CONSISTENCY is the key to any good round of golf.
But from club players right up to the pros, everyone knows that it's a game where things can go wrong very quickly.
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As a result, it's always nice to have a bit of help here and there - and you may have noticed that some golf balls have lines painted on them.
Why do golf balls have lines on?
You might have seen golfers marking their ball with a pen on the greens, particularly before a tricky putt.
The simple purpose of this is to help with aim and alignment as they look to putt through the ball in a straight manner.
Some balls come ready made with alignment lines which can help you draw a straight line.
These could involve arrows either side of the name, or the company might have gone the whole hog and put a line on for you.
Either way, when you putt you should try and line up your ball so you're hitting directly through that area.
In theory, this should help with your aim - but we all know it's not that easy!
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Should it be banned?
The practice became very popular in the early 2000s and there's nothing in the rules that says you shouldn't draw on your ball.
And you'll have seen players from the park up to the pros doing it.
The rules of golf actually state that it is something each player SHOULD be doing.
Regarding a ball that is being replaced on the green, the rules from 2019 onwards state: "When replacing a lifted ball on a spot, the Rules are concerned about only the location.
"The ball may be aligned in any way when being replaced (such as by lining up a trademark)"
As such, there is nothing wrong with marking your ball and any rule banning it is very unlikely in the future.
