I can see Woods for the trees

Jun 15 2008 Euan Mclean

THEY say top golfers see every shot before they hit it but that was not always the case for stars like Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh.

For them and millions of other short-sighted players all over the world sometimes just seeing a shot AFTER you've hit it is a big enough challenge.

If you are reading this article peering through a pair of lenses so thick the milkman suspects you sawed the bottom off one of his bottles you'll know how it feels.

The slightest drop of rain can cause chaos for a glasses-wearer on the golf course while humid conditions turn a clear sunny day into an infuriating foggy haze as the lenses steam up.

So what can you do Mr Magoo? Wear contact lenses instead and find a brisk wind drying them out by the time you've reached the turn? Or do what Woods and Goosen did and solve the problem totally through laser eye surgery.

Both were chronically short-sighted in their youth and among the first on tour to get the life-changing procedure in 1999 that allowed them to throw away their glasses and lenses for good.

Woods' vision was so bad he couldn't read the big letter Eat the top of his eye surgeon's chart until the 40-second laser procedure. After the op the cup - by Woods' own admission - looked "huge".

The process seemed to have an immediate effect as the world No.1 won five of the next six events after his comeback!

And Goosen - one of the best putters in the business - also believes the op has given him an extra edge around the greens.

He told MailSport: "The main advantage is I can see the hole now!

"The biggest thing is obviously when it's overcast or late afternoon when the light is not strong enough because in the past I would have struggled to see distances.

"It helps me see the greens better and read putts more accurately. If I make a lot of putts I would say the surgery helped."

And the two-time US Open champion does make putts, lots of them.

However, anyone considering having the surgery - myself included - may have been alarmed by Goosen's much publicised withdrawal from the Qatar Masters in January due to complications with a "touch up" operation.

Perfect Yet despite reports of blurred vision in his left eye Goosen insists the whole episode was never a scare for him.

He said: "It wasn't really a worry, we knew the problem and it was fixed pretty easily. I'd had a touch up that didn't quite work out so had to go back two weeks later and get it done again. Now it's perfect."

Goosen's reassurance was one of the reasons that swung it for me. After more than a decade of reluctantly wearing specs I decided finally to put my squeamish fears aside and go for laser surgery.

Resolving to just bite the bullet and do it is probably the hardest part because from the moment I put myself in the hands of the staff at Optical Express I was comfortably guided through the whole process.

As the No.1 provider of laser vision correction in Europe they have performed more than 500,000 procedures and you can read the testimonies of many satisfied patients on the website www.opticalexpress.com The recurring theme from all of them is "I wish I had done this years ago".

But the advances in technology mean there has never been a better time to get laser eye surgery, as the website explains in detail. The first step is to visit one of Optical Express's clinics for a consultation involving a detailed examination that draws up a map of your eyes and determines which, if any, of the various methods of surgery suit you.

After a bit of research I was pleased to find I could go for IntraLase Custom Vue Wavefront Lasik Surgery, which admittedly sounds like a line from Star Trek.

In layman's terms it's the most advanced procedure that is favoured by NASA astronauts and US Navy fighter pilots and tends to have the best results plus faster healing.

A one week pre-op contact lense ban was a small price to pay for the prospect of never having to wear those damned glasses again. Although my excitement was tinged with a healthy dose of nerves when it finally came to the big day.

I met my surgeon Sanjay Mantry who put me at ease and gave me an explanation of what to expect. Soon I was lying on a swivelling bed between two huge machines, clutching a stress ball.

The first laser created a flap on the surface of my eyes and the other took about 20 seconds of clicking to correct my dodgy vision. I'll never forget that moment of clarity when Sanjay wiped clean my eyes - suddenly everything was clear.

I went home to sleep off the gritty feeling in my watery peepers but within 24 hours was back at Optical Express to discover my vision was already better than perfect 20-20 (my prescription was minus 5 before the surgery).

It's now more than a month on and the feeling of not having to fumble around for my Gregory Pecks when I wake up is a joy.

Unlike Tiger, however, I haven't won five out of six since my return to the golf course.

But I'm suddenly the most in-demand four ball partner around given my new-found ability to pick out wayward shots from the rough from 200 yards!

TO book a free consultation contact Optical Express on 08702 202020.