Trouble Finding Ball

[dlow206]

I think its an issue with my vision, but I always have trouble finding my ball, even if the ball is not that far offline. I have hit balls that have gone like 5 to 10 yards over the green into the rough by some trees. This should not be a lost ball, but I always have a hard time finding, so I end up losing the ball.

Colored balls only help me very slightly. What else could help? Potentially golf sunglasses?

[808nation]

Same boat, I always lose sight of my ball as well. If I'm playing with a partner I will have him or her keep an eye out and if I am by myself I just try to focus on a target near the direction the ball traveled. There's a gps ball on the market but you wouldn't want to lose that ball due to the extreme cost and haven't tried those glasses that highlights the ball in the rough.

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[dlow206]

3 minutes ago, 808nation said:

Same boat, I always lose sight of my ball as well. If I'm playing with a partner I will have him or her keep an eye out and if I am by myself I just try to focus on a target near the direction the ball traveled. There's a gps ball on the market but you wouldn't want to lose that ball due to the extreme cost and haven't tried those glasses that highlights the ball in the rough.

Sent from my SM-G955U using MyGolfSpy mobile app
 

I was thinking of trying regular golf sunglasses. The ball finder glasses sound interesting, but it sounds like you only wears those when trying to find the ball. If golf sunglasses help improve contrast slightly, i think that would be beneficial for me.

[808nation]

I wear golf glasses whenever I golf and it does definitely help cut down on glare on sunny days so in that aspect it does help better with tracking the ball.  Unsure if the tinted glasses will be better in locating a white ball in contrast to the dark grass.

[dlow206]

5 minutes ago, 808nation said:

I wear golf glasses whenever I golf and it does definitely help cut down on glare on sunny days so in that aspect it does help better with tracking the ball.  Unsure if the tinted glasses will be better in locating a white ball in contrast to the dark grass.

I ended up ordering some Oakleys with the Prizm golf lenses. It looks like it will help me in theory because it improves contrast. I don't have any sort of diagnosed vision issue with contrast, but I do for sure have trouble driving at night and seeing the white lane divider lines.

[Middler]

The best fix? Everyone I play with watches out for each other, as we all lose sight of our own balls occasionally. It's rare that no one sees, but that happens every once in a while. Many days in the morning when the sun is low, I lose sight of most of my good drives in the fairway the whole round - but I know where they were headed and find them easily. "Fortunately" the rough is so thick and deep where I play we don't even bother to look very long. If it's my ball, I'll walk by the general area once or twice just to see if it's clearly visible to pick it up, but I won't take more than 20 seconds to look myself and I call others off at the same time. There are some snakes where we are as well, another reason I don't need to find balls in their domain.

I cannot play with sunglasses, wish I could.

[Kanoito]

The way I'm hitting balls right now, not even X-ray vision is gonna help me find them

On a serious note, I have a pair of sunglasses (forgot the brand) and it has 3 sets of lens... 1 for contract on the sky, 1 for reading the green and 1 for... don't remember... to me, there was no added effect, they just worked like normal sunglasses.

[release]

When was the last time you had visited your optometrist for a full check up ?   Not just your annual eye exam but a full exam.    Maybe  you should share your concern with the optometrist to explore the real reason behind your vision issue.

 I suspect the Astigmatism might be the culprit.  Many of us had the Astigmatism without ever knowing.

I wear prescription glasses for decades and no issue finding golf balls on the golf courses, even finding playing partner's share of golf balls and lots of lost golf balls in the rough, in the woods, and in the hazards.  Was being called eagle eyes by the playing partners .

The vision started going down the hill after my 62nd birthday, to a point that I had the cataract surgery last year....... never the same after the cataract surgery.   The general vision is better overall without wearing prescription glasses, but can't make out the detailed lines like I used to.  Often times, the vision issue derived from other places like the neuro system connecting your optic ( eye ) to the processing ( brain ).  Some of us would not realize when a minor stroke happened to us.

Having a thorough  vision exam by a caring and knowledgeable optometrist will likely spot the possibility of neurologically linked issue.  I know for a fact that the optometrist could spot potential issue with strokes and tumor growth from examining retina, and refer to specialist for further examination.  I had a mini stroke some years back and guess who spotted the issue for me ?  My optometrist, who referred me to a neurologist, confirmed that I had the episode of a small stroke which changed my vision.

 

Edited May 22, 2020 by release

[dlow206]

2 hours ago, release said:

When was the last time you had visited your optometrist for a full check up ?   Not just your annual eye exam but a full exam.    Maybe  you should share your concern with the optometrist to explore the real reason behind your vision issue.

 I suspect the Astigmatism might be the culprit.  Many of us had the Astigmatism without ever knowing.

I wear prescription glasses for decades and no issue finding golf balls on the golf courses, even finding playing partner's share of golf balls and lots of lost golf balls in the rough, in the woods, and in the hazards.  Was being called eagle eyes by the playing partners .

The vision started going down the hill after my 62nd birthday, to a point that I had the cataract surgery last year....... never the same after the cataract surgery.   The general vision is better overall without wearing prescription glasses, but can't make out the detailed lines like I used to.  Often times, the vision issue derived from other places like the neuro system connecting your optic ( eye ) to the processing ( brain ).  Some of us would not realize when a minor stroke happened to us.

Having a thorough  vision exam by a caring and knowledgeable optometrist will likely spot the possibility of neurologically linked issue.  I know for a fact that the optometrist could spot potential issue with strokes and tumor growth from examining retina, and refer to specialist for further examination.  I had a mini stroke some years back and guess who spotted the issue for me ?  My optometrist, who referred me to a neurologist, confirmed that I had the episode of a small stroke which changed my vision.

 

Makes sense, i have annual eye exams every year including the retinal imaging with the fancy machine. I guess i have never thought of it as a significant issue, just that my vision for seeing contrast is not as good as others. It hasn’t gotten worse over the years though.

[release]

41 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

Makes sense, i have annual eye exams every year including the retinal imaging with the fancy machine. I guess i have never thought of it as a significant issue, just that my vision for seeing contrast is not as good as others. It hasn’t gotten worse over the years though.

Dry eye syndrome and astigmatism will slip in with age , unaware by most of us.  These will influence the vision quite a bit , by contrast and definition of lines.....

I had gone through these stages, and the onset was sudden.

[heavygolffeels]

i have really good eyesight so maybe not that best advice here. But even still, I normally where polarized sun glasses and I play a yellow ball. Also, I have learned the hard way that I tend to hold my finish and even overwatch a nice driver right down the middle of the fairway, but if I crank one left or right and know from the minute I made contact that is going to be a terrible shot I tend to look away and shake my head in disgust, walk to the bag hitting the club on the ground. Never even watched it land, how did it bounce, what are the landmarks, how fast was it moving as last sight. I just know it was 10 yards left. Get up to my partners ball and head left. I gotta get better at that. 

[revkev]

The older that I get, the harder iris for me to follow my shots. I use optic yellow Pro VIxs and rarely play alone so it’s it’s not an issue if I don’t see the shot.

Also I’ve played long enough that I have a reasonable idea of where it is going based on how it feels.

I get eye exams every 4 months because I have glaucoma.

The advice about seeing an optometrist was good if this is new.

Good luck


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[dlow206]

2 minutes ago, revkev said:

The older that I get, the harder iris for me to follow my shots. I use optic yellow Pro VIxs and rarely play alone so it’s it’s not an issue if I don’t see the shot.

Also I’ve played long enough that I have a reasonable idea of where it is going based on how it feels.

I get eye exams every 4 months because I have glaucoma.

The advice about seeing an optometrist was good if this is new.

Good luck


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Definitely not a new issue for me, but may see if the optometrist thinks I have an astigmatism. I think I do have a slight astigmatism based on an optometrist visit a long time ago, but at that time they said I didn't need any correction for it if my vision wasn't giving me any trouble. At that time I wasn't playing golf, so it didn't bother me.

[YYCRed]

I have tried the golf ball finding glasses (whatever they are called, I can't remember), but they didn't work very well. It didn't help that I wear prescription glasses as well, so I'd have to switch, but my wife has perfect vision and tried these glasses with little luck. This was a few years ago, so maybe they are better now, but I wouldn't waste my time or money on them.

[release]

On 5/22/2020 at 7:22 PM, dlow206 said:

Definitely not a new issue for me, but may see if the optometrist thinks I have an astigmatism. I think I do have a slight astigmatism based on an optometrist visit a long time ago, but at that time they said I didn't need any correction for it if my vision wasn't giving me any trouble. At that time I wasn't playing golf, so it didn't bother me.

If it's the difficulty in following the flight of the golf balls . many had success using the Matte Red color golf ball.  It's being adopted by many OEM makers including Titleist, Callaway, Wilson, Srixon.....  Originally by Volvik.

You can still lose the golf ball in the rough.  But this color is easy to follow against the grey sky.

[PDT816]

I can follow the ball for most of the flight but notice that I always lose contact when it gets ready to hit the ground. It's like my eyes/brain want to refocus.

I have a couple pair of Oakley Prisms, including the new ones that are supposed to be darker. Nice sunglasses, but they don't help tract the ball any better

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[StrawberryShortCake]

On 5/22/2020 at 12:08 PM, dlow206 said:

I ended up ordering some Oakleys with the Prizm golf lenses. It looks like it will help me in theory because it improves contrast. I don't have any sort of diagnosed vision issue with contrast, but I do for sure have trouble driving at night and seeing the white lane divider lines.

Believe it or not I have sunglasses with yellow lenses I don't know why but it just makes the grass greener and the white ball pops even if I'm in the rough I can see it a lot better. I don't like wearing the yellow lenses on the green though it makes it harder to read.

[dlow206]

My Oakleys with the golf prizm lenses just came today. Put them on in my house and holy crap the contrast of colors is improved. I am not sure if my vision is bad or these really enhance contrast that much.

[yungkory]

30 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

My Oakleys with the golf prizm lenses just came today. Put them on in my house and holy crap the contrast of colors is improved. I am not sure if my vision is bad or these really enhance contrast that much.

Prizm just makes the contrast that much crazier. Currently have the "non-golf" prizm lenses in a pair of Holbrooks (their bootleg Wayfarer frame style) and it makes the sky and trees look crazy. I ordered the "dark golf" ones on Amazon because there's a slight scratch mark on my pair that is in my field of view while playing. Of course, it lines up almost perfectly with the ball where I position it for driver. Don't think it has any actual effect, but it's annoying enough.

[Golf Dawg]

I have astigmatism and a small cataract in my dominant eye.

I’ve tried all colors of balls, but generally find the glossy finish is easier to see. The matte green works well with fall leaves.

I used to be able to wear contacts and love the Oakley golf prizm lens. I got a pair of cocoon over glasses in photochromic amber that work well.


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[higherplane]

I am so sympathetic, bought prescription sun glasses with grey-green lenses that lose ball in any cloud overhead.   With contacts when staring at the path according to my Op Doc the contact can move slightly causing blur and more looking around.  After covid will try different lenses with same prescription.  Great incentive to hit long and straight.  Do not have issue on reading greens so that is blessing.                 

[Guest Delete]

On 5/22/2020 at 12:14 PM, Middler said:

The best fix? Everyone I play with watches out for each other, as we all lose sight of our own balls occasionally. It's rare that no one sees, but that happens every once in a while. Many days in the morning when the sun is low, I lose sight of most of my good drives in the fairway the whole round - but I know where they were headed and find them easily. "Fortunately" the rough is so thick and deep where I play we don't even bother to look very long. If it's my ball, I'll walk by the general area once or twice just to see if it's clearly visible to pick it up, but I won't take more than 20 seconds to look myself and I call others off at the same time. There are some snakes where we are as well, another reason I don't need to find balls in their domain.

I cannot play with sunglasses, wish I could.

Delete

Edited June 29, 2020 by Delete
Delete

[dlow206]

Went to the eye doctor today and i learned my prescription got significantly worse. Went up a full point from -6.00 to -7.00. The world is so much more clear now, will likely have a better time trying to find my ball.

[Tap In]

I have tried many different “golf” sunglasses lenses. The best that I have found for reading greens, and in general, are just a polarized brown lens you can get anywhere.


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[Tap In]

I have tried many different “golf” sunglasses lenses. The best that I have found for reading greens, and in general, are just a polarized brown lens you can get anywhere.


Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy