FAQ

There are numerous, compelling reasons to wear sunglasses, (prescription or otherwise) on the golf course, and the most important ones are related to safety and health. Our eyes are the primary way in which we engage with the world, and hours spent in the UV rays of the sun does serious, permanent damage to them. While it’s a glorious thing to spend hours outside under the sun, we must understand that sun damage is a very real thing. Wearing glasses provides us with a measure of protection against this damage, and will ultimately allow us to play deeper into our lives. The sport lenses we make not only protect the eyes by blocking UVA and UVB but they also cover the delicate, vulnerable skin around our eyes. Additionally, eye fatigue is caused by excessive strain on the eyes and prolonged exposure to bright light, both of which are drastically reduced behind a pair of sunglasses. These days, the screens we constantly look at provide us with enough causes of eye fatigue, we don’t have to let our hobbies contribute as well.

Golf is very much about sight. Whether you’re eyeing up the ball on the tee, tracking it into the rough after your shot, or watching it crawl towards the pin, the quality of your vision directly affects the quality of your day’s round. If your vision can be sharper, your eyes better protected and your sunglasses can be more comfortable, why wouldn’t you wear them?

Well, they do. Take a look at Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Ryo Ishikawa, Beatriz Recari, David Duval (mirrors!) and others. Even better, take a look at their caddies. Players and caddies alike, they are professionals whose job requires them to spend hours in the sun. If they wear sunglasses, it’s because there are numerous, compelling reasons to do so, and if they don’t wear sunglasses, they should.

The best way to order is by giving us a call at 888-807-5165. We’re located in Denver, CO and open during the week Tuesday to Friday from 11am to 7pm Mountain Standard Time and on Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm. We have an excellent, knowledgeable staff here who will answer your call and help you through your order. If you prefer to get in touch with us through email, you can write us at sportsoptical@yahoo.com.

Well, it depends on your Rx. If your only issue is that you can’t track the ball or see the pin, then Single-Vision distance is probably all you need. But, if you can’t read your scorecard or see the ball at your feet, you should probably be wearing a progressive or bifocal. If you can see all of these things perfectly, then lucky you. You should still protect your eyes.

When making a progressive or bifocal lens we set it lower so that the majority of the lens has your primary, distance vision and your near correction is in the lower part of the lens for when you need it. Often, when golfers have progressives and bifocals made the focal point is set too high, which makes it difficult to find the appropriate mid-range to see the ball and your club-head. We understand these issues and account for them in our lenscrafting.

If you are ordering a bifocal or progressive we will ship you your frames along with a marking kit and detailed instructions so that you can tell us precisely where you’d like us to set your bifocal/progressive. Once you send them back to us, we’ll get to work on your lenses and then send them back to you once they’re completed.

Being fully custom and handmade, our lenses take approximately three to four weeks to complete. Mirror finishes or special coatings can add an extra week to the process. Considering that you’re purchasing a highly refined medical device, that requires a substantial investment of time and energy from both parties, and which will be individually crafted by hand, we appreciate any patience you’re able to give us.

While we do our best to accommodate your schedule, it often seems like everyone has a trip or tournament coming up. We do offer a RUSH processing service, for an extra $50, which halves the time to approximately one and a half weeks. The lenscrafting process is delicate and lenses are fragile, so we cannot guarantee delivery; however, if we can’t deliver them as promised we won’t charge you the Rush fee.

We find the Polarized Rose-Copper to be our most versatile lens. The polarization does a great job against the glare, and the light properties of the Rose-Copper tone are enhancing in lower light conditions, while still excellent on bright days.

Sports Optical is an independent optical boutique in Denver specializing in custom, handmade prescription sports lenses. In the early 1990s we pioneered the technology to put prescriptions into curved-format sport lenses, and since then we’ve been hard at work perfecting our craft. Today, our lenscrafting pedigree is second to none and we ship our lenses all over the world for athletes of every kind. We didn’t get here on technology alone, however, and we’re proud to offer sincere and personable customer service with each phone call and in every email.

To make sport lenses you have to take a prescription intended for a flat surface and adapt it for the curvature and shape of a wrapped lens. To craft our lenses, we use proprietary optical formulas and make adjustments which no other lenscrafter in the world makes. This is what sets our lenses apart from that of other companies, it is what allows our lenses to have a fully-functional periphery, and it’s why we can work with stronger prescriptions than other lenscrafters. The reason you’re here reading this is because we craft prescription lenses better than any other lenscrafter in the world.

We also run thorough tests on all of our work, both to measure the quality of the lenses and frames we sell, and also so that we can understand exactly how it performs. This lets us give honest, authentic advice to our customers.

From a business standpoint, it might be better for us if we let you order online, but from a quality standpoint we’d rather take the extra time and effort to receive your order by phone or through email. This is a serious investment for you as well as us, and being a custom product which requires a significant amount of precision, we try to make sure we do it right the first time. By having all orders come through the phone or email, we’re better able to address your needs, confirm all the prescription and order information you provide us, and offer a higher quality service.

Absolutely. We ship to all fifty states and across the world. Domestically, we use UPS Ground and for International shipping we use USPS International Priority.

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