Abstract: A golf ball marker retention system, comprising: a retaining cavity associated with a golf club handle, the retaining cavity having an entry channel that expands as an object is inserted and contracts when the object has been substantially fully inserted within the cavity, the cavity being oriented substantially perpendicular to an elongate axis of the golf club handle; and a ball marker receivable within the cavity, the ball marker being insertable and storable within the retaining cavity and being sized and shaped such that, as the marker is inserted into the cavity through the entry channel, the entry channel first expands and then contracts after the marker has been substantially fully received within the retaining cavity.