Marking your ball
What should you do when you can’t tell if a ball is yours? Sometimes the ball is in heavy grass and the logo is not visible; other times it may be partially covered with mud or sand.
Lately I’ve been aware of golfers picking a ball up to peek at the logo or just giving it a twist until the identification becomes possible. This is not legal according to “The Rules of Golf” (Rule 12-2) and could cost you a two-stroke penalty.
The correct way to proceed is this: 1) announce to your fellow-competitors that you can’t identify the ball; 2) give them a chance to observe your next actions; 3) mark the ball and pick it up just enough to be sure of the identification; 4) replace the ball exactly as you found it.
During this procedure, you may not palm the ball, clean it or rotate it. If the ball has a lot of mud or grass on it, you may clean it off only to the extent to where you can see its markings.
Being proactive about marking your ball with a personalized mark or symbol will avoid most of these situations. So stick a permanent marker in your bag and get creative with your own personalization.