The One Thing Every Golfer Needs to Know Regardless of Their Ability

There is one thing that everybody who plays golf needs to know, regardless of their ability. Not knowing this one thing is certain to cause problems.People on the golf course have a wide range of abilities from those who are very good, to the average Joe, and those who are at a very novice and beginning level.  But, this one simple thing should be top of mind no matter what their ability is.

Listen closely. Are you ready? Here it is. Every golfer needs to know what golf ball they are hitting at any given time.

Too many times people on the course don't know what ball they are hitting - and they end up hitting the wrong ball. They go look for their ball in the rough - find a ball - and automatically assume it's theirs- they proceed to hit it without first looking to see if it belongs to them- and it turns out it's the wrong ball. This should never happen.

It happened to me this week. I pulled my drive on the par 4 #11 at Tiara Rado into the rough on an adjoining fairway. As I was waiting for the other guys in my group to tee off I noticed a couple of golfers in the vicinity of my ball. I feared the worst --and it came to pass. When I got to the place where my ball landed it was nowhere to be found. What I DID find, was a Titleist. Not my ball. MY ball was  a Nike marked with two "Z's". In fact, I carry a black marker in my golf bag so that whenever I put a new ball in play, I can put my own identifying mark on it.

A golfer should always know if he/she is hitting a Nike, Titleist, Callaway, or whatever. But, you should also have a unique mark on all of your balls for quick, easy, and unmistakable identification. This removes all doubt about which ball is yours. Some golfers use dots or lines, but I prefer an initial because it removes all doubt.

The second part of this equation is you should always take a moment to look closely at your  ball before you  hit to make sure it's yours. This is especially important if your ball has wandered off the fairway and you aren't absolutely positive about it's exact location. Too many golfers just go to the first ball they find, assume it's theirs, and hit away without taking five seconds to verify that it is in fact their ball.

Don't let this be you. Take a moment to mark your ball --and then get in the habit of always verifying the identity of your ball before hitting. It's simple golf etiquette that everyone should follow, whether your are a scratch golfer or high handi-capper.

Oh, and by the way, if you got home with a Nike ball marked with two "Z's", it's mine. Feel free to drop it off here at the radio station - no questions asked.