WO2004050194A2

WO2004050194A2 - Height selectable golf tee

Info

Publication number: WO2004050194A2
Application number: PCT/EP2003/013680
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Hugh Fox
Original assignee: Martin Hugh Fox
Priority date: 2002-11-29
Filing date: 2003-11-29
Publication date: 2004-06-17
Also published as: AU2003294781A1; AU2003294781A8; WO2004050194A3

Abstract

A height selectable tee is provided which is especially suitable for use with conventional driving range mats. The height selectable tee consists of a sleeve bearing collar (4) located remotely from a mounted tee member (5) on an arm (3). The sleeve bearing collar (4) may be located over the soft rubber tee of the driving range mats. The mounted tee member may be replaced to select the desired tee height. The height selectable tee may comprise a number of integrally formed arms each with its own mountable tee member of differing heights. A desirable teeing height may be selected when used on any driving range mat, which have soft rubber tees of the incorrect height.

Description

HEIGHT SELECTBA E GOLF TEE

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a golf ball tee with a vertically selectable height and in particular to a golf tee for to accommodate golfers at practice ranges who desire to tee up at different heights.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

A proper golf swing depends on a multiple of variables unique to each individual golfer, such as club length, the golfer's height, build and arm length and the placement of the golf ball in the tee box. On a natural golf course, the ball is elevated by placing a golf tee into the ground, upon which the golf ball is placed. The height of the golf ball in the tee box is thus determined by the height at which each individual golfer places the golf tee in the ground. Therefore, each golfer must determine what the precise optimal height of the ball is for his or her individual swing. Due to the many variables unique to each golfer, the tee height varies accordingly for each individual.

Most golf practice driving ranges include a hitting area with multiple synthetic turf mats, each mat having a removable tee on one side. Generally, the tee is a soft synthetic rubber tube that is a fixed height. One of the problems with driving ranges and practice tees is that they typically do not provide practice tees of adjustable height. This fixed height of the tee does not allow for individual preference for teeing the ball nor does the tee allow for different heights to be used for different clubs. This is a limiting factor on practicing various types of golf shots at a driving range. A further problem is that the standard rubber golf tee used in driving ranges is often damaged and in poor condition when a golfer desires to practice at any particular teeing position necessitating the replacement of the standard rubber tee from the matt before the matt may be used; this is not always an easy task and in any event delays use of the practice bays at the driving range. This problem necessitates regular and time consuming maintenance of the mats at driving ranges

Various attempts have been made to address some or all of the highlighted problems with standard rubber tees for driving ranges.

Adjustable golf ball tees that are designed to penetrate the ground are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,467,390 and 4,516,780. Adjustable golf ball tees that are designed with flat bottoms are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,803,907; 2,079,387; 5,248,144; and D306.751.

Tabet (U.S. Pat. No.4,516,780) discloses a peg with a pointed end for pressing into the ground. It is not suitable for use at a standard practice range. Internally within the peg is a sliding elongate member, which is held in the proper vertical position by a pin. The ball sits in a seat at the top of the elongate member.

Wilkinson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,161) discloses another device, which is not suitable for a standard practice range. It involves a base with multiple segments. The depth of entry of the golf tee is determined by the number of segments that are used.

As shown by Strong (U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,122), his device is useful on the course, but not typically at a driving range or practice tee. The tee itself is notched and fits into a disk. By proper alignment of the appropriate notch, the height of the tee can be adjusted.

Santilli (U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,081) discloses another adjustable tee that is for insertion into the ground. It includes a base with spikes for securing on the ground. Intermediate segments are added in order to determine the height. Lipstock (U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,663) discloses an adjustable tee with a base which is embedded under a commercial matt with an adjustable support unit within the base and a second support unit within the first unit.

Wagner (U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,989) discloses an adjustable golf teeing device which consist of a base with a hollow cylinder; a standard golf tee may be inserted into wax within the hollow cylinder.

Murphy (U.S. Pat. No. 6,086, 486) discloses an adjustable golf tee with a base portion and a base portion extension with a tee pivotally located within the base portion extension.

Butterworth (GB 2,384,998) describes an adjustable height golf tee which comprises a plug with a beaded exterior located on a base; there is a tee portion which is located on and co-operates with the plug.

Grainger (WO 02/47772 A2) describes a golf tee with a ground engaging spike and a transversely extending support arm with seat for location of the golf ball during use.

Despite these previous attempts at providing height adjustable golf tees there is still a need for an easy to use height selectable golf tee that can be used at driving ranges.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a height selectable golf tee which comprises a sleeve bearing collar remotely connected by at least one arm to at least one tee member.

In a preferred embodiment the sleeve bearing collar and arm are integral forming a sleeve bearing collar assembly. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a height selectable golf tee which comprises a sleeve bearing collar connected by three arms to three tee members.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a height selectable golf tee hold-all which comprises a base with means for attaching at least one height selectable golf tee according to the present invention and at least one replaceable component of said height selectable golf tee.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit of parts comprising at least one height selectable golf tee and a plurality of tee members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, illustrating a conventional driving range matt with a soft rubber tee,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a height selectable golf tee according to the present invention,

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a height selectable golf tee of the present invention in use on the conventional driving range matt as illustrated in Figure 1 ,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a sleeve bearing collar assembly for a height selectable golf tee according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a side view of the sleeve bearing collar assembly of Figure 4,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along the lines x-x of the sleeve bearing collar assembly as illustrated in Figure 4,

FIG. 7 shows a plan view of a tee member for use with the sleeve bearing collar assembly as illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6 to provide a height selectable golf tee of the present invention,

FIG. 8 shows a side elevation of the tee member illustrated in Figure 7,

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along the lines x-x of the tee member illustrated in Figure 7,

FIG. 10 shows a plan view of a replacement mat-peg for use with the height selectable golf tee of the present invention,

FIG. 11 shows a sectional view along the lines x-x of the replacement mat- peg of figure 10,

FIG. 12 shows a plan view of a hold-all for accommodating a height selectable golf tee of the present invention and accessories for that golf tee,

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the hold-all illustrated in Figure 12, ._:

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a hold-all in use an accommodating a components of a height selectable golf tee according to the present invention, FIG. 15 shows a plan view of a sleeve bearing collar assembly for a height selectable golf tee of the present invention, which incorporates a tapered plug with flexible coupling,

FIG. 16 shows a sectional view along lines x-x of the height selectable golf tee of Figure 15,

FIG. 17 is a sectional view along lines x-x of the sleeve bearing collar assembly illustrated in Figure 15 during its use in a height selectable golf tee according to the present invention,

FIG. 18 shows a plan view of an integral height selectable golf tee with three tee members and three arms, and

FIG. 19 shows a sectional view along lines x-x of the height selectable golf tee illustrated in Figure 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 shows a conventional golf mat and teeing position as used commonly on golf driving ranges. Such mats are sometimes used on actual golf course holes where driving mats may be used as the teeing position. Figure 1 shows a synthetic mat (1) which comprises synthetic grass bonded to a rubber substrate. The rubber substrate is too dense to allow conventional golf-tees to be inserted into it.

Figure 1 also shows an in-place soft rubber tee (2) of tubular construction protruding vertically from synthetic grass mat (1), upon which the golfer places his ball in order to tee-off. The height of this in-place soft rubber tee (2) may be varied only by lifting the mat (1 ) and inserting a different height rubber tee (2) from the underside of the mat (1). This is inconvenient and sometimes impossible if the mat has been fastened to the floor of the driving range.

Figure 2 illustrates a height selectable golf tee according to the present invention. This comprises an arm (3) with a sleeve-bearing collar (4) located at one end of the arm (3). The sleeve-bearing collar (4) may be a separate component that is attached to the arm (3), or the sleeve-bearing collar (4) and the arm (3) may be integral and as an integral component may be referred to as a sleeve-bearing collar and arm assembly. The sleeve-bearing collar (4) has an internal diameter which enables it to be placed over the in- place soft rubber tee (2) of Figure 1. The sleeve-bearing collar is preferably of an internal dimension such that it is substantially free to rotate about the in-place soft rubber tee (2) and thus the arm (3) attached thereto is also allowed to rotate around said in-place soft rubber tee (2) in Figure 1. In one embodiment, especially when a non-integral sleeve-bearing collar (4) is utilised, the internal diameter of the non-integral collar (4) may be such that it is tightly secured on the surface of the soft rubber tee (2) due to friction between the two components; in this embodiment the non-integral sleeve- bearing collar (4) is relatively free to rotate within the arm of the height selectable golf tee and when the golf tee is struck during use it rotates about the tightly secured sleeve-bearing collar (4). Located at the other end of the arm (3) is situated a vertically mounted tee member (5) whose height represents the preferred teeing height for the golf-player and whose diameter and upper surface shape is designed to allow a golf ball (6) to be placed efficiently where it may remain in position until struck by the golf-players golf- club. The tee member (5) may be integral with or separate from the arm (3) and or sleeve-bearing collar and arm assembly. When separate from the arm (3) the tee member (5) may be located on the arm (3) by insertion or clipping into an engaging means, such as for example a hole, located at the end of the arm (not illustrated) remote from the sleeve-bearing collar. Thus, in this arrangement any particular tee member (5) may be replaced with another tee member (5) of the same height or by a tee member (5) of different height. It is preferred that the arm and sleeve-bearing collar and engagement means for the tee member (5) are substantially co-planar and preferably are substantially flat in profile. The bottom surface of the height selectable golf tee is preferably substantially flat so that the whole of the golf tee may be placed flat on a teeing surface. The height selectable golf tee of the present invention is self supporting, meaning that it is not essential that the tee be attached to any other component to maintain the tee member (5) in a substantially upright position. It is preferred that the golf tee of the present invention be accommodated and located on a soft rubber tee of a driving range mat during use.

The components of the height selectable gold tee that are designed to be inserted into and/or located on the sleeve-bearing collar and arm assembly e.g. the tee members, are designed to ensure that the bottom surface of the golf tee remains substantially flat once the component is inserted into the sleeve-bearing collar and arm assembly to provide the usable height selectable golf tee. For example the bottom of the tee member (5) is designed to be substantially co-planer with the bottom surface of the sleeve- bearing collar and arm assembly.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the preferred positioning for use of the height selectable golf tee of Figure 2. Arm (3) and sleeve-bearing collar (4) have been placed over the soft-rubber tee (2) of the conventional driving mat (1). It can bee seen that the height selectable golf tee is lying flat on the surface of the driving range mat (1). Golf ball (6) has been placed on. top of vertically mounted tee member (5). A right-handed golf-player's feet at address position is represented by (7). As the golf-player's club makes normal contact with the ball (6) said ball will be propelled in a generally forwards direction. If said golf club has also made contact with vertically mounted tee member (5) the physical impact of this contact will be safely dissipated as the arm (3) with sleeve-bearing collar (4) and tee member (5) will rotate clockwise for a right-handed player or anticlockwise for a left handed player about the conventional soft rubber tee (2). The frictional forces due to the surface contact between arm (3) and mat (1) and those due to surface contact of sleeve-bearing collar (4) and in-place soft rubber tee (2) will restrict this rotation and bring the height selectable golf tee to rest some number of degrees from its starting position. Thus, it is possible to tee-off without losing the tee member (5) although it may have been impacted by the golf club. Arm (3) may be designed to carry advertising messages by allowing for example labelling colour-printing embossing or engraving on its visible surfaces. The shape of arm (3) sleeve-bearing collar (4) and vertically mounted tee-member (5) could be altered for esthetical effect without altering the functionality.

The height selectable golf tee of the present invention may be manufactured from durable plastic materials such as polyesters polypropylenes, polyethylenes, copolymers, blends of polymers, natural rubbers, butyl rubbers, silicone rubbers or could be formed from metals such as aluminium. All components of the golf tee may be manufactured using such techniques as plastic moulding techniques such as injection moulding. By careful selection of materials for the tee member (5) and sleeve-bearing collar and arm assembly it is possible to provide a height selectable golf tee that is robust, is resistant to impact damage during use, and thus provides a reusable golf tee.

The height selectable golf tee of the present invention may be formed as an integral single construction or as a multiple part construction where parts (3), (4) and (5) are manufactured separately, of possibly different materials, and assembled into an appropriate configuration before use. This multiple part assembly could include replaceable tee members (5) of different heights and replaceable sleeve-bearing collar (4) of different internal diameters to suit the external diameter of the in-place rubber tee (2) provided on the driving range mat (1). These separate parts could be colour coded for efficient identification purposes. Sleeve bearing collar (4) may be inverted with respect to arm (3) to allow insertion into a hole in mat (1) on driving mats which provide a plain hole rather than a soft rubber tee of type (2). Thus, the sleeve-baring collar (4) may have significant vertical height above the top surface of the arm and may have external dimensions that approximate with the internal dimensions of the hole in a conventional driving range mat designed to accommodate a conventional soft rubber tee so that when the sleeve-bearing collar (4) is inverted then it may be placed in the hole of the driving range mat.

Referring to Figures 4, 5 and 6 there is shown a sleeve-bearing collar and arm assembly for use in a height selectable golf tee according to the present invention. In this embodiment an arm (3) is integrally connected with the sleeve-bearing collar (4) and this combination provides support for a series of different height tee-members (5) (not shown in this Figure). An area (7) is indicated for an advertising message. At the end (8") remote from the sleeve- bearing collar (4) is located a tee member support (8) which is designed to accommodate and support removable tee members (5). Preferably the length (A) between centres of the sleeve-bearing collar (4) and the tee- member support (8) may be between 90 mm and 200 mm, more preferably 90 to 150 mm, even more preferably 90 to 125 mm, and most preferably 90 to 105 mm. The most preferred distance between centres is 100 mm. The thickness (B-B') of arm (3) excluding the end of the arm with the sleeve- bearing collar (4) and the support end for the tee-member (5) may be between 1 and 4 mm, preferably 1 and 3 mm, more preferably between 1.5 and 2.5 mm and most preferably between 1.75 and 2.25 mm. In a preferred embodiment the distance is 2 mm. The height (C-C) of the end of arm (3) for supporting the sleeve-bearing collar (4) or comprising an integral sleeve- bearing collar (4) may be between 4 mm and 10 mm, preferably 4 and 8 mm, more preferably 4 and 7 mm, and most preferably between 5 and 7 mm. In a preferred embodiment the distance is 6 mm. The major diameter (D-D') of the end of arm (3) supporting the sleeve-bearing collar (4) or comprising an integral sleeve-bearing collar (4) may be between 25 mm and 50 mm, preferably 25 to 40 mm, more preferably 25 to 35 mm and most preferably it is 30 mm. The major diameter (E-E') of the supporting end (8) of arm (3) supporting the tee-member (5) may be between 20 mm and 30 mm and preferably it is 25 mm. The height (F-P) of the supporting end (8) of arm (3) supporting the tee member (5) may be between 4 mm and 10 mm, preferably 4 and 8 mm, more preferably between 5 and 8 mm and most preferably it is 6 mm. Also illustrated in Figure 6 is a non-integral collar (4'). Also lustrated in Figure 6 is a supporting end (8) which has a combined tapered and stepped (8") internal profile.

Advertising message area (7) may be of any convenient dimension but constrained by the length and width of arm (3). Area (7) may be embossed to allow secure fixture of a printed label.

Arm (3) may be manufactured from several types of plastic for example high impact polystyrene, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, polypropylene, copolymers and polymer blends, nylons or SBS rubber. Preferably it is manufactured from a polyolefin, more preferably polypropylene or polyethylene, and most preferably low density polyethylene.

Referring to Figures 7, 8 and 9, a tee-member (5) may comprise and preferably does comprise three integrated sections a tapered-section (9) a base-section (10) and a body-section (11).

Section 9 may optionally be non-tapered. When tapered the tapered-section (9) has an external taper of between 0 and 10 degrees from vertical but is preferably 4 degrees to facilitate entry into the tee-member support mount of arm (3). Preferably tapered-section (9) may have an internal taper (9') or countersinking of between 0 and 60 degrees but preferably 45 degrees from horizontal to facilitate the placement and balance of golf-ball (6). The inside of tapered-section (9) below the internal taper may be solid or preferably hollow as illustrated in Figure 9. The height of tapered-section (9) may be between 0 (no tapered section) and 10 mm, more preferably between 1 and 8 mm, more preferably between 2 and 7 mm an most preferably between 3 and 6 mm. In a most preferred embodiment it is 5 mm. The major diameter of taper-section (9) will be preferably the same diameter as body-section (11). Body-section (11) may be solid or preferably hollow and may have a wall thickness of between 1 mm and 2 mm, with 1.25 mm being preferred. Tee-member (5) may be manufactured with varying body-section (11) height to allow the golf player a choice of vertical ball positioning dependent upon club type and shot requirements. The height range of body-section (11) may be between 1 and 50 mm. The diameter of body-section (11 ) may vary between 10 and 20 mm constrained by the dimensions of arm (3) but will be preferably be 13.5 mm and may be inserted into the tee-member mounting (8) of arm (3) so that it is firmly retained in a vertical position. Base-section

(10) provides a retaining shape for tee-member (5) which will prevent said tee-member (5) from pulling through tee-member mounting (8) on arm (3) as it is struck by a golf-club in normal use. Preferably this shape is tapered but may also be stepped or may be a combination of taper and stepped profile as illustrated in Figure 9. It is preferred that this section is both tapered and stepped. Dimensions of base-section (10) are constrained by the dimensions of the tee-member mounting (8) of arm (3) but will preferably be of major diameter 19.5, minor diameter of 13.5 and height of 3 mm. Base-section (10) may be preferably hollow with the same internal diameter as body-section

(11 ) or it may be solid. Also illustrated in Figure 9 is a base section which has a combined tapered and stepped external profile.

Tee-member (5) may be manufactured using several impact resistant materials including natural rubber, thermoplastic elastomers such as SBS or Elastomeric Polypropylene, Silicone rubber, PU, EPDM, PVC, but preferably SBS.

Referring to Figures 10 and 11 , a mat-peg (12) may be supplied as a replacement for the soft rubber tee (2) in cases where a suitable soft rubber tee (2) is not supplied as standard on the driving range. Mat-peg (12) is inserted through the existing hole in the driving mat (1) and protruding vertically from the top surface of the mat (1) serves as a fixed axis around which the sleeve-bearing collar (4) of the arm (3) may rotate. The large diameter (G-G') may range between 40 and 70 mm but is preferably 55mm. This prevents the part from pulling through the hole in said driving range mat (1). Arm (3) with sleeve-bearing collar (4) are pushed over a quick-release mechanism (13) moulded into the top (13) of mat-peg (12) said quick release mechanism being formed preferably but not exclusively from two diametrically opposed tabs (13'and 13") on the top (13) of mat-peg (12). The shape and material used combines to form a spring action which allows a push-fit of arm (3) and sleeve-bearing (4) over top (13) but then retains said arm (3) during use. After use the two tabs (13' and 13") are squeezed with finger pressure allowing the arm (3) and sleeve-bearing (4) to be pulled off.

Diameter (G-G') of the bearing surface (12') of mat-peg (12) may vary to provide an interference fit with the inside diameter of sleeve-bearing collar (4) constrained by the dimensions of arm (3) but is preferably 15 mm. Mat- peg (12) may be manufactured from a variety of materials including natural rubber, thermoplastic elastomers such as SBS or Elastomeric Polypropylene, polyethylene, Silicone rubber, PU, EPDM, PVC, but preferably it is manufactured from an elastomeric material and most preferably polypropylene with elastomeric properties.

Referring to Figures 12, 13 and 14 a hold-all (14) and its use is illustrated. This hold-all (14) allows the various parts and replacement parts of the height selectable golf tee of the present invention to be carried by the user in the form of a kit. It is illustrated in use with tee-members (5) and mat-peg (12) inserted from the underside and arm (3) with sleeve-bearing (4) fitted over mat-peg (12) and one of the tee-members (5). Hold-all (14) comprises a base (25) , preferably in the form of a flat plate, pierced with one hole (22) for mat-peg (12) and one hole (23) for each of a series of tee-members supplied (in this example 7 are provided in Figure 12 and 5 in Figure 14). A further hole (24) provides a means of hanging on retail display racks and as a means of attaching to the golf players bag. Dimensions of said holes in holdall 14 will be consistent with providing a secure fit for their respective component types. Hold-all (14) may be manufactured from several materials including for example high impact polystyrene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene but preferably polypropylene.

Referring to Figures 15, 16 and 17 an embodiment is illustrated where arm (3) with sleeve-bearing collar (4) is combined with a tapered plug (15) using a flexible coupling (16). Arm (3) with flexible coupling (16) and tapered plug (15) may be moulded in one piece as shown in Figure 15 and cross-section view Figure 16. Sleeve-bearing collar (4) may be moulded with several different inside diameters to fit a range of rubber mat tee outside diameters. Arm (3) with suitable sleeve-bearing collar (4) and suitable tee member (5) in combination with flexible coupling (16) and tapered plug (15) is placed over soft rubber tee (2) of driving mat (1). By flexing the flexible coupling (16) the tapered plug (15) may be moved through 180 degrees or more to invert it so that it may be pushed into the inside hole of soft rubber tee (2) and be held in place by the elasticity of soft rubber tee (2) and will act as a means of preventing said combination from being lifted off said soft rubber tee (2) as the player attempts to strike the ball (6). Arm (3) may be moulded with dimensions and materials as described previously for example in Figures 4, 5 and 6. Integral tapered plug (15) may and preferably does have an outside diameter varying between 8 mm and 16 mm over a height of 25 mm-. providing a firm fit into a range of soft rubber tees (2) having inside diameters that may vary between 10 mm and 15.5 mm. Flexible coupling (16) should have a preferable length of 70 mm with height 1 mm and width 3 mm to allow sufficient flexing such that the attached tapered plug (15) may be inverted for and during use. Tee member (5) may be moulded with dimensions and materials as described previously in for example Figures 7, 8 and 9. In all embodiments of the present invention sleeve-bearing collars (4) may have inside diameters to provide a loose rotational fit onto a range of soft rubber tees (2) whose outside diameters may range between 14.5 mm and 18.5 mm. In a further aspect in relation to all embodiments of the present invention separate non-integral sleeve-bearing collar inserts of varying internal diameters may be used. These inserts may have smaller internal diameters enabling the height selectable golf tee of the present invention to be used with a variety of soft rubber tees on driving range mats. In one embodiment the internal diameter of the sleeve-bearing collar (4) may be such to allow a standard golf tee to be used to fix the arm (3) into a grass teeing area on driving ranges which do not provide a driving mat (1 ) and soft rubber tee (2) for the purpose of golf driving practice; in this embodiment the diameter may be 8 mm.

Referring to Figures 18 and 19 an embodiment is described which incorporates multiple arms (3) a single sleeve bearing collar (4) and multiple tee members into a single combined construction. The multiple arm (3) components are set at an angle of 120 degrees to provide maximum separation between them. The multiple arms (3) with corresponding multiple tee members (5) and single sleeve bearing collar (4) may be manufactured by moulding as a single construction in a soft form from several plastic materials for example natural rubber, thermoplastic elastomers such as SBS or Elastomeric polypropylene, Silicone rubber, PU, EPDM, PVC, but preferably Elastomeric Polypropylene, or in a harder form from several types of plastic for example high impact polystyrene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, nylons or SBS rubber but preferably polypropylene. In this embodiment the three tee members (5) are of different heights between 5mm and 45mm preferably 10mm, 20mm, and 30mm from the underside of the arm (3) of the tee. This embodiment may use similar dimensional constraints as those stated previously for example in Figures 4, 5 and 6 for each of the three arms (3) and sleeve bearing collar (4) with similar dimensional constraints as stated for example in Figures 7,8 and 9 for the tee members (5). In use this three arm (3) tee may be placed with sleeve bearing collar (4) positioned over the soft rubber tee (2) on driving mat (1) and optionally secured with a non-integrally moulded tapered plug (15). The tee assembly may be rotated around the soft rubber tee (2) until the arm (3) with the preferred height integrally moulded tee member (5) is closest to the player's address position. A golf ball (6) may be placed onto this tee member (5) and the golf shot played. With this embodiment it is not necessary to replace the tee member (5) as illustrated in previous embodiments to accommodate the changing of golf clubs between various tee offs. It is however possible to vary this design by incorporating a removable tee member arrangement on the arm of the tee as illustrated in other embodiments herein.

The invention has been described in detail with reference to various specific embodiments. It should be understood that the foregoing description in relation to these specific embodiments are considered illustrative only of the principles of the present invention. Thus, it will be appreciated that various modifications, variations and improvements may be made to the specific embodiments disclosed herein that would still be within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A height selectable golf tee which comprises a sleeve bearing collar remotely connected by at least one arm to at least one tee member.

2. A height selectable golf tee according to claim 1 wherein the sleeve bearing collar is connected to three tee members by three arms.

3. A height selectable golf tee according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the tee member is integral with the arm or arms.

4. A height selectable golf tee according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the tee member is removable from the arm or arms.

5. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the sleeve bearing collar is integral with the arm.

6. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the sleeve bearing collar comprises a non-integral insert.

7. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said arm or arms further comprise a region for accepting advertising material.

8. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said arm or arms and said sleeve bearing collar are integral and are manufactured from a resilient material.

9. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said tee member are manufactured from a resilient material.

10. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said arm or arms, sleeve bearing collar and tee member comprise material selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate or polyolefin.

11. A height selectable golf tee according to claim 9 wherein the polyolefin is polypropylene or polyethylene.

12. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said arm or arms, sleeve bearing collar are manufactured from low density polyethylene.

13. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said tee member is insertable into said arm or arms from the bottom surface of said arm or arms through a support member.

14. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said tee member has a tapered base.

15. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein said tee member has a stepped base.

16. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein said tee member has a base which is both tapered and stepped.

17. A height selectable golf tee hold-all which comprises a base with means for attaching at least one height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 15 and one or more replaceable or removable component of a height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

18. A kit of parts comprising at least one height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 15 and one or more removable or replaceable component of a height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

19. A kit of parts or a height selectable golf tee hold-all according to claim 11 wherein the one or more replaceable or removable component of a height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is one or more tee members.

20. A kit of parts according to claim 18 further comprising a hold-all according to claim 16.

21. A height selectable golf tee or kit of parts according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or 16 to 18 wherein the height selectable golf tee further comprises a flexible coupling and a tapered plug.

22. A golf mat assembly comprising a golf tee mat and a height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or 19.

23. A height selectable golf tee according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or 19 wherein there is a plurality of tee members and each tee member is of a different height.