Most of your strokes happen within fifty yards of the hole, and so do most of the small things you carry. A ball marker, a divot tool, a putter cover and a wedge: none of them cost much next to a driver, and all of them get used on every hole that matters.
How we picked. We went through the stores of the brands in our index, around 155 of them, and found over a thousand markers, tools, covers and wedges in stock. We kept nine of each, with no more than two from any one brand. Every ball marker here is one we have never featured before.
Ball markers. This is the place to have fun. A $22 needlepoint marker and a $90 machined brass tag do the same job, so pick the one you like looking at. Surf-town steel from Swell Marks, TOTEM’s machined brass bag tag and ANTi Country Club Tokyo’s Camacho monster lead the section.
Divot tools. Look at the prongs before the logo. Two solid prongs with a little taper fix a pitch mark cleanly; flimsy ones tear the turf. Everything here passes that test, from Haywood’s $20 multi-tool to TOTEM’s hand-balanced titanium.
Putter covers. Measure first. Blade, mallet and center-shaft covers are cut differently, and a few makers here offer several shapes of the same cover. After that, it comes down to material: waxed canvas and leather age well, wool plaid and Harris Tweed bring color.
Wedges. Get your wedges fitted if you can; most of the makers here will build to your loft, bounce, shaft and length. We went looking for the unusual ones: Piretti stamps its forged heads by hand, Haywood laser-engraves a flag or torches raw copper, and Avoda makes a black wedge with almost no bounce. If you buy one, buy the sand wedge you hit from 80 yards and in.
What is in here. 36 pieces from 27 brands, all in stock when we checked on November 3, 2026. Prices are what each store shows a US visitor; Sinking Birdies is listed in pounds with a rough dollar figure beside it.
Nothing we have featured beforeSurf-town steel, a Tokyo monster, a kookaburra and needlepoint. A marker is the cheapest way to carry a little personality in your pocket, and the one thing everyone in your group sees on every green.
Fix your mark, and one moreFrom a $20 multi-tool to hand-balanced titanium. Every pick here has two or three solid prongs, which matter more than any logo on top.
On the greenPitch marks fixed, from Sinking Birdies, TOTEM and Provision.
The cover you see mostYour putter comes out on every hole, so its cover gets more looks than anything else in the bag. Waxed canvas, Harris Tweed, wool plaid and leather. Check blade or mallet before you buy.
In the bagA wool cover on a mallet, then copper and chrome, from Mackem, Haywood and Piretti.
Where scores get madeHand-stamped, laser-engraved, torched and painted, from $99 to $299. Most of these makers offer custom loft, bounce and shaft, so the right wedge is the one fitted to your swing.
If you are going to upgrade one thing in this post, make it the wedge. A fitted sand wedge saves more strokes than any marker, tool or cover ever will.
Then have fun with the rest. A marker you like looking at, a tool that fixes a mark properly and a cover that makes you smile when you pull the putter out are small things, but you will touch them on every green.
For more small upgrades, see our small golf accessories and Swell Marks, Hinotori and Studio Grain.
