Will Scotty's latest tool take ball markers to next level?

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Courtesy of ScottyCameron.com

An improved ball marker called the Scotty Cameron Ball Tool is the latest gadget to come out of the Putter Studio.

SAN MARCOS, Calif. -- Scotty Cameron was excited. Actually, he was more than excited. He was pumped up, his enthusiasm bubbling over as he was proudly displaying his latest innovation.

It's called the Scotty Cameron Ball Tool and it's basically the next generation in ball markers. It's a simple flat, square piece of metal with a small semi-circular indention cut into one side where the golf ball goes. Stamped on the marker right next to the indention is a series of alignment markers that allows the player to line up his putt even after he marks his ball.

Cameron got the idea earlier this year after he became aggravated watching professional golfers spend so much time going back and forth between the ball and the hole to make sure their balls were aimed properly at the cup.

Courtesy of ScottyCameron.com

Scotty Cameron shows Ben Curtis how to use the Ball Tool at last week's PGA Championship.

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So now the player can line up his Titleist ProV1 with the marker, using the A.I.M (Alignment Integrated Marking) sidestamp on the ball to correspond with the alignment line on the marker.

As Cameron demonstrated this in his Putter Studio, when he placed the ball down, his back was to the hole -- which, if you think about it, would be the kind of bold move that could intimidate your playing partners.

But that's not why Cameron developed it. And he didn't develop it expecting to cure the yips or have you draining 20-foot putts with Tiger-like frequency. He just thought it would help players with their alignments as well as speed up the pace of play -- and putting down a dime as your ball marker just doesn't offer that, in his view.

"I just thought, 'There's got to be a better way,'" said Cameron, whose Titleist putters are used by 36 percent of PGA TOUR pros. "I love to see things come to life. Why am I so excited about a silly piece of metal? Because it works like silly good."

Cameron had initially hoped to call it the SmartMark -- he derived the name while drinking a sports drink called SmartWater -- but that name was already owned by another company not in the golf business.

So with a new name, the marker is USGA approved and patent pending at the moment. The Ball Tool, which Cameron devised with slightly rounded corners as to not dig into a player's leg when he stores it in his pants pocket, should be available sometime in September.

"Everybody thinks ball markers have to be round, but the rules changed five years ago," Cameron said. "Now you can use anything. It could be a phone book if you want.

"When you align the putt and you know it's dead-nuts perfect, then when you go to stand over the putt, it's all positive things that you're thinking. It's so simple but you can gain confidence."

The only negative, Cameron said, is that the Ball Tool could be distracting for another player whose ball is close to the marker. But he said the advantages far outweigh the few times that might happen.

"It's so silly ... but I love it!" Cameron said. "If you use it once, you never want to be without it again."

The Scotty Cameron Ball Tool will retail for $44 and is expected to be available in mid-September on scottycameron.com.