Marking my Ball

SwingsitlikeHogan

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With mention of marking with a Sharpie elsewhere. I mark my ball with a felt pen. I’ve noticed that some of the ink comes off when hit with an iron if mark is strike side, and shows me where on the clubface I hit it.

That is v useful to me.

Could I reapply the mark every time I can legally lift and clean my ball, and also before I tee it up.
 

salfordlad

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No, breach of Rule 4.3a when done intentionally to gain feedback/information. First offence general penalty, subsequently DQ.

This from the equipment rules:
The most important question to ask when ruling on a club which has had something temporarily applied to the face by a player is “why has it been put there?” If a material or substance has been applied to the face in order to protect it or clean it, then it would probably be permitted provided all other Rules are satisfied. However, if the purpose of the application is to influence the movement of the ball or assist the player in making a stroke, it would be prohibited.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Ok. So I apply my mark but it becomes blurred and indistinct..I cannot reapply it…?

I guessed there would be that rule, but all I am actually doing is marking my ball for identification purposes. The mark does not assist me in making a stroke…it gives me feedback for the next.

And after all…what is the purpose of lines I might draw (and are applied by many ball manufacturers) to the ball to assist my lining up of the ball when putting and in the context of my original question, give me feedback on how well I have struck the ball.

I hit an iron and there was a mark left on the face of the club that showed me I had hit the ball exactly on the clubface where i would wish, positive feedback on how I was swinging. And also when I have not.

I have noted this plenty of times before but have only just now stopped and thought about what it might mean in respect of the rules.
 
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Neilds

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Ok. So I apply my mark but it becomes blurred and indistinct..I cannot reapply it…?

I guessed there would be that rule, but all I am actually doing is marking my ball for identification purposes. The mark does not assist me in making a stroke…it gives me feedback for the next.

And after all…what is the purpose of lines I might draw (and are applied by many ball manufacturers) to the ball to assist my lining up of the ball when putting and in the context of my original question, give me feedback on how well I have struck the ball.

I hit an iron and there was a mark left on the face of the club that showed me I had hit the ball exactly on the clubface where i would wish, positive feedback on how I was swinging. And also when I have not.

I have noted this plenty of times before but have only just now stopped and thought about what it might mean in respect of the rules.

What are you using the feedback for, if not for assisting the next stroke?
 

Neilds

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What is the line I can apply to my ball for putting purposes for if not assisting my stroke and providing me with feedback for my next stroke with the putter.
I'm not arguing (discussing?) that point - I agree it is a strange quirk of the rules. My question was related to your point that you were using the mark on your club for feedback of the previous shot and how you would then use this feedback, if you claim it is not for assisting your next shot.
 

salfordlad

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Ok. So I apply my mark but it becomes blurred and indistinct..I cannot reapply it…?

I guessed there would be that rule, but all I am actually doing is marking my ball for identification purposes. The mark does not assist me in making a stroke…it gives me feedback for the next.

And after all…what is the purpose of lines I might draw (and are applied by many ball manufacturers) to the ball to assist my lining up of the ball when putting and in the context of my original question, give me feedback on how well I have struck the ball.

I hit an iron and there was a mark left on the face of the club that showed me I had hit the ball exactly on the clubface where i would wish, positive feedback on how I was swinging. And also when I have not.

I have noted this plenty of times before but have only just now stopped and thought about what it might mean in respect of the rules.
Are you saying you don't agree with the ruling?
 

Colin L

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Ok. So I apply my mark but it becomes blurred and indistinct..I cannot reapply it…?

I guessed there would be that rule, but all I am actually doing is marking my ball for identification purposes. The mark does not assist me in making a stroke…it gives me feedback for the next.
The problem you have created for yourself is that you went beyond just marking for identification when you asked about refreshing it during a round for the purpose of making a mark on your club face. That’s what‘s not allowed.
 

Bdill93

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The problem you have created for yourself is that you went beyond just marking for identification when you asked about refreshing it during a round for the purpose of making a mark on your club face. That’s what‘s not allowed.

What if he simply remarks it to ensure it is clearly identifiable?

I use a stamp on my ball which does rub off after a hole or two normally, can I not re-mark this ball to ensure no discrepancies occur in the round?
 

Colin L

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What if he simply remarks it to ensure it is clearly identifiable?

I use a stamp on my ball which does rub off after a hole or two normally, can I not re-mark this ball to ensure no discrepancies occur in the round?
You are players of integrity and would only say that if it were the case.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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I simply noted that I sometimes get an ink mark from my ball ID mark showing on my clubface, and this time I wondered about the rules it having never before occurred to me. Could I inadvertently have been breaking a rule - and unsure as I was I asked. And I twigged of an inconsistency with the line on my ball when I putt - a line that not only helps in putt alignment and so helps with my stroke…but can also indicate how cleanly and straight I hit the ball.
 
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Colin L

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You're right,, There's nothing in the Rules to say how to put identifying marks on the ball. I'm not aware of anything in the Rules to say you can't make use of a mark on your club face from the identification mark you made provided it's an innocent by-product of marking for the purpose of identification. As soon as you mark the balll knowingly in order to use the mark it transfers to the club face to inform you of adjustments you should make for a future, better stroke, you are as I understand it, breaching the Rules.

The problem I see is that once you have discovered there is a transferred mark and worked out that it could be useful, how can you ever mark your ball again? That's where I think integrity comes into to it. You mark your ball as usual clear in your mind that you're not going to use the mark to inform you about your play with a view to improving it and so, quite simply, you don't examine your club face.

Oddly though, and I was bit dubious when I found out about it, my Cobra woods have a clubface surface which retains an impression of the ball. I use it in practice but I don't look at the face in a competition just in case.
 

Backsticks

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Two things.

The difference with the ball line for putting (which I will be banning anyway when I become King of the R&A) or the ball mark for identification, is that you are marking the ball deliberately, the clubface accidentally.

If you are using it to indicate face strike, then you will also have aligned the mark so that it transfers to the club. This is deliberately marking the clubface. And so rule breach.

So marking your ball is fine. But excessively marking it with a strike indication motivation, marking it with a slow dry ink, orienting the ball so that ink transfers to clubface, or refreshing the mark when not necessary for its identification, breaks the rule.

No problem if it marks tge clubface accidentally though.
 

salfordlad

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In a nutshell, marking your ball for identification and alignment is fine, no issue. But marking your ball with the intent to gain information on your clubface that you subsequently use in the round is a breach (I have RB confirmation of this, I didn't invent my original answer in this thread). If you are intentionally placing the marked ball on the tee so a mark transfers to your club then you are in breach of 4.3. And repeatedly having that happen "accidentally" does not pass the sniff test - integrity requires you to ensure you are not enabling the mark to be transferred.
 
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