Poker chips are for poker tables

[me05501]

Using them as ball markers is silly and impractical. 
 

I will die on this hill.  
 

🙂

[SEP1006]

10 minutes ago, me05501 said:

Using them as ball markers is silly and impractical. 
 

I will die on this hill.  
 

🙂

 

I'm on the fence with this. I agree to a point, but IF you are in nobody's line then it really doesn't matter what you use.

 

 

 

[GSRswapandslow]

i agree with OP...its completely stupid.  Its even stupider for people that give them out at tournaments that don't even have casino's near them....so stupid AND pointless

[toc]

This….is not a big deal

[North Butte]

Not a big deal at all but I do wonder what the attraction is.

 

Then again I don't understand the reason any golfer would want a white belt, white pants or the Aimpoint system. So maybe I'm just dumb. 

[me05501]

8 minutes ago, SEP1006 said:

 

I'm on the fence with this. I agree to a point, but IF you are in nobody's line then it really doesn't matter what you use.

 

 

 

 

Right on. But this suggests that the poker chip brigade should have a secondary marker ready for when the ARE in someone else's line. Many don't...and in any case, if you have to have a second marker for being a good sport when it's necessary, it seems like a good clue that you could be a better sport all the time. 

 

Even if a poker chip marker is well off my line, it catches my eye when I should be focused on the cup and my line. Adding an additional distraction on the greens is unneeded and unsportsmanlike. 

 

[SEP1006]

5 minutes ago, me05501 said:

Even if a poker chip marker is well off my line, it catches my eye when I should be focused on the cup and my line. Adding an additional distraction on the greens is unneeded and unsportsmanlike. 

 

Well I hope none of your golfing buddies are reading this. Could be used to their advantage !!

[Fuscinator]

I like to use a shot glass.

[me05501]

8 minutes ago, SEP1006 said:

 

Well I hope none of your golfing buddies are reading this. Could be used to their advantage !!

 

Ha!

 

One of them brought a fourth for a match last season and he liked to use a big ole thing that looked like a manhole cover.

 

On 18 his mark was a couple inches off my line. His putt was two feet and mine was around five feet. He asked if he should move it and I told him to leave it.

 

I ended up pushing my putt badly but it actually careened off his marker and fell in the hole for a win. Then he acted huffy with me for not having him move the marker! As if I'd intentionally bounced my putt off his stupid chip. 

 

That's when I realized how distracting they are.

 

It's like when you're learning to ride a motorcycle and they teach you that you'll drive toward whatever you look at. Don't look at the guardrail or you're likely to hit it. 

 

Huge ball markers are too hard to ignore. 

[bluedot]

I’ve never played with anybody that used a poker chip that didn’t also have a smaller marker available as needed.  It just doesn’t seem like a big deal at all, any more than sticking a tee in the ground, or a repair tool, or whatever.
 

I don’t know why others use poker chips; I only know why I do.  I use a $25 chip with a sunflower on it from a casino that went out of business around 1950.  My daughter, who died 10 years ago from cancer, just loved sunflowers, and her number in HS basketball was 25.  Every time I put that chip down, I say hi to her in my mind (quietly out loud if I’m far enough away from everybody else) and remind myself that golf is just make believe.  It doesn’t make me feel any better about anything, but it helps me keep some perspective about what I’m doing.

 

That’s too personal of a story, I know, but I suspect others use particular chips because of some sort of loyalty and/or comfort zone.  And that’s a good thing, I think.

[double_d]

47 minutes ago, North Butte said:

Not a big deal at all but I do wonder what the attraction is.

 

Then again I don't understand the reason any golfer would want a white belt, white pants or the Aimpoint system. So maybe I'm just dumb. 

Regarding the white belt, I believe in following "the rule of 36". If your age or waist measurement is more than 36, no white belt for you.

[TBD203]

47 minutes ago, me05501 said:

 

Right on. But this suggests that the poker chip brigade should have a secondary marker ready for when the ARE in someone else's line. Many don't...and in any case, if you have to have a second marker for being a good sport when it's necessary, it seems like a good clue that you could be a better sport all the time. 

 

Even if a poker chip marker is well off my line, it catches my eye when I should be focused on the cup and my line. Adding an additional distraction on the greens is unneeded and unsportsmanlike. 

 

I don't have a poker chip - but my preferred marker (scotty hot head harry milled marker) is definitely chunkier. Thus I have a smaller mark ready for anyone that prefers it, or if I am closer to someone's line.

[me05501]

13 minutes ago, bluedot said:

I’ve never played with anybody that used a poker chip that didn’t also have a smaller marker available as needed.  It just doesn’t seem like a big deal at all, any more than sticking a tee in the ground, or a repair tool, or whatever.
 

I don’t know why others use poker chips; I only know why I do.  I use a $25 chip with a sunflower on it from a casino that went out of business around 1950.  My daughter, who died 10 years ago from cancer, just loved sunflowers, and her number in HS basketball was 25.  Every time I put that chip down, I say hi to her in my mind (quietly out loud if I’m far enough away from everybody else) and remind myself that golf is just make believe.  It doesn’t make me feel any better about anything, but it helps me keep some perspective about what I’m doing.

 

That’s too personal of a story, I know, but I suspect others use particular chips because of some sort of loyalty and/or comfort zone.  And that’s a good thing, I think.

 

That's awesome. Thanks for sharing. 

 

I have a NYC subway token I like to use. You don't see those in the wild too often anymore. 

 

I also have a coin from Hong Kong to remind me of an epic trip there years ago. 

[Bob Cat]

Are guitar pics acceptable?  Asking for a friend.

[golfday]

Agree with OP. If you are going to use one, please be courteous and carry a second/smaller mark in your pocket so that you can use something that won't affect someone's putt should it hit it or be distracting if it's in their line of sight with the hole. It's rare that it matters, but when it does you should be prepared.

 

I was playing a match recently and had a 8 footer to win a hole, opponent had an orange and green chip about 4 feet from the hole and maybe 1 foot outside of my line. I asked him to use a different mark and he got very huffy about it.

 

Personally, I don't think that you should ever use one. People hit bad golf shots that hit marks when you don't expect it to happen. On of the purposes of a mark is that it doesn't affect another players shot, and a poker chip defeats that purpose.

[Robert72]

1 hour ago, me05501 said:

Using them as ball markers is silly and impractical. 
 

I will die on this hill.  
 

🙂

 

They might as well use a man-hole cover.

[golfday]

34 minutes ago, TBD203 said:

I don't have a poker chip - but my preferred marker (scotty hot head harry milled marker) is definitely chunkier. Thus I have a smaller mark ready for anyone that prefers it, or if I am closer to someone's line.

You're a good man. This is the way to do it if you have a chunky one you like to use.

[cristphoto]

If I were playing someone in match play that had an oversized ball marker I'd start asking him to move his mark two or three clubheads.  After a few times of this the golfer might then reach for a dime.  I'd never complain as that admits it bothers you.  It's all mental.  

[NJBigFish22]

There is only 2 ways I would ever use a poker chip as a marker, and that would be if it was required for me to get on and play Shadow Creek or ANGC.

[me05501]

15 minutes ago, Bob Cat said:

Are guitar pics acceptable?  Asking for a friend.

 

I've used one in a pinch, but technically they're not permitted under the rules of golf if they aren't round. 

[RSinSG]

I use a poker sized mark I got when I played Pebble Beach. It has a smaller marker in the center attached by a magnet that I use when I’m close or near another ball.  No drama. 

[cristphoto]

13 minutes ago, me05501 said:

 

I've used one in a pinch, but technically they're not permitted under the rules of golf if they aren't round. 

 

Has the rule recently changed?  I recall several years ago Ian Poulter (I believe) had marked his ball with a coin, then accidently dropped his ball on the coin which caused it to move.  He was penalized for this.  He complained to no avail so for the rest of the round in a sort of protest he marked his ball with a tee.  I've used a tee also on the first green when I realize I didn't put a coin in my pocket.  Never been called on it and I play in a couple tournaments a year.  

[scott406]

Poker chip markers should be banned

Especially ones with a stupid design on it

 

If the Poker Chip is from an actual Vega Casino

Only then is it allowed

 

This is the way

[Double Mocha Man]

A ball marker is all about being functional.

 

It's not about having the coolest ball marker, or the biggest ball marker or the most historic ball marker... it's not the time to show off your taste or non-taste in things used to mark your ball.

 

A month ago a friend laid down his usual extra thick poker chip to mark his ball on the green so I could chip up.  When my ball hit that sucker it popped into the air and went well offline. What had been a good shot in the making left me with a 9-foot putt.

[TBD203]

3 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

A ball marker is all about being functional.

 

It's not about having the coolest ball marker, or the biggest ball marker or the most historic ball marker... it's not the time to show off your taste or non-taste in things used to mark your ball.

 

A month ago a friend laid down his usual extra thick poker chip to mark his ball on the green so I could chip up.  When my ball hit that sucker it popped into the air and went well offline. What had been a good shot in the making left me with a 9-foot putt.

But this goes back to what a few of us have said, he should either have a smaller mark for any time he's actually in someone's line, or move it.

[Double Mocha Man]

32 minutes ago, cristphoto said:

If I were playing someone in match play that had an oversized ball marker I'd start asking him to move his mark two or three clubheads.  After a few times of this the golfer might then reach for a dime.  I'd never complain as that admits it bothers you.  It's all mental.  

 

I'd be prone to ask, "Would you be so kind to move your ball marker 4 CLUB LENGTHS to the right, so it's not such a distraction?"

[Double Mocha Man]

4 minutes ago, TBD203 said:

But this goes back to what a few of us have said, he should either have a smaller mark for any time he's actually in someone's line, or move it.

 

Use a poker chip once shame on you, use a poker chip twice shame on me. So I have resolved that in a case like the one above I will invite my friend to meet me at the poker chip and give him a dime to re-mark.

[TBD203]

I'm torn whether or not your friend is being discourteous by not having a small mark, or if you are being passive aggressive not just asking him to move it a few putter heads one direction.

[me05501]

1 minute ago, TBD203 said:

I'm torn whether or not your friend is being discourteous by not having a small mark, or if you are being passive aggressive not just asking him to move it a few putter heads one direction.

 

Could certainly be both. 

[Double Mocha Man]

1 minute ago, TBD203 said:

I'm torn whether or not your friend is being discourteous by not having a small mark, or if you are being passive aggressive not just asking him to move it a few putter heads one direction.

 

Good question. It was a long side hill, over a mound chip. I couldn't see what he marked his ball with, though I should know he never carries dimes. The variance in how the chip shot would roll was probably 2 feet left or right, so a club head or two wouldn't have worked.