GB2442707A

GB2442707A - Golfing aid

Info

Publication number: GB2442707A
Application number: GB0620021A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Frederick Henry Sexton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-10-10
Filing date: 2006-10-10
Publication date: 2008-04-16
Also published as: GB0620021D0; GB0718818D0; GB2442843A

Abstract

A device for inserting a golf tee 28 into the ground comprises an elongate tubular member 10 adapted to be held vertically from its upper end, and an elongate shaft 12 movable axially within the member. The shaft 12 has an upper end (18, figure 1) protruding out of the member 10 for gripping by hand, the other end of the shaft having spring means 25 for frictionally gripping an upper end of the tee. Thus in use the tee can be inserted into the ground at a required orientation by applying a force to the upper end of the shaft. The lower end of the member 10 may be formed into a bellmouth 14, which can be utilized to accurately place a golf ball 36 over the tee. The bellmouth can also be used to pick up a stray golf ball.

Description

Title: Golfing Aid

Field of invention

This invention relates to an aid for playing the game of golf, and more particularly to a method and device for assisting in the insertion of a golf tee accurately into the ground.

Background to the invention

Golf is a very popular game both in the UK and internationally, and is played by a large number of people of all ages and abilities.

As is well known, a golf tee has a fairly small upper annular surface on to which a player has to deposit the golf ball for first striking the ball or "teeing off". This means that the player has to bend down and push the tee accurately by hand into the ground (ie on the green), so that it is substantially vertically oriented. If the tee is not so accurately positioned, a ball placed upon it can readily fall off, eg a small breeze can easily displace the ball off the tee before the player has a chance to strike the ball with his club.

Of course, for professional players and those who are skilled at the game, this operation presents no problem. However, many less experienced players do have difficulties, and particularly those who are disabled or find it difficult to bend down towards the ground. For example, many elderly players experience considerable pain when squatting, bending or stooping, which can deter them from continuing to enjoy a round of golf.

It could be argued that such handicapped players should play with more able-bodied partners, who would be prepared to help them to correctly position their tees. But many players have a certain pride and wish to remain independent of their partners.

Summary of the invention

It is a primary object of the present invention to facilitate the accurate placing of a golf tee in the ground. It is also an object of the invention to place a golf ball on to a tee without the player having to bend down According to the invention there is provided a device for inserting a golf tee into the ground comprising: an elongate tubular member adapted to be held in a vertical orientation from an upper end thereof; and n elongate shaft movable axially within the member, and having an upper end engageable by hand and a lower end with gripping means for frictionally gripping an upper end of the tee in axial alignment therewith; whereby in use the tee can be inserted into the ground at a required orientation by applying a force to the upper end of the shaft.

Preferably the lower end of the member is formed as a belimouth which has an annular portion engageable with the ground.

The stop means may be provided between the member and the shaft to limit downward movement of the gripping means relative to the belimouth.

A stop means may furthermore comprise a plurality of abutments, whereby in use vertical movement of the shaft relative to the member can be varied, so as to enable the depth of penetration of the golf tee to be selected.

Preferably the shaft is also capable of at least limited rotational movement relative to the member, and the stop means may comprise an axial slot in the member in which a protrusion in the shaft is slideable, the slot having a plurality of lateral openings in which the protrusion can be slideably engaged by said rotation of the shaft relative to the member.

In any of these arrangements the belimouth may have an internal diameter corresponding substantially with the diameter of a golf ball, whereby upon retraction of the gripping means a ball may be held by friction within the beilmouth.

The bellmouth may be concentric with the gripping means and may extend into an upper chamber having an internal diameter greater than the diameter of a golf ball, whereby the ball may be held loosely within the chamber whilst the gripping means is retracted. In this way the device may additionally be utilized to place a golf ball onto a tee.

The beilmouth may comprise a plurality of fingers.

Conveniently the upper end of the shaft can be of a rounded shape suitable for holding in the hand, and the upper end of the member may be provided with a substantially annular finger grip The invention also extends to a method of inserting a golf tee into the ground, comprising the steps of gripping the tee at one end of an elongate device such that its axis is aligned with that of the device, loosely holding the device remotely from the opposite end so that the device settles into a vertical orientation, pushing the device downwardly to insert the tee substantially vertically into the ground, and releasing the tee.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a device for placing a golf ball on to a tee, comprising an elongate tubular member having a lower end formed as a bellmouth and adapted to be held in a vertical orientation, and an elongate shaft capable of axial movement relative to the member, the bellmouth having an internal diameter corresponding substantially with the diameter of a golf ball, whereby in use the ball is held by friction within the bellmouth and can be placed on to the tee by said axial movement

Brief description of the drawings

A golfing aid device in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an elevational view of the device shown in section; Figure 2 is an enlarged scrap view of the lower end of the shaft as seen in the direction of arrow II in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a section taken on the line AA in Figure 2; Figures 4 (a) to (d) are enlarged scrap views of vanous positions or "gates" as seen in the direction of arrow IV in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figures 4, showing the functions of such gate positions; and Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower end of the device depicted in Figure 1.

Detailed description

Referring first particularly to Figures 1 and 6, the device shown comprises a tubular outer member 101 made of steel or the like, in which a rod or shaft 12 is slideable At the lower end of the member there is formed a bellmouth 14, which may for example be made of metal, rubber or plastics material. The upper end of the member 10 is provided with an annular enlargement, serving as a finger grip 16 (see Figure 1).

The upper end of the shaft 12 extends above the finger grip 16 and is formed with a rounded end 18 of oval vertical section suitable for grasping in the hand, or merely between the fingers. The lower end 20 of the shaft is of reduced diameter and is formed with a transverse hole 22 and with adjoining grooved recesses 24 on opposite sides, in which is fitted a generally 0-shaped spring 25, as best seen in Figures 2 and 3 The spring is preferably made of rounded section spring steel, as shown in Figure 2, or of flat spring steel as shown in Figure 3. The size of the end 20 combined with that of the spring 26 is such that with light pressure it is capable of insertion into the slightly tapered circular aperture of a golf tee 28, shown in chain-dotted outline in Figure.3 The bellmouth 14 terminates in an annular lip or flange 30, which is engageable with the surface of the ground 32 on the green. Above the lip 30 the inside of the beilmouth incorporates a plurality of compressible friction pads 34. Alternatively a single pad may be provided which extends around the whole of the internal circumference of the bellmouth. The internal diameter of the pads 34 is such that, with the shaft 12 lifted above the position shown, a golf ball 36 (shown chain-dotted) can be positively retained within the belimouth.

The bet(mouth extends upwardly into an enlarged chamber 1 4A having an internal diameter greater than the diameter of a golf ball 34. Thus when the shaft 12 is hilly withdrawn, and the ball is raised into the chamber 14A by the action of the device being lowered on to the tee 28, the ball will be relatively free to move within the confines of the chamber, as shown by the ball 36A in Figure 6.

A short distance below the finger grip 16, the tubular member is provided with an axial slot 38, as best seen in the scrap views of Figures 4 and 5. A screw or pin 40 is secured in the shaft 12 and engages in the slot 38, which also incorporates two lateral openings or gates 42 and 44, and a lower end or gate 45 (see Figure 4(b)).

The arrangement is such that by grasping the rounded end 18 of the shaft and holding the member at the finger grip 16, so axial and rotational movement can be imparted to the shaft relative to the member, whereby the pin 40 can be brought into any of the four positions shown in Figures 4 Figure 5 indicates the names of the different positions of the pin 40 to enable a player to ascertain where to locate the pin Operation of the device The manner in which the device can be used by a player on a golf course will now be described Depending on the softness of the ground 32 on the green, and possibly on his skill, a player selects in which of the gates 42, 44 or 45 (see Figures 4(a) to 4(c)) he wishes to place the pin 40, in order to insert a tee 28 into the ground at the desired height above the ground. He then loads the tee into the belimouth by inserting its upper aperture over the shaft end 20, where it is held axially in place by friction exerted by the spring 24.

The device is then held loosely at the rounded end 18, and allowed to come to rest until it assumes a vertical orientation. Next the device is lowered to the ground and pressure is applied to the rounded end IS until the lip 30 touches the giound. The tee 28 Will then be embedded in the ground in its correct vertical attitude.

The device is now raised, leaving the tee in the ground. In this regard it will be apparent that the frictional force between the end 18 and the tee requires to be less than the minimum force needed to withdraw the tee from the ground, so as to ensure that there is no possibility of the tee being pulled out when the device is raised The pin 40 is next moved to its upper ("insert ball") position as shown in Figures 4 (d) and 5, so that a golf ball 36 can be placed inside the bellmouth 14 and into the chamber 14A. Again the device is held loosely from the end 18 and allowed to come to rest in a vertical position over the tee. The device is then lowered until the ball 36 engages the tee, which causes the ball to be pushed into the chamber.

The looseness of the ball within the chamber 14A allows the ball to centralize itself over the aperture in the tee. At this point a light pressure is applied to the rounded end 18 to maintain the ball in place over the tee. The finger grip 16 is then gently raised relative to the shaft 12 to disengage the ball from the friction pad 34, and lastly the device is raised to leave the ball resting firmly on top of the tee.

After the player has struck the ball with his club, the tee will often also be hit arid knocked out of the ground To avoid the player having to bend down to pick it up, he places his shoe over the horizontally lying tee and lightly manoeuvres it until its pointed end is slightly above the ground; he then engages the tee with a hole 42 formed at the bottom of the bellmouth 14, so that he can raise the device and pick up the tee without stooping. if the tee remains in the ground, it can easily be pushed out by the club and then picked up by the device, in the manner described.

Oftentimes the tee may be slightly bent due to the force of knocking it Out of the ground. For this purpose a small hole 44 is provided in the top of the rounded end 18, enabling the tee to be inserted therein and readily straightened Out by hand.

It will be apparent that the bellmouth 14 can also be used to pick up a stray golf ball, or indeed a ball which has been successfully knocked into a hole in the green. To achieve this, a player places the pin 40 into the "high" position of gate 42, lowers the device over the ball, and pushes down the rounded end 18 until the ball is held between the pads 34. lIe then raises the device, and moves the pin into gate 45 to eject the ball into his hand.

Clearly the beilmouth does not necessarily need to be continuous around its circumference, and could therefore comprise a plurality of suitable fingers forming the belimouth. For example the beilmouth could be slotted in four positions (in the manner of a collet) to provide four similar fingers.

In the event that the device were to drop onto the ground, a player can readily pick it up without stooping by using the end of his golf club to engage a ioop 46 attached to the top of the member 10, as shown in Figure 1.

Claims

CLAIMS: I. A device for inserting a golf tee into the ground

comprising; an elongate tubular member adapted to be held in a vertical onentation from an upper end thereof, and an elongate shaft movable axially within the member, and having an upper end engageable by hand and a lower end with gripping means for frictionally gripping an upper end of the tee in axial alignment therewith; whereby in use the tee can be inserted into the ground at a required orientation by applying a force to the upper end of the shaft.
2. A device as claimed in claim I in which the lower end of the member is formed as a beUmouth having an annular flange portion which in use is engageable with the ground.
3 A device as claimed in claim I or claim 2 in which a stop means is provided between the member and the shaft, so as to limit downward movement of the gripping means relative to the belimouth.
4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which the stop means comprises a plurality of abutments, whereby vertical movement of the shaft relative to the member can be varied, so that in use the desired depth of penetration of the tee into the ground can be selected.
5. A device as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 in which the shaft is also capable of limited rotational movement relative to the member, and in which the stop means comprises an axial slot in the member in which a protrusion in the shaft is slideable, the slot having a plurality of lateral openings forming abutments in which the protrusion can be lockably engaged by said rotation of the shaft relative to the member.
6. A device as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5 in which the bellmouth has an internal diameter corresponding substantially with the diameter of a golf ball, whereby upon retraction of the gripping means a ball may be held by friction within the beHmouth.
7. A device as claimed in claim 6 in which the beilmouth is concentric with the gripping means and extends into an upper chamber having an internal diameter greater than the diameter of a golf ball, whereby the ball may be held loosely within the chamber when the gripping means is retracted
8 A device as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7 in which the bellmouth comprises a plurality of fingers.
9. A device as claimed in any one preceding claim in which the upper end of the shaft is of a rounded shape suitable for holding in the hand.
10. A device as claimed in any one preceding claim in which the upper end of the member is provided with a substantially annular finger grip.
II. A method of inserting a golf tee into the ground, comprising the steps of gripping the tee at one end of an elongate device such that its axis is aligned with that of the device, loosely holding the device remotely from the opposite end so that the device settles into a vertical orientation, pushing the device downwardly to insert the tee substantially vertically into the ground, and releasing the tee.
12. A device for placing a golf ball on to a tee, comprising an elongate tubular member having a lower end formed as a beilmouth and adapted to be held in a vertical orientation, and an elongate shaft capable of axial movement relative to the member, the bellmouth having an internal diameter corresponding substantially with the diameter of a golf ball, whereby in use the ball is held by friction within the bellmouth and can be placed on to the tee by said axial movement.

13 A device as claimed in claim 12 in which the bellmouth is concentric with the elongate shaft and extends into an upper chamber having an internal diameter greater than the diameter of a golf ball, whereby the ball is held loosely within the chamber whilst the shaft is retracted 14. A device for inserting a golf tee into the ground, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings 15. A method of inserting a golf tee into the ground, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.