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Where'd that one go?? Trouble tracking the ball ... help!

SharkHat

SharkHat

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I need some suggestions for ways to hopefully address an issue I've been having both on the course and on the range.

I'm total crap at tracking golf balls. Just ask ddxu. At the St Louis Tour Van stop, on the very first hole we spent 5 minutes in a briar patch, picking up pounds of bright green stickies, only to find my ball 3 feet to the left of the front tire of our cart.


There are obvious times when everybody is going to have trouble tracking the ball, like hitting into the sun, where the glare overpowers everything. My problem goes deeper. I can follow a ball in the air most of the time, but once it comes back down to the horizon, if it's past about 160 or so, it's lost to me.

I have two potential contributing factors to my problem:
A mild astigmatism. I do wear prescription glasses most of the time, but see well enough for most functions without them.
Mild red/green colorblindness. Not severe, I can see the colors, but have trouble with contrast. If two colors in my defect range are touching, I can't tell where one stops and the other begins.


Here are things that I've thought about trying.

I like to wear sunglasses on the course, and I usually prefer polarized lenses. This may actually make things worse for me by muting contrasts. Would the Oakley golf lenses help?

I've also considered trying a switch to yellow balls.



Thoughts? Tips?
 
http://www.radargolf.com/ :alien:

I think that this is a problem that does not have a great way fix to it. It is almost like one of those you can or you can't things. You have some decent ideas there though with the oakley golf lense (I've heard good things), but I do think that switching to a yellow/orange ball will help a bit in the spring and summer months.
 
I'm right there with you. My eyesight is fine but being a newbie I have no feel for where the ball is going. Best thing for me has been an experienced playing partner. The times I have gone solo I need lots a balls. I'll be curious to see what suggestions are given here.
 
I am just like you. I can't see my shots at all. What helps a little for me is wearing yellow or red lenses in my sunglasses. Tifosi also makes an extra contrast and golf specific lens so I hope those will make it even better to see the ball
 
I have this exact issue. Drives my golf partner mad. I've got the same sort of vision (glasses since childhood, but mainly wear them for night driving) with the color blindness...always hated those dot patterns with the numbers embedded.

The sunglasses do help. I don't usually wear mine since they're prescription and the ball...well, shrinks when I put them on. That's a good first step.
The yellow balls help a bit in finding them after they've landed, as long as the grass isn't bleached out. We have a few weeks each year where yellow seems to blend in a bit for me. Doesn't seem to help a lot picking them up in flight, and may be worse at times.

Try the shades first. I'm pretty sure polarized would work better just for cutting glare if nothing else.
 
I used to have the same issue with losing white balls against the clouds. Could see them fine until it was white on white up there.

Started playing the yellow e6 and yellow Srixon ZStar and have never gone back to white. Huge difference to me.
 
I've got the same problem Shark and I really haven't found anything that helps including yellow or orange balls
 
Trying out a sleeve of yellow golf balls is a lot cheaper than good sunglasses. And the polarized, I've heard, effects depth perception. So, I don't know if that will help or hurt...or it that is even true.
 
I have the same issue. I wear the Oakley glass quite often. Usually the red lenses in the winter and the yellow in the summer. It helps some, but but I still loose track of the ball a lot. I just hope I can pick it up around the time it hits.
 
It helped me a lot when I got my eyes checked. I could see about where the ball was, but didn't know it was right by that little bush, which I didn't even know was there on the tee!

One other thing that helps is to look twenty yards short of where you want to look!
 
Make sure that prescription is current and check with your doctor about this specific issue. I usually wear glasses but told my doc I wanted contacts for athletics. I wear disposable daily contacts and feel like I could spot a green golf ball if I had to. Get the doctors recommendation on some different colored lenses to try.
 
I switched to yellow balls last year. I find them much easier to track in the air and as they reach the ground.
 
I have the same issue....I lose the ball as it crosses the horizon alot of times....I have some golf specific lenses in my Bolle glasses that help and I hear good things about the G30 Oakley lens
 
Have you ever tried Callaway NEOX lens http://www.callawaygolf.com/global/...cessories/golf-eyewear/diablo-xtt-xtreme.html
TBT gave me a pair last year at TMC. They are great for trying to see golf balls on sunny days. I also wear them for driving as they reduce glare

diablo-eye-xtreme-gran-front-main-2012.jpg
 
Shark I have the same problem. My astigmatism is so bad contacts won't work for me. I have to have someone watch my ball for me
 
Have you tried wearing prescription sun glasses? Seems to me this help a great deal.
 
I was terrible following my own shots for years... always asking, "Did anyone see where that went?". After watching for my own ball so intently I would say finding other peoples balls has become a strength. Last year I was amazing some playing partners both had hit into some tall grass (like waist high) off the right side of a fairway. I had a pretty good read on where they both went and from about 50 feet away guided them right to each of their balls. It was comical, "a little left, a step out, no now a step back... right at your feet!" and bam there it was!!
 
I have this same problem. I tend to lose white balls against the clouds so I mostly play yellow balls. I also have floaters in my eyes so that adds to the problems of spotting balls in the sky.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Have you tried wearing prescription sun glasses? Seems to me this help a great deal.
Click to expand...

Prescription sunglasses are definitely a possible consideration.
 
Smallville said:
It helped me a lot when I got my eyes checked. I could see about where the ball was, but didn't know it was right by that little bush, which I didn't even know was there on the tee!

One other thing that helps is to look twenty yards short of where you want to look![/QUOTE]

That's funny....but true!
Click to expand...
 
I wear Oakley polarized all the time and would not wear anything else. Still have a problem sometimes seeing it land but usually I know where it went....woods, water or on the other fairway.
 
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