WO1994025119A1 - Improved golf tee - Google Patents
Improved golf tee Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1994025119A1 WO1994025119A1 PCT/AU1994/000215 AU9400215W WO9425119A1 WO 1994025119 A1 WO1994025119 A1 WO 1994025119A1 AU 9400215 W AU9400215 W AU 9400215W WO 9425119 A1 WO9425119 A1 WO 9425119A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- base portion
- ball supporting
- golf tee
- supporting portion
- ball
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B57/00—Golfing accessories
- A63B57/10—Golf tees
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B57/00—Golfing accessories
- A63B57/10—Golf tees
- A63B57/12—Golf tees attached to straps
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B57/00—Golfing accessories
- A63B57/10—Golf tees
- A63B57/13—Golf tees foldable or separable
Definitions
- THIS INVENTION relates to an improved golf tee.
- Background Art Many different types and designs of golf tees are currently available. In general, however, the most commonly used golf tee is formed of timber or plastics and has at one end a point which is adapted to be driven into the ground and at the other end a flared portion upon which a golf ball may seat.
- a player of a game of golf tends to use a large number of golf tees, because the tees either become damaged in use when struck by a golf club or lost by being propelled by a golf club. The use of conventional tees is thus somewhat wasteful.
- the present invention aims to overcome or alleviate the disadvantages of conventional tees or at least provide an alternative to conventional tees by providing a golf tee which minimises the risk of loss or damage to tees and which allows the tee to be reused many times.
- the present invention also aims to provide in a preferred aspect a tee which is of relatively simple construction. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.
- the present invention thus provides a golf tee having a base portion adapted to be inserted into the ground and a ball supporting portion for supporting a golf ball and tethering means for tethering said ball supporting portion to said base portion.
- the ball supporting portion is adapted to be releasably mounted on the base portion.
- coupling means are provided between the ball supporting portion and the base portion so that said ball supporting portion can be securely mounted on the base portion.
- the coupling means preferably comprise complementary coupling means and may include a spigot on one of the portions adapted for location in a complementary recess or socket in the other portion.
- the spigot is arranged at the base of the ball supporting portion and is adapted to locate within a recess or socket provided in the top of the base portion.
- the coupling means preferably include part spherical surfaces to facilitate location between and alignment of the respective portions.
- the tethering means is such as to permit the ball supporting portion to become detached from the base portion or be moved out of alignment with the base portion but be retained thereto so as not to be lost.
- the tethering means is preferably in the form of a short length of flexible line such as string, cord, wire or the like which secures the base portion to the ball supporting portion.
- the ball supporting portion may include a bore or aperture to receive the line which is knotted and/or provided with an alternative stop such as a bead at one end to be retained to the ball supporting portion.
- the base portion is also apertured to receive the opposite end of the line which is also knotted or provided with an alternative stop such as a bead to maintain the two portions interconnected.
- the bore or aperture in the ball supporting portion extends axially of the ball supporting portion and through the spigot thereof.
- the bore may be formed through a side wall of the bore supporting portion.
- the aperture in the base portion comprises an extension of the recess or socket and extends laterally through the side of the base portion for receipt of the opposite ends of the line.
- the tethering means may be formed integrally with the ball supporting portion and/or base portion. This may be achieved by moulding the tethering means integrally with the ball supporting portion and/or base portion.
- the tethering means alternatively may comprise a resilient element, such as a spring or a mechanical connection between the ball supporting and base portions.
- the tethering means thus permits the ball supporting portion to be detached from, or moved out of alignment with, the base portion when for example a golf ball is struck but maintains the ball supporting portion connected to the base portion.
- the present invention provides a golf tee having a base portion adapted to be inserted into the ground and a ball supporting portion adapted to be mounted on said base portion for supporting a golf ball and means interconnecting said base portion and ball supporting portion, said interconnecting means permitting said ball supporting portion to move away from said base portion.
- the ball supporting portion When mounted on the base portion the ball supporting portion is longitudinally aligned with the base portion and the interconnecting means permits the ball supporting portion from moving away from longitudinal alignment with the base portion.
- FIGs. 1 A and B are elevational views showing the separate components of the tee according to one form of the present invention
- Figs. 2 A and B are sectional views of the components of the tee of Fig. 1;
- Fig. 3 is a further sectional view showing the components of the tee engaged with each other with associated tether;
- Fig. 4 illustrates the manner in which a golf ball is supported by the tee of the invention
- Fig. 5 illustrates the typical disposition of the tee after the ball has been struck
- Fig. 6 illustrates a modified form of tee according to the invention
- Fig. 7 illustrates yet a further modified form of the tee of the invention
- Figs. 8 illustrates in sectional view yet a further alternative form of tee according to the invention.
- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs. 1 to 3 there is illustrated a golf tee 10 according to the present invention, including a base portion 11 adapted to be driven into the ground and a ball supporting portion 12 adapted to seat on and by supported by the base portion 11 to support a ball in the manner described further below.
- the base portion 11 has in elevational view a similar form to a normal golf tee including a pointed or spiked tapering stem 13 which flares outwardly at 14 towards the upper end of the base portion 11.
- An aperture 15 is formed in the side of the base portion 11 and communicates through a passage 16 with a central recess or socket 17 formed in the upper end of the base portion 11, the socket or recess 17 being centred on the longitudinal axis of the portion 11.
- the recess 17 includes a part spherical upper surface 18 joining an annular surface 19.
- the ball supporting portion 12 has in this embodiment a concave outer surface 20 and an internal bore 21 which is stepped inwardly at 22 towards its lower end to define a shoulder 23.
- the upper end of the base portion 11 is provided with a concave recess 24 which joins the bore 21 and forms with the outer surface 20 an upper annular ridge or surface 25 upon which a ball may seat.
- the lower end of the base portion 11 is provided with a central spigot 26 aligned with the longitudinal axis of the portion 12, the spigot 26 having an outer part spherical surface 27 complementary to the surface 18 in the recess or socket 17 and a longitudinally extending nipple 28 having an outer surface 29 complementary to the surface 19.
- the ball supporting portion 12 may be varied in length to suit the player who is to use the tee 10.
- a tether 30 is provided to tether the ball supporting portion 12 to the base portion 11.
- the tether 30 which may comprise a length of cord, wire, nylon line or the like is knotted at 31 and 32 at each end and passes through the bore 21 and passage 16, the knot 31 being located above the shoulder 23 and the knot 32 being located outwardly of the aperture 15.
- Respective beads 33 may be located about the tether 30 adjacent each knot 31 and 32 to act as stops.
- the radial dimensions of the knot 31 (or bead 33 adjacent the knot 31) is greater than the diameter of the bore 21 below the shoulder 23 and the radial dimensions of the knot 32 (or bead 33 adjacent the knot 33) is greater than the diameter of the opening 15.
- the base portion 11 of the tee 10 is forced into the ground 34 so that its top is adjacent ground level 35.
- the ball supporting portion 12 is then seated on the base portion 11 with the spigot 26 locating in the complementary socket or recess 17. This may be achieved by pulling on the tether 30 from or adjacent the knot 32.
- a golf ball 36 is then placed on the ball supporting portion 12 to be supported on the annular ridge 25. The ball 36 may then be struck in conventional fashion by a golf club and this action will normally cause the ball supporting portion 12 to be detached from the base portion 11 in the manner shown in Fig. 5.
- the ball supporting portion 12 will not be lost as it remains anchored to the base portion 11 via the tether 30, the knots 31 and 32 (or beads 33) in the tether 30 acting as stops preventing detachment of the portions 11 and 12.
- the ball supporting portion 12 may then be remounted on the base portion 11 for reuse by for example grasping the knot 32 and applying a tension thereto to pull the ball supporting portion 12 onto the base portion 11 where its spigot 26 will locate in the recess 17.
- the base portion 11 may be removed from the ground by continued tension applied to the tether 30 from the knot 32 end of the tether 30.
- the configuration of the tee may be substantially different to that illustrated and described.
- the base portion 11 may include a upwardly extending spigot for location within a recess or socket in the base of the ball supporting portion 12.
- the spigot 26 and recess 17 may be of any complementary form, however, the part spherical surfaces assist in detachment and location of the portions 11 and 12. It will further be appreciated that the external configuration of the base portion 11 and ball supporting portion 12 may be different from that described and illustrated.
- the tether 30 may also be located externally and pass for example through apertures provided in each portion 11 and 12.
- a tee 37 in this configuration is shown in Fig. 6.
- the tee 37 has similar upper ball supporting portion 12' to the embodiment of Fig. 1 and a similar ground engaging portion 11'.
- the ball supporting portion 12' is provided with a aperture 38 in its side wall leading through to the bore 21'.
- a tether 39 such as a cord or string is passed into the respective apertures 15 and 38 in opposite directions to the tether 30 of the embodiment of Fig. 3 and either knotted at each end or passed through beads and knotted rearwardly of the apertures 15 and 38 so that the portions 11* and 12' are retained together as shown in Fig. 6.
- the bore 22 through the spigot 26 may be eliminated.
- the tee 37 is used in the same manner as previously described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 however in this case it is recommended, for correct operation, for the tether 39 of the tee 37 to be positioned remotely from the side of the ball to be struck so that the upper ball supporting portion 12 ' will freely become detached from the lower ground engaging base portion 11'.
- the tether in each of the above instances may be affixed to each portion 11 (or 11') and 12 (or 12') by adhesives or fasteners in lieu of the knots and beads.
- Both the tees 10 and 37 may be modified in the manner shown in Fig. 7.
- the lower ground engaging base portion 11 or 11' of the tee 10 or 37 is provided with a barb 40 at its end defining a rearwardly extending annular shoulder 41.
- a ground engaging portion 11 or 11' of this form is suitable particularly for soft soils such as sand where there may be a tendency for the ground engaging portion 11 or 11' to pull out of the ground.
- the upper outwardly flared surface 42 of the barb 40 will compact the soil down onto the shoulder 41 so as to enhance the holding effect of the ground engaging portion 11 or 11' in the ground.
- More than one barb 40 may be provided or alternatively one or more ribs such as annular ribs may be provided on the stem of the base portion to enhance the holding effect.
- the ball supporting portion 44 and ground engaging base portion 45 are connected by a tether which in this embodiment comprises a filament 46 which is formed integrally with the upper ball supporting portion 44 and/or the ground engaging base portion 45.
- the filament 46 is relatively flexible to permit detachment of the ball supporting portion 44 from the ground engaging portion 45 as before.
- the ball supporting portion 44 and ground engaging base portion 45 may be releasably connected through complementary coupling means such as a spigot and recess or socket as in the previous embodiment.
- the ground engaging base portion 45 may also be provided with a barbed end as shown in Fig. 7.
- the filament 46 may be of any form, such as of strap-like form or of circular form in cross-section.
- the filament 46 may additionally be of substantially reduced length and be located adjacent the upper and lower edges respectively of the base portion 45 and ball supporting portion 44 so as to act in the nature of a live hinge. In this configuration the ball supporting portion 44 is effectively hingedly connected to the base portion 45.
- components of the tees may be formed of plastics material and most preferably formed through injection moulding.
- the components may be formed of other materials such as metal.
- the configuration of the ball supporting portions of the tees may be varied from that shown as may the configuration of the ground engaging portion.
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- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
- Road Paving Structures (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU65613/94A AU6561394A (en) | 1993-04-27 | 1994-04-27 | Improved golf tee |
Applications Claiming Priority (6)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AUPL8466 | 1993-04-27 | ||
AUPL846693 | 1993-04-27 | ||
AU47456/93A AU645236B3 (en) | 1993-04-27 | 1993-09-17 | Improved golf tee |
AU47456/93 | 1993-09-17 | ||
AUPM160393 | 1993-10-05 | ||
AUPM1603 | 1993-10-05 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1994025119A1 true WO1994025119A1 (en) | 1994-11-10 |
Family
ID=27154499
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/AU1994/000215 WO1994025119A1 (en) | 1993-04-27 | 1994-04-27 | Improved golf tee |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
WO (1) | WO1994025119A1 (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2366210A (en) * | 2000-09-01 | 2002-03-06 | Chargemain Spring Ind Co Ltd | Resilient tee device |
WO2004022167A2 (en) * | 2002-09-06 | 2004-03-18 | Duk-Hyun Cho | Golf tee |
EP1628717A1 (en) * | 2003-06-02 | 2006-03-01 | Heung Goo Kim | Golf tee |
GB2420081A (en) * | 2004-11-15 | 2006-05-17 | Lien-Chuan Yang | Golf tee composed of two magnetic parts |
GB2434551A (en) * | 2006-01-27 | 2007-08-01 | Moldtek Prec Corp | Two part golf tee |
WO2008092172A1 (en) * | 2007-01-23 | 2008-07-31 | Andre Selli | Golf tee |
US20230256307A1 (en) * | 2020-06-22 | 2023-08-17 | Ace Golf Tee Ltd. | A Golf Tee |
Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB431204A (en) * | 1934-01-03 | 1935-07-03 | Charles Arthur Mason Anderson | A golf tee |
GB483599A (en) * | 1937-02-19 | 1938-04-22 | Castle Golf Company Ltd | Improvements in and relating to golf tees |
US4418916A (en) * | 1981-02-17 | 1983-12-06 | Matsura Norio | Tilt top gulf tee |
US4524974A (en) * | 1983-02-22 | 1985-06-25 | Matsura Norio | Golf tee |
US4610451A (en) * | 1985-08-08 | 1986-09-09 | Keys Francis J | Golf tee |
US4786054A (en) * | 1987-04-16 | 1988-11-22 | Keys Francis J | Golf tee with rotatable head |
US5242170A (en) * | 1992-05-14 | 1993-09-07 | Super Tee, Inc. | Golf tee |
-
1994
- 1994-04-27 WO PCT/AU1994/000215 patent/WO1994025119A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB431204A (en) * | 1934-01-03 | 1935-07-03 | Charles Arthur Mason Anderson | A golf tee |
GB483599A (en) * | 1937-02-19 | 1938-04-22 | Castle Golf Company Ltd | Improvements in and relating to golf tees |
US4418916A (en) * | 1981-02-17 | 1983-12-06 | Matsura Norio | Tilt top gulf tee |
US4524974A (en) * | 1983-02-22 | 1985-06-25 | Matsura Norio | Golf tee |
US4610451A (en) * | 1985-08-08 | 1986-09-09 | Keys Francis J | Golf tee |
US4786054A (en) * | 1987-04-16 | 1988-11-22 | Keys Francis J | Golf tee with rotatable head |
US5242170A (en) * | 1992-05-14 | 1993-09-07 | Super Tee, Inc. | Golf tee |
Cited By (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2366210A (en) * | 2000-09-01 | 2002-03-06 | Chargemain Spring Ind Co Ltd | Resilient tee device |
WO2004022167A2 (en) * | 2002-09-06 | 2004-03-18 | Duk-Hyun Cho | Golf tee |
WO2004022167A3 (en) * | 2002-09-06 | 2004-06-24 | Duk-Hyun Cho | Golf tee |
EP1628717A1 (en) * | 2003-06-02 | 2006-03-01 | Heung Goo Kim | Golf tee |
EP1628717A4 (en) * | 2003-06-02 | 2007-07-18 | Synabell Gmbh | Golf tee |
GB2420081A (en) * | 2004-11-15 | 2006-05-17 | Lien-Chuan Yang | Golf tee composed of two magnetic parts |
GB2434551A (en) * | 2006-01-27 | 2007-08-01 | Moldtek Prec Corp | Two part golf tee |
WO2008092172A1 (en) * | 2007-01-23 | 2008-07-31 | Andre Selli | Golf tee |
US20230256307A1 (en) * | 2020-06-22 | 2023-08-17 | Ace Golf Tee Ltd. | A Golf Tee |
US12011645B2 (en) * | 2020-06-22 | 2024-06-18 | Ace Golf Tee Ltd. | Golf tee |
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