different, just grip and rip.

Do you have a light on the basket? I think it's the contrast of the light and dark that pulls your eye to help putting. If the light was placed hanging under the basket, I suspect players would be low putting all the time.

 

[Toro71]

I'm a bit nearsighted, and got some glasses (regular and blue-blocker sun-) in Dec '15.

I can't say 100% it's improved my game, but it has really added to my enjoyment. Holes/shots @ 300+ used to be less clear (I didn't realize how much until I started wearing the glasses.) But being able to see basket positions clearly, seeing the entire hole clearly, is just more fun for me, if not helping me to play better.

 

[DG_player]

Depends on how bad your eyes are.

I have 20/800 vision, so at circle's edge I would have a hard time even making out the basket...

 

[little oz]

I have melanoma in my left eye, and i'm nearsighted, so putting is pretty much a moment to moment thing. Clear sometimes, other times cloudy. I'm not a great putter, but i try to make my routine consistent and aim for the chains (depending on wind, slope, etc.). Then i remind myself i'm lucky to be out there at all. I even played rounds with an eye patch on and radioactive plate/seeds implanted in my eye (i wasn't supposed to be out there, but the course was empty, so whatya gonna do?).