When you run a golf accessories company, you figure your kids are pretty set in the ball marker department. At least, that’s what I thought… until my 10-year-old daughter Anabel came home from golf camp with a sparkly butterfly ball marker she bought herself.

Not from Birdie Girl.
From another company.

I asked her why, and she shrugged. “I just liked it.” Fair enough.

So instead of being offended, I challenged her: if you want a ball marker you really love, design it yourself. We’ll sell it, and you can keep the profits.

Without hesitation, she said: “Peter Barker, in a tux, with a rose in his mouth. On a pink background.” Very specific. Very Anabel.

She sketched it out, we cleaned it up, and now the Peter Barker marker is here—the cutest Cavalier King Charles dog ball marker to ever grace a green.

A family business, one order at a time

Here’s the bigger picture: both my kids are part of this business. My son Jack is 13 and a ski racer (which, if you’ve ever paid for ski racing, you know it’s not exactly cheap). Anabel’s deep into golf and dance. Both of them help pack inventory and ship orders to cover those lesson and race fees.

Recently I realized this is about more than just funding sports. It’s about teaching skills that carry them well beyond the course or the slopes. So I’m bringing them into other parts of Birdie Girl too—product design, content marketing, and even the financials. I don’t know if they’ll grow up to be entrepreneurs, but they’ll understand how ideas turn into products, and how hustle and creativity open doors.

So here it is: Anabel’s very first design. A ball marker dreamed up at 10 years old, brought to life by a dog in a tux, and now marking putts across greens everywhere.

Shop the Peter Barker Marker