50 Words or Less
The Oakley Targetline sunglasses offer golfers two lens options – PRIZM Golf and the new PRIZM Dark Golf. Enhanced optics and a lifestyle look with a few nifty features.
Introduction
Last year, Oakley came out with the Crossrange PRIZM Golf – an interchangeable lifestyle frame paired with their proven PRIZM Golf lens. That look was fine, but there was simply too much light getting to my eyes. Apparently I’m not the only golfer with light sensitivity issues, as Oakley now offers the PRIZM Dark Golf lens. And while they were busy making golf more enjoyable for everyone, they created a new lifestyle frame – Targetline – with some clever golf-centric enhancements.
Performance
If you are a fan of the PRIZM Golf lens, polished black is your only option in the Targetline frame. Here’s what I had to say previously on the PRIZM Golf lens: “When you first slip on the sunglasses, the world is cast into a distinctive pinkish/purplish hue. That’s not all bad, because the PRIZM Golf lenses provide a crystal clear view that definitely enhances contrast and depth perception. Blades of grass are distinctive, and the shapes and contours of the golf course are visually heightened.”
But in that review I went on to state “too much light was getting to my eyes and they felt fatigued at the end of each round.” The new Dark Golf lens (in the polished white frames) takes the regular PRIZM 30% light transmission level down to 22% – a noticeable difference. Contrast and details are still boosted, the darker lens just took a bit of the glowy, enhanced color away. A fair trade for no more eye fatigue. The PRIZM Dark Golf lens kept my eyes relaxed, which translated to sharp vision throughout the round.
Style & Fit
The Oakley Targetline is a lifestyle frame with some sporty features. Face on, the frame has a basic square bias with ample width and depth. But look closely at the topline and note that it tapers off like an eyebrow. That’s one of the details the Oakley designers incorporated knowing most golfers wear hats. The little bit of brow-scaping kept the curve of my hat bill from touching the frame.
The temple arms extend straight, with curvature inwards past the ear. Oakley purposely left off any gription material to keep the arms as thin as possible, again to not interfere with a hat. Unlike Flak models that you see many pros wearing angled up and over their hats, the Targetline sits normally on your face with the temples horizontal. Although thin, the temples have just enough clamping to stay secure while being comfortable.
To help keep the sunglasses in place when the sweat starts flowing, the Targetline has ample gription at the nose pad thanks to something with a name that sounds like Bubba made it up – Unobtainium. One final frame feature is the integrated side shields that help combat glare. It’s not a lot of extra frame material, but with the flatness of the frame, every fraction helps with blocking unwanted light.
Conclusion
Oakley’s PRIZM lenses are designed for “ultra-precise color tuning for specific environments” and the Golf lens, both standard and new Dark, visually enhance what the naked eye sees on the golf course. The Targetline frame gives golfers a sporty lifestyle look that’s still loaded with technical features. At $153, the Targetline PRIZM Golf sunglasses are a solid value from a well regarded brand.
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4 Comments
how did the Prizm Golf dark work in overcast/twilight conditions?
Even though they are called ‘dark’ they are still effective when it’s cloudy – at least for my light sensitive eyes. I find there’s always a point when the sun goes down where it’s best to remove sunglasses. In fact, I love that time of night.
– Meeks
I wear prescription glasses. Can you get Prizm Dark Golf in prescription lenses?
I don’t recall Dorothy – you’ll need to check the Oakley website.
– Meeks