How do you mark your golf balls?

[Mark In Land O Lakes]

I draw an alignment line with another "cross-hair" line, both in red.  These are mostly for my benefit, especially for lining-up putts.  They do help identify the ball, but that's secondary.

[MILGolfing]

This is how i mark my balls. I also mark a little VW beside the logo when i'm too lazy to draw any faces. I was thinking of using a clearcoat on them but idk if it will affect the ball flight. Does anyone have any input? 

 

[Parshooter36]

22 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

For the folks who don't use markings, do you ever hit a Provisional Ball?  Do you at least use a different number for the Provisional?  

Fair point. I will look at the number on the provisional, but most likely I will have no idea what the number on the 1st shot was. I don't play in tournaments, it's usually just league or casual rounds with friends so it's not something we worry about.

[Bucketnative]

21 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

For the folks who don't use markings, do you ever hit a Provisional Ball?  Do you at least use a different number for the Provisional?  

I generally keep a yellow ball of the same model for provisionals.  

[KG221]

I just use a simple blue dot on each side by the number.  

[Discolemmonade]

I always mark mine with a smiley face.  How can you not be smiling when you first tee off?  You have the perfect round going! 

Edited May 22 by Discolemmonade

[KenRider]

On 5/14/2024 at 3:27 PM, Northern Monkey said:

I mark all mine with a paw, just cos it’s different and I like animals more than people

Where did you get the paw print stencil? I've seen advertisements for something like that and have been intrigued.

[mardukes]

I put 4 blue dots at the points of an internal tetrahedron (4-sided solid; 3-sided pyramid) so that one of them is always showing upward.  One dot at either end of the alignment marking then flip it over and put one at one end of each labeling.

 (imagine this inside the ball, a dot at each vertice)

If there happens to be a free printing offer going on, my motto will read "The hardest shot from which to recover is a good drive"

Edited May 17 by mardukes
adding...

[Rob Person]

31 minutes ago, MILGolfing said:

This is how i mark my balls. I also mark a little VW beside the logo when i'm too lazy to draw any faces. I was thinking of using a clearcoat on them but idk if it will affect the ball flight. Does anyone have any input? 

 

That's cool! 

If I still had younger kids, I would have let them draw all over the balls, like they did for Easter egg painting !

[Northern Monkey]

19 minutes ago, KenRider said:

Where did you get the paw print stencil? I've seen advertisements for something like that and have been intrigued.

Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thats-My-Ball-Stamper-Print/dp/B07G36MCLM

[Henri-Martin HORN]

I draw a thick black line along the equator. On the greens, I point the line on the ball down the line to your target, then square your putter to it.  I believe this is the best way to lining up putts with the help of alignment lines which is also a common sight on the PGA Tour

[tdc1]

Usually just a Sharpie dot (red, green or orange ) on the number and “T” with the side stamp.  Tested the Maxfli Tour with the enhanced alignment aid and filled in the sides with a Sharpie to get better feedback on putts.

[atmikeyp]

1 hour ago, golfinnut said:

Saw some guys coming down the fairway immediately stop at my ball & hit it.

A similar thing happened to me. The difference was that my ball was in my fairway, and the group one fairway over "found" their ball... which was my ball. That's the trigger that led me to my "dump a sharpie on it" method of marking my ball.

I'd would guess those marking their ball with a single dot, or something small like that, have not played at a cramped muni in a while.

[EnderinAZ]

Since I have been using the Maxfli Tour X I started coloring the big arrow for clarity during the testing videos. Now I just do it because it is easier to aim and I always know which ball is mine.

 

 

[HossMI]

I don't have a picture but it is easy enough to explain. I simply draw a stick figure on the ball, round head, and the rest just basic lines, that is it. 

[Another Steve]

Used to use 3 dot triangle (for over 10 years I never saw another one) then I came across one that was same make/model/number as me but had scuffs I didn’t put there within a couple yards of my ball in the rough. Had a brief talk with the owner about our similar markings and have been looking for a replacement ever since. Have been just noting the number lately. I DO keep a ball randomly marked and NOT matching what is in my bag for a specific hole on a certain course. Guy built a house in the “slice zone” and often came out to harass and berate golfers that dared to miss right and land one in his yard. He came running up to me with said “plausible deniability” ball and started yelling. I pulled a dozen similarly marked Bridgestone BXS out of my bag and said “I don’t play that ball, see!” Look on his face was priceless.  Bro tells me the gent has passed on, but now the course has a lady that puts her baby in a stroller and walks the edges of the holes near the road that are shielded by trees. They not visible from the tees. She yells at golfers that land a ball anywhere near her. Bro had a run in with her, he apologized nicely 5 times and she kept gnawing at the bone. Finally he said, “ lady, I apologized 5 times, what more do you want? Go $&@* yourself!”

  

[Knight017]

I use a large S on mine. The last thing I need in a round is some muppet hitting the wrong ball. Generally, in blue, yellow, or red as I like bright colours

Sent from my SM-G780F using Tapatalk

[Donn lost in San Diego]

To make white ones easier to find, I took a magic marker, bright red, and just slathered on a rectangle about 1 inch by .25 inch, 4 or 5 swipes wide.  Or a longer stripe 3 swipes wide.  I tell co-players, mine has red lipstick.  Never mind little dots or initials.

[JRSADLER]

Three small red dots (triangle) next to both numbers. Been marking my golf balls this way for many years and have run into very few similar markings.

[Joel Halprin]

[Joel Halprin]

I mark BOTH sides of my ball to ensure it is not mistaken for another players'.

[Jacckmcg5]

T-line and 2 dots next to logo in-line w T-line. Everything corresponds to my putting pre-shot routine. 

Edited May 18 by Jacckmcg5
Missed a few points

[itsteetime]

I use Red magic marker and put 3 dots at the right end of the manufacturer's name on both sides. If the ball doesn't have an alignment line, I add that too. Photos are of example ball.

 

[THE GOLF GUY]

I put capital letters with my initials ….GEH 

 

[MacGavel2014]

I started doing this some years ago because I wanted something unique. It's always around the number and it's always five little lines attached. Color sometimes changes depending on how I'm playing. (Maybe a little 'sticious.) Also if I need to hit a provisional, I make sure to use a different color than the original since I always use the same balls. 

[drb1956]

On 5/17/2024 at 8:11 AM, MH12 said:

I use Maxfli tours. I have yet to play with anyone else using them. I have converted a few to the trifli and softfli, but no tours yet. 

I play the Straightfli, after playing the Softfli for a few seasons. Never have played the the Tour. The Tour is already marked on the "equator", having been done at the factory...

[GolferXY]

It was a lot easier to mark my golf balls back in the days of balata.  Usually only took a couple of swings and I'd have a big smile on it.  Easy to identify!

I use a triangle around the number now.  

[GolferXY]

On 5/17/2024 at 7:06 AM, Bucketnative said:

I generally keep a yellow ball of the same model for provisionals.  

I think that's a great idea!  

[GolferXY]

On 5/13/2024 at 5:38 PM, brogies said:

I've always been intrigued by how people, especially pros, mark their golf balls. For the last couple years, I've written a simple "AG" (my initials) to the top right of the ball logo. I'm a bit of a minimalist I guess.

Now, all you psychos, show off your elaborate ball markings and explain the reasoning or significance!

 

If you place an "R" between the A and G, you'd have my way of identifying most of my shots, if not my ball. 

Partner 1: "Has X hit yet?"

Me: "ARG!!!!

Partner 2: "Yup, he just hit."

[GolferXY]

On 5/14/2024 at 5:40 AM, DaveP043 said:

A friend, a D-3 golf coach, tells his players to mark only one side of their ball.  There will be very rare occasions when they need to lift it to ID it, but it will happen more often than if they mark both sides.  Even more rare, there are time when it will have a glob of mud on it.  You can't clean a ball when you've lifted it to ID it, but you CAN replace it in almost any orientation, per Clarification 14.2c/1.  So assuming you need to lift a ball to ID it, you ARE allowed to rotate that ball so that you're not going to make contact with the glob of mud.  No doubt this is a miniscule advantage, but it IS an advantage, and completely within the Rules.

I mark my golf balls with widely spaced black dots on each side of the number, the dots essentially under each end of the Snell Golf (or Titleist or Taylormade) logo.  No real reason, its just the way I've done it starting in the days when you used a golf pencil to kind of "drill" the dots into the balata cover.

Johnson on The Golf Channel said the pros like to hit the mud with their club because it will disperse the mud and be less likely to fly offline.  I don't know if that's true, but I usually just hit my normal worm burner and it takes care of the mud problem.