Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may earn a commission through links on our site. Why Trust Us?
An eye doctor reveals what lens tint plays best. Party Eyeglasses
IF YOU want to have the best vision on the course, the last thing you want to do is opt for a pair of cheap sunglasses. Think about it: you've paid all this money on the best golf clubs, the best golf bag, best golf gloves, and the best golf shoes, so why not invest a little bit more into an area on the course that directly affects how your perform? Crystal clear vision is everything when playing golf, which is why we've come to bring you our top-recommended golf sunglasses.
The editors and writers at Men's Health gathered all our years of knowledge in expertise in playing golf and rounded together the best golf sunglasses for all-day play. We've tested over 20 pairs of golf sunglasses in the past year, and consulted with an eye doctor and sports vision expert. After careful consideration, only eight pairs made our final list. If you want to know our best overall pair of golf sunglasses, that would be the Oakley Holbrook Prizm for its combination of performance and style at a fair price.
Before buying golf sunglasses, make sure to get regular eye exam checks. From what your eye doctor recommends, you can then start incorporating any special features you might need for your golf sunglasses—like prescription lenses. As far as lens tint goes, there are a few different colors that could help with seeing on the course. "Dark green and moderate brown tints have been shown in several studies—as well as claimed by professional golfers—to help give an enhanced reading of the green," says Dr. Randy Fuerst, a VSP network eye doctor, sports vision expert, and avid golfer. "These tints may help a golfer see undulations and slopes more clearly and can help prevent turning a two putt for par into a bogey."
The golf sunglasses on this list below were curated to appeal to all types of styles, but Dr. Fuerst made sure to warn about one specific lens design that's become popular as of late: wrap-around lenses. "Wrap sunglasses that curve around the sides of the face are often recommended for cycling, water sports, skiing and hiking, but I wouldn't advise them for golf," says Dr. Fuerst. "This is because there can be minor distortions at the peripheral edges that can adversely affect the visual calculus that is part of the approach to the ball."
We can't guarantee a new pair of golf sunglasses will improve your vision, but we can say it's likely you'll notice some kind of gain in clarity on the course—at the very least, you'll get sun protection for your eyes. Many of these pairs below can fill a prescription too, so if you need to get a pair of golf sunglasses altered to your vision requirements you can go the next step and get that taken care of. Now, let's get to the list.
Best Sunglasses Brands | Best Golf Clothing Brands | Best Golf Pants | Best Golf Rain Gear | Best Golf Shorts | Best Golf Shirts | Best Eyeglasses
Oakley is a chosen go-to for pro-golfers like Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Hideki Matsuyama At the core of Oakley's golf sunglasses is the Prizm lens, which is hailed by many for its ability to absorb the right amount of light and create an ideal contrast between a white golf ball and the greens. The shades are even great when approaching to putt—which is worth highlighting because some high-quality shades can clash with putting greens and creating a grainy look.
You can buy Prizm lenses in polarized and non-polarized lenses, but since there's not much glare to combat when golfing, we loved how we could select the non-polarized Prizm lenses and save the extra cash. There are tons of Oakley styles to choose from, so really any model with the Prizm lens fitted is worth checking out. When looking for a timeless pair of shades that would translate well for wearing off the course, the Holbrook models proves to be the best.
Read more: Best Golf Watches
If you're looking for a more performance-driven pair of golf sunglasses, then opting for something like the Oakley Flak 2.0 XL is a smart choice. Not only do these shades have a streamlined fit to keep from air blowing into your eyes, but the frame is also next level. We're talking about a featherweight frame combined with comfortable rubber earsocks and nosepads for comfort and security here—even when sweating.
The Prizm lenses on the Flak 2.0 XL are slightly different than the Holbook. The former opens up more light transition and removes reds and yellows in the contrast so you can spot the ball with ease. When tested, we noticed the Flak 2.o XL had the best ball spotting out of all the shades on this list.
If you're between the Holbrook and the Flak 2.0 XL consider this: the Holbrook's are a little cheaper and have a style that wears well off the course. The Flak 2.0 XL is the better performer of the two, but you do pay a little bit more for the extra features. Plus the style of the sport shades won't pair as seamlessly as the Holbrook does with your casual wardrobe.
Nike makes several quality pairs of shades for golfing, but our favorite is the Maverick line for its lightweight frames and enhanced contrast lenses. "Nike has a great lens line formulated just for golf," says Dr. Fuerst, who is a personal fan of Nike due to the dark green and moderate brown lens tints that are available.
While playing with the Maverick line, we noticed there was hardly any fog buildup on the glasses. The rubber nose piece was comfortable too, with no discomfort through our entire round. Simply put, this is a solid pair of high-end shades that prioritizes function and style. Even better is the fact Brooks Koepka has worn iterations of the Maverick on the course in the past.
Read more: Best Nike Shoes
There are a slim number of brands we trust for affordable golf sunglasses, but if you want something that's wallet-friendly, then Tifosi is a worthy brand to check out. Tifosi has several different pairs of shades with solid tinting and frame comfort that work well on the links. Some of the sport performance pairs go over $50 and include polarization, but if you're looking to keep the price low, we recommend the Swick Sunglasses (non-polarized) in the grey lenses. These darker lenses will help provide ample contrast while playing and give you quality wear through a full 18-holes many times over.
We especially loved keeping these in our golf bag as a backup pair, but really they can be worn as your main glasses. There's great value for your money here.
Read more: Best Running Sunglasses
Maui Jim's premium lens design and timeless style has led athletes to gravitate to its shades, and after testing a pair it's no wonder why. We went with the bronze lens—the most popular for golfers—and found the tint proved exceptionally well at spotting the ball through the air and providing just the right contrast without warping colors too much. The nylon frame was high on comfort too, and after hours of play we were happy to notice there was no uncomfortable digging on the ears or nose.
These are one of the most expensive pairs of shades on this list, but golfers should understand these are a set-it-and-forget-it pair of sunglasses you can wear on and off the course.
Already have a set of Callaway clubs? Take your brand loyalty a step further and go with a pair of Callaway sunglasses, which have several excellent models that are perfect for play. We especially enjoy the Sungear Kite. You can grab a pair for well under $100 while still getting premium features like a strong featherweight frame and sharp polarized lenses. The lenses work great at opening up light to see the ball and help get a read of the greens, all while limiting eye strain and over-focusing that can dry a player's eyes out.
What's cool is that you even get a nice carrying case with your purchase. Considering popping a pair of these in your golf bag so they're always on-hand when playing.
Costa's shades are marketed towards fishing, but we found that is advanced lenses also worked great on the golf course. The Reefton has been a favorite among golfers for its ability to get a gentle read of the course without too much contrast. The comfortable fit and long-lasting durability of Costa is worth bragging about too.
Surprisingly enough, Costa is one of the few brands that gets really close to surpassing Oakley's golf sunglasses in terms of performance—and that's saying something.
Read more: Best Recovery Shoes
Roka has tons of great retro-inspired sport performance shades for all types of activities. The pairs that are outfitted with the gold mirror lens work well in overcast and in sunny conditions, increasing contrast on everything from road pavement to green grass. You won't have trouble finding the ball with these suckers on, that's for sure.
As for the style points? Going big on the 70s look is never a bad idea.
Dr. Randy Fuerst is an optometrist with 40 years experience and a an eye doctor within the Vision Service Plan (VSP) network. Dr. Fuerst is also a sports vision expert, and he served as the team optometrist for professional teams like the Sacramento Kings, San Francisco 49ers, and San Jose Sharks between 1988-2007.
When Dr. Fuerst is not serving patients, the chances are he's golfing. Dr. Fuerst's ability to cross-reference his knowledge as an eye doctor and his ability to break down what makes a pair of sunglasses good for golf is a key reason we interviewed him.
Ssunglasses are more than just a fashion statement. Dr. Fuerst was able to share a few key points with us when looking for golf shades that help maintain eye health.
Price Point: Buying a cheap pair of sunglasses for golf can greatly affect what Dr. Fuerst points out as optical clarity on the course. "Many inexpensive sunglasses have distorted lenses, but even a slight visual distortion in the lens can change the visual appearance of the ball and may cause unnecessary swing modification," says Dr. Fuerst. To combat buying a pair of golf sunglasses with bad optical clarity, Dr. Fuerst suggests shopping from your eye doctor or a reputable online glasses store.
Need for Prescription: Even if you have a weak prescription, it's worth adding prescription lenses to your golf sunglasses. "As we age, we can develop a minor distance prescription, so don’t be afraid to get a prescription in your sunglasses as needed—I frequently have patients who golf that complain of losing the ball on drives," says Dr. Fuerst. "They insist they only need glasses for reading or working on a computer, but they are actually experiencing a 15-20% drop in visual clarity, contrast sensitivity, and depth perception that commonly comes with aging." The good news is most quality golf sunglasses are available for prescription, Dr. Fuerst recommends
UVA and UVB Protection: Just like buying any pair of sunglasses, make sure your frames offer sun protection. Dr. Fuertes maintains that your golf sunglasses should offer 100% protection form UVA and UVB rays. "Sun damage to the eyes can begin in as little as 15 minutes, and the damage is cumulative and can build over time leading to a variety of eye-related health conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and even eyelid cancer," says Dr. Fuertes. This is all to say, make sure you're buying your sunglasses from reputable stores.
Darker tints have been shown to help provide enhanced readings of the green. The difference in buying a tint that's optimized for golf is a potential to see the dips (undulations) and slopes on a golf course more clearly—this is especially true when putting. Some golf sunglasses utilize a rose or purple color tint. These are typically more expensive, but the theory behind this color is that it helps remove the red and yellow hues from grass. That makes an ehanced contrast between the golf ball and the green.
In terms of what lens tints to avoid, Dr. Fuerst says to look into the level of illumination of the course and selecting tints that help with depth perception. "If you are playing an ocean view course, or a high desert rock-strewn course, the light levels will be much brighter than a shaded woodland links," says Dr. Fuerst. "Darker lenses are much more appropriate for courses with harsh light and brighter background, while lighter tints are more appropriate for a heavily shaded course or cloudy and overcast days. "
Polarized lenses are not as important on the golf course as they are in everyday life. This is due to the lack of spots where glare can occur on a course, which is what polarized lenses help reduce. In fact, polarized lenses can cause warped vision at points on the course and even mess with trying to hit the ball. The biggest example of this is when you're putting, as the lenses can over-focus on the crisp putting greens and create a weird grainy effect.
Polarized lenses can be helpful though, especially when playing near water and the sun is reflecting off it. We don't really have a strong opinion on buying polarized versus non-polarized. Instead, we want to let it be known that polarized lenses are not a must-have for your golf sunglasses.
For the past 12 months, Men's Health gear editors and writers, including our Gear and Commerce Editor John Thompson, have been testing tons of golf sunglasses to find the best ones for the course. To narrow down our favorites, we evaluated golf sunglasses on lens design, frame quality, style, and price point. We also considered golf sunglasses mentioned in popular golf forums, like r/golf on Reddit, for community favorite picks that are lesser known to the general public.
John Thompson is the Gear and Commerce Editor at Men’s Health, where he covers fashion, grooming, gear, and technology. He was previously the Style & Gear Editor at BroBible.com, and a commerce writer for TheManual.com. His interests include attending concerts, spending time outside, and following his favorite baseball team, the Kansas City Royals.
8 Best Pickleball Shoes Worth Buying This Fall
60 Hole-In-One Golf Golf Gifts for Him
7 Best Golf Simulators to Buy in 2023
The 20 Coolest Golf Clothing Brands to Know
9 Golf Club Sets That Are Perfect for New Golfers
The 15 Best Golf Shoes That Look and Feel Great
60 Gift Ideas That Your Brother Will Love
Safest 2023 and 2024 Crossovers and SUVs
These 63 Stocking Stuffer Ideas Put Santa to Shame
Here’s What We Know So Far About Yeti Black Friday
A Part of Hearst Digital Media
We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.
Small Frame Glasses ©2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.