Patent Application
20230032225
The invention relates generally to golf, in particular indoor golf for practice or entertainment purposes.
The game of golf can be seen as comprising three phases: driving, chipping and putting. There exist driving ranges and putting greens as well as numerous miniature practice aids for improving various aspects of the game. For example there are novelty golf cups surrounded by artificial grass to practice putting or virtual reality systems for simulating actual golf strokes into a video game overlay.
There also exists permanent installations, such as mini golf and crazy golf to practice the putting aspect. The chipping aspect of the games is rarely practiced. Additionally the conditions in some parts of the world make it too hot or too cold to play year-round and the players may find it difficult to play a full game of golf, especially in such conditions. The present invention addresses these shortcomings.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for indoor golf comprising: a raised structure having a playing green on a top surface, a golf cup in the playing green and return conduit connected to the golf cup and running through the raised structure; and a vertically extending background partially wrapped around the raised structure, leaving an opening at one side, wherein the playing green and return pipe are sloped towards the opening.
Further aspects of the invention are set out below and in the appended claims. Thus preferred embodiments of the invention enable golfers to practice chipping in events and indoor environments.
Various objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of various embodiments of the invention.
With reference to the accompanying figures, apparatus are disclosed for practicing golf, particularly chipping, which may be provided at an indoor installation or as a portable installation for events. As seen in
The chipping green (aka playing green) provides the playing surface, on which the ball ideally lands and rolls into the cup. If the shot misses, the balls rolls back on the green or falls over onto the bunker surface and rolls back therefrom. The playing green may be any soft, textured material, such as carpet or artificial grass. This provides the desirable speed and bounce expected from a real golf experience.
The playing green is the top surface of a first structure that is raised off the ground and inclined from a high rear portion sloping towards a lower front portion at the opening. The surface need not be flat or monotonic. The surface may also slope left, slope right, be humped, or slope partly backwards. In each case, a missed shot returns the ball to the player at the opening. The playing green need not be sloped so as to directly return the ball along its surface; it may be sloped towards the bunker region along which the ball is returned to the opening. The bunker is also sloped towards the opening to return chips show that entirely miss the green or roll from the green to the bunker.
The bunker region (second structure) at least partially surrounds the playing green, providing the equivalent of a bunker in golf where a bad shot would end up, either directly or after rolling off the green. Thus the bunker surface may be lower than the abutting portion of the green to provide a distinctive result and stop bad shots becoming sunk shots by luck.
The top surface of the bunker may be soft to deaden a ball's bounce. It may be textured and colored to resemble a real golf bunker, e.g. using sand or sandpaper to resemble a sand bunker. The bunker surface is not a playing surface and is made from a different material than the playing surface, so that the ball moves differently over it.
The background (aka backdrop) provides a barrier to restrict long balls from going beyond the apparatus' footprint. The background generally surrounds the bunker and or green leaving an opening at one side, i.e. the front where the golfer plays. The background vertically extends from the ground to a sufficient height to block balls, preferably at least 2 m high. It may even extend to the ceiling of the building and be suspended therefrom. The background in plan view may be a simple regular geometric shape, e.g. flat walls or semicircles. Preferably the background shape conforms to the outer perimeter of the raised structure to provide a more natural, flowing contour. The background may be connected to or at least abut the sides of the raised structures. This provides strength to the overall structure and prevents the ball getting lost in a gap.
The background may be a flexible sheet material, such as vinyl held into place by guy wires to the surrounding building or by a rigid frame 6. The frame may comprise plural interconnected poles connected at corners of the sheet to provide the rigidity needed to not only hold up the background but also withstand heavy-hit balls. The frame is preferably collapsible and the background sheet rollable in a roll for transport.
In one embodiment, the frame is a banner stand and the background is made from plural banners connected at their edges to surround the raised structures. Alternatively the playing green, the sand bunker and the wall backdrop may be made from a rigid material, such as wood or metal, and assembled together.
In one embodiment, the background comprises a printed image 4 on a side facing the opening and golfer. Thus the background serves the secondary purpose of providing an image to the golfer, such as scenery typical of golf courses, advertising, or information about the current event. The printed image may be a thin flexible layer, such as vinyl, canvas, paper or card. There may be attachment means on the background structure to removably attach the image, so that a variety of images can be interchanged or to collapse for transport. These attachments may be hook and loop, clips, snaps or other common attachments.
The standard golf cup size is 4.25″ (108 mm) but in preferable embodiments is much larger. This has been found to improve play as the golfer needs to sink the ball in a single shot, compared to regular golf where stroke count defines your score. The cup is preferably greater than 4.5 inches, more preferably greater than 6 inches, most preferably between 6 and 11 inches (152 mm to 279 mm).
As shown in
As shown in
The raised structure can be made from one or more physically separate pieces and then butted together for use. This can ease manufacturing and transport. For example, the bunker piece(s) may be separate from the playing green piece, but having matching contours at the sides where they meet.
The structures are preferably made of lightweight materials, such as high density foam, plastic or cardboard. Thus a bulky 3D raised structure 10 can be easily formed to any shape, while being light enough for on-site moving or portability between sites. These structures may also be made from heavier materials such as plywood and sheet metal, lending itself better to fixed installations, allowing for durability and even enabling people to walk on them. The cup and return pipe may be made from plastic tubing and pipe.
Several such chipping apparatus may be part of a golf course, potentially as a permanent installation set up in a building for continual play. This may mimic a 9-hole or 18-hole course by differing the chipping apparatus, in at least one of: raised structure slope, playing green contours, playing green area, number of secondary cups, or background image. For example, an indoor golf course may have a left-slop green, a right-sloping green, a smaller bunker, a larger bunker, a square green, a circular green, etc. Several different types of playing greens are provided for efficiency of space and may be connected at the edges at abutting openings in the frame 6 to prevent the ball disappearing therebetween. The frames of neighboring backgrounds may be fastened together. Here the background may be made of heavy materials or connected to the building.
In an alternative embodiment, the apparatus is part of a temporary installation provided at an event, such as a wedding, party or corporate event. In this case, the apparatus is preferably lightweight, collapsible, and modular. Unlike novelty golf practices that are handheld, the present embodiment provides a substantial structure to replicate real golf chipping. For example, the playing surface may be raised 30 cm and be 200 cm×100 cm in plan view. The bunker region may extend 100 cm around the playing surface.
A chipping mat 20 may be provided separate from the chipping area. The mat provides at least one, preferably two, foot mat areas connected to a second playing green. This green may also be carpet or artificial grass from which the ball is initially placed, either on a tee or directly on the playing surface. The foot mat area(s) are sized to accommodate the golfer's feet and comprise a textured surface for grip and comfort.
Terms such as “top”, “side”, “front”, “proximate”, “below,” “above,” “upper, are used herein for simplicity in describing relative positioning of structures of the apparatus, as depicted in the drawings or with reference to the ground. Although the present invention has been described and illustrated with respect to preferred embodiments and preferred uses thereof, it is not to be so limited since modifications and changes can be made therein as understood by those skilled in the art.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63220316 | Jul 2021 | US |
