Sharpie line on the seam?

[cbe_golfer]

I draw a line all around the ball on the seam. How many of you use a line on the seam to align putts?.
To the ones who do and to all those pro v folks out there who get it readymade, what is the length of putt for which you will pick the ball up and align?.
Again, to the ones who do, how do you align the seam on a tee when you hit driver?.

[wengerlaw]

I will line up putts for anything outside three feet.

[hurley9192]

anything that I mark and pick up and move I will align...if it's a tap in, I won't align it.

[$2 Nassau]

I have a problem at times with my alignment, just can't seem to get it exactly where I want it!! I answered no, but I wouldn't say that I don't NEED one.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

Count me as one who doesn't but probably does need some sort of alignment aid. But the last thing I want to do to a brand new ball is mark it up with all sorts crap.

[Fletch09]

I tried it with putts for a while but I never felt confident that I was pointing the line in exactly the right direction when I set the ball down.

[powerhitter]

I use the logo (if anything at all) to line up a difficult putt. Otherwise I try to imagine a line from the face of my putter along the path I want the ball to take. Works pretty good so far ^^.

As for off the tee I ususally don't take the time to line up the seam for the "extra distance"

[erniebanks]

I have a "Technasonic Check-Go" machine that spins the ball at 10,000 rpm so you can mark a "Sharpie" line around the heaviest axis of the ball. That is the way to make sure the ball will spin properly off a perfectly struck iron or wood and track straight on perfectly hit putts.

Therefore, I only use it to identify my ball .

[Parker0065]

This is just my opinion, but I wish the USGA would outlaw this and the range finders!



Makes me think the USGA must have recently got a nice donation from Sharpie and Bushnell,,,, lol.



Like I said just my opinion, I like the game played a little more traditionally .

[powerhitter]

I don't mind people using sharpies or range finders for good reason. With the sharpie it can help identify balls if there are multiple people with the same kind of ball. As for the range finder even the pros have one, its their caddie lol. The USGA is just trying to give the average hacker the same advantages that the players on the tour get, its fair.

[Parker0065]

I don't mind people using sharpies or range finders for good reason. With the sharpie it can help identify balls if there are multiple people with the same kind of ball. As for the range finder even the pros have one, its their caddie lol. The USGA is just trying to give the average hacker the same advantages that the players on the tour get, its fair.

I agree with everything your saying. I guess I've just been playing this game too long, it just seems like cheating when compared to the spirit of the game we played back in the 70's! I guess I'm getting old,,,lol!!!

[docmao]

When I first started playing, I watched Davis Love and Brad Faxon lining up the Tour Balata writing along the putt line, so this is not a new phenomenon.

I love putting lines on my new balls. Feels like i'm seasoning my glove for little league, or creasing my hats... a very functional personalization.

[jeffr92]

Nope, I don't like having a line. I tried it a couple times and it seemed like I was too busy worrying about the line instead of making the putt.

[Robiola the Monster]

Nope, I don't like having a line. I tried it a couple times and it seemed like I was too busy worrying about the line instead of making the putt.

My golf coach said if you use a sharpie line & you address the ball from the side after your routine you feel as though the line is to far left (right handed) or right (left handed) and you push your puts alot more.

I use a sharpie line but i address the ball from behind. Why do alot of you guys use range finders dont you have posts beside the fairway that say 250m, 200m, 150m, 100m, 50m and little plates in the middle of the fairway that says 25m, 75m, 125m, 175m and 225m? And when you get a cart doesn't the cart tell you how far you are out?

[erniebanks]

Why do alot of you guys use range finders dont you have posts beside the fairway that say 250m, 200m, 150m, 100m, 50m and little plates in the middle of the fairway that says 25m, 75m, 125m, 175m and 225m? And when you get a cart doesn't the cart tell you how far you are out?

Those markers don't help it you are in the ajoining fairway or worse.

Sometimes those markers are just wrong! Carts at my course don't tell me anything.

[MGP]

I hate sharpie putting alignment marks on my ball, it's distracting to me. I've been playing the new Top Flite D2 Feel balls this years and I love the balls

except for the "King Arthur Excalibur Sword" putting alignment mark on it! I purposely align that away from me so it's not visible when I'm hitting off the tee or am putting. When I mark my ball with a sharpie I usually use a two or three dot pattern, sometimes different colors. I don't like a lot of extra marks on my ball.

Why do alot of you guys use range finders dont you have posts beside the fairway that say 250m, 200m, 150m, 100m, 50m and little plates in the middle of the fairway that says 25m, 75m, 125m, 175m and 225m? And when you get a cart doesn't the cart tell you how far you are out?

On most of the course I play they'll have 200 yd., 150 yd. and sometimes 100 yd. markers indicating the distance to the center of the green. Most of the sprinkler heads in the fairway are marked too. Since I got my SG3 GPS I've been checking the markers for accuracy. Most of them read the same (or within a yard) of the GPS but I have run into a few that were off by as much as 5 yds. I was also on a course this spring that had just had new markers lasered and re-set. The GPS read out to the exact yard on each of the markers I checked.

Most of the courses I play don't have GPS in the carts so like erniebanks , my carts tell me nothing. I really like my GPS though, it's like having a digital yardage book with all the points of interest (distance to hazard, distance to carry, end of fairway, etc.) marked and available on one screen.

[scotton]

I agree with everything your saying. I guess I've just been playing this game too long, it just seems like cheating when compared to the spirit of the game we played back in the 70's!

It's funny that a guy playing with a Pro V1 would have a problem with range finders. If you want to be a traditionalist, scrap the metal woods and the multi-layer balls and go back to playing Hogan blades, persimmon woods and balata balls. To be fair, I'll join you for a round playing traditional equipment (I have enough for both of us). However, I do want to use my range finder and alignment lines on my ball, since these don't make me hit the ball better, they only give more information on how and where to hit the ball.

Now that I'm done being pithy, I haven't decided if the alignment line helps me or not. I'm going to give it one more round. But knowing accurate yardages will drop major strokes off of anyone who can hit the ball consistent yardages.

[cbe_golfer]

It's funny that a guy playing with a Pro V1 would have a problem with range finders. If you want to be a traditionalist, scrap the metal woods and the multi-layer balls and go back to playing Hogan blades, persimmon woods and balata balls. To be fair, I'll join you for a round playing traditional equipment (I have enough for both of us). However, I do want to use my range finder and alignment lines on my ball, since these don't make me hit the ball better, they only give more information on how and where to hit the ball.

That's precisely what I thought too. But I let it pass because he said it with a smile. I guess its got to do with age..lol.