What’s your mark?
When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do was mark my golf balls on the night before a tournament. I know, pretty exciting, right? I would put some thought into it, and I viewed it as an opportunity to be unique. Marking my ball typically required that I make two decisions. Which color Sharpie would I use, and where would I color the dots on my ball? I was a bit superstitious, so if I played a good round with my ball marked a certain way, I would continue to mark my ball that same way. However, if I had struggled, I would mix it up a bit.
Sometimes my mark would be nothing more than a single black dot near the number on the ball, while other times I may place a couple of different colored dots closer to the name on the ball. As I entered high school, my dots were narrowed down to the color of my school— blue and red. In college, these dots became red and silver. Those were the colors of my New Mexico Lobos.
As strange as this may sound, these markings on my ball helped me to relax when it came time to play the tournament. Perhaps it’s because the markings were unique to me, and this gave me confidence. Whatever the reason, it made me feel better about things. Through the years, I have continued to notice players marking their golf balls in their own unique way. Some players write their initials, while others may write their favorite number. That’s the beauty of the mark. There is no right or wrong way to mark your ball.
One of my students is a 9-year-old girl, and she likes to mark her ball by drawing a flower with her favorite colors. This makes her feel happy, and when she identifies her ball on the course, she feels more confident because it is hers. How about you? If you don’t play in tournaments, perhaps you don’t mark your ball. Regardless, I think it’s a great idea to get into the habit of marking your ball. Use your favorite color and make the ball identifiable to you. No longer do you need to just play a Titleist 4. Now, you can play a Titleist 4 with black and blue dots that represent how tough you are going to play that day.
Or perhaps you’d like to play a Bridgestone 3 covered in pink dots that represent your softer side. Whatever it is, make it your own.