CA2098290A1 - Golf putting simulators - Google Patents

Abstract

A golf putting simulator (1) includes selection means (32) for selecting the speed of the putting green surface, sensor means (10) for measuring the speed of the ball and for calculating the distance travelled by the golf ball from a predetermined position on the surface towards the target, distance setting means (34) for setting the position of the target, and indicator means (36) for indicating putting performance.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO GOLF PUTTING SIMULATORS
This invention concerns improvements in or relating to golf putting simulators.
In particular, the invention has reference to an electronic golf putting simulator which can be used for training, practice or competitive purposes.
It is already well known for golfers to practice their putting away from the green on a specially designed, usually synthetic, surface with substantially constant physical characteristics, over a predetermined length with a target or cup representing the hole. A disadvantage of practising in this way is the familiarity generated as a result of continued use, thereby reducing the challenge value and accordingly the efficacy of the activity in improving the golfer-s putting ability.
Electronic golf putting simulators have been proposed for simulating the performance of golfers by calculating the speed of the ball and its direction, thus enabling the golfer to monitor and measure the likely accuracy of the putt in reaching the target hole. However, the disadvantage of such simulators resides in their inability to impose any external parameter which will necessarily affect the performance of the ball in its path towards the target hole following the putting stroke. Accordingly a less than realistic simulation of putting performance is achieved.
One of the principal parameters influencing putting performance is the speed of the green, which is a function of the frictional resistance it exhibits. It is already known manually to asses the speed of a green with a simple device originating in the United States of America and called a Stimpmeter (Trade Mark) produced by the US Golf Association which in association with the Royal and Ancient of St Andrews Scotland interprets golfing rules. Essentially, the device WO 92/10248 . PCI/GB91/02187 2 0 9 8 2 ~ ~ - 2 ~

consi~t~ of a grooved bar provided with a notch for initially engaging a golf ball. ~pon elevation of one end of the bar the ball will di~engage the notch and roll down the groove and onto the ground beneath the lower end. Briefly, by measuring distances rolled by a number of golf ball~ over the ground, which will con~titute the putting green, and averaging those di~tances, a value for the green speed can be calc~lated. It i~ thu~ po~sible to generate variou data which will determine the ~peed of the greens on a plr~icular golf cour~e and categori~e those greens in general term~ such as f~st, medium-fa~t, medium, medium-slow, or ~low. The golfer can, thexefore, with the benefit of this information, vary his putting accordingly.
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An object of the present invention is to provide an improved electronic golf putting ~imulator which allows a more accurate a~e~sment of putting performance.

AccordLng to the invention an electronic golf putting ~imulator includes an artificial putting gre~n surface providing a path over which in u~e a golf ball will be cau~ed to travel by a u~er of the simulAtor, a viaual di~play including a repre~entation of a target, ~el~ction mean~ for ."
~ ~electing the ~peed of the putting green ~urf~ce, uen~or means .~ ... .... ~ .
~or mea~uring the apsed o~ the ball and for calculating the distance travelled by th~ golf ball from a predetermined .. .. . .
po~ltlon on the ~urface toward~ the target, distance ~ettlng mean~ for nett~ng the po~itlon of the target, a~d lndlcator me~n~ for indLcatlng putting performance.

Conveniently, mean~ may also be provided for detecting the dir~ctionàl path taken by the golf ball and for giving via the lndLcator mean8, a vLsual indicat~on th~reof.

The vi-ual dl~play may b~ constltuted merely by a panel ~.

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: ~ ' ' ~ '.' ' , ' ' ~ 3 - ~ 0 9 ~ ~ ~ 0 incorporating inter alia the repre~entation of the target which may be illustrated by a flag or a hole per ~e with a direct line of sight to the target appropriately marked thereon to give guidan~e to the us*r. The panel may al~o be aeathetici~ed with static pictorial golfing acenes.

In an alternative form o~ visual display, a ~equentially illuminati~e panel ~ay be providad with a ~uitable lighting array actuable ~pon initiation o the putt to illuminate the panel progre~ively ~o illustrate the path take~ by the putted golf ball ~owards the target.

In a further alternative embodL~ent, the vi~ual di~play may compsiae a vi~ual diaplay unit (VDU~ or monitor which i~
adapted to psovide the u~er with a di~play of the progresa of the ball Pollowing the putting 0~rike togather with the representation of the target,. the po~ition of which can be changed on the screen of ~he unlt upon actuation of the di~tance ~etting mean~. The u~er can th~a ~ee in a graphical manner the effect of di~tance variation.
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Conveniently, the simulator Ls provided with an inte~ral computer which is progra~ed to aet the various parameters of green speed and target dlstance and to compute the ..perfo~ance of the u~er dep*ndent upon the ~peed and directLon of the ball, the indicator mean~ pro~iding informatlon wlth regard to ~ both dl~tance achieved by ~he put~ and the path taken by the ball following impact.

.The selectlon meana ~cr ~olectlng the ~peed of the putting . g~een ~urface .~ay conveniently be incorporated within the computer and are calibrated to provld~ a range of apeed~.
The range of ep~nda may advantag~ou~ly be that achie~2d by u~e o~ green .~peed::data calculated .for..example by the use of a Stimpmeter ~Trade ~ark) aa dvocated by the United state~ Golf .

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A~ociatio~. Ranges of speed may corre~pond to reg~lar membership play or tournament play and the ~mulator may provide for the selection of either of the two ranges with options within each range for a de~ignated green ~peed.

The sensor mean~ for mea~uring the speed of the ball as putted by the user of the aimulator may comprise two conventional detectors ~paced apart a ~nown distance along the intended .path of the golf ball, the time taken from one detector to the next bei~g mea~ured in milli~eoonda and the ~peed calculated therefrom. .

The si~sul~tor requires to be calibrated in order for meaningful u~er performance a~se~ments to be made, and - accordingly the computer i8 ~uitably programmed with reference data to provide the requisite facility for the u~er to be given the .relevant infon~ation on the indicator means following despatch of the golf ball along its path toward~s the target.

Operation of the simulator, which will preferably electrically ~.
powered, may be initiated by a aimple on/off activation 20 element, for exampla when the ~imulator is to be.-used in a ..
.pri~ate environment. In the alternati~e, however, and as a preference, the operatlon of the aimulator i~ initiated by a .. nuitable .payment .mechani~m when the s~mulator Ls Lntended to . be u~ed commercially. The payment mechanl~m may.be adapted to accept currency or as a preferred :alte~native to accept a prepaid card. In this latter case, a ~uLtable ca~d reader La )provid0d for.the simulator either a~ an $ntegral part thereof .. or ..:associated therewith. The prepaid card may be of kind in ? which ona payment.for one single oparation of the simulator is ~ 30 available,.in which event the. card reader would consume the : ..; cards to ~.trigger u~e.. for .a predetermined. time on the ~imulator. As an alternative, the prepaid card may be of a ;:~ ' ii '~ ;

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WO 92/10248 PCI'/GB91/02187 2~

kind in which one payment will purcha~e more than ~ single operation of the ~imulator~ in which event the card reader will subtract the relevant charge and return the card to the user.

s The Rimulator is preferably pro~ided with a ball return mechaniRm which i~q adapted to return the or each ~pent golf ball to the vicinity of the predetermined position on the putting gre~n surface for further u~e. In the case of a ~mulator in commercial use, the returned ball will no~ ba acces~ible until the requi~ite fee i~ diq~urqed and reinitiation of the simulator commen~ed. Alternatively, the u~er may use his own golf ballR in which ca0e, they are retrievable.

~n practice, the u~er will either initiate operation by use of the on/off facility or by ~uitable payment, and will then ~elect the green speed and the distance ~etting before addre~qing the golf ball on the predetermined poqition on the putting green ~urface. ~he u~er will then ~trike the ball and the sen~ing mean~ will detect itB speed and dependen~
inter alia upon the green apeed ~etting, wlll calculate the diatance the ball would travel toward~ the target and the d1rectional path taken by the ball. The aimulator will in psactice ~or commercial application, prov~de the u~er wlth a timad acces~ which will be contin~ally d~played to give the u~er o~ the unexplrèd time le~t for play.
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By way of example only, embodiment~ o golf putting ~imulator according to the invention are deacribed below with reference ~o the accompanying drawinga in which: ~

Figure 1 i~ a per~pective achematic view of the ; 30 3imulator;
Figure 2 ia a f~ont élevation of part of the ~imulator ~hown ~n Figure l;
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wo 92/10248 PCT/GB91/02l87 2~$~ 6- f~

Figure 3 i5 a 3ids ele~ation c~t away to ~how details of the ~imulator;
Figure 4 i~ a ~ro~t ~levation of a f~rther detail of the simulator;
Figure 5 i~ a front view of the control panel o~ the simulator;
Figure 6 i~ aA alternative ~iew to that ~hown in Figure l;
Figure 7 is a front perspecti~e ~iew of a further embodiment of the invention;
Figu-e 8 i8 front per~pective view of the lower part of the embodL~ent shown in Fi~ure 7; and Figure 9 is a ront elevation of a control panel for the simulator of the in~ention~
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Referring fir~t to Figure~ 1 to 5 of the drawing~, there i~
~how~ generally at l a golf putting simulator including a ba~e 2 on which i~ located centrally and longitudinally thereof an arti~icial putting surface 4 which i~ provided with a ~tart position 5 from which in une a golf ball (no~ ~hown) i~ to be despatched. On each side of the surface ~ a mat 6 for a right or .a left-handed user 4~ the ~imulator 1. A runner 8 ~only one of which i~ 0hown) i~ ~et alongaide and extenda : parallel with each margiD of the aurface 4 to d~fine generally a path or the golf ball to follow. TWQ soneors 10 are set in at least one of ~he runner~ 8 and are spacad apart a pred0~ermined diDtance~ the ~en~orn are in the form of .
dstec~ors and are adapted in u~e to detect ~he passage of the gol.~. ball .and the time taken for ~he ball to travel the .
~ di3tance from one ~en~or to the next, thereby to calculate ~he ~pee~ o~ the ball. .;

The ~urface 4 extend~ towards the rear of the base 2 where it terminates ad~acent an opening 12 through which a golf ball .
will in use travel following a putt by a uEer. To the rear of the opening 12 i an area in which an array of further :

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wo 92~1n248 2 0 9 8 2 9 ~ PCT/GB91/021~7 ~en~ors 14 i9 located and arranyed to detect the directional pa~h of the travelling golf ball. A ball arre~ting and return arrangement ia shown diagrammatically at 16 for decelerating and redirecting the ball from its path along a return channel ~not nhown) terminating in a collection or ball queueing area (not ~hown) adja~ent the Rtart position 5.

The ~L~ulator 1 is pro~ided with a computer (not ~hown) of which a cont~ol panel 20 i~ illu~trated gen~rally in Figure and in greater detail in Figure 5. The panel 20 i~ dispo~ed above the opening 12 Pnd haa mounted there~n a ~isual di~play 22 depicting a target in the fo~m of a hole 24 with a caddie repreaented at 26 holding a flag 28. A direct path 30 to and beyond t~e hole 24 i~ 3hown a8 are two divergin~ path~ 32 either 3ide thereof. In thi~ example, all paths are provided on the panel with suitable illuminative means, namely lamps, to indicate in progreq3ively highlighted fashion the path taken by the ball.

The control panal 20 18 provided with a ~tart button 21 which i~ adapted to initiate operation of the ~imulator l. In an alternative embodiment (not ~hown) initiat7On i~ occasioned by inse~tion of a p epaid card in a c~rd reader mechani~m, such for example as that produced by ~ho~n EMI a~ a ~otori~ed L8S
Card ~eader 1004 TO. Alno pro~ided on the control panel ~0 i~ the green ape~d ~etting mean~ in the ~orm o~ button~ 33 whlch bear speed categori~, namely fa~t, medium/fast, medlum, m~dium/slow and ~low. The categories `arè determined by for e~ample thn uBe of a Stimpmeter ~Trade Mark) as described herein, and are progra~mèd into the computer for manual selection by a user Df-the aimulator. ~

The pan~l 20 1~ provided with di_tance ~etting means 34 for electronically ~etting the distance of ~he target hole 24 ~rom the 3tart poqition S. The means 34 are in the form of two buttons uhlch a~ lllustrated either lncrea~e or decrease the .
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distance set. An lndicator means ~6 includes two elementq, one compri~inq a digital read-out located at 37 ~howing on the left the di~tance set and on the right the di_tance actually achieved. The other element of the indicator meanq 36 compri0es a small panel which i~ adapted to illustrate the directional path taken by the ball, and accordingly includes three indicator~ 38 which can be illu~inated to Yhow the accuracy or deviation of the path taken by the ball. ~he two elements of the indicator means thus pro~ide a measure of performance of the user again~t the parameters of green speed and target distance.

The computer requirea to be programmed in order to enable satisfactory operation for the u~er and to provide meanin~ful performance a~e~ment. Accordingly, there iq described below one method of calibrating the sLmulator for thi~ purpose.
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Es~entially the s~mulator of the pre~ent invention operates ~y measuring the ~peed of the ~all a~ ~truck by the u~er to calculate the distance likely to be travelled having regard Lnter alla to the green ~peed aetting.
.. . . .. . . ~ -The calibration of the computer in~olve~ two steps, namely the actual mea~urement of the di~tance travelled by a golf ~all on a known ~urface, and the computer calculat~on of that result to generate appropriate dL~tance and compariaon tables.

~or the fir~t ~tep, the cen~or~ 10 mea~ure the travel tLme of the struck ball in milli~econdr and neveral ~et~ of r~adlng~
.~ are taken for 'speed' again~t dL~tance travelled. U~ually ten readings for each of ten di~tances are ~ufficient, . . .
although more~ reading~ over more di~tance would give a better ~ accuracy and linearity to ~the flnal results.

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W O 9~/10248 PCT/GB91~02187 9 20~2~'3 t . . , In the ~econd ~tep, the menu driven calculator program perfo~m~ within the following guideline~:

~aximum ball travelled di~tance = 127 feet (3aO71m) Min~num ball travelled distance = 2 feet (0.91m) Max~num target distance (to/from) = 63 feet (19.~5m) Number of green ~peeds = 7 ~Each green ~peed i~ a 22% i~crease in di~tance travelled from the previou~, a~ derived from publi~hed information, eg the Sti~pmeter reading~.) The distance comparison table iB automatically generated from the above info~nation being a result generated from the ~ubtraction of two variable~, namely the ball travelled di~tance (2-127 ~eet) and the di~tance to/from the pin (63-127 feet)~

lS The ball di~tance table i~ generated from the mea~ured timing and di~tance~ by calculation, and therefore can be used to cu~tomi~e the simulator for ap4cific ~iteD.

The generation of the tahle i~ a~ follow~.
. , The following basic infonnation mu~t be entered:
A) The numbe~ of calibration di~tance~ taken ~usually 10), the allowable range b~ing 5-25.
8) the green ~peed for the calibration di~tances, the allowable sange heing 1-7, 7 being the fa~tent.
C) Average ~alue~ or not. If ~et, average values require 10 2S ~roadlngn per distance to be input.

~iming and di~tance value~ for each oP the distance point~
mu~t be entered, di~tances can ba ln inche~ or feet, or a metric mea~urement if ~o desired, wi~h ~he proyram automatlcally adjustlng hetween elther. Timing valueQ mus~
~0 be in whole mLlliseconds. If average values are required, then the program will input 10 values, average and ctore the : ~ .

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wo g2~10248 , PCr/GB91/02187 2~9~29~ ~
re3ult. Values will be stored directly when averagin~ i5 not required.

~once all the di~tance point have been input, generation of the table follows automatically as follow~:

5 l) The input point~ are stored into an array at a position ~orresponding to the tLme val~e;
2) Each of the calibration points entered then ha~ a multiplier in ft/~ec val~e calculated and ~tored;

3) The 'end~' o~ the table are filled in using the la~
10 ' or first multiplier value~ a~ appropriate;

4) Intermediate point~ are then filled in by calculating the multiplier value a~ a function o~ its po~ition between the input calibration points;
~) ~ Having ~ound multiplier~ ~or each o~ the 1023 po~ible times or the speed of a ball, the di~tance travellad for each time i8 then calculated and placed in the table, after being limitad to ~he 2-127 Peet range of the ~mulator The table now contains all the calibrated infor~ation required to genesate a di0k file for the ~ po~ible ~reen speed~
available. U~ing the l~putted green ~pee~, the program now generAte~ the required f ila in hexadRcimal format. This ~ile can ba converted by '~ont proprletary programming tool~ to an acceptable format, for ~xample the Intel Hex.
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The gen~rated ~ila conta~n~ 7 sets o~ tbè calculated table, with each ~et bein~ a '22~ in~rea~e over the previou~ ~et.
All data "are again llmited to the ~Lmulator~ 9 2-127 oot range ~~or ball di~tances travelled.

~ l A~ prevlously mentioned; the''compari~o~ ta~le is 'generated ; 30 from the ~ubtra~tion o~ ~wo known variable3,`"ie ball travelled 2-127 feet) and distance tot~rom the target t2-63 feet), with ~ ' .

W 0 92/1024B PCT/GB91/021~7 11- 2~8~Q

, the output value~ beinq in a di~k file in hexadeclmal format a~ for the distance table.

In summary, therefore, the di~tance achieved i~ found by applying the time a ball takes to travel a known distance to a calibration table and then compa~ing the result with the distance to the target to give a displayed value, in feet, of the distance that the played ball would be when referred to the target.

The sL~ulator when programmed in the manner indicated above thu~ provides an accurate performance as~es~ment of thP user within the parameters both internally and externalLy set.
The u~er effectively prescribes the condition~ to be applied in terms o green spPed, and target di~tance and the computer re~ponds accordingly dependent upon the monitored ball path characteristics.

Referring now to Figure 6, an alternati~e form of simulator i~
~hown wh~ch differs in two principal areas from that dapicted in Figure l. The visual display 22 constitute~ a ~ull backdrop to the simulator and includen a repre~entation of the target bounded on both ~ides by illustrations of different golfing flcenes to aesthetici~e the vi~ual Lmpact of the sLmulator. -The control panel 20 iB dlsposed centrally of the backdrop with an improved fascia incorporating a card reader mechanism ~not ~hown).

In operation, the user acti~ates the ~imulator and selects the green speed and the target di~tance, addr~sses the golf ball - on ~ts posltion on the green ~urface, and strikes the ball.
- The simulator automatically calcùlates the distance attained by the ball and the directional accuracy of the putt, thereby providing a ready i~dication of the putting performance of the `user. ~ -: , i . ,:
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Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, there i~ depictsd a further embodiment of the invention in which the eLmulator 60 include~
a haae 62 having an upstandin~ atructure 64 towards the rear part thereof. An artificial putting surfaco 66 i~ provided on the ba~e 62 and ha~ a etart po~ition centrally of the front of the base approximately as ~hown by the ~olf ball 68. On each ~ide of the start position i~ a mat 70 for right or left-handed u~er~ of the ~L~ulator. A ru~ner 72 iB ~et on each side of the atart posit$on each housing ~en~ors ~not ~hown) for de~eeting the passage of a golf ball and the time taken for the ball to travel the diutance from o~e sen~or to the next, thereby to calculate the ~peed of the ball.

The surface 66 extends towards the ~tructure 64 wh~ch is provided with an aperture 74 over which is set a target line plate 7S. The aperture 74 i~ Xor~ed in a ulot member 76 in which are hou~ed directional sen~ors ~not ~hown) which are adapted to sen~e in u~e the line of the atruck golf ball.
The member 76 ha~ an upwardly inclined ramp 78 of a small angulnr di~po~ition to the horizontal, and regi~ter~ with a ball return arrangement (not ~hown) which i~ pro~ided wlth a downward ~lope leading to a di~charge tunnel 80 and a reception bowl 82 Det in the base 62 in front of the structure 64.
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The ~tructure 64 i~ provided with a control panel 86 directly abo~e the aperture i4, the panel b~ing appropriately connected to a computer (not shown) hou~ed within the structure. A
.~ suitable pa~el 86 is shown in more detail in Figure 8 to which ~ i , . . , .............. . . . ~ . . .
reference i~ ~now made~ A card alot 88 for inuertion of a payment card i~ pro~ided in the face of the panel and a start button 90 is al~o ~et thereln. In commercial slmulators, the $naertLon of a card purch~ne~ a predetermined time of u~e and .
the unexpired time i~ Vi~UAlly di~played ;at the top of the panel 86 ln an illuminated window 87 for a read-out, for ; example light~emittiDg diodes. The panel also has :

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Wo 92~1024B PCr/GB91/02187 illuminable control buttons for setting the green speed, ranging from slow 92 to auper fast 104 through medl~m/slow 94, medium 96, medium/fa~t 98, fast 100, and extra ~ast 102, the categories being defined in accordance with reading~ provided by the Stimpmeter tTrade ~ark).

Controls 110 are alao provided on the panel a6 ~or setting the target distance of the putt, by increa~ing er decrea~ing the value from a default value pre~cribsd by the computer. A
vi~ual di~play 112 of the target di~tnnce i~ given in a window 114 which al~o give in u~e a di0play of the distance achieved - by the u~er of the ~imulator. Directly beneath the window i3 an array of lighta 11~, 119, and 120 depicting the direction of putt a~ sensed by the ~ensors in the slot member 76.
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In operation, the user inserts a card in the slot 88 which purcha~ea a playing ti~e of for example ten minutes.
Xnstruction~ to a uaer are arranged at a suitable location either on or adjacent the aimulator. The initiation o~ play occasion~ default lights to illuminate the medium/fa~t button 98 and to show a default target di~tance o~ say 12 ft (3.66m) at diaplay 112 in window 114. - The green ~peed`may be changed by depression of ~he approprLate button to give the de~ired setting, an~ the targe~ diatance may be altercd by use of the controla 110 to increaae or decrease Mame. The u~er initiateq play by depre~sing the ~tart button 90 which starts a count down mechAniam, the unexpired playing time being dl~played at 87. Depr~ssion o~ the ~art button 90 al~o acti~a~e~ the ~en~ors ~n both the runners 72 and the slot member 76.
'' The user stands on one of the mat~ 70 and addre~ses the ball 68~ the ball lq st m ck by the user and aimed at the target line plate 75. Aa the ball rolls along the putting surface, it pas~es the ~peed-meaauring aensorq mounted ln the runners 72. The ball then pa~ses through the aperture 74 in the ' . ,` ` ' ';' ~;'., .' ' ., ` ' '`.'' '. " ' ' ' ' .' , '' ' ", ', '' ," "',': '''' ` ,, ' ,' ' , ' , ' WO 92~102'1$ P~/GB91/02187 2~
- member 76 wherein itB directional path LB sen~ed. The computer calculates the speed and the direction of the ball and provide~ at the appropriate places on the panel a visual indication of the value~. In particular, the window 114 will show a distance coupled with an appropriate po~itive or negative ~ign to indicate the degree to which the putt ha~
o~er or under achieved the preset target d ~tance. The illuminable lights 118 to 120 provide the user of the sim~lator an indication of the ~ccuracy of the line taken by the ball during it~ path through the member 76 in relation to ths target line plate 75.

The di~play of one ~hot will remain on the panel for a pre~et time, for example five second~, after which the panel will re~et to the default ~etting~. The user may then input new setting~ or retain the default bettings and play again within the unexpired ti~e indicated at 87. ~pon expiry of that time period the computer will nwitch off the simulator which can be reinitialised by the insertion of another card.

The ~imulator of the invention thu~ provide~ a more accurate .
; 20 a~se~ment of u~er performance than hitherto pos~ible with known equipment, and furthermore the ~imulator may ~t~elf be . ~ .
used competitiYely in addltion to ful~illing it~ role as an aid to improving the putting g~me o~ the participant.
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Claims (16)

CLAIMS:

1. An electronic golf putting simulator includes an artificial putting green surface providing a path over which in use a golf ball will be caused to travel by a user of the simulator, characterised by a visual display including a representation of a target, selection means f or selecting the speed of the putting green surface, sensor means for measuring the speed of the ball and for calculating the distance travelled by the golf ball from a predetermined position on the surface toward the target, distance setting means for setting the position of the target, and indicator means for indicating putting performance.

2. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 1 characterised in that means are provided for detecting the directional path taken by the golf ball and for giving a visual indication thereof.

3. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 1 or 2 characterised in that the visual display is constituted by a panel incorporating the representation of the target.

4. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 3 characterised in that the target is illustrated by a flag or a hole together with a direct line of sight to the target appropriately marked thereon to give guidance to the user.

5. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 3 or 4 characterised in that in which the panel is aestheticised.

6. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim or 2 characterised in that the visual display includes a sequentially illuminative panel provided with a suitable lighting array actuable upon initiation of the putt to illuminate the panel progressively to illustrate the path taken by the putted golf ball towards the target.

7. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 1 or 2 characterised in that the visual display comprises a visual display unit or monitor which is adapted to provide the user with a display of the progress of the ball following the putting strike, together with the representation of the target the position of which can be changed on the screen of the unit or monitor upon actuation of the distance setting means.

8. An electronic golf putting simulator according to any one of the preceding claims and characterised by an integral computer programmed to set the parameter of green speed and target distance and to compute the performance of the user dependent upon the speed and direction of the ball, the indicator means providing information with regard to both distance achieved by the putt and the path taken by the ball following impact.

9. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 8 characterised in that the selection means for selecting the speed of the putting green surface are incorporated within the computer and are calibrated to provide a range of speeds.

10. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 9 characterised in that in which the range of speeds is achieved by use of green speed data calculated by the use of a Stimpmeter (Trade Mark).

11. An electronic golf putting simulator according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the sensor means for measuring the speed of the ball as putted by the user of the simulator comprises two conventional detectors spaced apart a known distance along the intended path of the golf ball, the time taken from one detector to the next being in use measured and the speed calculated therefrom.

12. An electronic golf putting simulator according to any one of the preceding claims and characterised by a ball return mechanism which is adapted to return the or each spent golf ball to the vicinity of the predetermined position on the putting green surface for further use.

13. An electronic golf putting simulator according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that operation of the simulator is initiated by a simple on/off activation element.

14. An electronic golf putting simulator according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 12 characterised in that the operation of the simulator is initiated by a suitable payment mechanism.

15. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 14 characterised in that the payment mechanism is adapted to accept currency.

16. An electronic golf putting simulator according to Claim 14 characterised in that the payment mechanism is a prepaid card reader.