Golf Ball Goggles
I am going to be 100% honest with you and flat out frank about this review. I first stumbled upon Golf Ball Goggles shortly after we launched this website and they followed us on Instagram. Being a cynical golf guy, my immediate judgement was that these sunglasses were another dumb golf product that belongs more in an infomercial or in Roy McAvoy’s bag of tricks to cure the shanks. Because I thought it would be funny content, I hit up Golf Ball Goggles and they kindly obliged in providing a sample to review. Well, foot officially inserted in mouth. I love these things…
First Impressions
When you first open the Golf Ball Goggles box, you see a small neoprene case with the token bag clip and infomercial-esque branding on it. Yes, this is a continuance of my pre-judgement. Upon opening the case and seeing the glasses, I thought, “ok, these aren’t that bad.” They are a typical Wayfarer style with a clear blue plastic frame that matches the vivid blue lenses. Hey, I’ll look like kind of like a hip and trendy cool kid. The next step is obviously to put them on.
Trying on the Golf Ball Goggles is where everything immediately turned around for me. I was outside with my wife and kids playing in the yard and made an audible exclamation of bewilderment. I can’t tell you I know exactly what I expected, but I didn’t expect the clarity and vivid detail I saw. Naturally I got up, threw a few golf balls down in my grass, which was in desperate need of mowing, and took a picture. See below.
Without the glasses:
With the glasses:
Pictures will not give you the same appreciation, but the point stands. I was now legitimately excited to get these glasses out on the course to not only see how well they work, but to also see the faces of my playing partners. I assumed they’d look like Smurfs.
Comfort Level
From a basic “purpose-wear” perspective, the Golf Ball Goggles are perfectly comfortable. The sunglasses are a classic shape, lightweight, and sit nicely on a range of face sizes. A greater test of comfort is more how long you can stand looking through this intense blue. Admittedly, I expected to only be able to tolerate looking through the blue lenses for a short period of time. In reality, it’s not like I’ve proven anything scientifically related to eye fatigue, but I found no discomfort in looking through these blue lenses for extended periods of time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not endorsing the Golf Ball Goggles for driving or your everyday sunglasses, but they’re fine for a round of golf. Dare I say, even enjoyable.
On-Course Performance
As mentioned above, I wore the brilliant blue Golf Ball Goggles for extended periods of time over rounds of golf. During this time, my eyes experienced no discomfort nor did I experience any issues with depth perception or tracking my ball through the air. There is one area worth noting though. I found I had trouble reading greens with the Golf Ball Goggles. Major slopes and ridges were still visible (albeit they seemed less severe) but the subtleties were difficult to pick up. To validate this observation, I had two other players try them and they found the same result. Fortunately, there was an easy solution. For putting, I would just remove the glasses. There was no difficulty with my eyes adjusting to the glasses going on or off.
Now, I can’t tell you I didn’t lose a single ball all day, but that was because of bad shots, not the lack of the Golf Ball Goggles working. When you’re cruising around the long stuff looking for your ball, you can be sure the ball will jump out at you. Mind you, other bright foreign objects that contrast with the grass will also jump out, but your possible golf ball options will be narrowed. That said, buried is still buried. Keep it in the short stuff.
Final Thoughts
Look, I think these Golf Ball Goggles are a bit silly and definitely have characteristics of being a gimmick…and I’m fine with that. Simply put, I just had fun wearing them and enjoyed looking at the world through this tint. So far, everyone I’ve shared them with has had an identical reaction to my own. Will we wear them every single round? Probably not, but if you see a threesome playing in the Chicagoland area with everyone wearing funny blue sunglasses, stop us and say hello.
