Playing pool with progressive lenses

TheBook said:
I had to start wearing glasses and have progressive lenses. It didn't t affect my game. I still suck. 😁

Honestly. If you don't let it bother you or use it as a excuse it shouldn't have any affect except for seeing better. You will now notice all the defects in the balls, and cloth instead of just a blur object with no detail.

I think most people blame glasses for their problem of not playing as good as they use to when it fact it is just the fact that they are getting older and their skills, desire and passion aren't the same.

🎱
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I don't use my glasses as an excuse, I suck with either pair that I wear. All I'm saying is that having the glasses that my doc prescribed to move the bifocal part up higher makes things sharper. It won't fix my stroke.

On the other hand, any little thing that you can do to make your playing easier or better can only help.
 
LC3 said:
I'm about to get my first pair of glasses with progressive lenses. If you have progressives, do you have any issues playing pool with them?
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First off, I'm 53 and I used readers for about the last 7 or 8 years. About a year ago I noticed that my pool game was a little off, the long shots just didn't look right any more.
Anyhoo, I finally went to my wife's eye doctor and he listened to my stories of how far the end of the pool table is and all that. I actually got 2 pair of eye glasses. I got 1 pair of progressives and one pair that was bifocal and fixed vision...
I figured the bifocal/fixed vision would be for playing pool but I was sooooo wrong.
The progressives are much better for playing pool. It took me a couple weeks to get used to them and believe me....I was hitting balls every day on my home table. I would get so frustrated that I thought of just giving up pool. But, eventually I learned how to look through the glasses and keep them high on my nose. I feel like I'm hittin em as good as I ever did now.
So if you need glasses, I recommend the progressive lenses :)
 
knicks said:
Tried playing with progressives for years. Trouble mostly on longer shots moving eyes from cueball>object ball>pocket, keeping focus without moving head.
Just got optometrist to write me a prescription for single vision lenses with a focal point from about 24 inches to 12 feet. She even had me bring my pool cue in for the exam.
These glasses work great on the table. The only difficulty with the lenses is chalking or reading.
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Whoa, wait a minute, stop the presses.
knicks, it's customary to introduce yourself to the membership first, before you jump in there and give a serious, or sometimes, not so serious reply to an OP's statement.
So. Welcome to the forum. I hope your stay is longer than poolchump's. :smile:
 
knicks said:
Tried playing with progressives for years. Trouble mostly on longer shots moving eyes from cueball>object ball>pocket, keeping focus without moving head.
Just got optometrist to write me a prescription for single vision lenses with a focal point from about 24 inches to 12 feet. She even had me bring my pool cue in for the exam.
These glasses work great on the table. The only difficulty with the lenses is chalking or reading.
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Knicks...welcome aboard. I also have single vision lens in a RayBan shooters glass frame.
Told the Dr. I need a field of 3-9ft. They work great...just need to renew the Rx.
 
I agree with Philly. 54 years old and started wearing multi-focal contacts about a month ago. Took a bit getting used to putting them on, but now it is a snap.

I have progressive glasses, but the problem is I put chin on cue and look over the lenses. So for me, was either contacts or the billiard glasses. First time I played with contacts, it was an epiphany!


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RobMan said:
I agree with Philly. 54 years old and started wearing multi-focal contacts about a month ago. Took a bit getting used to putting them on, but now it is a snap.

I have progressive glasses, but the problem is I put chin on cue and look over the lenses. So for me, was either contacts or the billiard glasses. First time I played with contacts, it was an epiphany!


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Yes they are a god send but many players for one reason or another refuse to try them. At no cost to you, your eye doc can order a pair for you to "test drive." The lens manufacturers are more than glad to comply with this request.
 
I wear progressive no line glasses all the time. Could not get use to wearing these playing pool so I had him set his machine up at 9ft and had a pear of glasses made that look like aviator frames. Told the lady to put the prescription for 9ft in them but put the focal point high in the lens so when you bend down to shoot you are looking through the top of the lens every thing is great.
 
I'm really surprised nobody mentioned "pool glasses" They have side frames mounted at bottom of lens which allows for correct sighting when bent over a pool table, it involves the progressive lens simply being higher on your face. If you're interested, I'll try to look up the name of a man in Canada who supplies them. Just can't think of the name offhand. Think about the amount of work involved with trying to look at the table properly while bent over as far as some of us do. Shoot me a PM if you want that man's name...I'll look it up for you.
 
philly said:
One word.......contacts. They are a god send. Takes time getting used to putting them in but once you get used to it's a snap. No glasses. You can thank me later.
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In my last eye doctor visit, I was amazed to learn that progressive contacts even exist. They do, and they're awesome! Previously, I still preferred contacts to glasses for pool but the problem was that my contacts were optimized for about 5' away, making it tough to see the edge of balls up close. Now I can focus near and far.

As the doctor explained to me, the contacts have rings with different ranges and over the course of a few weeks your eyes and brain figure out how work with the contacts to focus closer or farther. He started me off with a starter prescription that is a weaker reading prescription than I really need. I haven't moved up yet but I expect it to work well when I use up the contacts I have.

Note: I'm farsighted. I assume but don't know that this can work for the nearsighted too.

The downside is that I can't blame my eyes any more when I dog a shot.
 
It's funny how much pool is affecting my eyecare and it seems others LOL.

I was told I need either two glasses or progressives also. But I am now considering getting the lasik surgery because I can tell that progressive lenses will really mess with my pool playing, and I don't want to deal with two glasses, neither of which would be good for pool since you have a pretty wide range of focus on the table.

So I'm this close to spending a couple of grand to have someone cut open my eye and shoot a laser at it LOL :D:rolleyes:
 
hang-the-9 said:
It's funny how much pool is affecting my eyecare and it seems others LOL.

I was told I need either two glasses or progressives also. But I am now considering getting the lasik surgery because I can tell that progressive lenses will really mess with my pool playing, and I don't want to deal with two glasses, neither of which would be good for pool since you have a pretty wide range of focus on the table.

So I'm this close to spending a couple of grand to have someone cut open my eye and shoot a laser at it LOL :D:rolleyes:
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I would question having that LASIK surgery. My eye doctor said that it creates a problem if you ever need a lense implant when you get older because of cataracts.

🎱
 
Nerdy Pool Glasses

I've heard that progressive lenses are now better than they used to be, but I don't know why anyone would choose them above bifocals for pool. For everyday use - sure - but not for pool.

I ordered my first pair of pool glasses without the bifocal. Thinking that I didn't need the close up vision. Wrong! Too many times I needed to do things like check my phone for messages, read a scoresheet or determine if two balls were frozen.

When it came time for a new prescription, I added a bifocal and I couldn't be happier.

https://www.spex4less.com/hills-ultra-lite-snooker-glasses

To keep any pair of glasses in place, try this. It works great!

https://www.nerdwax.com/
 
Another upgrade would be to use Trivex material for the lenses. I wear DeCot glasses with Trivex and will never use plastic or polycarbonate again. Better clarity, scratch resistance, and they are just about indestructible.
 
I wear a strap on my glasses to hold them in place. They never slip down and it is the only way I can shoot pool since I can't see without glasses.
 
Some guys do play using progressive, some other can't.

When you buy them, they are choosed, then "custom installed" on the frame to be performant for normal/usuall activities/stances/distances , like reading, walking ....
Pool isn't a "normal activity". And they are plenty of progressive brands & models ... you can ask your optician to adapt them for the pool stance, if he can take the measures needed with the accuracy needed. best is, for him, to own & use a "modern" , digital, way to take measures... But it won't be confortable for the "normal" activities. Period...

Better is to play pool with dedicated glasses. Depending of your profile/needs , it can be a monofocal/single vision (power adapted or not) , or progressive.

Personnally, i do play pool and carom with progressives : not an excuse for missing some shots :)

for pool, an adapted single vision would work like a charm, if you need to optimize, just think to have other glasses in your pocket adapted for near vision/reading, just in case you have to check accuratly if a ball touchs another...
 
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Quesports said:
Another upgrade would be to use Trivex material for the lenses. I wear DeCot glasses with Trivex and will never use plastic or polycarbonate again. Better clarity, scratch resistance, and they are just about indestructible.
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yes , but the Trivex is +/- exclusive to the Hoya corp. and affiliates. So , the Sola/Zeiss corp. and Essilor Corp -and all their affiliates/customers- do offer polycarbonat instead of trivex ;-) .

That's why Polycarbonat is most common than Trivex in the optician offers...
 
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erriep said:
yes , but the Trivex is +/- exclusive to the Hoya corp. and affiliates. So , the Sola/Zeiss corp. and Essilor Corp -and all their affiliates/customers- do offer polycarbonat instead of trivex ;-) .

That's why Polycarbonat is most common than Trivex in the optician offers...
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I could care less what company makes the product, polycarbonate may be more available but it is not a superior product for lenses in several areas, IMO... Here is a pretty good comparison and it reflects my own personal experience with Trivex lenses.

http://www.laramyk.com/resources/education/lens-options-and-materials/trivex-vs-polycarbonate/
 
Why Progressives?

So in what way are progressives superior to old style bi or trifocals? Isn't it just a vanity thing for people that don't want to be seen in bifocals?

Truth is that billiard glasses are pretty nerdy and their appearance won't be improved much by eliminating the line(s).
 
jwh1942 said:
I'm really surprised nobody mentioned "pool glasses" They have side frames mounted at bottom of lens which allows for correct sighting when bent over a pool table, it involves the progressive lens simply being higher on your face. If you're interested, I'll try to look up the name of a man in Canada who supplies them. Just can't think of the name offhand. Think about the amount of work involved with trying to look at the table properly while bent over as far as some of us do. Shoot me a PM if you want that man's name...I'll look it up for you.
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You might be referring to Lunetterie St-Lambert Opticians, phone is 450.465.3058
Gordon Harrison was the contact. I bought a pair of these glasses many years ago, they have a bottom rim only and the temples mount at the bottom of the lens. They do sit up high on your nose. The script on mine is long out of date as I have used progressives for years now. I do remember these special glasses working pretty good though. I hate using glasses to play but cannot bring myself to use contacts. I have found that if I use a larger/taller progressive lens, and get it positioned higher on my nose, I do pretty well.
 
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