How to Draw a Straight Line on Your Golf Ball

Don't you wish you made more putts?

If you're like most golfers, you're always looking to shoot better scores to impress your buddies and win some money. But for some reason, most players tend to buy fancy new equipment and grind at the range hoping to get better… instead of focus on one thing – putting .

Look I get it, hitting bombs on the range is a lot more fun that working on your putting stroke. But if you truly want to improve as a player and lower your handicap, you need to work on what will actually lower your score.

For 99% of amateur golfers, it's putting.

Putting has a lot of different components though; it's part technique, part green reading, part mental, and part alignment. While a lot of golfers work on their first three sections, it's easy to skip out on the final part… alignment.

You could have the perfect stroke, perfect read, and the right mental attitude but if you're not aimed properly, you're probably going to miss it more often than not. Or, you might correct your stroke to compensate for bad alignment. Either way, not a great habit to get into.

So how do you fix it?

One way to help your alignment is to have a golf ball marker that will help you get the putt started on the right path. There are a ton of different ways to do this so lets's jump into the best strategies to mark your golf ball to improve your game.

Why You Need A Ball Marking on Your Golf Balls

Here are three reasons why you should have markings (of some sort) on your golf ball before teeing it up every single round.

1. Marking Your Ball For Identification Purposes

First off, marking your golf ball with some sort of marking, logo, or stamps is something that every player should get in the habit of doing. While we'll cover the benefits of marking your golf ball in this post, the biggest reason is so you can identify your golf ball.

One of the worst things that can happen during a round is accidentally hitting the wrong golf ball of your playing partners. Not only do you get a penalty, but it's very hard to bounce back from that sort of mental error.

Plus, it's embarrassing and can make for a long round. It makes things even worse if the other player doesn't realize and they hit the wrong ball, thus getting penalized right along with you.

Needless to say, I want to help you avoid this situation entirely. Make sure you have a clear marking and between holes, redo it so that the marking is clearly visible to your playing partners.

2. Marking Your Golf Balls With Your Business

As you know, golf and business go together like Tiger Woods and major championships. Another reason to stamp your golf ball is to market yourself, your business, or a charity that you're involved in. You can use these to promote your brand and market your services.

Plus, if you're using high-quality golf balls and give these out as part of your business, golfers will love the gift! It's a lot more useful (and cool) than a pen, coffee mug or notepad.

Side note*** If you do go with this option, make sure the logo is small enough to where it's not distracting for a player as well.

3. Marking Your Golf Balls for Better Putting Alignment

Another main reason you should mark your ball is to help you line up correctly. As I mentioned in the intro, you could have the best stroke, read, and mental attitude but if you aren't aligned properly, you probably won't make many putts.

This is why it's so important to have some sort of system to help you set up square to the target. Here are some of the most common methods so you can start using a tool to line up your putts.

Straight Line

The straight line is arguably the most common way that a lot of amateur golfers and pro golfer mark their golf ball with. All you do is point the golf ball toward your target path and square your putter face to match. Luckily, some golf balls (like the Vice series) now have this feature stamped on every ball from the factory.

Dots or Personalizations

Most PGA Tour pros have a stamp of their name, nickname, or initials on every golf ball (For example, Tiger uses "Tiger" … Rory McIroy uses "Rors"). You can do the same by custom ordering golf balls or simply drawing a dot or initials as well.

These golf ball markings are more for identification than alignment but it's nice to have golf ball stamps on every ball in your bag. Sadly, golf ball stamps do cost a bit more for the additional ball marking so buy in bulk to save!

The T-Line

Another common marking is the T-line which helps with alignment and squaring the putter face. With this marking, you have the straight one and then add a second horizontal mark at one end of the golf ball.

Then, you square up the putter with the horizontal one and set the other one toward your intended path. This method is more common among amateurs than pros as it's a lot of drawing on one ball but it is still effective.

If you want to use a marking for alignment purposes, make sure you have chosen a putter that has an alignment line.

Now that you know how to mark your golf ball, let's talk about how you can make it happen without having to try to draw a straight arrow yourself. Here are some of the best ways to effectively mark your golf balls.

Softspikes BLM8006

Softspikes BLM8006 is a low-cost tool can help you align putts much easier and includes a sharpie. This helps create a singular straight line that goes down the equator of the golf ball.

For a small price, it's worth buying a few of these marking tools as they're small and can easily be stashed away in your golf bag. Each of these golf ball markers are plastic and latch on to easily add your marking.

Also, here's another piece of advice, always have the right mark on every ball in your bag before the round starts. This will help you in case you need to hit a provisional and don't feel rushed or forget to draw your ball marking. Always plan ahead with your golf balls to shoot lower scores (and get less flustered)!

Line-M-Up Pro Precision Golf Ball Alignment

With the "Line M Up" version, you have a few extra lines that you can easily add to your golf ball. This low-cost item has one main slot to draw a straight line on the equator of the golf ball. But on both sides of the main slot, you can also add two dashes (four in total).

Having extra lines will help you see the roll of the ball easier and identify if you're pulling or pushing it with your putter. This might be too much for some players but it's a good way to improve your putting on the practice green too. Sharpie is included with this alignment tool but never hurts to have extra.

Visualize Tri-Line Golf Alignment Kit

The Visualize Tri-Line Golf Alignment Kit is a golf ball marker that costs more than the Softspikes model but the reviews are glowing. Instead of just giving you one, these ball markers help you easily draw three lines with one device.

Not only will this help you with alignment but this golf ball liner can also help you get feedback about your putting stroke as well. With three distinct lines, this putting line marking tool will help you with alignment lines and practicing on the putting greens.

Technasonic Check-Go Pro Sweet Spot Electronic Golf Ball Liner

If you're looking for a more advanced golf ball markers, this might be the one for you. The Technasonic Check-Go sweet spot finder uses physics to find the sweet spot of your golf ball.

The device comes loaded and ready to go with batteries and marking pen to locate the sweet spot. This tool locates both the balls balanced equator in 30 seconds or less while spinning at 10,000RPM. When the LED light goes off, it means your ball is balanced and ready to mark.

Technasonic claims that by finding the sweet spot you can improve a balls playability off the tee and improve your putting on the greens. For a small price, it's worth a shot to find the sweet spot on all your golf balls!

Personalized Golf Ball Stamp

Now you can add custom golf ball stamps to the next dozen you buy. Whether it's Titleist, Vice or other popular golf ball brands, you can always order balls with logos, images, or anything else you want stamped on every golf ball. Plus, you can always use a ball marker if you'd like to add your alignment marking with stamps as well.

Tin Cup Marker Alignment Tool

Another fun way to mark your golf balls for personalization (not alignment) is to buy tin cup markers.

With these tools you can draw on things like skull and crossbones, a sketch of Heisenberg from Breaking Bad, Batman and more on all your balls. These make for great golf gifts and will make it easy to recognize your golf ball from your playing partners.

FAQs

If you have more questions, make sure to read the FAQs to find all the answers about the best golf ball alignment for your game.

How do you mark a golf ball for putting?

This is a great question as marks on your ball can really help you set up better to more putts and shoot lower scores. But as you can tell from above, there is no one way to do it.

There are tons of strategies so I suggest trying out one and sticking with it for a few rounds. If you feel like you're getting the ball started on the right path, stick with it. If you don't, use a different ball marker and test it out.

Remember, a ball marking usually don't cure a major problem so always work on the fundamentals.

How else can I improve my alignment?

While golf ball markings can help, don't forget that your stroke is more important than anything else. To help with that, make sure to check out these two training aids:

Putting Tutor by Dave Pelz: This device is trusted by one of the greatest players of all time, Phil Mickelson. If you need help getting the ball started on the right path, you will love this device.

PuttOut Mirror System: Another helpful putting training aid is using a mirror to notice your eyes over the ball. The PuttOut mirror does this and a lot more! It comes with a stand-alone 2-inch putting gate that will help you work on your path as well. Plus, you can stand the mirror up as well for a different angle of your putting stroke.

Is drawing a line on a golf ball legal?

Yes, drawing an arrow/line on your golf ball is 100% legal and used by some of the best golfers in the world. Players across the world draw lines, add their initials, and other signature markings to their golf balls.

How do you mark a golf ball with a Sharpie?

There are tons of ways to mark a golf ball with a Sharpie. You can add your initials, dots (that's what most pros do), alignment lines and more strategies mentioned in this post.

Just remember that you can't add any new markings to your golf ball after you mark your ball on the green. You must wait until the hole is complete to make any updates to your golf ball (otherwise it's a silly penalty). Also, make sure you carry a pack of sharpies around in your golf bag so you always have the right ball marking on each ball.

Can you change golf balls to putt?

No, the USGA (Rule 15-2) does not allow you to swap out golf balls. According to the rule, you have to play the ball from the teeing ground until the hole is complete. Of course if you lose a ball or hit one in the hazard, you will need to replace your ball with a new one. If you're in an event where the "One Ball" rule is in effect, you would need to replace with the exact same golf ball that you lost.

Make sure that you always carry plenty of golf balls, especially the same make/model if you're playing in competitive events. You don't want to end up like Tiger in 2000 where he played the water-lined brutal 18th hole without any backup balls in the bag!

Final Thoughts

As you can tell there are all different types of golf ball stamps and marking tools. So what is the best golf ball marking tool? Ultimately, the one that is right for your game!

Remember, marking golf balls isn't just about improving alignment. While it can have a positive impact on your putting, the right ball marking is also vitally important that you always hit the right golf ball (especially in tournaments).

As I mentioned, hitting your playing partners ball is not only embarrassing but it's a costly penalty as well. Make sure that you have one or several ball marking so that you never make this mistake.

Ideally, I think you should have some sort of personal tough (a dot, initials, stamp etc) and an alignment mark on your golf balls. This way, you can sport a logo or personalization and use the arrow/line to help you get putts on the right path. Or, you can also use the Technasonic to find your sweet spot of each golf ball and mark them accordingly.

As always, test out what works best for you and play your game.

How do you mark your golf ball? Do you use one or both methods?

Let us know below.

How to Draw a Straight Line on Your Golf Ball

Source: https://theleftrough.com/golfball-marking/