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Is this legal? I can't imagine it is.

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Parrot

Parrot

2025 Worldwide Golf Championship - Team ?????
Albatross 2024 Club
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This popped up in my email this morning.

A level as a ball marker? Surely, the USGA has put the kibosh on such things.

www.ironladgolf.com

Buy 2 for 49.99 and SAVE $$ - Ironlad Golf

Ball Marker That Reads the Green! Get The Best Read on Putts within 10 Feet
www.ironladgolf.com www.ironladgolf.com
 
Illegal to measure slope with a device on the greens just as are rounds played with slope function engaged on a rangefinder. You can't enter those rounds played with any slope device for GHIN calculations. IMO, slope function on rangefinders one of the most widely ignored rules in golf.
 
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Parrot said:
This popped up in my email this morning.

A level as a ball marker? Surely, the USGA has put the kibosh on such things.

www.ironladgolf.com

Buy 2 for 49.99 and SAVE $$ - Ironlad Golf

Ball Marker That Reads the Green! Get The Best Read on Putts within 10 Feet
www.ironladgolf.com www.ironladgolf.com
Click to expand...
Definitely not USGA compliant. Could be useful in practice rounds on unfamiliar greens though.
 
I also don't know how much help that is - because the slope directly at your ball may not be the slope for the majority of the putt.
 
mpeterson said:
I also don't know how much help that is - because the slope directly at your ball may not be the slope for the majority of the putt.
Click to expand...

The key is to toss it in a few different spots along the way. They’re fun for a practice round but that’s about it.
 
I use my feet ... but I think that only helps with zero or close to zero drop shoes
 
i have seen some neat ones of these and no their not legal
 
OITW said:
Didn't @Jmk202 have one like this for the practice round?
Click to expand...

If he did, I didn't see it.

MWard said:
The key is to toss it in a few different spots along the way. They’re fun for a practice round but that’s about it.
Click to expand...

There were several holes at TPC LV where it would've come in handy in the practice round. There were some putts that you would get 3 different reads if you looked at it 3 times.
 
MWard said:
The key is to toss it in a few different spots along the way. They’re fun for a practice round but that’s about it.
Click to expand...
Played some scrambles with a guy who was really competitive (former college/pro football QB) from about where we had a birdie putt, with his back to the hole, he would "Oops dropped my ball" rolling it towards the hole and expect the rest of us to watch the break... It was funny but not very effective...
 
DaBuckBoys said:
Played some scrambles with a guy who was really competitive (former college/pro football QB) from about where we had a birdie putt, with his back to the hole, he would "Oops dropped my ball" rolling it towards the hole and expect the rest of us to watch the break... It was funny but not very effective...
Click to expand...
When I lived in Arlington, I played in a scramble with a former Texas Rangers player and he'd do the exact same thing. He also didn't count his mulligan as used when the putt didn't fall.
 
This has got to be more of a gimmick than actually useful. Even the purest greens will he slight variations in slope in the space of a ball marker. One blade of grass a little out of place would throw it off by a few degrees.


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mpeterson said:
I also don't know how much help that is - because the slope directly at your ball may not be the slope for the majority of the putt.
Click to expand...

I agree. I am not sure how much this is really going to be beneficial as its point spot only.
 
Parrot said:
When I lived in Arlington, I played in a scramble with a former Texas Rangers player and he'd do the exact same thing. He also didn't count his mulligan as used when the putt didn't fall.
Click to expand...
That's hilarious. This guy did the same, "this isn't my mulligan... unless it goes in..." Must be in the tricks of the ex-jocks' handbook...
 
MWard said:
The key is to toss it in a few different spots along the way. They’re fun for a practice round but that’s about it.
Click to expand...

Not a terrible idea on the practice green, if you're getting used to feeling/seeing break.
 
They can and are used for practice rounds. I know that VJ used something like this for a very long time. Getting the slope right at the ball is not all that useful though. You need to walk your putt line and see what happens.
 
Parrot said:
When I lived in Arlington, I played in a scramble with a former Texas Rangers player and he'd do the exact same thing. He also didn't count his mulligan as used when the putt didn't fall.
Click to expand...

Anything to win a scramble
 
Not legal in any competitive round or in a handicap round. But yeah my FIL gave me one similar for practice rounds. It's fun but not super helpful. It gives you an indications of left or right and slight or steep but I wish it was calibrated so you could get a % slope.

Fun for practice rounds with confusing slopes, but not a game changer at all.
 
More of a fun thing I think. Definitely not legal.
 
I don't know what to say about the bubble level ball marker. For most people would flail trying to figure out how to use that.

It is interesting that pros can use a yardage book with elevation changes and with green-reading maps with elevation changes and slopes but using slope with a range finder is forbidden. I know theoretically we can all use yardage/green reading books, but how many courses have those? Few, very few.
 
GoldenBuff said:
I don't know what to say about the bubble level ball marker. For most people would flail trying to figure out how to use that.

It is interesting that pros can use a yardage book with elevation changes and with green-reading maps with elevation changes and slopes but using slope with a range finder is forbidden. I know theoretically we can all use yardage/green reading books, but how many courses have those? Few, very few.
Click to expand...
You can actually find pretty good yardage books with green slope online, and for many more courses than I would have expected. Even the muni that is down the street from me is available. GolfLogix claims to have over 216,000 courses available.
 
At least it is being marketed as a practice device.
 
mpeterson said:
I also don't know how much help that is - because the slope directly at your ball may not be the slope for the majority of the putt.
Click to expand...
My thought as well.
 
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