Shooting pool with contacts?

S

seven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am nearsighted.. I forget my actual numbers but its fairly bad. I never shoot pool with glasses. I've tried it and I jast cant do it. I've worn contacts in the past. tried shooting with contacts but they seem to bother me also. I'm a fairly good player. maybe a low B. I've always shoot well without glasses. maybe its because I've been playing so long. but lately I'm missing slightly longer shots. I'm having a hard time focusing on the object ball. it looks blurry, sometimes I see double object balls. I just made an appointment to see the eye doctor about getting contacts. I heard that there are new contacts that are really comfortable. I would like the opinion of other pool players that shoot pool with contacts. any pros & cons?
maybe suggest a specific brand of contact. thanks
 
If you shoot pool with contacts in then when you get down on the cue the actual optic center of the contact won't be centered over your pupil. You're vision won't be correct. And if you have a stigmatism on top of this your vision will be completely whacked out when you're down on the ball.

I'm actually in the same dilemma as you. I'm nearsighted but my stigmatism and actual vision isn't all that bad. I wear -1.25 in right eye and -1.00 in my left eye. I shoot pool fine with them on but as soon as funds become available i'm doing LASEK from a reputable doctor. My father had it done 4 years ago and went from 20/800 to 20/25. He now shoots archery competitions like he did in his early 20's and his game has shot through the roof again.

Oh and dont' even attempt to wear glasses to shoot pool. Basically when you get down on the ball you're looking through the glass optic at an angle. That angle will make you see the balls way out of proportion and your depth perception will be way outa whack.

GL with your troubles,
Curtis J
 
DO NOT GET BIO-MEDICS SOFT CONTACTS LENSES!!!!!!!!

They're the worst! I wore them for a few months and could not make it through a set without my eyes drying up. I'd say it was a unique problem but my girlfriend dealt with the same thing. We both use Bausch & Lomb now and I find them to be 100x more confortable. Even though I'm very good about cleaning them and taking them off at night, I'm certain I could go 48 hours with a relatively fresh pair without having any real discomfort.

In regards to pool, contacts take a little while getting used to. You have to learn how to blink correctly. That sounds odd but occasionally, when you stare for an extended period of time, thing will begin to appear blurry. you have to learn to blink your contacts clear prior to getting down on a shot and be strict about getting up if it blurrs at all.

Regarding your double-vision, you should REALLY see an optomotrist about that. That is not the type of thing that near-sighted people typically deal with. If you are clearly seeing two images, there might be a greater problem. Also, keep in mind that an optomotrist is NOT any eye doctor. He can fit you for lenses and do a quick health check on your eyes but he can't do much more beyond that other than tell you something might be wrong and recommend a doctor for you to visit. I'm very serious about my eyes and have them checked out AT LEAST once a year. If you have vision problems, you should be doing the same.


Jude M. Rosenstock
 
Jude,

I've been using "Frequency 55" Aspheric for about a year now, with no troubles at all. I have astigmatism in both eyes, and my prescription is around -5.00 in each eye (on is a little different than the other.) I've never played with out contacts (or glasses) and i know i couldn't.

Thanks,

Jon
 
Actually, I was rather surprised how well I was able to play w/o lenses. My perscription is -4.5 and although I can't make out the edge of the ball or even see the number (hell, I can't even tell the difference between the 1 and the 9 unless I'm standing right over it), I can definately still play pool. Of course, any shot that you normally have difficulty with will only be exaggerated, most of pool is about position play and you can mask a lot by simply relying on a good cue-ball. The reason why I'm saying this is that I've always hated listening to people blame their eye-sight on their poor play. Not only is it not necessary, I'm certain that if you polled the best players, a significant portion of them would be with less than 20/20 vision (Tony Robles prior to last year's surgery for one). Good eye-sight can never hurt but there is a point that is adequate and one's success is measured by good mechanics, proper decisions, decipline and talent.

In regards to this thread, I still believe that having comfortable lenses is critical. You don't want to feel pain anywhere, especially your eyes but don't be disappointed if your sight can only be corrected to 20/25 or 20/30. Tony Robles spent the first 35 years of his life with 20/25 vision and he's probably one of the best shotmakers I've ever seen.


Jude M. Rosenstock


BiG_JoN said:
Jude,

I've been using "Frequency 55" Aspheric for about a year now, with no troubles at all. I have astigmatism in both eyes, and my prescription is around -5.00 in each eye (on is a little different than the other.) I've never played with out contacts (or glasses) and i know i couldn't.

Thanks,

Jon
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