How do you mark your ball for identification?

[bubble]

I use a line m up to putt so my balls have a line, blue, red or black.

then I add a bit or marking on the sides as one I played the wrong ball, same type and number but once on the green the ball didn't have my line, I though it was hidden by the sand.

2 stroke penalty.

[Fourputt]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

I color the dimple the # is in with whatever color sharpie I feel like at the time. On both sides. Simple but I've never seen someone else do this.

I did just get a four-pack of tin-cup.com cups, though. So we'll see if that changes things.

I like my Tin Cup shark.  I've considered trying something different, but haven't been able to make up my mind.

[Hardspoon]

I usually mark with three dots, in a triangle...make it look like a bowling ball (aka, a sport I'm actually good at, unlike golf).

My brother did get me a box of these for Christmas, which I find amusing:

 

[gregsandiego]

22 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

I don't understand your question. If it's not unique then how could you identify it?  Secondly, I've never seen a ball marked with an orange G before.

1. I just meant why does everyone use a kind of code, like dots or some symbol as to something more obvious like an initial.

2. If you golf in San Diego you should find them all over the place, especially out of bounds, in the weeds, the water, etc....

[Pretzel]

2 minutes ago, gregsandiego said:

1. I just meant why does everyone use a kind of code, like dots or some symbol as to something more obvious like an initial.

2. If you golf in San Diego you should find them all over the place, especially out of bounds, in the weeds, the water, etc....

Dots are much easier to draw on a dimpled surface than any form of line. Just fill in a dimple.

[gregsandiego]

4 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

Dots are much easier to draw on a dimpled surface than any form of line. Just fill in a dimple.

I bet I can draw a G quicker than you can fill in 3 dimples.

[Patch]

Sometimes a re-hit or drop is preferable to identifying a ball. 

[Pretzel]

1 hour ago, gregsandiego said:

I bet I can draw a G quicker than you can fill in 3 dimples.

I bet you can, but I bet that my filled dimples are neater than your G drawn over various ridges and dips on the surface of a sphere.

I prefer the presentation of cleanly filled dimples over the slight time-savings provided by drawing across them. What my last post should have read is, "It's much easier to cleanly draw a dot inside a dimple than it is to cleanly draw any type of line that crosses multiple dimples."

Dots, for me, also provide the least possible amount of distraction. Specifically when I'm putting I like to make sure the only thing I can see is the alignment marking on the golf ball, and dots make that easy. Other lines would potentially expand into what I can see of the golf ball and irritate me (not distract me really, just bug me enough that I notice it) by messing up the otherwise clean appearance of an alignment arrow on the clean white ball.

Different strokes for different folks. I'm not saying your way is wrong, I was just trying to help you understand why many choose to go with dots. Dimples are easy to fill and and create clean dots with, it's hard to draw clean lines over dimples.

EDIT for bubble:

@bubble, you are allowed to lift and inspect a ball to ensure it is yours, provided that you do not clean it and you replace it as it was lying prior to your inspection afterwords. Prevents possible penalties like that if it is still a concern.

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, gregsandiego said:

1. I just meant why does everyone use a kind of code, like dots or some symbol as to something more obvious like an initial.

2. If you golf in San Diego you should find them all over the place, especially out of bounds, in the weeds, the water, etc....

Oh, I gotcha.  Yeah, I don't know.  I'm like you as well, not subtle ... Started with my two kids initials as my mark, then added wife, then accidentally had a third kid, so now I have all of their initials in a diamond around each logo.  Luckily for me, they spell ACES. ;)

[the fish]

34 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

Specifically when I'm putting I like to make sure the only thing I can see is the alignment marking on the golf ball, and dots make that easy. Other lines would potentially expand into what I can see of the golf ball and irritate me (not distract me really, just bug me enough that I notice it) by messing up the otherwise clean appearance of an alignment arrow on the clean white ball.

I'm with @Pretzel.  This is why I don't put my initials on the ball.  Since I draw a star next to the logo, I try to make it as small as I can so it isn't jumping out at me when I line up a putt.  When I first started putting stars on the ball they were a little larger, but I have since made it a point to make them as small as I can, ideally fitting within one dimple.

[Nagah]

One dot below the number. My initials on Top of the Brand name.

[gatsby47]

I have always used a blue dot to cover the number  on the ball. Titleist on the number below others have the number  above.  Blue dots are my signature mark

[boogielicious]

47 minutes ago, gatsby47 said:

I have always used a blue dot to cover the number  on the ball. Titleist on the number below others have the number  above.  Blue dots are my signature mark

I was hoping you would say that you draw a sketch of Leonardo DiCaprio on every ball. 

[pumaAttack]

Golf balls are not the easiest things to draw on...  A dot is easier and since it fills in the dimple it will last longer.  Getting smacked with a club over and over will erase the lines.

[Pretzel]

13 minutes ago, pumaAttack said:

Golf balls are not the easiest things to draw on...  A dot is easier and since it fills in the dimple it will last longer.  Getting smacked with a club over and over will erase the lines.

This is another thing to consider, I suppose, and probably why the orange G would wear off so fast. The high points of the G, that sit on or near the ridges of the dimples, will wear much faster than the low points if they are struck by a golf club.

[bubble]

13 hours ago, Pretzel said:

IEDIT for bubble:

@bubble, you are allowed to lift and inspect a ball to ensure it is yours, provided that you do not clean it and you replace it as it was lying prior to your inspection afterwords. Prevents possible penalties like that if it is still a concern.

yes but in a bunker this was not always the case I believe this was modified in 2011 or 2013. anyway I was certain that it was my ball I had sent it there when I flew the green. actually I was in the bush just 2 yards behind. the ball I played was sent by an AH that played while we were looking 1 minute for a players ball. 

1 hour ago, pumaAttack said:

Golf balls are not the easiest things to draw on...  A dot is easier and since it fills in the dimple it will last longer.  Getting smacked with a club over and over will erase the lines.

indeed especially wedge shots.

I do re do the line if ever I dont loose 

[Hardspoon]

13 hours ago, Pretzel said:

I prefer the presentation of cleanly filled dimples over the slight time-savings provided by drawing across them. What my last post should have read is, "It's much easier to cleanly draw a dot inside a dimple than it is to cleanly draw any type of line that crosses multiple dimples."

I actually cut the tip of a Sharpie with a knife so that the diameter is exactly the same as a dimple...makes the dots really easy - one press and it's done.  It was more prompted by my (mild) OCD than by time, but it works!

[Fourputt]

2 hours ago, Pretzel said:

This is another thing to consider, I suppose, and probably why the orange G would wear off so fast. The high points of the G, that sit on or near the ridges of the dimples, will wear much faster than the low points if they are struck by a golf club.

So.... when you're waiting on the tee on #6, you just redraw it.  I do that a lot.  Helps use up some time on a slow round... not much but it's something.