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Do you comply to USGA Rule 12-2? How do you mark your golf ball?

SuperStroke
interesting - i never knew you had to do that! I do this however - i make a set of alignment lines to aid my putting - is this legal? I mean am i allowed to make perpendicular lines so i keep my putter square and my lines straight at adress?

Always wondered if i was able to do this - i do it on fairways and chipping too - which im sure you are not allowed to do it there - since you have to play it as it lies - but i see the tour pros pick their balls up and clean em when they hit fairways.

Curious if im cheating when i line it up on fairways or putts. hah any clarification from ya all? thanks! Great topic btw!!

heres a pic of the ball i used today! another 80 at phoenix hoorah!
View attachment 1529
 
computergeek13 said:
interesting - i never knew you had to do that! I do this however - i make a set of alignment lines to aid my putting - is this legal? I mean am i allowed to make perpendicular lines so i keep my putter square and my lines straight at adress?

Always wondered if i was able to do this - i do it on fairways and chipping too - which im sure you are not allowed to do it there - since you have to play it as it lies - but i see the tour pros pick their balls up and clean em when they hit fairways.

Curious if im cheating when i line it up on fairways or putts. hah any clarification from ya all? thanks! Great topic btw!!

heres a pic of the ball i used today! another 80 at phoenix hoorah!
View attachment 1529
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I'm no expert on USGA rules, but I am fairly certain you're not supposed to touch the ball once in play - that is until you get to the green. But as for lining the ball up on the green for a putt, totally legal and encouraged! Actually, the pros mark their balls with lines to help w/ their putting all the time. I sometimes put a line on my ball to line up my tee shot. I need all the help I can get LOL!
 
Golf4Her said:
I'm no expert on USGA rules, but I am fairly certain you're not supposed to touch the ball once in play - that is until you get to the green. But as for lining the ball up on the green for a putt, totally legal and encouraged! Actually, the pros mark their balls with lines to help w/ their putting all the time. I sometimes put a line on my ball to line up my tee shot. I need all the help I can get LOL!
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The local tournament here "muirfield" brings in a lot of tour pros- it's jacks tournament and I've been going since I was just a kid. When the pros hit a fairway they walk to their ball, usually put a tee in the ground next to it and toss the ball to the caddy . I guess they are cleaning it? I go one step farther and then line the alignment aid to the pin so I am sure my club face is aimed at the flag. It's really helped my approach shots. Not sure if I'm allowed too though.
 
computergeek13 said:
The local tournament here "muirfield" brings in a lot of tour pros- it's jacks tournament and I've been going since I was just a kid. When the pros hit a fairway they walk to their ball, usually put a tee in the ground next to it and toss the ball to the caddy . I guess they are cleaning it? I go one step farther and then line the alignment aid to the pin so I am sure my club face is aimed at the flag. It's really helped my approach shots. Not sure if I'm allowed too though.
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The quick answer: no, you are not allowed to pick up your ball unless you're marking it on the green. When you see the pros put a tee down in the middle of the fairway and toss the ball to their caddy to get the ball cleaned, they are played under rules called "lift, clean and place" or "preferred lies", which usually happens on a professional tour when the conditions are pretty wet. Jack's tournament, the Memorial, seems to be plagued by rain all the time, so that's why you see it a bunch up there. Some players actually call it "lift, clean and cheat" because it's not the norm out of tour, and it's not normally allowed in the regular round.

Now, in your situation, you're not out on tour or anything like that, so if you want to line up the ball when it's in the fairway, I say go ahead and have fun with it. However, just be prepared to get called on it if you're playing with someone that is a real stickler for the rules.

For the OP, I usually don't mark the balls that I play with because not many people around here play the Penta balls, but if I do mark them, I usually just take a blue Sharpie and draw a circle around the number on the ball or fill in 4 dimples in the shape of a Y because my last name begins with Y.
 
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:Edit: just realised how old this thread is. sorry for digging it up again

i used to draw a smiley face pn mine and line up on the tee so i was hitting t. changed to a few dots around the ball. just order some smiley face golfdotz to try out. i like to have smiley faces as they make me smile and remember i play for the fun of the game. handy to remember when shots are bad.

om saying this i believe the R&A rule is "should" mark the ball which means that it is recommended but not mandatory. just remember though if you cant identify a ball then it is declared lost. so if you find 2 same brand unmarked balls in rough and cant truely say which is yours then it is a lost ball ruling and you must replay you last shot and take a penalty so marking is in your interest.
 
Single blue dot to the right of the number and under the brand name on both sides.
 
Marker (colour varies) bottom right hand side of the number.

Sometimes if I find a ball that's not marked and it's only worth using for a couple holes and I have time while standing on the tee I'll get a little crazy and draw something.
 
Golf4Her said:
USGA Rule 12-2 says each player must put an identifying mark on their golf ball prior to play.

After reading the awesome review done by GolferGal http://thehackersparadise.com/home/?p=9761, we decided we had to add the Tin Cup ball marking tool to the website.

http://www.golf4her.com/Tin-Cup-Imprinting-System-s/1197.htm

This month we're using the Awareness Ribbon design and using our pink Sharpie to color it in to support Breast Cancer Awareness month! With so many great causes to support, we can change this color up every month!

How do you mark your ball?
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Just as an FYI you don't have to mark your ball. Rule 12-2 states, in part: "Each player should put an identification mark on his ball." Emphasis mine.
 
It depends on the ball:

Taylormade: two dots over the name
Nike: One dot inside the arc of the swoosh
Srixon: Underline the word "Srixon"
Titleist: Circle #

All of these also have a line for putting alignment
 
I also use a line for putting alignment and write C2 (C squared). C2 is for my kids (Carly & Carson).
 
I always mark every ball I play. I put my initials directly under the ball logo on either side.
 
Changed mine to a blue dot on one side between the titleist and the number, and a red dot on the other in the same place.
 
I've only ever marked my ball during strict competition (e.i. high school regionals), or if i'm golfing with someone using a similar ball.
 
A red dot above and below the factory markings, on each side.
 
Barberakb said:
Don't mark my ball and never have. But I plan on starting once I buy one of these Tin Cup ball marking tools.
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I never really marked my ball either. But I'm definitely interested in acquiring a tin cup ball marking tool!

ddec0418 said:
I don't always place a mark on my ball. However when I do its usually just my initials(DD) next to the number.
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You just reminded me of the Dos Equis commerical; "I don't always drink beer, but when I do... I prefer Dos Equis."
 
I use an orange sharpie (Go Vols!) to fill in a dimple on either side of the logo, then I put a line for putting.
 
I just use one simple dot to the right side of the :titleist: logo. Usually red or black.
 
I fill in the letters with a Sharpie. So, a Srixon would have the "o" filled in.
 
I was not aware of this rule. I will be sure to comply in the future. Those golfdotz are pretty slick!
 
I usually put three orange dots on mine but I did not know it was a rule. WOW shows what I know.
 
I put a putting line around the ball, and then three dots to the right of the line on both ends of the line. I use the dots as the spot of the ball I look at when I have the ball on the tee.
 
Save the Ta Tas !!!!!! Yup i mark mine.
 
The only mark needed for a casual round is the pre-printed logo and number put on it by the manufacturer and even for an official round that is all that is needed as long as no other player in the group is using the exact same ball and number. You just have to have some kind of mark on it so you can tell who the ball belongs to. For a casual round you are not breaking any rule to just use the ball as it is out of the box.
 
pjcedog said:
The only mark needed for a casual round is the pre-printed logo and number put on it by the manufacturer and even for an official round that is all that is needed as long as no other player in the group is using the exact same ball and number. You just have to have some kind of mark on it so you can tell who the ball belongs to. For a casual round you are not breaking any rule to just use the ball as it is out of the box.
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You're never breaking a rule by not marking your ball. You run the risk of being penalized severely if you get into a situation where you can't prove that your ball is one of two or more with identical markings, i.e. both balls only have the same manufacturers markings and lie in the same area. It could be a stray ball - it doesn't have to be a ball from your group. If you don't play by the rules, then I guess you don't have to bother with it, but if you play by the rules all of the time like I do, then it still matters even in a "casual" round. For me, casual just means that it isn't an official competition of some sort, but it's still golf, and penalties are still penalties. I put an identification mark on every ball I play. It doesn't take any time to just put my initials in a couple of places, but it ensures that I don't have to worry about which ball iw mine.

More and more players seem to be playing Bridgestone E6 balls, so I'm not taking any chances.
 
I mark my ball after the first tee shot, it usually has a nice brown spot on it from going into the woods....so then im set!
 
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