Charlotte Campbell Brings Bling to the Green with Blingo Ballmarks

Feb. 13, 2010 - Remember the Golf Channel series Highway 18? The reality series, the Golf Channel's miniature version of The Amazing Race, had two-person teams of golfers racing around Florida competing in challenges.

If you remember the series, then you surely recall Charlotte Campbell, as well. Charlotte and her brother Rob were the winners.

Charlotte Campbell was a two-time winner of the NCAA Division II national championship in women's golf while a student at Rollins, and a two-time Division II Player of the Year. She went on to play professionally, and still does. And along the way she's developed her own business called Blingo Ballmarks.

Campbell makes Blingo ballmark repair tools and lapel pins, but the core of the Blingo business is the ballmarkers themselves: Flashy, multicolored, sparkling ballmarkers that magnetically attach to a clip that fits securely on the bill of a golf cap.

A little bit of bling - make that Blingo - for the course.

Every item that Blingo sells is handmade by Campbell herself, "literally ... at my dining room table," she said.

"If you have a Blingo, I made it," Campbell said. "People often say I should hire (staff), but until I physically can't handle the demand, I will do it. I really enjoy doing Blingo."

The process involves affixing background colors to the metal blanks, then, on top of that, attaching many small Swarovski Crystals. The crystals vary in size, color and pattern. On the Blingo Web site, around 40 designs are pictured from which customers can choose. Or you can request a custom design. The finished ballmarker is about the diameter of a nickel.

For the purposes of this article, I placed a custom order for a Blingo ballmarker, requesting a color that Campbell had to special order. She lists her email address on the site, so contacting her was easy. And Campbell was quick to reply, courteous and eager to accommodate my design request. About a week later, I had a Blingo ballmarker.

The idea for Blingo was provided by a family friend. "The first Blingo was made for my mother's friend," Campbell said. "She requsted I make a purple rhinestone ball mark to match her outfit and fell in love with it. She really encouraged me to make more and sell them.

"I owe a lot of credit to her for believing in me and Blingo. I made it into a business over time. There are a lot of details involved in a small business but I slowly figured them all out."

So far, Blingo ballmarkers appeal primarily to women golfers. Campbell estimates that only one of every 50 orders to this point have come from men. But don't be shy, guys: If you want some bling on the green, contact Campbell with a design idea.

"Some college men have become interested in their school colors, or black," Campbell said. "Anthony Kim wears a rhinestone belt. What's the difference? I'm still waiting for a man on the PGA Tour to start using a Blingo, then I'll know I've made it."

Campbell's Blingos are already seen on the LPGA Tour, with multiple LPGA players using them. She also made custom Blingos for the American Solheim Cup team last year to use during that competition.