last word

Advancing foresight

Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

Why does approaching golfers and adding them to your patient base make sense? Just ask the World Golf Association.

A study conducted by SRI International and sponsored by Golf 20/20, an initiative of the World Golf Foundation, has benchmarked industry efforts to grow interest in the game to 55 million participants by the year 2020.

The study shows that there is a large disposable income in the U.S. for golf-related spending. The numbers are proof that golf is profitable:

■ $62 billion plus: goods and services

■ $20.4 billion: golf facility operations

■ $13.4 billion: hospitality/tourism

■ $9.9 billion: real estate

■ $7.8 billion: golf course capital investment

■ $5.9 billion: golfer supplies

■ $4.5 billion: media, tournaments, associations, and charities

With $5.9 billion spent on golfer supplies alone, it's not a dogleg drive to see that golfers are willing to spend on their sport.

THE BEST LENSES

While most vision care and golf experts agree that impact-resistant, UV-protective lenses are a necessity for golf eyewear, photochromic or polarized lenses are a gray area that largely depends upon wearer preference.

Photochromic lenses may work well most of the time, while polarized lenses are preferred by others, or vice versa. A recent solution may be polarized photochromic lenses.

When it comes to color, there are two main choices. While most golfers prefer copper/brown tints for better contrast, some like gray tints. A blend of both may work best. Copper may perform well in some conditions, for example, when more definition is needed, while gray may do better in bright sunlight.

In addition, different tint densities can be recommended for varying climates and environments, such as brown for morning haze and gray for noonday sun.

Just like there are multiple clubs in every bag, multiple pairs of eyewear should be considered an investment in visual and overall health and performance. EB