I've have been to the Optometrist. Definitely presbyopia. It's been about 18 months so it is time for a recheck. Vision is still changing.
I have been wearing progressives for work. I have no far vision problem at all so the upper part have no correction. I can't use regular readers as I can't go from reading a map book to looking out the front window of the fire engine with readers.
Based on your statements that I have bolded, I would recommend that you first return to the optometrist for an examination and refraction to make sure that you have a prescription that best corrects for your current vision deficiency(ies). I would do this approximately 6 weeks before the season starts to give yourself and the optometrist time to make any adustments that are usually necessary with the fitting of contact lenses.
If that prescription looks something like this:
OD +0.75 -
0.25 X 90
OS +0.50 -
0.50 X 110
Add 1.25
Then you are most definitely not a good candidate for contact lenses as the italicized portion of this prescription represents the amount of correction needed to correct a condition called astigmatism. If the astigmatism corretion is minor as is the case here, it is almost impossible to acheive a visual acuity with contact lenses that is
> the acuity that you would be able to acheive with glasses.
If your prescription has not changed much and looks more like this:
OD PL
OS +0.25
Add 1.25
Then you would be an excellent candidate for contact lenses. If so, I would recommend that you wear one bifocal contact in your non dominant eye (to be determined by your optometrist). Most optometrists and opticians who fit contacts like this will fit the non dominant eye with a conatct that only corrects for near vision in the non dominant eye, but I recommend a bifocal contact in the non dominant eye as this gives you good distance vision in both eyes but also allows you to be able to read when you need to.
Glasses are extremely hard to keep clean and fog free if worn during a game and also move slightly while we are moving to maintain proper mechanics. Progressive lenses are not a good idea on the field as the constant changes in focal distance and turning of the head to maintain visual contact of the ever changing action is a difficult task at best without having to overcome the "swimming" effect caused by progressives.
If you just can not wear contacts for whatever reason, I would try the bifocal glasses that the previous poster has used that have the bifocal segment set at a lower than standard height that affords you a bigger field of vision for distance viewing but also gives you the correction needed for reading in a smaller segment for occasional use during the game.
I have fitted many patients with glasses made with the bifocal segment lower than standard fitting height and on the outside corner to be worn while golfing and they love the lower unconventionally placed segment because it allows them to look down at the ball without getting into the bifocal segment.
I will not even get started on why I do not like over the counter "readers". I will save that for another discussion.
