Makes sense, I was just now thinking what if you hit it into the woods and there are two Snell #2’s in the same area. I guess this would be a good reason to mark your ball. More so for people playing Titleist or TP5, Chrome, etc where you might run into multiples more often. If you can’t identify which one is yours, I am guessing you have to stroke and hit from your last shot.
I need a good amount of notice to build my case to get over for the inaugural PG invitational 
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2/2/2022. I haven’t picked the location…
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First group tee off 2.22pm?
Sorry folks. Gone off topic in a big way here…
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For ID only. I’ve had balls returned to me, nice folks at the local club, and I’ve lost a LOT of balls under the leaves this fall! It’s also helpful, so I don’t hit the wrong ball on the fairway. I just put my initials on them.
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For ID (no man I’ve met so far uses a lilac Sharpie) plus line for putting. You can find plenty of these in the rough and water at my local course 
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I am not in the habit of marking, but I’ve regretted in when I’ve needed to hit a provisional, and then I flirt with the same danger with the provisional ball. It would be very unusual for me to need to distinguish my ball from someone else’s, but distinguishable two of my balls (most often from the same sleeve, same numbers) has been an issue on occasion.
@HennyPenny A friend here puts a Target logo all over his ball. When I find those I give them back to him. I found a couple of ball with a lady’s name on them but when i sought her out she said they weren’t hers!!
I only mark my balls for tournament play. I use a 1 dot, 2 dot, 3 dot method, right below the number. I do it that way so when/if I hit a provisional, it’s easily identifiable as to which ball is which.
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I’m a big believer in marking balls so that you can ID them easier. A lot of my buddies play Pro V’s, so if we’re not careful, it’s too easy to hit someone else’s ball.
I use a dot above and below the “Titleist” name and another dot opposite of the “Pro V” line.
I find marking my ball one of the unique joys of the game! I believe it’s required by the rules to be able to positively ID your ball, and the only way to make sure you are doing this is to have a unique identifier on your ball, even if you think no one else will be playing your type of ball. I like finding different color combinations and designs that can express a little bit of your personality. Plus there is kind of a vague joy in seeing your ID mark from a few paces away and knowing for absolute certain that’s your baby!
And @JohnM, I don’t use lilac but I do use pink! I don’t know why, it’s not a combo I am drawn to in any other aspects of life, but there is something sharp and emotionally appealing about pink and black on a golf ball. I also love Sharpies and art and all that! I love the ritual of it, too. Kind of a nerd on this subject!
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For a long time, I’ve marked my golf ball every time I play. A couple of widely spaced black dots to each side of the number. I play some type of competition almost every time I play, so I want a clear ID, and its a good habit to be in. I do play Snells, but we have a growing number of Snell players at my club, so we all have different regular marks.
An interesting rules implication is that if you need to lift your ball to identify it, you may replace it in any orientation you choose. You may rotate it to that a glob of mud is facing away from the back of the ball, it you want. So a friend of mine, coaching golf teams, tells his players to mark only one side. That means its slightly more likely that the player will need to lift his ball to identify it, meaning he has a very slightly increased opportunity to rotate the ball to a better position under the rules.
I’ve thought of, but not tried, those stamps they use for creating greeting cards…could be a unique way to mark golf balls.
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I was a long time ball marker. The fancy stencils, a couple2tree markers. It was like having an adult coloring book obsession. It was something to do on those long 9 hour days of dim sunlight in February. Now it’s just “Meh! I got a XXXX #x in play.”
A friend gave me template with patriotic emblems…so lately I have been using the American Flag, either all red, all blue on colored balls or red & blue on white balls.
It def helps when trying to identify a ball in rough or hazards.
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The idea is to uniquely identify your ball. It is not sufficient to differentiate your ball from playing partners. Rule 7.2 states:
“ …if an identical ball is in the same area and there is no way to know which one is the player’s ball”.
Provisionals more so. Nothing worse than eating a S&D penalty and then finding two #3 ProV1s in the same grass.
If you can’t uniquely identify your ball by definition you’re hitting “wrong ball”, yet another S&D penalty and yet another provisional.
It takes what, 60 seconds to mark a sleeve?
I’ll uniquely identify it based on the big scuff it got when I hit a tree on the previous hole.
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Bwahahaha or the cart path 
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I usually circle the numbers with a Sharpie just so I don’t have to bend down to get closer in order to read the number. Getting old is a bitch.
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I always wondered why a sleeve of balls doesnt come marked 1,2,3 instead of all 1s in a sleeve.
For some of us who need provisionals, it might be nice to have balls with different numbers in the sleeve.
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