Patent Application
20220193520
The invention relates to the game of golf and, more particularly, course designs and methods of play that decreases the time it takes to play to the game and that decreases the space needed to construct the course.
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course with the goal being to hit the balls into the holes in as few strokes as possible. Golf course designs vary greatly from one course to the next but all courses share common characteristics.
Courses have either 9 or 18 holes, with each hole designed to be completed in either 3, 4, or 5 strokes of the golf club—each hole known as a “par 3”, “par 4”, or “par 5”, respectively. In general, while each hole may be longer a par 3 hole is between 100 and 200 yards in length, par 4 holes are typically between 250 yards and 400 yards, and par 5 holes are commonly between 450 yards and 500 yards. It is also common to have different start areas, or tee boxes, for beginners, men, women, seniors, and expert-level players so as to change the distance based on the players ability level.
Conventional golf courses also include a number of “hazards” that are intended to rise the difficultly level of the course and include such things as sand traps, water hazards such as ponds, as well more difficult areas where the grass may be kept long. There are also frequently wooded areas that are considered out of bounds.
Based on a report from the Golf Course Superintendents Association an 18 hole golf facility averages 150 to 200 acres and a 9 hole golf facility averages 75 to 100 acres. This amount of space that is required to build a conventional golf course limits the areas where they may be built which in turn limits access to the sport.
While most people play golf for the enjoyment of the game it is also time consuming, with a full round of golf on an 18-hole course often taking around 4 hours or more and a 9-hole course requiring at least 2 hours and often more. That time commitment is a struggle for many, and in addition to not having time to play it is also difficult for one to improve his/her skills by practicing in a golf-course setting.
For example, according to the National Golf Foundation to two leading factors that prevent people from playing golf are the time it takes to play and the intimidation people feel from the difficulty of the game (i.e. they do not have time to practice so that the game remains difficult and the intimidation continues to prevent them from playing when they do have time).
To limit the amount of time required to play, and to help increase the ability to practice, other methods of play have been created. For example, driving ranges provide an area where one may go to hit an entire bucket of balls from a single area. Additionally, “par 3 courses” have been constructed only of the shorter par 3 holes with a par 27 for 9 holes and a par 54 for 18 holes, and “executive courses” which consist of par 3's and 4's with an occasional short par 5 and a par range of 29-32 for 9 holes and 58-65 for 18 holes. These executive courses are designed to be more suited to beginners, occasional players, of senior golfers. Unfortunately, neither of these methods simulate the experience of playing a regular 9 or 18 hole golf course with a par 36 for 9 holes and a par 72 for 18 holes.
What is needed, therefore, is a golf course and method of play that allows golfers to have the conventional 9 or 18-hole experience in a shorter amount of time. What is further needed is such a course that may be built in a significantly smaller area so as to increase access to the game.
The invention is a golf course having either 3 or 6 holes that includes par 3, par 4, and par 5 holes, that may be built on a little as 12 acres of land, and a method of play that enables a golfer to complete the equivalent of a full round of golf in as little as one hour. In particular, the 3-hole course is typically played in 1 hour or less and the 6-hole course is played in two hours or less.
The 3-hole course includes a par 3, a par 4, and a par 5. The course is designed such that either the par 4 or the par 5 is the first, the par 3 is the second hole, and the final hole is either the par 4 or the par 5 depending on which hole the course starts with, e.g. if the first hole is a par 5 the last hole is a par 4. Generally, the par 3 hole connects the par 4 and par 5 holes, and the final hole extends back to the start area such that the entire course has a roughly triangular shape. This layout may typically be constructed on 12-15 acres of land.
The 6 hole course is effectively a double version of the 3 hole course, having 2 par 3's, 2 par 4's, and 2 par 5's. The version of the course may often be constructed on an area of land spanning 25-30 acres. There are various ways in which this course may be constructed, however, a configuration that has the first and fourth tee areas and the third and sixth green areas near the clubhouse is ideal as this enables golfers the options of only play three holes and/or playing starting with holes 4-6 rather than 1-3.
The method of play involves playing three different balls per hole at the same time and allowing only 2 golfers to play at the same time. The three balls may initially be hit from the same tee area, which is ideal from a time-saving perspective, or different tee areas may be constructed and used by the golfers. As the golfers play, each stroke of each ball is considered to be a stroke for scoring purposes.
Additionally, the course may be designed to include 3 cups, or holes, on each green. In the primary embodiment, each golfer targets the cup that is nearest the ball as it initially lands on the green. However, this arrangement also allows for additional training opportunities, for example, it allows golfers to target cups that are further away or that may constitute a more or less difficult shot based on the curvature of the green.
Ultimately the golf course design and method of play enable a golfer to have the full experience of a conventional course in as little as one to two hours depending on whether the course is a 3 or 6-hole course, with the course able to occupy as little as 10% to 15% of the land area typically needed for a conventional golf course.
The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. The drawings are not drawn to scale.
The present invention will now be described more fully in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention should not, however, be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
As shown in
The 6-hole course may be designed in a number of ways. The example courses in
The example course shown in
Further, the tee boxes T and putting green G locations are merely examples; either may be located in other suitable positions. It is also likely that there are multiple tee boxes. Fox example, there may be different tee locations for golfers of different skill level, e.g. those with greater skills may wish to have a longer distance to the green, or, multiple tee areas may be used to allow a golfer to play multiple balls for different starting locations. Each fairway is likely to have the sort of obstacles typically found on a golf course such as sand traps, water hazards, and out of bounds areas B as shown in
The may also be multiple cups on each green. For example, the three-hole course illustrated on
While the specific layout of each course may vary as noted the typical 3-hole course may be built on as little as 12-15 acres of land while the common 6-hole course may need no more than 25 acres. This radically condensed size not only makes the game quicker but it expands the areas where the course may be constructed, which in turns expands access to the game.
It is noted that these course designs, while advantageous in many ways, are merely illustrations of how the courses may be designed and are not intended to be limiting in any way as numerous other 3 and 6 hole course designs are possible.
Once all six balls are on the course, in the 2-golfer example, the golfers proceed to play the game in normal manner of ready golf, i.e. the golfers proceed down the course hitting the balls with conventional golf clubs as they come to each ball, except for the fact that each golfer is playing three balls. Each time the golfer hits a ball is counted as a stroke for scoring purposes as with a conventional manner of ready golf. This process of teeing up and playing 3 balls per golfer is repeated for each hole on the course.
In course design that include multiple cups on each green, for example 3 cups on each green, each golfer may choose which cup he or she wishes to shot for.
As noted, while the arrangement of the par 3, par 4 and par 5 holes may vary it is preferable to have the par 3 hole in between the par 4 and the par 5. This arrangement maximizes the flow of multiple golfers along the entire course as most golfers are able to complete the short par 3 before the trialing set of golfers completes the first hole such that the second pair of golfers may hit their tee shots without delay upon reaching the par 3 tee box. By the time the second pair of golfers reaches the third tee box the first pair should be far enough along that hole so as to allow the second pair to tee-off without risk of hitting the leading pair.
In general, it is best if only two golfers play a single hole at one time. Beyond that the additional time and potential confusion of the additional balls starts to lessen the benefits of the 3-hole or 6-hole course design.
Playing this method enables the golfers to hit 3 balls for the par 3, 4 and 5, while counting each stroke, making the 3-hole course a par 36 course and the 6-hole course a par 72 course, which are common for 9 and 18 hole courses. In general, the 3-hole course may be completed in around one hour or less while the 6-hole course may be completed in roughly 2 hours or less, thus allowing the golfers to experience the full golfing experience in an extremely reduced amount of time.
It is understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present invention. Variations in the construction of the golf course and method of play may be contemplated by one skilled in the art without limiting the intended scope of the invention herein disclosed and as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63017177 | Apr 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17227331 | Apr 2021 | US |
| Child | 17694877 | US |
