Last week when I was at the Northern Trust I again noticed many players without sunglasses, and those who did have them on had them flipped over on the top of their hats. Without fail I saw many of those same players hit a shot and squint as they looked into the sky to find their ball.

A big part of my job is helping people best use their visual abilities for success on the playing field. However, in order to best use your visual system you need to have healthy sight. Without proper eye protection from the sun the health of your eyes can be compromised. UV damage from the sun can cause problems like cataracts, macular degeneration and even premature blindness. When outside it is important to consider photochromic lenses like Transitions lenses to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.

While I hope this blog serves as a way for readers to use their vision for on the field success, I hope more than anything it helps people realize how important eye health is to overall health and wellness.

 

Apparently it does rain in Southern California. Last weekend the final round of the Pebble Beach Championship was rained out on Sunday and Monday, forcing the TOUR to cancel the final round. This week Kenny and I spent some time working out for the Northern Trust Open, unfortunately since the rain stretched into Monday, practice time was delayed too.

When playing in wet and rainy conditions you need to make sure that you have the proper footwear. Making sure your golf shoes and their cleats are in good shape helps you position yourself in a good stance and keeps your feet from slipping. Before you get out on the course next time, check your cleats to make sure they still give your feet a good grip. New cleats are available at most sporting goods stores and pro shops.

Stay dry and please write in with questions about how to improve your own golf swing.

This week I spent some time at The Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. During the practices rounds I got a chance to see Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old phenom from Japan, who is making his PGA TOUR debut this week. Even during his practice rounds he was surrounded by a huge entourage of cameras and reporters.

Riviera is an absolutely beautiful course, the first hole in particular is very unique. The tee box is tiered up very high and players have to walk down a hill just to get to the fairway. Here is a link so you can check out some of the holes at Riviera:

http://www.therivieracountryclub.com/html/Course_Tour.cfm?Hole_ID=1

Next week I'll be sharing some more tips as we get closer to the Transitions Championship For Healthy Sight. As always, please feel free to write in with your questions or comments.

Kenny and I are in Los Angeles gearing up for the first round of tournament play at the Northern Trust Open. With golf, even when you are playing well there is a lot of practice and fine tuning you can do to improve and sustain your swing.

This week I’d like to share with you a tip about how to play a shot from a fairway bunker. Playing out of a bunker from the fairway is much different than a shot from a bunker that surrounds the green. You need to be sure you catch the ball a little bit thinner so that you can get your ball out of the sand with a good trajectory for your shot. Start by getting good solid footing and the bunker, so that you can limit your feet sliding in the sand when you begin your shot. Another good hint is to bump your head up just a little bit from where you normally position it. By moving your head about a bit up you are helping to ensure you hit more of the ball and less of the sand. You can see J.B. Holmes demonstrate how to properly hit a bunker shot by clicking here: http://putt.com/killengolf/?cat=6

Use these tips anytime you have a bunker shot that requires you hitting the ball a longer distance.

Last week I had the opportunity to work a little bit with Kenny Perry before his big win out at the FBR Open.  In Kenny’s post, he wrote about the discomfort that he felt in his eyes. It really drives home the importance of keeping your eyes healthy to achieve your best on the golf course.

The same day Kenny was out winning the FBR, another fan of sports vision training from Arizona was in the Super Bowl playing in front of the eyes of the entire world. Larry Fitzgerald, the star wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, who this postseason broke the records for most catches, most yards and most touchdowns by a receiver in single playoffs, has done work with sports vision training.

Larry's grandfather, an optometrist, has worked with him to develop the visual skills he uses when he goes up to catch a ball in the air. To hear more about the sports vision training Larry has done to help him become one of the best players in all of football, click here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=2&t=1&islist=false&id=100049694&m=100049675.

Despite the Cardinals losing to the Steelers in one of the most exciting Super Bowl’s ever played, Super Bowl Sunday was a banner day for healthy sight and quality vision for Arizona.

It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to participate in this blog and share some additional perspective about vision and sports performance, particularly as my relationship with Transitions Optical has just been announced. However, recent events leading up the FBR Open provide a relevant and very personal account of how much my vision means to me and how my experience may help to help educate others about the importance of protecting and maintaining healthy sight.

I flew to Phoenix on Thursday (the week before the FBR Open) to work with a couple guys from Titleist on testing the new Pro V series golf ball and also to get in some extra practice before the tournament week got started.

Late Monday afternoon my eyes started hurting, it felt kind of like I had an eye lash in both eyes. By late that night it got so bad it felt like someone had just poured sand into both my eyes. The pain was so incredible I was really afraid I was going to have to withdraw from the tournament. I had to pull out of the PGA Championship last year because of an infection caused by my contact lenses. Needless to say, I got very little sleep that night.

I kept my contacts out all day on Tuesday and was able to meet with Dr. Lampert that afternoon. After examining my eyes, Dr. Lampert figured out why I was experiencing so much pain and gave me some antibiotic drops. By Wednesday morning my eyes were starting to feel better, but still not good enough to wear my contacts.

Fortunately, my pain was pretty much gone by Wednesday night. I finally got a good night's sleep, was able to wear my contacts the rest of the week, and ultimately picked up my 13th career victory on the PGA TOUR! Healthy sight is an easy thing to take for granted, even when you play golf for a living, but a simple eye infection almost cost me a win. I've definitely learned that when it comes to healthy sight, protecting your eyes can make a world of difference.