Too much Sharpie on the golf ball?

[Dormie1360]

Sharpie marker on the ball is not considered foreign material.  Therefore this rule does not come into play at all.  You can put any marking you want on your ball, and if it comes off on your club and you can see where the club struck the ball that's fine as well.  You can use the line you make on your ball (if you use one) to line up drives and putts, and can also use the markings on your ball off the tee as an impact point.

Well my pedant nature might get into a discussion on what is "foreign"  but I think that would get silly.  We agree he can mark his ball with a Sharpie.  As the rules strongly suggest that you put an identifying mark on your golf ball, it would be difficult to do if you could not use a Sharpie.

As far as the Sharpie, if a player puts a big black spot on the ball fresh every drive, and deliberately puts that spot toward the back for the obvious purpose of checking his impact, then he would be in breach of the rules.  I think that it would fall under Rule 14-3 as unusual use of equipment or using a training aid during the round.

Have to think about this one.  As described it does sound like he is using the Sharpie as a form of impact tape, which I agree would be a breach.

[Rulzguy]

dkolo is correct. Marks on a ball that leave a mark on the club are not considered a problem. happens all the time

[Rulzguy]

There is no rule violation when a player puts a mark on the ball, lines it up on the tee and then reviews the mark left on the club face. the player is allowed to mark his ball and if it just so happens he lines it up and sees the impact on the club face, so be it. I would not recommend placing a mark on the ball when lifted on the putting green on any where else once the ball is in play. that may be a problem. I have a red line on my ball and use it to line up putts. My putter club face has red right on on near the sweet spot made from that mark.

[Rulesman]

I would not recommend placing a mark on the ball when lifted on the putting green on any where else once the ball is in play. that may be a problem.

Why?

[ColinL]

Why, indeed.  Since there is nothing wrong in marking up your ball, and nothing wrong in aligning a lifted ball using such a mark when replacing it, why would there be any restriction on when you did the marking?

[Avalanche]

There was a PGA tour pro who would let his young daughters color and scribble all over his golf balls before each tourney with brightly colored Sharpies.  I recall seeing a close up of his ball a couple of times when it was on the putting green, showing the scribblings.  Can't recall who it was though, but he was a fairly big name at the time.  This was several years back.

[Fourputt]

There was a PGA tour pro who would let his young daughters color and scribble all over his golf balls before each tourney with brightly colored Sharpies.  I recall seeing a close up of his ball a couple of times when it was on the putting green, showing the scribblings.  Can't recall who it was though, but he was a fairly big name at the time.  This was several years back.

Duffy Waldorf.

[Rulzguy]

There is no rule violation. I just don't like to see an opportunity for an opponent or competitor to maybe question if player had changed balls.

[ghalfaire]

Duffy Waldorf.

good memory.

[emaw4ever1]

On 3/25/2015 at 3:17 PM, westcyderydin said:

 

This is how I mark my ball.  I have had a few embarrassing moments in the past where I've hit the wrong ball.  I started making a black "H" and it happened again.  So now I mark my ball this way so there is 0 chance of me hitting the wrong ball.  It also helps with people accidentally hitting my ball.  ProV1s are common and coveted.  But with my marking on it, people know its mine.

 

The thing is, with this amount of Sharpie on the ball...especially when I first mark it...i can often see blue marks on my club faces.  This is definitely not my intention, but I wonder if this could be taken as a way of me trying to read the marks on the clubface after a shot.

 

Are there any rule issues, here?  Ethical issues?  Anybody else notice the Sharpie on the clubface?

I use four different sharpie markings on my golf balls. A single black dot on each side near the number, flourencent yellow along the alignment, and a series of 5 to 6 dots on the opposite side from the alignment. I've found that after applying markings, it's best to hit em with a hair dryer and allow 24 hours to cure before playing. This should cut down dramatically on transfer. It's also a good idea to make sure your sharpie's are fresh, not old.

[dennyjones]

Welcome to TST @emaw4ever1.   We're glad you've joined.    You might get an award for reviving the oldest thread (haha). 

With all the work you put into your golf ball, it is unique and easy to identify.

 

[emaw4ever1]

2 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

Welcome to TST @emaw4ever1.   We're glad you've joined.    You might get an award for reviving the oldest thread (haha). 

With all the work you put into your golf ball, it is unique and easy to identify.

 

Indeed it is. I don't have a problem with any of the balls I play getting hit by other players😆

[Stryper]

TRIGGER WARNING: This will upset MANY people.

I WAS experimenting with various forms of these. I am about 70% red/green colourblind so to me, these balls stand out yellow, not fluoro yellow, but yellow nonetheless.

This colourblindness also affects my brain's interpretation of blue/purple and I have trouble distinguishing between browns and greens if they are in the distance etc, making golf one sunnuva in summer here when the course is cooked.

To non CB people these are a dirty yellow (so I am told) and are very hard to see on the course. So while I can find my own balls easier than a white-only ball using a marker, my playing partners helping me look for a wayward ball cannot, and I found I was losing more shots by not having that extra help when the chips were down.

And although this was done with "permanent marker" it was invaluable in telling me if I was hitting off the toe. I'd actually recommend it to anyone to use for a round or for practice and have a look after each shot what shot shape happened after different strikes. Yes, it puts some muck on your club face, but yes it rubs off quite easily, and I may be colourblind but I'm not certainly less worried about the temporary aesthetic assault on my clubs than if I'm drinking my playing partners' free beer at the end of a winning round.

Anyway I've learned to stick to fluoro yellow so I can see them and my buddies can too. And they've stopped feeling like vomiting and their OCD has calmed down big time since they had to stop looking at them on the tee and green.

Edited April 8, 2025 by Stryper

[emaw4ever1]

32 minutes ago, Stryper said:

TRIGGER WARNING: This will upset MANY people.

I WAS experimenting with various forms of these. I am about 70% red/green colourblind so to me, these balls stand out yellow, not fluoro yellow, but yellow nonetheless.

This colourblindness also affects my brain's interpretation of blue/purple and I have trouble distinguishing between browns and greens if they are in the distance etc, making golf one sunnuva in summer here when the course is cooked.

To non CB people these are a dirty yellow (so I am told) and are very hard to see on the course. So while I can find my own balls easier than a white-only ball using a marker, my playing partners helping me look for a wayward ball cannot, and I found I was losing more shots by not having that extra help when the chips were down.

And although this was done with "permanent marker" it was invaluable in telling me if I was hitting off the toe. I'd actually recommend it to anyone to use for a round or for practice and have a look after each shot what shot shape happened after different strikes. Yes, it puts some muck on your club face, but yes it rubs off quite easily, and I may be colourblind but I'm not certainly less worried about the temporary aesthetic assault on my clubs than if I'm drinking my playing partners' free beer at the end of a winning round.

Anyway I've learned to stick to fluoro yellow so I can see them and my buddies can too. And they've stopped feeling like vomiting and their OCD has calmed down big time since they had to stop looking at them on the tee and green.

Whatever works best for you. Koodos.