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SAN JOSE, Calif. - Like a lot of over-50 golfers, I'm generally a tech-averse player.
I despise using my iPhone for anything other than taking a few photos or playing some tunes on a blue-tooth speaker. No GPS golf apps. No scorekeeping tech. No club-tracking devices. No bueno.
I want to stay as hands free and distraction free as possible.
But I'm going all in the latest tech I reviewed that only requires a finger - the new Oakley Meta HSTN (pronounced HOW-stuhn) sunglasses. Although they're not specifically for golfers, these new high-tech sunglasses have various uses on the course.
I wore them this past weekend while playing the nine-hole short course at Santa Teresa Golf Club, taking dozens of photos and videos with a single touch of the button on the frame of the glasses. I even played several holes with my Spodify playlists jamming. The sound doesn't leave your intimate space, so the open-ear speakers don't bother anyone, and I could still easily carry on conversations. Incredible.
I posted some of the videos I shot on Instagram to show golfers around the world what I saw in the moment.
The photo quality is excellent, just as good as any high-powered digital camera. The image at the top of the story and below capture all the colors and shapes of the landscape. Every recording is done with Ultra HD (3K) video, which should make influencers happy. Once you download your content onto the Meta AI App on your phone, all the images and videos show up in your camera roll for easy use posting to social media or sharing with your playing partners. Key tip: Keep the brim of your golf hat high enough on your head, so it doesn't intrude on photos and videos. I made that mistake a few times.
The collection offers six frame and lens color combinations, all Rx-ready for your personal prescription. Styles include the Warm Grey frames with PRIZM™ Ruby Lenses, Black with PRIZM™ Polar Black Lenses, Brown Smoke with PRIZM™ Polar Deep Water Lenses, Black with Transitions® Amethyst Lenses, Clear with Transitions® Grey Lenses and Black with Clear Lenses.
They all have a distinct look and shape. With all the tech hidden inside, they can feel a bit bulky and sturdy to wear, although not uncomfortably so.
All three guys in my foursome admitted they couldn't pull off the look of my grey frames with bright lenses, but that I wore them well (whatever that means). Everybody loved the sound quality.
The lenses are great, too. Select pairs use the Oakley® PRIZM™ Lens technology designed to decode how the brain and eye process light. It's a way to enhance vision and amplify contrast across changing light and weather conditions. Could that help with your green reading? Possibly. They're so clear that they seem to booster my prescription contacts I wear every day. It's uncanny.
My favorite thing remains the AI intuitiveness. When you put them on, a voice shares the percentage of the battery life left. A fully charged pair of Oakley Meta HSTN glasses can last up to eight hours of typical use and up to 19 hours on standby. It's easy to charge them in the hard case, which delivers up to 48 hours of charging on the go.
You simply swipe forward or backward to turn the music up or down. Everything turns off when you take them off. The sunglasses come with an IPX4 water resistance rating, making them suitable for light rain, sweat and humid conditions but not for submersion or powerful water jets.
I'm still learning all the best ways to use the call-to-action words "Hey Meta". You can ask virtually any question for the Meta AI your laptop or smart phone uses every day. Locked in a heated on-course debate about some trivia or wondering the score of last night's game? The sunglasses can dig up an answer in seconds.
When inquiring - Who's the best golfer of all time? - I got this Wikipedia-style AI response: "Jack Nicklaus is widely regarded as the best golfer of all time with a record 18 major championships and 73 PGA Tour wins to solidify his record as one of the greatest golfers in history."
I forgot to ask - Hey Meta, how strong is the wind today? - during my round to learn how much the breeze might impact my shots. Yep, you can get a full weather report right from your sunglasses.
There are a few minor drawbacks. Distracted by all the functions and features of the glasses, I played incredibly bad, like worst-ever bad. It might take a while for golfers to get used to all the power on their head. The running joke was whenever I recorded a shot, mine or someone else, it led to disaster. When I didn't push the button, greens were hit and putts dropped. It might take a few rounds to figure out the right time to unleash AI's power and when to shut it down.
My foursome was also a little disappointed the sunglasses didn't offer yardage numbers like a rangefinder or GPS watch. Maybe that's the next step. It's easy to see the unlimited potential for future generations of AI sunglasses ... especially when I'm wearing my new shades. They retail for $479 and up.
Would you wear these new high-tech sunglasses? Let us know in the comments below.
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