Kaenon Hard Kore Golf Sunglasses Review

Golf is a simple game. A ball, a club, and a hole are all that are needed to play it. Despite that simplicity, today’s golfer makes use of a plethora of tools, devices, and aids to play better and find more joy in the game. Specialized clubs, and advances in ball composition allow us to play longer and straighter shots. Supple and tacky gloves both protect our hands and offer better grip in humid and rainy weather. We fill our highly engineered bags with low friction tees, futuristic divot tools, all manner of ball markers, electrolyte replenishing sports drinks, and gust-busting oversized umbrellas.

While any number of these extras can add comfort and enjoyment to the game, there are a handful of items that can actually help maintain your good health, and allow you to play the game of golf longer, and enjoy your life off the course more comfortably as well. If you regularly walk the course through your rounds, proper footwear, and a well made push cart can save wear and tear on your shoulders, back, hips, and knees. Some good insect repellent can save you from unnecessary itching and scratching. Perhaps as important as anything, however, is to protect yourself from that seemingly ever present sun. Scientific consensus is that the UV rays sent out by our life giving star can cause irreversible damage to both our skin and our eyes. You should be protecting your skin with all varieties of sunscreens available on the market today, as well as a good hat with a brim, even covering the ears if you can stomach the look. For this post, let’s focus on your eyes.

Though I assume that most of us are aware that the sun can hurt our eyes, I still see a great number of golfers ignoring the protection that sunglasses can provide, and until very recently, you could count me among them. American Academy of Opthamology advice about sunglasses includes wearing them anytime you are outside, but particularly during the summer months due to heightened exposure to UVA and UVB rays, and when taking medications that can cause photosensitivity, among others. Advice on what to look for in a pair of sunglasses includes blocking at least 99% of all UV light (UVB is considered more dangerous than UVA to skin and eyes), impact resistance, polarization, and wraparound style. I have known these facts for years, yet when it came time to wear sunglasses during my rounds, I shunned them for the most part. I found that when I had them on I had a very hard time seeing the ball, even right there in front of me. The result was that if I wore sunglasses at all, I would wear them in between shots, removing them during my swing, when searching for a lost ball, and most importantly, always while reading putts. I have worn several brands, but most often Oakley and Sundog, never finding a lens that was right enough to wear through the round. That search ended about a month ago when I played wearing my first pair of Kaenon Hard Kore sunglasses.

Founded in 2001 by Steve and Darren Rosenberg, Kaenon is still a small player in an enormous market. Committed to making the finest quality eyewear available anywhere in the world, Kaenon continues to fight a strong battle against worldwide conglomerate Luxottica, which owns brands ranging from Oakley, Ray-Ban, and Revo to Sunglass Hut, Lens Crafters, and Pearle Vision. While buying a higher end Luxottica brand might not get you much more for your dollar than one of their lower end brands, with Kaenon, you will always get exactly what you are paying for.

ALL Kaenon sunglasses feature their proprietary SR-91 lenses which combine superior sharpness and clarity, lightweight durability, unmatched impact resistance, and anti-glare properties, creating a quality of vision that must be seen to be believed. The impact resistance of Kaenon's SR-91 lenses is rumored to be bulletproof, but we have high visibility evidence that they are golf ball proof. Read this story about how a pair of Kaenons likely saved the eye of professional skier Bode Miller's wife, Morgan, when a ball struck by her husband struck he in the face. Many polarized sunglasses that offer impact resistance are made from polycarbonate, a substance that scratches easily, but SR-91 resists scratches and similar damage. With the grains of dirt and sand that golfers tend to collect on their fingers, and even occasionally shoot into their own eyes, this is a very important and relevant quality. All I needed to convince me, however, that Kaenon made the best pair of sunglasses I have ever worn was one single hole of golf. Believe me, I was highly skeptical when I put them on, but immediately, I experienced the clarity of vision, and the ease with which I could follow the flight of my shots (even the ones that flew through the air). OK, I thought, “these are nice, but let’s see what this green looks like.” I can report that despite my doubts, reading the greens is just as easy with the Kaenon sunglasses on as it is off…maybe easier. Since that first hole, I have had the Kaenon Hard Kore on throughout every round I have played, except when it is actually too dark for any sunglasses to be worn.

I am told that for anglers and adventure sports enthusiasts, the benefits are just as great, if not even better. Testimonials from world class athletes who swear by Kaenon abound. Professional golfers who have already adopted Kaenon as their sunglasses of choice include: Brian Gay, Carl Pettersson, Kevin Stadler, Pat Perez, Paul Azinger, Robert Gamez, Rod Pampling, Carin Koch, Christina Kim, Pernilla Lindberg, and Sofie Gustafson, with more sure to follow. Kaenon sunglasses come in a wide variety of styles, so you can be fashion forward while protecting your eyes as well.

I hope that you care about your eyes and your golf game enough to give a pair of Kaenon sunglasses a try, and ask that you do so by ordering them through my online golf shop at BeaverGolf.com. We currently offer four styles from Kaenon, the Hard Kore that I was provided by Kaenon for this review, and as an approved retailer, but also the Jetty, Burnet, and Beacon. Yes, they might cost a bit more than you might normally spend on a pair of sunglasses. Perhaps you tend to break or lose your sunglasses, so tighten your wallet a bit at the sunglasses rack, but I would strongly encourage you, to spend a bit more, and take care of these, they really are incredible sunglasses. If you are interested in any other styles of colors that we do not yet offer on our store, please feel welcome to contact us via e-mail at beavergolf1@gmail.com, via phone at (888) 650-2870, or via Facebook, @BeaverGolf on Twitter, or as Beaver Golf on G+, and we can work out a special order for you.

Fairways and Greens!

Keegan Bradley Makes A Fashionable Finish at the 2013 Masters

In my opinion, the most compelling attraction of sport is the unknown. With every new game, match, or round comes the anticipation of not only the outcome, but the various events, and the unique way they play out, which create so much excitement that ultimately resolves in said outcome.

For many, there is also the appeal of the familiar surroundings in which the game is played. There is something about the unique history and challenges that each ballpark, arena, or course provides, and how past experience, or lack thereof, may play into the strategy and execution for each participant. For some, it might be the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field or the Green Monster of Fenway Park. For others it might be the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, or the glitz of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. For most golf fans, however, there is no more sublime arena than that of Augusta National and The Masters Tournament.

With the 2013 version beginning in less than a week, I wanted to take a look at one of my favorite young stars, give a somewhat tongue-in-cheek prediction of how he might fare next week, and show all of you what he will be wearing each day.

Keegan Bradley, nephew of famous LPGA golfer Pat Bradley, burst onto the golf scene back in 2011. With his stirring victory in the 2011 PGA Championship culminating from a very late Sunday surge to push fellow rising star Jason Dufner into a playoff loss, Keegan won the first major in which he ever participated, and carried that momentum to the 2011 PGA Rookie of the Year title. Despite only notching one more win since that famous Major victory, Bradley is regularly seen stalking the top of the leader boards on the PGA Tour, and is considered by many to be an early favorite to win another Major in 2013.

Bradley enters this year’s Masters following a string of successful finishes with a 10^th, 3^rd, 7^th, and 4^th in his previous four tournaments. One of the longest hitters on tour, Keegan should have little problem getting into his scoring irons often at Augusta, though he will have to control his accuracy off the tee to get himself into the best positions on the scoring holes. Bradley is also an excellent player on the Par 5s, ranking 3^rd on the PGA Tour this year in Par 5 scoring. These are very good skills to have heading into The Masters, so if his short game is on, he will be hard to beat. Let’s read how the 2013 Master's week might go for Keegan, shall we?

Wednesday, April 10^th – Par 3 Contest

Keegan’s mother, Kaye, reprised her role on Keegan’s bag, but this year son took a backseat on all tee shots preferring to resist getting into the habit of firing at every pin on the course which could spell disaster on the big course. Stepping up to the spotlight, Kaye aced the 2^nd and 8^th holes en route to a Bradley Par 3 victory. Bad omen, however, as no winner of the Par 3 Tournament had ever gone on to win that year’s Masters Tournament. 

Keegan looked as good as Kaye played, wearing his Tommy Hilfiger White Cassidy Polo Golf Shirt, Black Malcolm Golf Pants, and Black Trophy Belt.

Thursday, April 11^th – First Round

Despite having already gone through his first experience at the 2012 Masters, and stealing the spotlight at the 2012 Ryder Cup, Keegan felt the jitters on the first nine, knocking several putts too far past the hole, and gutted out a 38 on the front side. With the early nerves swung out, however, Bradley took hold of his game on the back nine with a 32 including eagles on both 13 and 15 for an opening round 70, only three strokes off the lead. 

Still styling up the course, Keegan sported an athletic look with his Midnight Blue Tommy Hilfiger Keith Polo Golf Shirt, White Malcolm Pants, and WhiteTrophy Belt. Some fans were able to see him wearing the Tommy Hilfiger Midnight Blue Preston Sweater while warming up as well, but the day quickly warmed up, so the sweater never appeared on the course.

Friday, April 12^th – Second Round

The weather chose not to cooperate on day two, with cool temperatures and gusty winds wreaking havoc across the grounds, even knocking over a Pimento Cheese Sandwich stand. Keegan struggled with his driving all day, several times having to blast out of the pine straw. What could have been a disastrous round for Keegan, was saved by his timely putting, making bombs on both the 3^rd and 11^th holes, and chipping in for an incredible Par save on #14. Keegan shot an even par round of 72, and ended the day six shots back of the leaders while several big names missed the cut. 

Despite the difficulty of the round, Keegan maintained his sharp style wearing the Tommy Hilfiger Midnight Blue Jefferson Polo under his Midnight Blue Preston Sweater, with a pair of Midnight Blue Malcolm Pants and his White Trophy Belt.

Saturday, April 13^th – Third Round

Though some had still not recovered from the troublesome conditions they fought through on Friday, Bradley came out on Saturday refreshed and on fire, with birdies on the opening three holes, and another on eight to shoot a cool 32 on the front side. After a lip out bogey on the 10^th, Keegan quickly regained his form with a birdie at 12, another eagle at the 13^th, a birdie on 15, and another on the 16^th that came within inches of being an ace. Bradley’s stellar 64 vaulted him to within one stroke of the lead, and beat his previous best round on August by 5 strokes. 

Perhaps fashion has little to do with performance, but it is hard to argue with the way Keegan looked on Saturday. His preppy look had everything short of a collar pop, built around his Tommy Hilfiger White Gram Polo golf shirt, Black Malcolm Pant, and White Trophy Belt. I was surprised to see him remove the apparent lucky charm Tommy Hilfiger White Preston Sweater after the 3^rd hole, however, with three birdies already on the card. It was probably just coincidence that left him one over par on the next 7 holes.

Sunday, April 14^th – Final Round

The final round may well have gone worse had he saved a couple more strokes on Thursday or Friday, and been playing with the lead, but sitting a stroke back on the first tee imbued Bradley with a sense of calm confidence. Though he carded two front side bogeys on the 2^nd and 9^th, they were offset by birdies at the 3^rd and 5^th, and only lost Keegan a stroke to the lead.

Standing on the 10^th tee with nine potentially explosive holes to make up those two strokes, Bradley calmly made Par, then amazingly chipped in a birdie on 11 from Chipbeckistan garnering raucous cheers from all around Amen corner. in a cruel and ironic twist, those cheers actually caused Jason Dufner’s ball, which had been hanging precariously on the steep face of the rough fronting the 12^th green, to roll back into the water, effectively eliminating Dufner from his chance at a Major victory yet again. Bradley went on the eagle 13 for the third time this week, and remained tied for the lead after making birdies at 15 and 16 to merely keep up. A huge birdie on 17 helped Keegan grab the lead at Augusta for the first time in his career. Keegan faced down a tough 12 foot downhill putt for Par and the lead on 18. Keegan pulled it just a smidge, but it caught the edge of the cup and dropped.

After a relatively quick visit to the scorer’s tent, Keegan returned to the 18^th green to watch the leaders finish up. After pushing his drive into the trees right, Phil could only bogey 18, finishing three shots back of Keegan, while the rejuvenated Henrik Stenson barely missed his 18 foot birdie putt giving Bradley the victory. Though Tiger was not far back, only two strokes behind Bradley, the King of the Red (and Green) on this day was Keegan Bradley, your 2013 Masters Champion. The famous Green jacket would become the decoration for Bradley’s Sunday best of his Chili Red Tommy Hilfiger Kennedy Polo golf shirt, White Malcolm pants, and White Trophy Belt.

With the win, Bradley has won his second career major in only his third season on tour, and placed himself squarely on the list of players with a bright path to the Hall of Fame. He sets a standard for other golfers to model themselves after, and does so with a preppy fashion that can only be afforded by wearing Tommy Hilfiger’s line of golf apparel.

Will this be an accurate foretelling of what we are going to see next week? We’ll have to see, but I can tell you that the fashion portion of the story will play out. If you like the style, please come check it out for yourself at BeaverGolf.com, and if you are rooting for Keegan in this year’s Masters, then let’s hope the storyline comes true as well.

Fairways and Greens!