Patent Application
20130267350
This invention relates to improved methods and apparatus concerning golf tees.
The rules of golf provide that a golfer may use a golf tee when playing his shot from a designated tee area. Often a golfer fails to pick up their golf tees, because they can't readily see them after they hit their golf shot. They can't readily see them because upon striking the golf ball the tee often becomes dislodged from the ground and flies to an unknown location. Rather than searching for the tee, the golfer elects to use another tee when needed.
In general, a golf tee is typically made of a wood, plastic or a composite material including biodegradable material. The golf tee varies in length from approximately one to three inches in length and has a tapered body containing a concave platform on one end and a pointed tip on the other end. The pointed tip is inserted into the ground and the golf ball is placed onto the surface of the concave platform of the tee. A more modern type of golf tee contains bristles that serve as a platform on which to place a golf ball. Such a golf tee is known as a Brush Tee (trademarked). The “Brush Tee” (trademarked) contains a head that is made of fibers that extend vertically from a horizontal platform that is attached to the opposing end of the golf tee stem that is inserted into the ground. A golf ball is placed onto the surface of the vertical fibers. The brush tees (trademarked) are relatively expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,668,710 teaches a golf tee that is attached by a flexible (but not elastic) cord to an anchor pin that that is inserted into the ground a short distance from the tee on which a golf ball is placed. While this device may help a golfer to not lose his tee, the cord that is connected to the anchor pin and the tee would have to be rather long in order to be of any practical use as a directional aid for a golfer. The longer the cord, the more cumbersome it would for a golfer to carry in his pocket or in his golf bag. The cord would tend to get tangled up and otherwise be a nuisance for a golfer. Furthermore, since the cord is not stretchable, and since the anchor pin is inserted all the way into the ground, the cord does not provide a good directional indicator for the golfer since the cord will not be suspended above the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,668,710 teaches away from using its anchor pin as a platform tee onto which a golf ball is placed prior to being struck with a golf club head, by disclosing a spherical head on the anchor pin such that a golf ball could not be set onto a the top of the anchor pin and remain in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,878 teaches a tee that is connected to a green groomer by a high tensile strength flexible line. While this may assist in helping a golfer not lose his golf tee, it has certain drawbacks. For instance, it can be cumbersome to have a green groomer connected to a tee by a line when simply using a green groomer to repair a ball mark on a green. Likewise, it is cumbersome to have to a tee connected to something as large as a ball groomer when a player only needs to tee up his golf ball. And, the fact that the green groomer is not anchored into the ground makes renders it not available to cause the cord to be stretched apart and as such, cause the cord to be elevated above the ground where the golfer can get a clear, three dimensional view of it as he takes his golf stance before striking the ball and thus see the cord and use it most effectively as a directional aid.
U.S. published patent application no. 2007/0219022 teaches a golf tee including an anchoring member for anchoring to the ground and a receptacle member for mounting on the anchoring member to support a golf ball and a cord that connects the anchor member to the receptacle member. The cord members can be linked to shanks and placed in different locations so that the golfer can strike the golf ball in the desired direction based on the indication of the guide lines provided by the cord members and the stop elements that comprise the end of the cord members. However the drawback of that published application is that the while the longer the cord members are, the better indication it would give the golfer of the direction of the desired ball flight. In addition, the cord disclosed is not stretchable and has, accordingly has the same shortcomings as discussed above.
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to golf accessories and pertain to a golf tee that is linked to a second golf tee by a stretchable, elastic cord that can be selectively attached or detached from the first and/or the second tee or can be permanently affixed to the first and/or the second tee. In at least one embodiment, the cord performs the dual function of restricting the travel of a tee after it becomes dislodged from the ground when a golfer hits a golf ball so that the tee can be located and reused and it also serves to provide a directional aid for golfers before he takes a golf swing.
One of the advantages of the elastic cord that links the tees together is that when the cord is in the relaxed non stretched state the entire apparatus is compact and is easy to carry in a golfers pocket or golf bag. Yet when utilized as a tee and the cord is stretched between the two tees that are inserted into the ground, the cord is lengthened so that a golfer can easily align his feet relative to the intended flight of the golf ball after it is struck by a golf club.
To do this the golfer can stretch the cord and fasten the one end containing the tee to the ground on the line of flight and fasten the other tee to the ground a distance of several inches to as much as two or three feet along the intended line of flight unless the golfer intentionally wants to open or close his stance relative to the target line. The line demarked by the cord is the line that a golfer would generally want to align toes of his fee parallel to when he takes his golf stance before driving the golf ball off the tee by swing his golf club to so launch the golf ball in the direction of the target.
While the first tee (sometimes hereafter referred to as the “Platform tee”) holds the golf ball up above the ground, the second tee (sometimes referred to as the “anchor tee”) that is inserted into the ground also can hold the cord above the ground and also prevent the first tee from flying too far from the second tee. In addition, both the first, “platform tee” and second “anchor” tee can also be used as a tee for a first and or second ball. So, for instance, if a golfer intends on practicing hitting golf balls, or, intends on taking a second drive (commonly referred to as a Mulligan) the golfer can, place one golf ball on one tee that is inserted into the ground and that is attached to a cord, and place a second golf ball on the second tee that is also inserted into the ground and that is attached by the elastic/reformable cord to said first and second tee. In this manner the gofer does not have to bend down to re-tee the second “mulligan” golf ball since he can tee up both the first ball and the second ball simultaneously.
The cord can be selectively and/or permanently attached to any part of a stem of the first and/or second tee. The cord could be tied to the first or second tee stem or it could be inserted into pre-shaped loops in the cord. The cord cold be permanently affixed by weld or glue or any other means of attachment known in the art to any location of the body of the first and/or second tee. The cord can be attached to the bottom half of the stem of the golf tee or the top half, or for instance the cord could be attached to the top half of the first golf tee that serves as a platform for the golf ball, and a second part of the cord could be attached to the bottom half of the golf tee that serves as the anchoring tee. In the later example, a cord that is attached to the lower portion of the anchoring tee would allow the golfer to insert the golf tee far enough into the ground so that it would not interfere with the club head during the golfer's backswing or forward swing when the golfer swings at the golf ball or in taking practice swings. The first tee and second tee can also be placed so the cord is not parallel to the target line. For instance the cord can extend in a line that is at a right angle to the target line and in this manner the second tee would be out of the line of the swinging golf club head.
The first and the second golf tee could be attached to the distal ends of the cord, or could be attached to any other section or length of the cord.
It is important to point out that the cord need not be elastic but could instead be non-elastic yet flexible. Even as such the present invention in one or more embodiment distinguishes over prior art because, for instance, prior art does not disclose an anchor that comprises a second tee. Furthermore, prior art does not disclose an anchoring tee that serves to contain the flight of the first tee and also provides the golfer with the option of selectively raising and lowering the cord that extends between the two golf tees so that the entire length of the cord can be entirely above the surface of the ground.
In another embodiment of the invention, the link connecting the first and the second tee could comprise a solid link between the first and the second tee. The link could be semi rigid material such as a soft plastic or nylon that would not cause damage to the golf club when it makes contact with the connection link during a golf swing. The plastic link could be any shape or length. The plastic link could be for instance approximately one eighth of an inch think by one third of an inch wide and ten inches long. The first and the second tees could be selectively or permanently attached to different points on the link. The first and the second tee, for instance, could be inserted into pre formed holes traversing the solid connection link and remain in place by virtue of a pressure fit between a surface of one of the golf tees and a surface surrounding one of a plurality of holes. The circumference of each of the holes could contain flaps that are pushed apart by the insertion of a tee when inserted through the each of the holes. The flaps would cause pressure against the sides of the tees so that the tees could be inserted at different distances through the holes easily. The semi rigid member could also comprise a first and second tee that is pre-fabricated thereon and cannot be removed from the semi flexible non elastic or without breaking it.
Alternatively, the link could comprise a series of telescoping cylinders to serve as a link between the anchoring tee and the platform tee. In this later example the platform tee upon which the ball is placed would be permanently or selectively attached on one part of the telescoping cylinders and the anchoring tee would be connected to a second place on the telescoping link wherein the first and second places of attachment to the anchoring and platform tee are in different locations on the stem. The telescoping tee device could be extended or expanded apart when it is used as a tee and anchor and it could be contracted within itself when carried by the golfer in his pocket or golf bag.
Whether the connection link is a non-elastic cord, or an elastic cord or a semi rigid planer or conical material, the shape of the link, the distance between the connection link cord and the surface of the ground can be adjusted by the golfer according to the distance that the first or second tee is inserted into the ground. Thus the first and second tees can be inserted so that, for instance the connection link (whether it is an elastic or non-elastic cord, or a solid link or telescoping or other kind of adjustable link) is elevated one inch above the ground as it extends between the first and second tee, or the first tee could be inserted to a lesser distance than the second tee so that, for instance the link measures approximately one inch above the ground in the area of the first tee and the second tee could be inserted into the ground to a greater degree than the first tee so that the link is only one quarter of an inch above the ground in the area of the second tee.
One or more embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus comprising: a first tee, a second tee, and a device to which the first tee and the second tee are attached so that the device connects the first tee and the second tee, so that the first tee is spaced apart from the second tee. The device may be configured so that the first tee and the second tee are permanently attached to the device. The device may be configured so that the first tee and the second tee can be attached or detached from the device. The device may connect the first tee and the second tee so that the first tee is substantially parallel to the second tee.
The device may be comprised of a plurality of openings and wherein each of the first tee and the second tee has a point which can be inserted through each of the plurality of openings to thereby attach each of the first tee and the second tee to the device. Each of the plurality of openings may have one or more flaps which bend in order to allow the point of the first tee or the second tee to be inserted into each of the plurality of openings in order to attach the first tee or the second tee to the device.
The device may be comprised of at least a first section and a second section, wherein the first section telescopes into and out of the second section so that the device can be placed in an extended state wherein the first section is not inside of the second section and in a compressed state wherein the first section is inside of the second section.
The device may be comprised of at least a first section and a second section, wherein the first section is attached to the second section so that the first section can pivot with respect to the second section, so that the device can be placed in an extended state wherein a majority of the first section is not along side of the second section and in a folded state wherein a majority of the first section is alongside of the second section.
The device may be made substantially of an elastic material. The device may be made substantially of a rigid non-elastic material.
At least one or more embodiments of the present invention also provide a method comprising inserting a first tee into a ground, and inserting a second tee into the ground, wherein the first tee and the second tee are attached to a device, so that the device connects the first tee and the second tee, so that the first tee is spaced apart from the second tee. The device may be configured as previously described.
Each of the two golf tees 2 and 4, may be a typical known golf tee. Golf tee 2 will be described, however golf tee 4 may be identical to golf tee 2. Golf tee 2 includes a pointed or conical section 2a, a substantially straight or tube section 2b, and a tapered section 2c. The golf tee 2 also has a concave or indented top surface 2d for placing the golf ball 10 on, as in
The cord 6 may be an elastic, stretchable cord, such as a cord made entirely of stretchable rubber or a bungee cord. The cord 6 may have an end 6a fixed to the tee 2 at a location just below or at the bottom of tapered section 2c. The cord 6 may have an end 6b opposite to the end 6a which is fixed to the tee 4 at a location just below the tapered section of the tee 4. The ends 6a and 6b may be attached to the tees 2 and 4 in any manner such as by gluing, any adhesive, bonding, welding, or the cord 6 may be held in place by the pressure fit off loops on the cord into which the golf club tee stem is inserted or any other methods. This attachment arrangement of the cord 6 allows the tees 2 and 4 to go into the ground 50 until the entire straight or tube section 2b and similar or identical tube section of tee 4, are inserted in the ground 50 with only the tapered section 2c and the similar or identical tapered section of the tee 4 being above the ground 50. The tees 2 and 4 can be set higher in the ground 50 with less of the straight or tube sections 2b and similar or identical tube section of tee 4, set in the ground 50.
The cord 6 may be attached to the tee 2, in at least one embodiment, a some point other than the end 6a, and the cord may be attached to the tee 4 at another point other than the end 6b.
The first and second tee, 2 and 4, can be the same size and shape or the first tee 2 can be of a different size and shape as the second tee 4. In at least one embodiment, the cord 6 is permanently connected to the first tee 2 and second tee 4. The cord 6 is stretched taut so that it forms a straight line running in the direction that is pointing to the target. The golfer may align the toes of his feet, as shown by
In the embodiment of
The tee 2 (or any of the other tees 4, 102, 104, 202, 204) can be replaced by or can be a brush tee (trademarked).
The tee 402 may be identical to the tee 2 of
The tee 402 may be used, in
Each of the portions 407a-c of the telescoping attachment device 406 can be made of a semi-rigid, flexible plastic or nylon composite. Although the portion 407a telescopes within the portion 407b and the portion 407b telescopes within the portion 407c to extend device 406 or compress device 406, the material for each of the portions 407a-c of the attachment device 406, in at least one embodiment, does not stretch or does not stretch substantially and can not be compressed or cannot be compressed substantially without breaking.
The attachment device 506 may be made substantially or entirely of a solid semi rigid material such as plastic. The material used for the device 506 may comprise a material soft enough so that it would not damage a golf club when a golf club head strikes the device 506 during a golf swing. For instance the material could be plastic or wood. The pin 509b of the folding or rotating attachment device 506 acts as a hub where the two elongated leafs (507a and 507b) rotate to form a one hundred eighty degree angle as in
Although the invention has been described by reference to particular illustrative embodiments thereof, many changes and modifications of the invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to include within this patent all such changes and modifications as may reasonably and properly be included within the scope of the present invention's contribution to the art.
