Ball deflected off marker into hole: any problem?

From the green my putts deflects off a ball marker and drops into the hole. Ball is holed out.

From off the green my chip shot deflects off the marker and drops into the hole. Same result? Ball is holed out, no penalty or replacement in either case. In neither case did the marker move.

I assume you mean the marker of a fellow competitor, if so, then your shot is completely legal.

It is my understanding that if you hit a shot that hits an opponents ball and goes in, that it counts too.  Opponent would have to place his ball back to where it was thought to have been.

In stroke play, if a player's putt struck from anywhere on the putting green deflects off another ball, the player incurs a 2 stroke penalty.  No penalty in match play.  If the stroke is played from anywhere off the putting green, there is no penalty.

If a player's ball is deflected or stopped by an outside agency it is rub of the green and the ball is played where it lies.  This rule covers 99% of the rulings where a ball is deflected by an OA.  Fellow competitor ball markers are outside agencies/obstructions.  (Not Equipment)

The other 1% can get a little complicated.  For example:

After a stroke on the putting green and the ball is in motion: If the ball is deflected or stopped by an outside agency that is moving , or if the OA is animate ( i.e. living....doesn't matter if it's moving)  the rule is different.  In this case the stroke is canceled and the ball MUST be replaced and replayed.  Exception: Worms, insects, and the like don't count as moving or animate agencies.

Also, to add to this, the above covers balls that are "in play".  If the ball on the green had been lifted and was set aside, the ball is now considered equipment .  In the case of hitting another competitor's/opponent's equipment , if your ball in motion is deflected or stopped: in stroke play, no penalty, play the ball as it lies.  In match play, you have the option to replay the stroke.  If you elect to replay the stroke, you must do so before your opponent plays his next stroke.

So, if i am putting from 6 ft away and the ball drops into the cup but the hidden snake jumps out of the hole and knocks my ball out of the cup to a spot nearby, i need to go back the the 6 foot place and putt again? Doesn't seem fair!  And for the pedants amongst us, since the snake was large and occupied nearly all of the hole there is no chance the ball found the bottom of the cup.

Then you would have seen it when you pulled the pin.....

Come on.  Keep it real.

It doesn't have to find the bottom of the cup, but it must be at rest entirely below the surface of the green.  If that wasn't the case then yes, you are correct.  Personally, if the ball disappeared completely into the hole and didn't reappear for a couple of seconds, I would call it at rest.  It is allowed to pick a ball out of the hole on a tap in before it comes to rest and still consider it to be holed.

Why do you think Chi Chi used to put his hat over the hole when he made a birdie? To stop the jumping snakes from knocking his ball out of the hole. Everyone knows that. Get your self a hat!