Rarely can something so simple cause so much controversy. You’d think marking a golf ball – whether it’s on a green or when you need to replace your ball on a spot – would be no-nonsense.
But no. It seems it’s an area fraught with difficulty for golfers and an easy way to get yourself into rules trouble. And for those with larcenous intent, well…
I get asked questions all the time about marking a golf ball and where and how you should do it. Can you mark an inch behind? What about to the side? Can you even mark in front?
Fortunately, there is some clear guidelines in the Rules of Golf to follow and a very interesting clarification that is bound to surprise a few of you.
I’m not sure if it’s going to settle the issue or cause more trouble, but get your ball-markers at the ready, we’re in for a quite a ride…
Golf ball marker rules: Can you really mark your ball in front?
When you lift a ball under a rule that requires it to be replaced on its original spot, Rule 14.1a says you must mark it. This happens most often on the green, but it can also be applied at various other times on the course.
These include when you’re lifting a ball to identify it, when you’re cleaning a ball, checking to see if it is cut or cracked, seeing if it is embedded, or if you’re club is using the lift, clean and replace Local Rule.
Rule 14.1a says when you do that you can “place a ball-marker right behind or right next to the ball”.
Have you seen it yet? Right behind is straight forward enough but what about “right next”? There is a clarification, “Marking Ball Correctly”, that explains.
It says it uses those terms to make sure the spot of the ball if “marked with sufficient accuracy for the player to replace it in the right spot”.
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And it adds: “A ball may be marked in any position around the ball so long as it is marked right next to it, and this includes placing a ball-marker in front of or to the side of the ball”.
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
What do you think of these ball marker rules? Let me know by leaving a comment below, email me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or get in touch on X.
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