There’s a long-standing debate over alignment lines on your golf ball to help line up those all-important birdie and par putts — some players like ’em, some don’t — comes down to personal preference. But can the color of your alignment line improve your performance?
Believe it or not, the shrinks (psychiatrists and psychologists) have weighed in on this very topic.
Alignment lines have been around for a long time, they became even more popular thanks to Tiger Woods, who used to hand-draw his. Now plenty of golf balls come with alignment line already stamped into them.
But can those Sharpie colors make a difference?
Amy Morin, editor-in-chief of Verywell Mind (yeah, she’s a psychotherapist) claims: “The color of a mark on a golf ball can affect a player’s emotional state.” Really? She says a color can impact your mood and that in turn can affect how you perform.
Morin’s theory is born out of the idea that some golfers may do best when they have a little extra adrenaline rush. A bright orange or red dot might give them a boost of energy and put them in a state of increased performance potential. It’s possible that green marks or a blue mark reminds them of peaceful situations, perhaps water or nature.
As far as we see it, calm on the golf course is better, you know, keep your wits about you when others are losing theirs.
Some experts agree that different colors can evoke different emotions, depending on your past experiences.
Can color maximize performance?
Red shirts and black trousers have worked pretty well for Tiger Woods on Sundays over the path of his storied career.
So which color should you put on your golf ball?
That’s up to each individual. Best thing is to try different colors — red, green, orange, blue, purple — those Sharpies come in all different hues.
Colors supposedly have different energies that go with them, so try some different ones and see if it works.
What have you got to lose?
