My Interview with Bill Curran Optical
- Thread starter briankenobi
- Start date
Nice interview! I was the first customer Bill was talking about. It must have been 20 years ago.
Bill doesn't upcharge for his pool glasses. He even tried to get them cheaper than his regular glasses, once he learned how cheap us pool players are, hahaha. I've been buying glasses from him since the 4th grade in 1988. It's his regular price. He is old school, and cuts all the lenses in the back on his own equipment. His price is definitely higher than the stores like LensCrafters, but I keep going back for both pool glasses and regular glasses since 1988 in 4th grade.
Bill doesn't upcharge for his pool glasses. He even tried to get them cheaper than his regular glasses, once he learned how cheap us pool players are, hahaha. I've been buying glasses from him since the 4th grade in 1988. It's his regular price. He is old school, and cuts all the lenses in the back on his own equipment. His price is definitely higher than the stores like LensCrafters, but I keep going back for both pool glasses and regular glasses since 1988 in 4th grade.
he plays pretty sportyThat's an excellent hustling look!! Can you imagine??
They'd be lined up.
BilliardHome
New member
Good catch on the lighting. Most people don't realize how much a proper setup changes the game, literally. Height matters a lot too low and you get glare and shadows on the cloth, too high and you lose depth perception on the balls. Standard recommendation is 30-36 inches above the playing surface, center the fixture over the table, and use fixtures that spread even light across the whole slate without hot spots.
The reason you're seeing clear vision now at 4-8 feet is that the right height kills those corner shadows. A fuller guide here if you want specifics on wattage and fixture types: https://billiardhome.com/blog/pool-table-light-height
Cheap LED panels help, but placement beats brightness every time. Bill Curran would probably tell you the same thing vision's the foundation.
I get a 9' fixed focal point for my shooting glasses.
If you are really serious about wanting to improve your vision and your pool game at the same time, then take time to do it right. By that I’m referring to visiting your optometrist and if you don’t have one, it’s time to find one you like.
Then have your optometrist create a prescription and it does not need to be progressive lens unless that’s what the
optometrist decides you need for vision improvement. I wore reading glasses and distance glasses (driving, watching movies, etc) for years. I tried progressive lens for pool. GTF out of here.
I never had previously tried progressive lens so steadily positioning my head without movement for a clear image was a major pain in the ass since Ihad never worn a progressive lens before. I told my optometrist this was a failure to use for pool playing and he said he’d could create a new prescription to blend of my reading and distance prescriptions.
I’ve previously posted how and what he did to come up with a billiard prescription using a portable vision station in a conference room with a long conference table. He placed objects placed at varying distances of 3’, 5’, 7’ 9’ and 12’.
I If I had known he was going to do this I’d have brought my set of Centennials to use.
Anyway, he proceeds to have me wear a portable head harness that lets him substitute different lens strengths until I told him that the clarity was what I was looking for at these distances. I could see clearly at 3’ or 12’ but further away and my vision clarity proportionately diminished. Afterwards, I went to LensCrafter and looked at a lot of different
frames I could wear since my new billiards prescription can be used for any eyewear frame.
Personally, I think those billiard glasses are not only goofy looking but if I ever had any vision issues down the road , or better yet, after I got my glasses, it’s simple to make an appointment to see my optometrist that will check the prescription and double check that it might need strengthening or weakening. Over time, your vision needs will change. It is simple for your eye doctor to tweak the prescription to fit your needs. I see my eye doctor once a year but just to check my normal vision. A dozen years ago I had cataract surgery which was why my vision was worsening and after undergoing surgery, my vision was restored to 20/20 which doesn’t always happen but vision improvement always occurs after cataract surgery. The only caveat I’d add is there is a small risk of surgery failures which is why cataract surgery is performed in two surgeries, not one. You never risk both eyes to concurrently undergoing the same surgery.
Okay, I’ve posted about this very topic many times over the years. So do as you will but not seeing your own optometrist to do this just seems acting lazily and hurriedly. Go see a local, professional eye doctor, get a blended prescription for clarity, go select a eyewear frame that resembles normal, stylish eyewear. Heck, you can’t go wrong choosing Ray Ban Aviator frames but the variety of frame choices is enormous or you can choose the goofy look.
Then have your optometrist create a prescription and it does not need to be progressive lens unless that’s what the
optometrist decides you need for vision improvement. I wore reading glasses and distance glasses (driving, watching movies, etc) for years. I tried progressive lens for pool. GTF out of here.
I never had previously tried progressive lens so steadily positioning my head without movement for a clear image was a major pain in the ass since Ihad never worn a progressive lens before. I told my optometrist this was a failure to use for pool playing and he said he’d could create a new prescription to blend of my reading and distance prescriptions.
I’ve previously posted how and what he did to come up with a billiard prescription using a portable vision station in a conference room with a long conference table. He placed objects placed at varying distances of 3’, 5’, 7’ 9’ and 12’.
I If I had known he was going to do this I’d have brought my set of Centennials to use.
Anyway, he proceeds to have me wear a portable head harness that lets him substitute different lens strengths until I told him that the clarity was what I was looking for at these distances. I could see clearly at 3’ or 12’ but further away and my vision clarity proportionately diminished. Afterwards, I went to LensCrafter and looked at a lot of different
frames I could wear since my new billiards prescription can be used for any eyewear frame.
Personally, I think those billiard glasses are not only goofy looking but if I ever had any vision issues down the road , or better yet, after I got my glasses, it’s simple to make an appointment to see my optometrist that will check the prescription and double check that it might need strengthening or weakening. Over time, your vision needs will change. It is simple for your eye doctor to tweak the prescription to fit your needs. I see my eye doctor once a year but just to check my normal vision. A dozen years ago I had cataract surgery which was why my vision was worsening and after undergoing surgery, my vision was restored to 20/20 which doesn’t always happen but vision improvement always occurs after cataract surgery. The only caveat I’d add is there is a small risk of surgery failures which is why cataract surgery is performed in two surgeries, not one. You never risk both eyes to concurrently undergoing the same surgery.
Okay, I’ve posted about this very topic many times over the years. So do as you will but not seeing your own optometrist to do this just seems acting lazily and hurriedly. Go see a local, professional eye doctor, get a blended prescription for clarity, go select a eyewear frame that resembles normal, stylish eyewear. Heck, you can’t go wrong choosing Ray Ban Aviator frames but the variety of frame choices is enormous or you can choose the goofy look.
The whole point of the "goofy" frames/lenses is so you actually look through the lens while down on the shot, and preferably, through or close to the middle of the lens. The lens is cut from about a 3" circle, and the middle of that circle is the optical center. If you can see though the lens on a normal stylish pair, more power to you. I think most people can't, unless they cock their head back a lot like Dr Dave does.
I think is unimportant with non-progressive blended prescription lenses your local optometrist creates.
You can look thru the top, the middle or the bottom of the lenses and it all looks the same. You don’t have to
bend your neck, position your head or focus on looking through the middle of the lenses. Nope, you just put
on the glasses and look at the pool table and balls. Your have the same vision no matter where you look thru
the prescription lenses your optometrist will create that can be checked annually and pick a cool looking frame.
I know this works because I wore pool glasses for 12 years with a blended prescription my optometrist created.
The prescription was tweaked 3 times until eventually I underwent cataract surgery that eliminated any need for
eyeglasses. The entire time I wore my pool glasses ( Ray-Ban Frames) I could look sideways and my vision still
remained in focus. There wasn’t any need for trying to look thru the eyewear a certain way other than the lower
you are in your stance, the better your sight picture becomes. I think it’s ill advised not to use a local optometrist.
You can look thru the top, the middle or the bottom of the lenses and it all looks the same. You don’t have to
bend your neck, position your head or focus on looking through the middle of the lenses. Nope, you just put
on the glasses and look at the pool table and balls. Your have the same vision no matter where you look thru
the prescription lenses your optometrist will create that can be checked annually and pick a cool looking frame.
I know this works because I wore pool glasses for 12 years with a blended prescription my optometrist created.
The prescription was tweaked 3 times until eventually I underwent cataract surgery that eliminated any need for
eyeglasses. The entire time I wore my pool glasses ( Ray-Ban Frames) I could look sideways and my vision still
remained in focus. There wasn’t any need for trying to look thru the eyewear a certain way other than the lower
you are in your stance, the better your sight picture becomes. I think it’s ill advised not to use a local optometrist.
Lights that low would kill me. My head would hit it every other shot when standing up. Not to mention the damage I'd do to my shafts.