NZ513875A

NZ513875A - Golf tee having a bristled annular surface with an inside radius fo 5mm and an outside radius of 7.5 mm

Info

Publication number: NZ513875A
Application number: NZ513875A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Jason Lee Crouse
Original assignee: Jason Lee Crouse
Priority date: 1999-02-03
Filing date: 2000-02-02
Publication date: 2001-09-28
Also published as: WO2000045905A1; AU768594B2; EP1150748B1; HK1040649A1; ATE267033T1; JP2002536087A; ZA200107141B; CA2361508A1; AU2124000A; HK1040649B; EP1150748A1; DE60010859D1

Abstract

A golf tee (10) for supporting a golf ball (12) on a ground surface (14) includes a base (16) which supports a number of bristles (24) which in turn support the golf ball (12). The bristles (24) are arranged to form an annular support surface (26), which supports the golf ball (12). The annular support surface (26) has an inside radius (R1) of 5mm and an outside radius (R2) of 7.5mm A shaft (22), which is arranged to be pushed into the ground surface (14), extends from the base (16). The bristles (24) of the golf tee (10) are not broken when the golf ball (12), supported at the golf tee (10), is hit by the face of a golf club. Further, the bristles (24) do not damage the face of the golf club and provide little deflection to the face of the golf club when a golf ball (12) is hit.

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> WO 00/45905 PCT/IB00/00104 -1- GOLF TEE « BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a device, in particular a golf tee, for supporting an object such as a golf ball on a ground surface such as the surface of a teeing mound Golf tees are usually made from wooden or plastics materials. Although these materials are softer than the metal club face of a golf club, in use the tees do sometimes damage the club face In use the tee is also often broken and broken tees tend to litter golf courses and cause damage to mower blades on the golf course South African patent no 87/5576 discloses a golf tee which is made up of two parts The first part defines a rigid shaft for the tee and the second part defines a cup for the tee The cup, which is arranged to support a golf ball, is made from a yieldable material and is designed to absorb impact when it is struck by the face of a golf club The object of this is to stop the tee from breaking and also to cause less damage to the club face However, in practice, this type of tee does break and also causes damage to the club face especially if the club face strikes the rigid shaft United Kingdom patent no GB 2258161 discloses a golf tee comprising a base which includes a shaft which is arranged to be pushed into a ground surface, such as teeing mound, and bristles which extend vertically from the base for supporting a golf ball. A problem with the tee as illustrated in this patent is that the bristles as shown provide a very narrow support surface for a golf ball and a golf ball is likely to fall off this tee during use It is an object of this invention to provide a golf tee that addresses these problems I PropSfty Q.r-ca of N.Z. 0 6 MAR 2002 I I AMENDED received • WO 00/45905 PCT/IB00/00104 -2- / SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 4 According to the invention there is provided a golf tee for supporting a golf ball on a ground surface, such as a teeing mound, the golf tee including a base defining an operatively upper face and an opposed operatively lower face, a pointed shaft extending from the lower face, which is arranged to be pushed into the ground surface, and a plurality of bristles which extend from the upper face of the base in a vertical orientation relative to the base, wherein the bristles are arranged to define an annular support surface for supporting the golf ball, the annular support surface having an inside radius of 5mm and an outside radius of 7,5mm Advantageously, the bristles are arranged in clusters, typically from 8 to 15 clusters, with from 10 to 25 bristles per cluster The bristles are preferably made from nylon and have a thickness of 0,4mm Typically, the upper face of the base is circular in shape and has a width of 18mm BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a side view of a golf tee according to the invention supporting a golf ball, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the golf tee of Figure 1, with the support bristles removed, and 0 8 MaR 20!J2 AMENDED RECEIVED WO 00/45905 PCT/IB00/00104 -4- E 4 T P i 0 surface 26 defined by the bristles 24 and the golfer then hits the ball 12 off the golf tee with the club face of a golf club (not shown) * The advantage of the golf tee 10 according to the invention is that when the ball is hit, the face of the golf club only comes into contact with and passes through the soft resilient bristles 24 of the tee The soft resilient bristles 24 do not damage the club face and provide very little resistance or deflection to the club face when the golf ball is hit Another advantage is that (unless the club face hits the base 16) the tee is not broken when a ball is hit This saves golf tees and there is less littering of a golf course with broken golf tees Referring to Figurel, the height H of the support bristles 24 may vary from 30mm to 10mm, depending on the golf club used and the preference of the golfer In practice, the golf tee 10 according to the invention is provided with support bristles 24 with heights H of 27mm, 22mm or 15mm A golfer can then select the tee height that he or she wishes to use Although this invention has been described for supporting golf balls, it is envisaged that it may be used for supporting other types of balls that require a support from which they are hit or kicked. t.\ 1 -u\ r'-opasty G,cf f\s.Z. 0 6 MAR 2002 I j RECEIVED ' AMENDED WO 00/45905 PCT/IB00/00104 <s n 7/ i $ O / </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims">



CLAIMS 

1 A golf tee (10) for supporting a golf ball (12) on a ground surface (14), the golf tee (10) including a base (16) defining an operatively upper face (18) and an opposed operatively lower face (20), 

a pointed shaft (22) extending from the lower face (20), which is arranged to be pushed into the ground surface (14); and a plurality of bristles (24) which extend from the upper face (18) of the base (16) in a vertical orientation relative to the base (16), wherein the bnstles (24) are arranged to define an annular support surface (26) for supporting the golf ball (12), characterized in that the annular support surface (26) has an inside radius (R1) of 5mm and an outside radius (R2) of 7,5mm
2 A golf tee according to claim 1 wherein the bristles (24) are arranged in clusters (28) with from 10 to 25 bristles per cluster
3. A golf tee according to claim 2 wherein the bristles (24) are nylon bristles and have a thickness of 0 4mm
4 A golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upper face (18) of the base (16) is circular in shape and has a width (w) of 18mm
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6 WAR 2302 j 

RECEIVED 

AMENDED 



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