These Homemade Ball Markers Are Taking Over Golf

Last month, when Rory McIlroy finally captured an elusive green jacket, one part of his gear was completely homemade by a self-described “nobody” living on Long Island in New York State.

That piece of equipment was a ball marker from Golf Life Metals. Not a perfectly manufactured one you would find in pro shops but a marker with an unrefined character that can be personalized.

In McIlroy’s case, his ball marker had a quote from his daughter, Poppy.

“You already know how to play golf,” one side of the copper coin reads. As Rory explains, that is what Poppy said to him one day when she learned he was working with a swing coach.

How did one of the game’s best golfers end up with a ball marker from a financial planner in New York?

Funny you should ask.

Jon Millman’s pandemic hobby turned into a dream

Jon Millman, a 51-year-old Plainview, N.Y., resident, describes himself as a normal guy and a golf junkie.

Like many of us, Millman found himself bored during the early days of COVID-19. His job as a financial planner was slow and he was out playing a lot of golf.

Typical stuff, right?

But in that boredom, Millman tried wedge stamping. It didn’t go well.

“First of all, the metal is hard so the stainless steel you have to really whack,” Millman told MyGolfSpy. “You have to get good at it and it’s very easy to screw up. When you mess up a wedge head, it’s expensive.”

You know what isn’t expensive to mess up? A little piece of copper.

So Millman got some anvils, stamps and scrap metal together to start making ball markers for himself, his kids and a few golf buddies. It proved much easier than wedge stamping.

Millman discovered that copper worked the best for stamping because of its softness. He made each marker bigger than a quarter but smaller than a poker chip so that it was visible but not obnoxious.

With every letter, logo and symbol being its own stamp, anything could go on it. Curse words, symbols, quotes, logos—anything the golf mind could imagine.

It could be sweet (like in McIlroy’s case), irreverent or something completely different. And, yes, “f— bogeys” was among the first creations.

After the stamping, Millman typically torches the markers to darken them. It gives each marker a cool weathered character. And then comes the painting in the grooves which Millman says is the easiest part.

Little did Millman know that simple marker-making process out of his home would lead McIlroy and countless other pros to use his creations before the pandemic was even over.

“I really don’t know how I got here,” Millman said.

What happened is that Millman’s golf buddies encouraged him to put a few ball markers on Etsy.

Not long after that, Sky Sports golf analyst Rob Lee found the markers online and reached out to Millman. Lee was tickled by Millman’s ability to personalize the markers with any wording while still making them look professionally stamped.

“He was my first international order,” Millman said. “I spent a fortune on shipping and sent him a bunch of extra markers for fun because I was just doing this as a side hobby.”

Millman wasn’t aware that Lee gave some of the markers to Inci Mehmet, on-course reporter at Sky Sports. And that connection with Lee and Mehmet led to Rich Beem, the former PGA Championship winner who is also on the Sky Sports team.

Beem loved how Millman could include curse words and nicknames on the markers and pretty soon an order was sent his way.

That was money well spent on Millman’s part because Beem soon offered a marker to Tommy Fleetwood. In the case of Fleetwood, Beem offered him a lucky marker during the 2021 PGA Championship after an opening round of 75. Fleetwood shot a 63 using the marker so that one was a keeper.

By March 2023, McIlroy had found his way to using a GLM marker more than a year after requesting one.

Pretty soon the roster of pros using a GLM marker extended to the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Tom Kim, Wyndham Clark, Anthony Kim and a bunch of other top pros.

Personalization is the key

Every pro is different. A lot of them want their kids on one side. If a pro has a baby, there is a good chance they are requesting a marker featuring their newborn.

After McIlroy won the Masters, his caddie Harry Diamond reached out to Millman with a request for a “career Grand Slam” marker. Here is what McIlroy gave him for the effort (right photo).

Others want something even more unique.

In the case of Fleetwood, one side of his coin reads “f— bogeys” while the other side is an Everton F.C. logo. If he ever has a par putt, he has the “f— bogeys” side facing up.

That marker is tame compared to others.

Darren Clarke is a frequent requester—for himself and others. He will call Millman asking for markers that he is gifting to other pros.

Clarke asked for one to give Vijay Singh. The words stamped on that one can’t be repeated here in full but you will get the idea: “You blind c—,” it reads.

On the more wholesome side, a lot of requests include dogs. For instance, Justin Leonard asked for one with a bulldog stamp on it.

During our interview, Millman asked me what kind of marker I would like so I could test it out. I went fairly straightforward with mine, asking for an Amen Corner-inspired stamping on one side and something more personal on the other. Millman quickly sent me this sweet creation which I’m playing with every round for the rest of my life.

Beyond the personalization, the marker just feels nice. It’s heavy and solid. It seems right when you bend down to put it on the green.

That has to be why pros are gravitating towards something so homemade.

The man behind the markers

What’s in it for Millman?

Well, he doesn’t charge pros for markers. Although he does ask for souvenirs like signed flags, tickets to events or small pieces of memorabilia.

But the popularity of his markers has led to other opportunities. Not only does Millman offer the general public the ability to personalize their own markers at this site for $45, but he was also asked by the PGA of America to make a few hundred Bethpage-inspired markers for this year’s Ryder Cup.

“I don’t do any marketing; it’s all word of mouth,” Millman said.

Word has spread so quickly—especially since McIlroy won the Masters—that Millman had to put a momentary hold on orders.

He has a life with children and a “real” job. And the biggest issue is that it’s now golf season in New York so he wants to be out on the course. Millman spent much of the COVID era playing at Bethpage but his marker business has taken off that it’s hard to get out as much as he wants.

So what is in it for Millman? Not money, really.

“To me, all of this is fun. I get requests all the time and think, ‘That is really cool.'”

He gets sketches from people. He gets random requests from people.

It’s a game for Millman to figure out how to make those requests come to life.

“I have no idea how I got here but I am living a dream.”

The post These Homemade Ball Markers Are Taking Over Golf appeared first on MyGolfSpy.