IES20030540A2 - A device for use during a round of golf - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for use during a round of golf for eliminating bending or stooping by the golfer. The device comprises a shaft (4) with a handle (71) mounted thereon and a head (1) mounted on an end of a shaft distal the handle. The head of the device includes a ball lifting and placing device (5,15) and a tee lifting and placing device (7,9). The handle includes an actuation device (8,23,81,82) for remotely operating the ball lifting and placing device and the tee lifting and placing device. A fork (31) is movably mounted on the head and is adjustable between a storage position and a number of in use positions. <Figure 9>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for use during a round of golf and in particular to a device for use by persons having difficulty bending to place/lift objects on/from the ground, in particular the elderly.

Prior art devices exist which allow a golfer to place a ball and a tee in the ground without bending during a round of golf. These devices have been adapted to allow separate positioning of the ball and the tee and have also been adapted to allow the golfer to lift the ball and tee when the shot has been played. Other devices have been developed to allow markers to be placed mechanically or magnetically on the putting green.

The prior art devices described above have been developed for use in “fair weather’’ conditions and have only taken into consideration situations where the golfer needs to bend/stoop on a dry golf course. However, there are a number of further situations where a golfer needs to bend and these situations arise when golf is played on wet or partially wet golf courses.

In the aftermath of heavy rain, a common occurrence is a plugged ball which is a ball partially or fully buried in soft ground. Under local rules, the plugged ball may be lifted for cleaning and may be replaced within the recommended 6 inches of the marker. The plughole must also be repaired.

Additionally, divots are a common problem encountered during the round of golf and it is a requirement of most if not all golf courses to replace divots. The player must bend over to pick the divot and bend over a second time to replace the divot.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for use during a round of golf which will eliminate the need for the golfer to bend or stoop from the first tee box to the putting green on the eighteenth hole.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a device for use during a round of golf for eliminating bending or stooping by the golfer, the device comprising a shaft with a handle mounted thereon and a head mounted on an end of a shaft distal the handle, the head having means for lifting and placing a ball and a tee and the handle having an actuation means for remotely operating the means for Jiftin^and placing the ball and the OPEN TO PUBLIC INSPECTION UNDER SECTION 28 ANL RULE 23 ’ JNLNo. ________ IE Ο 3 ο 5 * Ο tee, wherein the head has an integrally formed fork movably mounted thereon and being adjustable between a storage position and at least one in use position.

The device will release plugged balls with the use of the integral fork. The ball can be marked by use of an inserted tee in long grass where a marker cannot be used or could be lost. The integral fork can be used to pick and replace divots and repair plugholes without the need to bend or stoop. The device allows for the management of the ball without bending within a sand bunker. The integral fork can be used to remove stones and other moveable objects from the lie of the ball and the swing of club with minimal disturbance of the sand as within the rules. The ball can be picked, marked and replaced under the rules as required.

Advantageously, the device can be supported upright with the fork extended and at least partially buried in the ground, which is referred to as parking the device.

Preferably, the fork is adjustable between positions by hand.

Alternatively, the fork is adjustable between positions by the actuation means.

Preferably, the fork is pivotally mounted on the head.

Ideally, the fork has a first in use position and a second in use position.

Ideally, the fork lies substantially parallel to the shaft in the storage position with prongs of the fork pointing towards the handle.

Preferably, in the first in use position, the fork is substantially parallel to the ground with the shaft in a substantially vertical orientation.

Ideally, in a second in use position, the fork makes an angle of approximately 45° with the shaft with prongs of the fork pointing away from the handle. In a second embodiment, in a second in use position, the fork makes an angle of approximately 60° with the shaft with prongs of the fork pointing away from the handle. When repairing a ball mark the golfer normally crouches to the green and inserts a separate repair tool at an angle of 45°. This is the optimum angle for the required leverage to repair the mark without damaging the green. The fork on the device when positioned in the second in use position is at this optimum angle.

Preferably, the fork is held in both in use positions by a friction brake disposed on the head adjacent the movably mounted end of the fork.

IE 030 5 40 In a second embodiment, the fork is held in both in use positions and the storage position by a spring loaded brake disposed on the head adjacent the movably mounted end of the fork.

Preferably, the device has means for lifting and placing the ball and the tee 5 separately. The tee may be inserted into the ground without the ball being present. If the ball falls from the tee the device can simply pick and replace the ball without having to interfere with the inserted tee. It is therefore unnecessary to have to reload the tee and ball into the device to repeat the entire operation. This saves time in competition golf and will speed play. The ability to insert a tee alone without a ball is also useful when marking and picking balls under local rules outside of the tee box and green.

Ideally, the means for picking and placing the ball is provided by a hemispherical shell opening away from the handle.

Preferably, the shell defines a second opening therein to allow a golfer to maintain sight of the ball when the shell is lowered towards a golf ball by a golfer. The second opening within the shell allows the golfer to accurately place the shell over the ball using direct sight of the ball relative to the position of the shell without risking an unintentional movement of the ball from its position by misaligning the shell and the ball.

Ideally, a cut-away slot is formed in the shell so that a portion of a shaft lying on the ground can be received in the slot and lifted off the ground.

Preferably, the slot is adjacent the bottom surface of the hemispherical shell and substantially parallel thereto.

Ideally, a central portion of a lip below the slot is cutaway leaving two side arms projecting around the bottom surface of the hemispherical shell. The side arms incorporated into the shell can be used to lift a club dropped to measure the club length required for measuring relief from immovable obstructions under the rules.

Ideally, the shell is manufactured from a resilient material.

Preferably, the shell is formed and dimensioned so that a friction grip is created between a standard golf ball and the shell.

Ideally, the means for placing and lifting a tee comprises a tubular housing coaxial 30 with and mounted on the end of the shaft supporting at least one discontinuous ring IE 0 3 0 5 4 0 manufactured from a resilient material. The resilient discontinuous ring enables all types of tees to be used.

Preferably, the ring is suitable for receiving standard tees in addition to wide mouth and castle tees.

Preferably, the means for lifting and placing a golf ball has an associated ball release mechanism movably mounted on the shaft relative to the shell.

Preferably, the ball release mechanism has a guideline on an upper surface thereof visible to a golfer from above. The guideline incorporated in the ball release mechanism allows the golfer to make this line of sight position from an upright stance, and therefore place his marker with the same accuracy as if he had crouched behind the ball.

Ideally, the guideline is moulded into the ball release mechanism.

Preferably, one or more clips are located on the shaft of the device. These clips allow the device to be releasably mounted on the golfer's belt, bag or trolley when not required.

Ideally, the shaft is manufactured from lightweight aluminium.

Preferably, the shaft is hollow.

Preferably, a plunger for locking tees on the resilient discontinuous ring is disposed within the tubular housing and is remotely operable by the actuation means.

Ideally, the plunger is connected to a first actuation button of the actuation means mounted in the handle by a first rod extending through the hollow shaft.

Ideally, the ball release mechanism is connected to a second actuation button of the actuation means mounted in the handle by a second rod disposed within the hollow shaft.

Preferably, a securing clamp is disposed within the shaft to prevent contact between the rods, the clamp having openings to allow the rods pass there through.

The invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example only, embodiments of a device for eliminating bending during a round of golf. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a section elevation view of a first embodiment of a head of the device; Fig. 2 is an elevation view of the head of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of Fig. 2; IE 0 3 0 5 4 0 Fig. 4 is a rear view of Fig’s. 2 and 3; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of Fig’s. 2 to 4; Fig. 6 is an exploded assembly view of the head of Fig’s. 1 to 5; Fig. 7 is an exploded assembly view of a handle; Fig. 8 is a section elevation view of a second embodiment of a head of the device; Fig. 9 is a section perspective view of the head of Fig.8; and Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 are plan and front views of a securing clamp respectively.

Referring initially to Figs. 1 to 6, there is shown a first embodiment of a head of a golf device indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The head 1 has a main body 2 having a substantially cylindrical housing 3 coaxial with a shaft 4 of the device. The cylindrical housing 3 supports a hemispherical shell 5 disposed laterally of the housing 3 for lifting and placing a ball 6. The shell 5 has a second opening 95 through which a golfer can see a portion of the ball 6 held therein. Two hook shaped side arms 99 project around the bottom surface of the hemispherical shell 5. The cylindrical housing 3 encloses a plunger 7 which is moveable along the longitudinal axis of the housing 3 by a first rod 8 connected between the plunger 7 and a first actuation button 81 (see Fig. 7). Two resilient discontinuous rings 9 are firmly held coaxial with the housing 3 by the walls 10 thereof adjacent the free end 11 of the housing 3. The free end 11 of the housing 3 includes a magnetic head 92 formed for retaining a metallic marker 91 thereon. The innermost discontinuous ring 9 has a pair of fingers 12 extending laterally from either open end of the discontinuous ring 9.

A tee 14 is shown having its head 15 housed in the cylindrical housing 3. The neck of the tee 14 is secured by the resilient rings 9 and the openings defined by the rings 9 allow the device to be moved laterally with respect to the fixed tee 14 allowing the tee 14 to remain in the ground.

A ball release mechanism 15 comprises a cylindrical tubular support 17 co-axially housed within the shaft 4 for slidable movement along a portion of the shaft 4. The support 17 carries an actuator 18 disposed laterally of the support 17 alongside the shaft 4. The actuator 18 has a pin 19 formed for engagement with an opening 20 defined in a protrusion IE Ο 3 ο 5 4 Ο of the hemispherical shell 5. The actuator 18 is movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 4 by a second rod 23 connected between the cylindrical tubular support 17 and a second actuation button 82 (see Fig. 7). The ball release mechanism 15 has a guideline 93 on the upper surface thereof.

A fork 31 having two prongs 32 is pivotally mounted on the head 1 opposite the hemispherical shell 5 and ball release mechanism 15. One end 33 of the fork 31 is pivotally mounted between a pair of opposing flanges 34 on a pivot pin 35. A friction brake 37 comprises a plate 38 perpendicular to and mounted between flanges 34 with its free end pointing away from the handle 71. The plate 38 and a curved surface 39 of the pivotally mounted end 33 of the fork are dimensioned and positioned relative to one another so that the fork 31 is releasably fixed in position by friction when the fork 31 is substantially perpendicular to the shaft 4 of the device. The fork 31 is also releasably fixed in position by friction when the fork 31 makes an angle of approximately 45° with the shaft 4 and the prongs 32 of the fork 31 are pointing away from the handle 71.

Referring now to Fig. 7, there is shown a handle indicated generally by the reference numeral 71. The handle 71 comprises two hemicylindrical shells 72, 73 which form a tubular housing 78 when assembled together. The tubular housing 78 is split along a centre-line by a dividing wall 75 into two chambers 76, 77. Two hemicylindrical buttons 81, 82 each having a neck 83 and a head 84 formed so that the neck 83 of each button 81, 82 is slidably mounted in one chamber 76,77 with the heads 84 freely exposed outside the tubular housing 78.

The two rods 8, 23 extend from the head 1 of the device and one rod passes through each chamber 76, 77. A compression spring 85, 86 is mounted in each chamber 76, 77 normally urging the buttons 81, 82 out of the housing and each rod 8, 23 passes through a compression spring 85, 86.

Referring now to Figures 8 and 9, a second embodiment of a head of a golf device indicated generally by the reference numeral 100 is shown. The head 100 has a main body 102 having a substantially cylindrical housing 103 coaxial with a shaft 104 of the device. The cylindrical housing 103 supports a hemispherical shell 105 disposed laterally of the housing 103 for lifting and placing a golf ball 106. The shell 105 has a second opening 195 through which a golfer can see a portion of the ball 106 held therein. Two hook shaped IE 03 0 5 40 arms 199 project around the bottom surface of the hemispherical shell 105. The cylindrical housing 103 encloses a plunger 107 which is moveable along the longitudinal axis of the housing 103 by a first rod 8 connected between the plunger 107 and a first actuation button 81 (see Fig. 7). The cylindrical housing 103 has a slot for receiving a tee at its free end 111. A resilient discontinuous ring 109 defining a second slot is firmly held coaxially with and below the free end of the housing 103 by the walls 110 thereof which protrude slightly below the free end 111. The underside of the discontinuous ring 109 is magnetic and retains a metallic marker 191 thereon. A head of a tee (not shown) is received in the first slot of the cylindrical housing 103 and the neck of a tee is secured by the resilient ring 109. The slots defined by the ring 109 and the housing 103 at its free end 111 allow the device to be moved laterally with respect to a fixed tee allowing a tee to remain in the ground.

A ball release mechanism 115 comprises a cylindrical tubular support 117 coaxially housed within the shaft 104 for slidable movement along a portion of the shaft 104. The support 117 has an arm 118 which is held in place by a second rod 23. The arm 118 projects laterally from the support 117 into the hemispherical shell 105 above the ball 106. The arm 118 is movable by rod 23 connected between the cylindrical tubular support 117 and a second activation button 82 (see Fig. 7), the range of movement of the arm 118 being sufficient to dislodge the ball from the shell 105.

A fork 131 having two prongs 132 (only one shown) is pivotally mounted on the head 100 opposite the hemispherical shell 105 and ball 106. One end 133 of the fork 131 is pivotally mounted between a pair of opposing flanges 134 on a pivot pin 135. A spring loaded brake 137 comprises a plate 138 perpendicular to and mounted between flanges 134 with its free end pointing away from the handle 71. The plate 138 has a protruding tongue 139 extending therefrom, a recess 140 defined between the plate and the tongue enabling movement of the tongue 139 relative to the pivotally mounted end 133 of the fork. The end 133 of the fork has a curved surface with grooves 141 which receive the tongue 139 of the plate. The fork 131 is releasably fixed in position by the tongue 139 being urged against the end 133 of the fork and into grooves 141 when the fork 131 is substantially perpendicular to the shaft 104 of the device. The fork 131 is also releasably fixed in position when the fork 131 makes an angle of approximately 60° with the shaft 104 and the prongs 132 of the fork 131 are pointing away from the handle 71. Clips 142 for attaching IE 0 3 ο 5 4 Ο the device to a golf bag or trolley are located at the top (not shown) and bottom of the shaft 104.

The handle 71 of the device and the guideline 93 of the ball release mechanism operates in the same manner as described previously for the first embodiment.

Referring now to Figure 10 and 11, a securing clamp 200 is shown. The clamp 200 is cylindrical in shape and has two holes 201 through which the rods 8, 23 pass. The securing clamp is located within the shaft 4, 104 at a point midway between the head and the handle of the device.

The device will now be described in use. On a tee box, a ball 6 is inserted in the hemispherical shell 5 and a tee 14 is located in the resilient discontinuous rings 9. A control button 81 is pressed and the pressure is maintained to lock the tee 14 in place. The device is pointed vertically downwards and is lowered until the tee point touches the ground. Using steady pressure and keeping the device vertical, the tee 14 is pressed into the ground. When the tee 14 is inserted to the required depth, pressure is released on the control button 81 and the device is pushed in a downward direction until the device head 1 touches the ground. The device is moved away from the tee 14 with a sideways swing leaving the tee 14 standing in the ground. A ball 6 is located in the shell 5 and is lightly positioned on the tee head using a sense of touch through the handle 71. It is easy to feel when the ball 6 is resting within the tee cup. Once the ball 6 is in position, the button 82 is slowly pressed which moves actuator 18 downwards and the pin 19 passes down through opening 20 engaging the ball 6. Alternatively, in the case of the second embodiment the pressing of button 82 moves the arm 118 downwards which engages and dislodges the ball 106. Slight upward pressure is maintained on the handle grip to release the ball 6 from the shell 5 leaving it standing on the tee 14. This motion is a controlled deliberate upward lift of the device away from the ball 6 using the ball release mechanism 15 controlled by button 82.

To recover the tee 14 from an upright position in the ground, the device is held in a vertical position and is manoeuvred until the resilient rings 9 are positioned around the stem of the tee 14, using a sideways motion. When the tee head is positioned within the resilient rings 9, the device is pulled gently upward lifting the tee 14 from the ground. When the tee 14 is laying flat the two fingers 12 of innermost ring 9 are positioned over the IE 0 3 0 5 40 head of the tee 14 and are guided under the tee 14. The device is lifted using a forward sweeping motion to scoop the tee head into the mouth of the two fingers 12 and the device is lifted.

On the green, when marking and lifting the ball 6, a metallic marker 91 is placed on the magnetic head 92 of the cylindrical housing 3 aligning the edge of the marker 91 with the two fingers 12 of the discontinuous ring 9. In the case of the second embodiment, a metallic marker 191 is placed on the underside of the discontinuous ring 109. The guideline 93 presented on the upper surface of the ball release mechanism 15 is on a line of sight from the golfer through the ball 6 to a flag. The shell 5 is placed directly over the ball 6 using the opening 95 of the shell 5 to align the shell 5 over the ball 6. The device is pressed over the ball 6. Button 81 is pressed down without moving the device laterally on the ground. As the control button 81 is depressed the device is slowly lifted against the pressure of the button 81. The ball 5 is lifted leaving the marker 91 on the green.

On the green, when placing and lifting the ball 6, the ball 6 is placed in the shell 5 and the device is held vertically downward. The orientation of the device is manoeuvred so the guideline 93 on the ball release mechanism 15 points along the line of sight from the marker 91 to a flag. The device is carefully lowered so that the edge of the marker 91 is in alignment with the two fingers 12 on the innermost discontinuous ring 9. The device is placed firmly down so it rests on the green marker 91. The guideline 93 is realigned to the flag if necessary by turning the device around using the marker 91 as the centre point for rotation. Once correctly positioned, the button 82 is slowly depressed whilst maintaining a gentle upward lift on the handle 71 of the device controlled by the force of the depression of button 82. The ball 6 is left on the green whilst the device lifts the marker 91 using the magnetic head 92.

To lift the ball 6 from a hole on the green, the rings 9 are positioned against the ball and using a sideward movement, the ball is manoeuvred towards the edge of the hole whilst maintaining a steady downwards pressure. The ball 6 is captured in the shell 5. To release the ball 6 from the shell 5, the button 82 is pressed or alternatively, the ball 6 is pressed out through the second opening 95 of the shell 5 using thumb or finger pressure.

To utilise the fork 31, it is hinged into the second in use position from the storage position using hand movement to swing the fork 31 against the retention pressure of the IE n 3 ο 5 4 Ο friction brake 37 or spring brake 137. The fork 31 is rotated downward until it rests against the plate 38. The fork 31 is then inserted into the ground to repair ball marks and the leverage provided by a pulling back of the device to lever the fork 31 in an upward direction repairs the ball mark. Divots are simply speared by the prongs 32 of the fork 31 in the downward position and carried and dropped in the required place. The fork 31, when in the second in use position, is also used to recover tees 14 by utilising the fork 31 in a shovelling motion toward the foot of the tee 14 and placing the prongs 32 of the fork 31 under the tee head with the tee stem lying between them.

When used for marking during placing in progress rules the fork 31 is extended horizontally in a first in use position and held in place by friction. The rings 9 are located on top of the marker 91. The device can then be rotated around using the marker 91 as the axis of rotation. The ball 6 can be placed anywhere within the circumference of this movement as the distance between the tip of the fork 31 and the part of the ball held in the shell 5 furthest from the tip of the fork 31 will be no more than be 5.75 inches. Therefore as required by the rules of golf, a plugged ball can be lifted for cleaning purposes and replaced within 6 inches of the marker.

When the fork 31 is in the second in use position, the device can be inverted so that the fork 31 points towards the ground whilst the shaft 4 of the device lies in a horizontal position rather than a vertical position. In this position the device and fork 31 can be used to rake balls 6 out from hazards so that the device can pick them up. When used to pick up flags, laid clubs and rakes the device is positioned with a slot of the shell 5 over a shaft of an object to be lifted. By rotating the handle 71 of the device to the right or left the hook shaped arms 99 present on the shell 5 are rotated under the shaft of the object allowing the '} * object to be lifted from the ground by an upward movement of the device whilst maintaining the rotational pressure.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein, which are given by way of example only, and that various modifications and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

MACLACHLAN & DONALDSON, Applicants’ Agents, 47 Merrion Square, DUBLIN 2.

IE 0 3 0 5 40

Claims (5)

CLAIMS:

1. A device for use during a round of golf for eliminating bending or stooping by the golfer, the device comprising a shaft with a handle mounted thereon and a head mounted on an end of a shaft distal the handle, the head having means for lifting and placing a ball and means for lifting and placing a tee, the handle having separate actuation means for remotely operating the ball lifting and placing means and the tee lifting and placing means, wherein the head has a fork movably mounted thereon so as to be adjustable between a storage position and at least one in use position.

2. A device as claimed in Claiml, in which in a first in use position, the fork is substantially parallel to the ground with the shaft in a substantially vertical orientation and in a second in use position, the fork makes an angle of approximately 135° with the shaft with prongs of the fork pointing away from the handle; optionally in a second in use position, the fork makes an angle of approximately 150° with the shaft with prongs of the fork pointing away from the handle; - y· .. optionally the fork is adjustable between positions by hand or by the actuation means; optionally the fork is pivotally mounted on the head; optionally the fork lies substantially parallel to the shaft in the storage position with the prongs of the fork pointing towards the handle; optionally the fork is held in both in use positions by a friction catch disposed on the head adjacent the movably mounted end of the fork; and optionally the fork is held in both in use positions and the storage position by a spring loaded catch. IP « 3 η 5 4 0

3. A device as claimed in Claiml or Claim 2, in which the ball lifting and placing means is provided by a hemispherical shell opening away from the handle, the shell having an opening therein to allow a golfer to maintain sight of the ball when the shell is lowered towards a golf ball by the golfer; optionally a cut-away slot is formed in the shell so that a portion of a shaft lying on the ground can be placed in the slot and lifted off the ground; optionally the slot is adjacent the bottom surface of the hemispherical shell and substantially parallel thereto; optionally a central portion of a lip below the slot is cutaway leaving two side arms projecting around the bottom surface of the hemispherical shell; optionally the shell is manufactured from a resilient material and is formed and dimensioned so that a friction grip is created between the golf ball and the shell; optionally the ball lifting and placing means has an associated ball release mechanism movably mounted on the shaft relative to the shell; and optionally the ball release mechanism has a guideline on an upper surface thereof, provided on the ball release mechanism and visible to a golfer from above.

4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the tee lifting and placing means comprises a tubular housing coaxial with and mounted on the end of the shaft supporting at least one U-shaped ring manufactured from a resilient material; optionally a magnetic member is disposed on the underside of the U-shaped ring and retains a metallic marker when marking the position of a golf ball with the device, with the marker being releasable by the tee lifting and placing means; optionally the shaft is hollow and manufactured from lightweight aluminium; IE Ο 3 Ο 5 4 Ο optionally a plunger for locking tees on the resilient discontinuous ring is disposed within the tubular housing and is remotely operable by the actuation means; optionally the plunger is connected to a first actuation button of the actuation means 5 mounted in the handle by a first rod extending through the hollow shaft; optionally the ball release mechanism is connected to a second actuation button of the actuation means mounted in the handle by a second rod disposed within the hollow shaft; 10 optionally a securing clamp is disposed within the shaft to prevent contact between the rods, the clamp having openings to allow the rods pass therethrough; and optionally one or more clips are located on the

5. A device for use during a round of golf, substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.