AU2005289370A1

AU2005289370A1 - Putting practice device

Info

Publication number: AU2005289370A1
Application number: AU2005289370A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Mark Andrew Allen; Stephen Brice Lister
Original assignee: D&B Wholesale Pty Ltd
Current assignee: D&B Wholesale Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-09-28
Filing date: 2005-09-27
Publication date: 2006-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 2025-09-27
Also published as: DE602005027375D1; EP1804933A1; ATE504338T1; JP2008514313A; ES2365477T3; AU2005289370B2; EP1804933B1; JP4644255B2; KR20070073811A; KR101243067B1; WO2006034543A1; US20120040768A1; EP1804933A4

Abstract

There is disclosed a practice putting apparatus. The practice putting apparatus has a putting target, and a light source for lighting a guide path on a practice surface, the guide path being parallel to a putting line along which a golf ball is intended to be struck at said target to thereby provide a visual aid to alignment of the putter head when making a putting stroke along the putting line.

Description

WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 PUTTING PRACTICE DEVICE Related Applications 5 The present application claims benefit of Australian provisional application 2004905618 filed 28 September 2004 and United States provisional application no. 60/669,364 filed 8 April 2005. 10 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a golf putting practice device. 15 Background to the Invention There are a number of variables involved in putting in the game of golf. Typically, the golfer first chooses a putting line along which to putt by assessing the slope of 20 the green to determine what "borrow" is necessary so that if the putting line is predicted correctly and the ball is struck along the putting line at the correct pace, the ball will travel from where it is located on the green into the hole. The putting line is determined by a number 25 of factors including the severity of slopes on the green and the speed of the green. Assuming the golfer is able to determine the correct putting line, the golfer must also strike the golf ball along the right putting line. To do so, the planar surface of the putter club head must 30 be substantially perpendicular (or "square") to the putting line on which the golfer strikes the ball when the ball is struck and the putter club head must be moving substantially along the putting line. For example, in the case of a straight putt where there is no borrow, the 35 putting line will extend directly from the centre of the golf ball to the hole. If the ball is struck along the putting line, the ball should go in the hole. However, if WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 -2 it is not struck along the correct line it will miss the hole. The necessary degree of alignment of the putter depends on the length of the putt and it will be appreciated that as the putt gets longer alignment of the 5 putter correctly becomes more important. It will be appreciated that the mechanics of the human body are such that any club that is swung will tend to move in an arc around the player's body and hence, 10 depending on the length of the player's back swing, will tend to move off the putting line. In order to strike the ball correctly, the player needs to have the club face square and the putting club travelling along the putting line. 15 It is not legal in golf to make any lines or marks on the green in order to aid in putting. Accordingly, it is necessary for golfers to practice their alignment if they wish to improve their putting. Putting is an activity 20 that does not require much special equipment in order to be practiced and it can be practiced on practice surfaces such as floors that have an appropriate floor covering such as carpet. Typically when practicing golf, the golfer practices by aiming at a target. 25 It would be advantageous to provide a golf putting practice apparatus that enabled the user to practice alignment of the putter club head. 30 Summary of the Invention The invention provides a practice putting apparatus comprising: a putting target; and 35 a light source for lighting a guide path on a practice surface, the guide path being parallel to a putting line along which a golf ball is intended to be WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 -3 struck at said target to thereby provide a visual aid to alignment of the putter head when making a putting stroke along the putting line. 5 In an embodiment said putting target comprises a golf ball return device for returning a ball that reaches a simulated golf hole towards the place from which it was struck. 10 In an embodiment said light source comprises a first light and a second light. Preferably, each light emits a broad planar beam of light in a plane substantially perpendicular to said practice 15 surface to thereby light said guide path. Preferably, each light comprises a laser and a cylindrical prism. 20 In one embodiment, the first and second lights are mounted to a housing of said putting target device. Preferably, said first and second lights are spaced apart whereby said guide path comprises a pair of spaced apart 25 lines of light. Thus, in use, a golfer can align the putter between the two lines of light. 30 Preferably, one or both of the lights is slidably mounted to the housing so that one or both of the lines of light can be moved. Thus, the position of the lines can be adjusted to account 35 for the size of the putter or any borrow of the practice surface.

WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 -4 In one embodiment, one or more of the lights may be detachably mounted to the housing. In one embodiment, a first light is located on said 5 housing and a second light is movable whereby it can be placed on the opposite side of the position where the putter is to be located relative to the target and aligned with the first light such that said guide path comprises a single line of light parallel to said putting line. 10 Preferably, said first light is slidably mounted to said housing to thereby allow adjustment of said line of light so that it is coincident with the putting line. 15 In another embodiment, said light source comprises a light mounted on a housing housing said putting target and a mirror to be placed on the opposite side to the target of the position where the putter is to be located and aligned relative to the light to reflect light from the light such 20 that said guide path comprises a single line of light parallel to said putting line. The apparatus may also include a timer for turning off at least part of said light source after a predetermined 25 period of time. In an embodiment said light source comprises a light mounted on a housing that houses that target, and said apparatus further comprises a launch mat from which the 30 golf ball can be struck, the launch mat comprising alignment means that can be aligned along the guide path, and which provides a continuation of the guide path when the light source is blocked by the putter. 35 The alignment means may comprise linear markings on the mat.

WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 -5 The alignment means may comprise a linear indentation in the mat. It is preferred in this embodiment that the light is 5 centrally mounted relative to the target. The apparatus may comprise an additional light source comprising first and second side lights mounted to either side of the target. 10 The apparatus may further comprise switching means for switching between at least first and second modes of operation, the side lights operating in the first mode and the central lights operating in the second mode. 15 Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a practice putting apparatus of a first preferred 20 embodiment; Figure 2 is a schematic cross-section along a cross-section coincident with line 124a in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a practice putting apparatus of a second preferred 25 embodiment; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a practice putting apparatus of a third preferred embodiment in a first mode of operation; and Figure 5 shows a second mode of operation of the 30 practice putting apparatus of Figure 4. Detailed Description of the Invention Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a practice putting 35 apparatus 100,120. The practice putting apparatus has a putting target in the form of a golf ball return device 100 and has a light source 120 provided by first light WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 -6 120a which is mounted on the housing 110 of the golf ball return device 100. The second light 120b is movable and is intended to be aligned in use with the first light to define a single line of light 124 that provides a guide 5 path parallel to a putting line along which a golf ball is intended to be struck at the golf ball return device 100 to thereby provide a visual aid to the alignment of the putter 50 having a putting face 52 so that a golfer can practice aligning the putter relative to the putting line 10 when striking a golf ball. That is, so that the putter face is square to the putting line and the putter club head is moving substantially along the putting line. As illustrated in Figure 1, the line of light 124 consists 15 of a first portion 124a which is projected by the first light 120a and a second portion 124b which is projected by the second light source 120b. Each light source 120 emits a broad planar beam of light so as to project a line along a practice surface 40 on which the practice putting 20 apparatus 100,120 is located. That is, the lights are positioned so that the beam of light is perpendicular to the base of the housing 110 and hence to the practice surface. The first light 120 is slidably mounted within groove 112 of housing 110 in order to allow adjustment of 25 the guide path. This allows the person practicing to adjust for any borrow caused by unevenness in the practice surface. That is, most floors are uneven so that the ball will tend to roll from left to right or right to left. Accordingly, if the putting line from the place where the 30 putter head 50 is located to the golf ball return device 100 corresponds to arrow A or B, the golfer can move first light 120a to align with the correct putting line and then move second light 120b so that it lines up with the first line. As both the first and second lights 120 project 35 lines of light on the practice surface 40 it is easy to align them correctly.

WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 -7 The apparatus will now be explained in more detail with reference to Figure 2 which is a schematic cross-sectional view of the golf ball return device 100 and the first light 120a placed on practice surface 40. It will be seen 5 that golf ball return device 100 has a ramp 101 up which the golf ball travels when struck correctly to rest in dish portion 102. A sensor 103 is placed at the bottom of the dish so that when the ball comes to rest on the sensor it triggers a return mechanism 104. The return mechanism 10 104 is not shown in detail however persons skilled in the art will be familiar with the operation of such devices. Typically they have a spring loaded mechanism which is loaded upon the golf ball being received on the sensor 103. The spring loaded mechanism draws back a shaft and 15 then releases the shaft to strike the golf ball and return it back towards the golfer. It is also known in the art to make this mechanism adjustable so that the player can adjust the distance through which the ball is returned. 20 Light 120a consists of a mounting portion 121 that is slidably received within groove 122. The light has a laser 122 and a cylindrical prism 123 which projects a broad planar beam of light 125 which will define line 124a on the practice surface 40. 25 Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that any appropriate power source such as mains power or battery power can be used to power the return mechanism 104 and light 120a. Second light 120b is essentially of the same 30 construction as light 120a, however, it typically has a broader base so it is easier to position. It will be more usual for light 120b to be battery operated as this makes it more convenient to move this light 120b into position. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that if light 35 120a is strong enough, light 120b can be replaced by a mirror to reflect the second portion 124b of the single line of light when aligned correctly. An advantage of the WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 -8 first embodiment is that the lines of light are on both the target side of the putter and behind the putter the line of light (as perceived by the golfer) is not interrupted by the golf ball or the putter head 50 so that 5 no matter where the putter is located along line 124 the golfer will be able to perceive whether they have aligned their club face perpendicularly to the putting line. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that a number 10 of additional features can be incorporated into the apparatus. For example, the device may incorporate a timer which switches off the lights 120 after a fixed period such as five minutes after the device is turned on. This has the advantage of defining a strict practice 15 period for the golfer (for example, if the golfer is practicing in their office) and also as acting as a power saving device. Further possible variations will be apparent from the description of the other embodiments. 20 A second preferred embodiment of a practice putting apparatus 200,220 is illustrated in Figure 3. Where appropriate, the same reference numerals are used to describe elements in the second preferred embodiment that are like elements in the first embodiment. The light 25 source in the second preferred embodiment is provided by a pair of lights 220a,220b both mounted within groove 112. The lights are slidably mounted so that their position can be moved. In this embodiment, the guide path is defined by lines of light 224a and 224b which pass to either side 30 of putter head 50. The lights can be slidably adjusted to adjust the width of the gap between first line of light 224a and second line of light 224b so that the lines of light pass just to the side of the putter head 50 when the golfer putts along putting line C. As in the first 35 embodiment, the lights 220 can also be adjusted in order to adjust for different required putting lines to account for borrow in the practice surface 40. In one variant of WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 this embodiment, one or both of the lights 220 is made detachable so that the person can switch from a first mode in which they practice keeping their putter perpendicular to the putting line C with lines to either side of the 5 putter head and a second mode where they can practice in accordance with the technique of the first embodiment. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous minor variations can be made. For example, rather than 10 mounting the lights within the groove, the lights can be mounted on a rail or, the first light can be mounted substantially within the housing, for example directly above return mechanism 104. 15 The light sources may also incorporate a means for adjusting the orientation of the light so that the line extends substantially in the region of where the putter is to be located. It will also be appreciated that one or more light sources may be fixed in position on the housing 20 or that the light source may be configured to project a beam along different lines using diverting optics such as mirrors to vary the path. Further, rather than a golf ball return device, the target 25 could be in the form of a simulated hole in the region of dish portion 102 and the person could manually retrieve their balls. Other return mechanisms are also known in the art and can be substituted for the return mechanism of the preferred embodiment. These and other modifications 30 will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. In particular, further modifications may incorporate features of other embodiments described herein. A practice putting apparatus of a third embodiment is 35 illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. In this embodiment the apparatus 300 has three fixed lights 320 comprising first and second side lights 320a,320b and a central light 320c.

WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 - 10 Figure 4 illustrates the apparatus in a first mode of operation where the two side lights 320a,320b are on so as to define a guide path by first line of light 324a and second line of light 324b. 5 The apparatus also has a switching mechanism for switching the apparatus from a state in which it is off, to the first mode of operation illustrated in Figure 4 and to a second mode of operation illustrated in Figure 5. The 10 switching means includes a switch 330 mounted to the top of the housing 110, the switch 330 is formed of rubber and has a plurality of rubber fins 331 to facilitate switching of the switch with the head of a putter. 15 Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown the apparatus of Figure 4 operating in a second mode of operation in which the first and second side lights 320a,320b are off and the central light 320c is on. To enhance this mode of operation, it is preferred that in this embodiment the 20 apparatus is additionally provided with a launch mat 360 from which a golf ball can be struck. The launch mat has an alignment means in the form of linear markings 361 that allows the launch mat 360 to be aligned with the remainder of the guide path defined by the light 320c (i.e. line of 25 light 324c). The line markings may be the same colour as the light to thereby give the appearance of the guideline extending beyond the putter head 50 even when the putter blocks the 30 light 324c from the light source 320c. In a further embodiment, the alignment means may, additionally, or alternatively comprise an elongate depression in the mat 360 along which the golf ball can be 35 struck in use. Variation or further modifications of the third embodiment WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 - 11 will be apparent to persons skilled in the art including variations employing features of the other embodiments.

Claims

1. A practice putting apparatus comprising: a putting target; and 5 a light source for lighting a guide path on a practice surface, the guide path being parallel to a putting line along which a golf ball is intended to be struck at said target to thereby provide a visual aid to alignment of the putter head when making a putting stroke 10 along the putting line.

2. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said putting target comprises a simulated golf hole, a golf ball return device for returning a ball that 15 reaches said simulated golf hole towards the place from which it was struck.

3. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said light source comprises a first light and a 20 second light.

4. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein each light emits a broad planar beam of light in a plane substantially perpendicular to a practice surface 25 to thereby light said guide path.

5. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein each light comprises a laser and a cylindrical prism. 30

6. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the first and second lights are mounted to a housing of said putting target. 35

7. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said first and second lights are spaced apart whereby said guide path comprises a pair of spaced apart WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 - 13 lines of light.

8. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein at least one of the lights is slidably mounted 5 to the housing so that one or both of the lines of light can be moved.

9. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein at least one of the lights is detachably mounted 10 to the housing.

10. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein, a first light is located on a housing of said putting target and a second light is movable whereby it 15 can be placed on the opposite side of the position where the putter is to be located relative to the target and aligned with the first light such that said guide path comprises a single line of light parallel to said putting line. 20

11. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein said first light is slidably mounted to said housing to thereby allow adjustment of said line of light so that it is coincident with the putting line. 25

12. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said light source comprises a light mounted on a housing housing said putting target and a mirror to be placed on the opposite side to the target of the position 30 where the putter is to be located and aligned relative to the light to reflect light from the light such that said guide path comprises a single line of light parallel to said putting line. 35

13. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a timer for turning off at least part of said light source after a predetermined period of time. WO 2006/034543 PCT/AU2005/001486 14

14. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said light source comprises a light mounted on a housing that houses said target, and said apparatus 5 further comprises a launch mat from which the golf ball can be struck, the launch mat comprising alignment means that can be aligned along the guide path, and which provides a continuation of the guide path when the light source is blocked by the putter. 10

15. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein the alignment means comprise linear markings on the mat. 15

16. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the alignment means comprise a linear indentation in the mat.

17. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 20 14 wherein said light is centrally mounted relative to the target.

18. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein said apparatus comprises an additional light 25 source comprising first and second side lights mounted to either side of the target.

19. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein said apparatus comprises switching means for 30 switching between at least first and second modes of operation, the side lights operating in the first mode and the central lights operating in the second mode.

20. A practice putting apparatus as claimed in claim 35 1 wherein said light source comprises first and second lights mounted within a housing for said target to either side of said target.