Dear Bob,
Basically, we discussed sunglasses and eye health.
SUNGLASSES:
When putting, the usual visual experience on the green in summer is a mixture of bright sky and green grass. The bright light of day has a tendency to "bleach out" the photoreceptors on the back of the eyeballs (cones and rods on the retina), and this makes detailed visual acuity and contrast perception a challenge, especially in reading the contour of the green surface. Also, glare from water, reflective surfaces, and the like tends to confuse the vision and strain the eyes from squinting. In addition, in the spectrum of colored light in the environment (from long wavelength red to short wavelength blue, with green in the middle), the eyes have difficulty focusing blue light. So, bleaching, eye strain, and color challenge vision on the green.
Sunglasses help all three, but the choices have to fit the occasion. The main two choices are 1) lens tint for reducing bleaching and filtering colors, and 2) polarization. Another choice is whether to have wrap-around glasses to keep out excess light from entering at the sides.
Major manufacturers of sunglasses for golf have basically found that amber or cinamon or reddish brown is the best tint for golf on bright days, because this tint filters out the blues while enhancing detail and contrast. The pigment Melanin at the back of the eyeballs in the retina helps reduce the interference in image formation of excess light inside the eyeball that misses the receptors (probably 90% misses cones or rods and just hits the back of the eyeball on the retina). If Melanin did not absorb this excess light, and it instead reflected around inside the eyeball, you would get a lot of glare and a poor image. So, it just happens that Melanin has evolved as the tint best suited to filter out blues on most days. Melanin is sort of the same color as caucasian skin -- a brownish / yellowish / reddish flesh color.
Melanin at the back of the eye:
Melanin-tinted Sunglasses:
Bolle Boomslang Cinnamon Gold Golf Sunglasses:
Nike Hyperior 3GT Golf Sunglasses:
Adidas Golf Sunglasses:
Uvex Melanin Sunglasses:
When I worked as a greenskeeper, in the hot hazy afternoon heat I patrolled the course's greens watching for "hot spots" where the grass was not sufficiently cooled by water underneath the surface (usually from hydrophobic soil areas that made absorbtion of watering difficult in small areas). When a "hot spot" develops, the grass starts to wilt and turns a faint blusih-purple color as the green fades out of the grass blades. The greenskeeper has only a short window of opportunity to spot these developing "hot spots" early and save the grass from certain death with a quick application of cooling water from a handheld hose. Melanin or cinnamon tinted glasses help the early spotting of these bluing areas because the enhanced contrast and differential coloring makes them stand out. The same sort of surface enhancement occurs when reading the putt.
Polarization of sunglasses is strictly a matter of glare, and acts sort of like venetian blinds. If the glare comes from the lake surface for a boater or fisherman or the hood of a car for a driver, then polarization filters out light from the same direction as the glare. This reduces overall light. Some golfers don't like polarization.
On cloudy days, the golfer may want glasses that let in more light and that filter the natural colors of the world less. These tints are neutral grays.
EYE HEALTH
One of the principal mechanisms of aging is oxidation. Oxidation is the chemical process of "rust." Basically, the chemical and biological processes of eating and burning energy and living in the world makes the body slowly rust from the inside. Smoking, excessive exposure to sunlights, consuming a heavy sugar diet, and other behaviors make matters worse. With respect to the eyes, the sunlight reacts with the tissues of the eyes to create free radicals, which are molecules missing an electron. These molecules then seek out the missing electron and basically rip it from molecules in healthy cell tissue -- not good. Antioxidants are substances that neutralize free radicals to minimize their damage. Free radical damage to the eye cornea, lens or retina has been linked with glaucoma, hardening of the lenses, and macular degeneration.
Melanin is a natural antioxidant, but so are Vitamins A, C, and E.
Vitamin E comes from some hard-to-get-on-a-regular-basis sources, like nuts. Vitamin A is from carrots, and is a substance that is used in formulating the receptor chemistry in the eyes. Vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness and other vision problem. A regular intake of these vitamins in appropriate dosages is usually considered beneficial for the eyes and as a counter to free-radical action. (See a doctor for details and advice.)
So, the bottom line appears to be that Melanin-tinted sunglasses help reduce the level of brightness, filter out hard-to-focus blue colors, enhance contrast and detail on the "green" surface, diminish the oxidation of the eyes, and reduce eye strain. A regular and chronic diet or supplementation of diet with appropriate Vitamins is very helpful in maintaining eye health.
I recall a recent program on The People's Pharmacy talking about how taking Vitamin C and E together helps the uptake of Vitamin E. I've tried to reconfirm that on their website, but haven't found it yet. I have found where Milk helps Vitamin E uptake (see below).
Here are some resources for more information:
SUNGLASSES
Effects of Different Tints
Suggested Sports Eyewear
NYX Technical Information -- Tints and brightness
Review of Nike Golf Sunglasses
PGA Tour website article on Golf Sunglasses
2020 Magazine article on Sunglasses
Contacts and Glasses for Sports Enhancement
Melanin Sunglasses
Macular Degeneration and Blue Light (HEV)
Sunglasses Technology
Bolle Sports Sunglasses
Vision Ease Article
EYE HEALTH:
Eye Nutrition
Eye Nutrition Summary
Brain Rust
Eye & Vision Care
HealthCentral - General Encyclopedia - Vitamin A
HealthCentral - General Encyclopedia - Vitamin C
HealthCentral - General Encyclopedia - Vitamin E
Milk and Vitamin E Uptake
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
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