Picture the faces of the top golfers in the world. What do most have in common? They don't usually wear sunglasses while on the golf course.
It is a curious pattern that you might only consider when someone like Phil Mickelson, Charley Hull or Ben Griffin appear on your screen.
But - at least as far as the two-time PGA Tour winner is concerned - there is a very good reason to be wearing them.
Speaking during his latest charge towards the top of the leaderboard at the Memorial Tournament, the 29-year-old shared that he began "seeing floaters" early on in 2024 and discovered that he had a serious issue that needed to be fixed quickly or he could face losing his vision completely.
Explaining why he wears sunglasses while many of his peers do not, Griffin said: "I have really bad vision. So about a year ago is when I started seeing floaters, went to an eye doctor, realized my retina was starting to kind of try to detach itself.
"I had retinal holes, so I had to go get basically laser surgery to fill in those holes. I had eight retinal holes in both eyes, so I was at risk of losing vision maybe within five or six months had I not gotten the treatment.
"I still see the floaters, I had to get the surgery just to maintain my level. Because of that when I wear sunglasses it's a little bit darker out, so I don't necessarily see the floaters as well. So if it's really bright out and I'm not wearing the sunglasses, I look into the clouds or whatever and I see black stuff everywhere."
Having long worn designer knock-off sunglasses to help prior to last summer, he was informed that donning a specially-designed pair of sunglasses called Uswing Mojing - styled like aviators - would help curb the floaters' prominence while playing.
Fellow pro, C.T. Pan had modelled them for a while and Griffin was a fan. He asked for a pair to be shipped over to him, paid Pan $20 and used them during practice and while on the range.
Although Griffin was initially hesitant to try the sunglasses on course in tournament conditions, he felt compelled to during the first round of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open - an event he would go on to finish second at.
Since then, he has broken through via a first win on the PGA Tour alongside Andrew Novak and scooped another - on his own - at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Interestingly, Griffin believes the new eyewear has aided him on the greens, even if his stats suggest there has been little to no difference in terms of Strokes Gained: Putting over the past few campaigns. He was 39th in 2022-23, 52nd in 2024 and is 63rd through the first five months of 2025.
Asked after round three of the Memorial - where Griffin was second behind Scottie Scheffler - whether the specific sunglasses he uses help with reading greens in particular, Griffin replied: "I think it does. The specific sunglasses I wear are called Uswing Mojing. It's a brand based in Asia.
Behind the shades 😎@BenGriffinGolf shares the reason why he wears sunglasses on the course. pic.twitter.com/3RtrJOoiYkJune 1, 2025
"There's a few different golfers, professional golfers that wear them across all different tours. And they say the science behind them kind of helps with green reading - I think it's 100 percent true.
"I love the ability to see the contrast a little bit better, compared to when it's really bright it's kind of hard to see maybe grain changes from time to time. So seeing contours is definitely a little bit easier I think with the sunglasses.
"And now, I mean, I guess I'm getting to the point where I have more and more fans and people like it, so I'm not going to stop wearing 'em, that's for sure."
