How do you (if at all) mark your golf ball?

[LeftyHoges]

I mark it with a coin in front of the ball and then place the ball in front of the marker. Repeat this a few times and you can pick up 8 or 9 inches.

Is that allowed?

Use a $0.50 piece. You'll get a foot or possibly more!

[LarryLong]

A mate of mine often tells me "a putt never got longer from marking your ball". Wise words.

I never think to put a mark on my ball, but nobody down this way seems to use vision balls so I'm pretty safe. Probably should still do it just in case.

Surprised that nobody does anything artistic.

[Daves]

Red line under the brand name and number, then 2 black lines to form the rectangle. Easy to apply, easy to recognise at a distance.

[Moe Norman]

green dot either side of logo

[MegaWatty]

Use a $0.50 piece. You'll get a foot or possibly more!

Camillo does!

[Veefore]

I always put a blue G above the number and a blue line over the seam logo. I have been doing it for years and occasionally get people at my club asking me when I was in such-and-such a spot as they found one of my balls. So far I have had 3 of them returned to me. One was pulled from the lake on the 13th at my home club more than a year after I hit it there.

Once, down at Albany I hit my drive into the fairway and took my eyes off it while I was walking and talking, knowing full well that the ball was out in the open. When I got up near my ball saw that there was another a couple of metres away.

I thought, "no problem, I'll just look for my marking and play that ball" . The problem was that both balls had the same marking!

It turns out that somebody coming down the fairway parallel had sliced his shot over on to our fairway and was using a ball that he had found the previous afternoon. That's right, it was one that I had lost.

The worst part was that both balls had come out of the same sleeve and had the same number.

Because I couldn't positively identify which one it was that I was playing it was considered lost.

It is the first time I have had to take a "lost ball" penalty for a shot I hit into the middle of the fairway and the ball could clearly seen.

Try explaining to the group waiting on the tee after you've made the long walk of shame back there to tee off again with the same ball you just "lost".

[matty]

That's my ball stamp - target.

+1

[3oneday]

I did a Christmas tree for Christmas cheer day, but normally three black dots in a triangle under the number. It's the way I've marked my ball for as long as I can remember.

[oz]

Red dots. I usually have a few in the bag with 1, 2 or 3 red dots. If I have to play a provisional, I take one out with a different number of dots to avoid confusion.

[Jarro]

two red dots either side of the ball-number for me.

I might have to come up with something new this year after looking at what the rest of you do.

[aym]

I am Chinese so I write my sir name in Chinese on the ball.

[GolfBallWhackerGuy]

A big letter "J". Playe with a guy who used the same brand/model ball and marked it with a big letter "G". He kept hitting my ball. After 3-4 times, he changed hi ball to a different brand.

[Goldy]

+1

Just as well we're in different states Matty.

[sms316]

Blue dot either side of the number and a line through the A.I.M. sidestamp. Have other Sharpies in my bag if a fellow competitor has something similar.

[WBennett]

I have an orange, an pinkish and a purple sharpie in the bag. Mark four balls before the round, use a different coloured one as a provisional if required.

If I dunk two purple ones, swap to an orange and hope it brings better luck/a dose of talent.

[IanO]

I mark it with a coin in front of the ball and then place the ball in front of the marker. Repeat this a few times and you can pick up 8 or 9 inches.

Is that allowed?

Funny you say that ... a couple of months ago I played with a guy for the first time and he did exactly that .. put the marker in front of the ball and then placed the ball in front of the marker. I thought I imagined it on first green but when I saw him do it again on the second green I pulled him up on it. He denied it (of course) but then did not do it again. I should probably disqualified him.

[IanO]

Ohh .. and ball marking ...

4 black dots, 2 at each end of the sight line on opposite sides (if you join the dots it looks like an "I"). I also put a red line over the sight line most of the time, but the 4 black dots are it

[peter_rs]

A line and one of a couple of little stamps

[Pieface]

3 black dots under the logo on eachside of the ball. Everyone seems paranoid and uses coloured ink so black is rarely seen.

I hate finding a ball I have lost a week or several earlier when looking for a ball. It's like a big middle finger from god.

[solarman]

I mark it with a coin in front of the ball and then place the ball in front of the marker. Repeat this a few times and you can pick up 8 or 9 inches.

Is that allowed?

FFS......now that is gold

[Sheldon77]

I put two 5 pointed stars in orange on either side of the number, both sides. Larry, Boz is sending me a pack of visions; how do you find them?

[bully4]

Im using one of those ball stamps with a maple Leaf symbol on it....stamp that a few times on the ball and all is good.

[Chris32]

Played with a guy for about two months straight on saturdays years ago and he hit my ball on a number of occasions by mistake. I was playing a v1x and he was using a v1 and I had a blue dot and he had a black dot, but even still he got them confused.

After the second time I drew a picture of a hand giving the middle finger and we both got a laugh the next time he checked to see if it was his ball or not!

[rubin]

had a mate who drew a soccer ball on his (much like the ladies have used on their tour), and has recently reverted to writing "WOG BALL" in dark marker. Guaranteed, noone can mix that up.

I use a black marker and cover the brand/logo/names/words e.t.c. for 2 reasons:
A - It doesnt get confused,
B - The old pricks who lost theirs on the tee next to us and hit onto our fairway don't touch it. They think its an X-out

[Yossarian]

I draw boobs on mine sometimes.