eyesight

[MaartenM]

I have -1.5 and -1 myopic vision (I hope you guys have the same terminology in English; it's not so bad but I couldn't fly F-16's or anything)
In real-life, this doesn't really bother me that much - on the contrary, it has its reality-blurring advantages sometimes; bars are prettier, women tend to look more promising and always eye you, etc..

But I'm starting to worry about my snooker game. I've been playing for a year now, and I'm very glad when I make a break of 3 colors.
I have this feeling I'm in tune with my stance, bridge and cue comfort, and see vast improvements on my positional play, but sometimes I just miss these pots and it makes me doubt whether a sharper eyesight wouldn't improve my self-confidence a bit. It's not just long pots, after a while of misses it just ruins my feelign with the game and I start to adjust things.

Is -1, -1.5 acceptable to play?, does anyone here play with those kind of eyes?
And, are there many (pro) players playing with contact lenses?

[ste bed]

my eyes where exactly that the last time i went for an eye test . my eyes started to go when i was about 23/24 i am now 29 at first it didnt bother me but lately its got a bit worse and i went to get some gigs for watching tv and driving. but the other day i went to the club for a pint some mates where in playing snooker and i was amazed how clear the table was and my eyes are not realy that bad. so i ordered some contacts and its 10 times better playing now. so only if your eyes are a little out of whack it makes a massive difference.(go get some contact lenses)

[bongo]

MaartenM:

I am no expert on eye sight and scales to measure how good your eyes are, but I know that eye sight is important for Snooker players. You say you miss easy shots and you think it is your eye sight, my advice would be to work on your technique and cue action. You didn't mention your highest break, but if you are happy for 3 colours in a break, then I guess your highest break is around 30, when you mean three colours, I assume that's with reds and not at the end of the frame.

Work on your technique, cue action and overall game to where you improve your game, then you will have a more solid technique as long as you work correctly on it. If then you feel your eye sight is still letting you down, consider contact lenses or specialist 'Snooker Glasses'. Some don't want Snooker glasses as they fear people laughing and 'making fun' of them, but it is just as far as you want to go and how important you think your Snooker game is to you. They are expensive though (around £100 - £200). You want to learn with a professional/knowledgable player/coach who knows the game well, as learning and improving is more difficult, especially if you are new or haven't got very much experience (one who has been playing for a year falls into this catagory).

You may think it is your eye sight but it may be the fundamental techniques that are easy to forget or slip away from your game.

I don't think any professionals wear contact lenses but that's a guess really, there is nothing stopping you though. At the moment, I am wearing glasses as for longer distances my eye sight is terrible, I wear no glasses for Snooker and I find it 'OK', but it could be a lot better though, I can still play good Snooker.

The reason why I have suggested the above is because even though you feel comfortable and happy at times with your technique, after playing only a year, there is still a lot to be learned.

Best of luck with your game,

bongo

[dannyd0g]

my eyesight has deteriorated a lot over the last few years.

I definately need glasses now to play on a full size table, but even with them my vision is far from perfectly adjusted for the game. I dont think eye tests are as thorough as they used to be, and glasses are definately not made with playing snooker in mind.

I still tend to cue under my dominant eye even with glasses on, but would have thought that glasses should compensate for any imbalances between the left and right eyes, so you could cue directly under the middle of your chin, but this isnt the case.

I'm half tempted to get my eyes lazered. That would surely be the ultimate in restoring full clarity to vision, but seems to have its risks and side-effects.

[MaartenM]

Yes I meant three colours as in a break of around 30. This happens rarely.
I basically meant I don't feel I am as good as I should be after a year of playing. Self-confidence is important to me in thsi stage, because I start tweaking little things in my game in the hope. This usually doesn't pay off.
I'm in somewhat of a grey zone when it comes to technique, and basically need some assurance that yes, it is possible to play very well with these eyes. I do get that assurance a bit from these replies, although it surprises me no pro players would use contact lenses?

[ste bed]

i bet there are lots of pro players that wear contacts you dont honestly belive all pro players have perfect vision do you bongo!.

[noel]

If one is near-sighted as I have been since I had an accident at age 11, and have experienced getting older and also becoming far-sighted ... there are no contacts or laser corrections possible AFAIK.

Invisible bi-focals ... look down to see cueball, look through upper part of lens to see object ball... suck. donkey.

I've taken to using no glasses at all.

I now position my cue on a mystical glowing white orb and aim at (if any of you have cats you'll understand) a distant coloured hairball.

Snooker for me is a fantastic challenge and increasingly exciting as there is never a sharp moment.

=o\


Noel

[ste bed]

which is which near sighted is you cant see things far away far sighted is you cant see things close to you is that right. if so i am near sighted

[noel]

which is which near sighted is you cant see things far away far sighted is you cant see things close to you is that right. if so i am near sighted

Yes, you are near-sighted.
But if you're near-sighted AND far-sighted, like me, you're basically ****ed.

=o)


Noel

[Phil]

I'm having -6 and -5.75! of course I have to use glasses and it's quite tough to play that way. snooker glasses are way too expensive here and contact lenses I can't wear. so I have to arrange myself to play with my glasses. not that easy.

[Oldgit]

Peter Ebdon is one player who wears contact lenses for sure.

I wear snooker glasses, got them via the internet for about half the price of a high street optician. I just had to send my current prescription. My eyes are around -1.5 ish and there is no way that I can play snooker without the glasses!

About the one 'advantage' to being short-sighted is that you will not have to wear reading glasses until a few years after all your mates!

Oldgit

[bongo]

Apart from Ebdon, I am not sure of any players who use contact lenses, it's just a mystery that we followers don't get to know about!

[Watford]

Neil Foulds did too!