Adidas Sport Sunglasses By Sport RX Review

Adidas Sport Sunglasses By Sport RX

Grade: A+
Teachers’ Comments: Great glasses from thorough professionals

If you can’t see the line, you’ll never sink the putt. Before you take your swing, pick the smallest spot you can see in the distance as your target. Pick a small spot on the back inside of the ball as your impact spot.

I can think of all sorts of aphorisms that speak to the importance of good vision in playing golf. But to the classics, I’ll add one of my own: You can’t hit ‘em if you can’t see ‘em.

As I’ve reached the age where I could play on the Champions Tour, I’ve found glasses are an increasing necessity. Twenty years ago, I only needed them to work on small details in painting toy soldiers (another of my hobbies). Then, it was for reading. Mid distances were the next to benefit from glasses. My long distance vision is still good, but I’m still (thankfully) getting older, and I predict that’s next.

I was really pleased, then, when SportRX offered me the chance to try their sports prescription sunglasses service. It was a very pleasant experience and the sunglasses I received are terrific (you can see them modeled above by Sebastian Cat).

Do you need prescription sunglasses? If you wear regular glasses, but not Rx sunglasses, I think you’re missing out. An extra pair of glasses—and especially sports glasses—are not cheap, but I think they’re worth every dime. I see a noticeable difference in my game between rounds when I wear the glasses and when I do not (as when I forgot them on a recent golfing trip to Up North Michigan.)

As Rob Tavakoli, SportRX’s Sales and Marketing Manager, said “I don’t get anyone who says they didn’t get sports prescription sunglasses because they couldn’t afford it; all I hear is that they never thought of it.”

Ordering from SportRx is quite reassuring. Whereas most of the online glasses shops are fully web-automated—you just click on a frame type, enter your prescription and pay—SportRx has actual opticians that you can talk to. Better yet, SportRx’s opticians are themselves athletes. (one of their opticians is the model for the SportRx ads you see in the golf magazines).

Another point of confidence: SportRx is located in San Diego, and has an actual brick-and-mortar showroom there. I always prefer to work with an American company over an unknown overseas web shop.

The icing on the cake: they have a terrific return policy.

If you’re not 100% satisfied with your glasses, you can return them within 45 days of receipt for a full refund, or credit towards a new pair. Your glasses, accessories and packaging must be in the original condition. If you are outside of the 45 days, call and ask to speak with a sales representative. If your prescription changes within 60 days of receipt, we offer a one-time replacement option.

“Our mission,” Rob said, is to help people see better while playing the sports they love. We have lots of extra services to help take care of our people. We live in the extra mile.”

My optician, the aforementioned Rob, began the process with a series of very well-informed questions about my golf game. This led to several recommendations for frame type, lens color and implementation of the prescription. In this, Rob suggested that I move the progressive transition a little lower than is normal for general use glasses. I accepted the suggestion.

SportRx had a lot of options for golf glasses frames, including Adidas, Kaenon, Maui Jim, Nike, Oakley, Rudy Project, Smith, Tifosi, and Under Armour.

After discussing each of the options, I ended selecting a pair of Adidas TourPro L sunglasses, with amber lenses (above). I have always played with dark sunglasses, but Rob suggested that that amber tint would let me read greens better than a brown or grey tint. He also thought that since I said I played much of my golf at twilight (which I do), the amber would be better for those purposes as well.

He was correct on all points.

I was impressed during the process that Rob knew from my prescription that I needed a large size set of glasses to fit my size-8 head. The PD distance apparently says something about what sort of glasses I’d need.

After sending SportRx a photo of my prescription, all I had to do was wait. The glasses arrived a couple of weeks later in a nice semi-hard case, with an additional soft bag.

I found that it took a full round to get used to the curved, wrap-around glasses. There was just something about the curve that created some distortion. Each time I put them on after that, however, my brain quickly readjusted to the change and now, it is nearly instantaneous.

I really like the amber lenses. They’re just perfect for the early morning and later afternoon rounds I tend to play. I do think that I see the curves and bump in the green more clearly. The lenses also help me track the ball flight better through the air.

If I were to do it over, I would make only one change: I think that I would have SportRx eliminate the reading range of the lenses at the bottom. While I was used to playing with my regular general reading/distance glasses, the reading focus in the curve at the bottom of the sports lenses makes seeing the ball less crisp than what I see looking through the upper portions of the lenses.

Working with SportRx was a terrific experience and if you play golf and wear glasses, I can’t recommend them enough.

What I need to do is to convince Mrs. GolfBlogger (the skier and bicyclist) to look into getting a pair.