Why Ben Griffin Venmoed $20 to CT Pan for sunglasses — and how they've helped his game

USA Today

2 days ago

AI-assisted summary
Golfer Ben Griffin wears sunglasses due to floaters in his vision, a result of retinal holes requiring laser surgery.
He initially wore knockoffs, but now sports aviator-style sunglasses from fellow pro C.T. Pan.
The sunglasses help reduce the visibility of floaters, especially in bright conditions on the golf course.
Griffin also finds the sunglasses improve his green reading and ability to see slopes and contours.
The short answer is Ben Griffin has lousy vision.
But here's the full story of why Griffin wears sunglasses when he plays golf.
It all began a year ago at the RBC Canadian Open last June, where he finished second, due to seeing floaters.
'I'd never played a tournament round with them but I decided on the fourth hole (of the first round), screw it,' he recalled. 'Ever since then, I've been wearing the shades.'
Originally, he wore a pair of designer knockoffs that he found in his house that he had purchased a year earlier with no significance to golf. But before long he admired a model of aviator-style glasses worn by and endorsed by fellow Tour pro C.T. Pan and they've become Griffin's super power — he's won twice this season sporting them.
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'I Venmo-ed him $20 and he shipped me a pair,' Griffin recalled. 'I've been wearing them ever since.'
He added: 'Sunglasses are solely just to make it darker and, honestly, it helps with the floaters because the floaters are dark, and so when it's really bright they're way more defined, especially on a golf course where there's not much shade. So, when I have the sunglasses on I don't see 'em quite as much. That's really the only benefit.'
Ben Griffin started seeing floaters
About a year ago, he started seeing floaters and went to an eye doctor, who determined his retina was starting to suffer from a detached retina. He had to undergo laser surgery.
'I had eight retinal holes in both eyes, so I was at risk of losing vision, maybe within five or six months, had I not gotten the treatment,' he said. 'So I still see the floaters, I had to get the surgery just to maintain my level.'
Griffin said he's surprised more golfers don't wear sunglasses when they play, noting the benefit he experiences with green reading and seeing slopes better.
'They say the science behind 'em kind of helps with green reading and I think it's 100 percent true,' he said of his USwing Mojing sunglasses, an Asian maker of sunglasses worn by multiple golfers in professional golf. 'I love the ability to see the contrast a little bit better – when it's really bright, it's kind of hard to see maybe grain changes from time to time – so, seeing contours is definitely a little bit easier I think with the sunglasses. And now, I mean, I guess I'm getting to the point where I have more and more fans and people like it, so I'm not going to stop wearing 'em, that's for sure.'