GB2298774A

GB2298774A - Divot retainer

Info

Publication number: GB2298774A
Application number: GB9505189A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Neil Godfrey Rowland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-03-15
Filing date: 1995-03-15
Publication date: 1996-09-18
Also published as: GB9505189D0

Abstract

A divot anchor comprises a shank portion 1 with a head portion 2 extending outwardly from the upper end thereof. The shank portion 1 may be rectangular in cross section and has a pointed tip 5 formed on its lower end. The head portion 2 comprises two resiliently deformable arms 7 and 8 which are curved and taper longitudinally along their length and are curved transversely across their width. In use the shank portion 1 is inserted downwardly through the replaced divot 6 so that the head portion 2 engages the top surface of the divot 6 and the arms 7 and 8 resiliently deform to hold the divot 6 in position.

Description

DIVOT ANCHOR AND A METHOD FOR RETAINING DIVOTS This invention relates to a method for retaining replaced divots in a grass surface and to a divot anchor for use therewith.

There is a need for a way in which divots, that have been torn out of a grass surface and replaced,may be retained in position and prevented from subsequent disturbance so that their roots regenerate quickly. A particular problem occurs on a golf course wherein short iron shots to the green result in divots being torn out of the turf by the club- impetus after hitting the golf ball. Although all golfers replace these divots and tread them in, it is often found that they are subsequently disturbed, for instance by birds and other animals who turn them over to search for insects. Golfers spiked shoes and ground preparing machinery such as mowers, spikers and scarifiers can also dislodge the replaced divot.Disturbance of the divot causes its roots to dry out and die leaving a recess which the must be filled with soil and seed during the growing season to maintain an even surface.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for retaining divots in a grass surface and a divot anchor for use therewith which overcomes or substantially reduces the aforementioned problems and which impales the replaced divot firmly in the grass surface to hold it in position and prevent its subsequent disturbance.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method for retaining a divot in a grass surface comprising the steps of: a) replacing the divot in the recess in the grass surface from which it came, and b) retaining the divot in said recess by inserting a divot anchor through the replaced divot to hold it in position in the grass surface and thereby prevent removal of the divot from said recess.

Preferably a single divot anchor is used for each divot to be retained, the divot anchor having a shank portion which is inserted vertically downwards through the replaced divot so that the shank portion protrudes through the bottom of the divot, but any number of divot anchors may be inserted in this way. The divot anchor could also be inserted with the shank portion extending through the divot at an angle so that it protrudes through the side of the divot to retain it in position and prevent its removal from the grass surface. Again, more than one divot anchor may be inserted into each divot in this way to retain larger divots in position.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a divot anchor for use with the method of the invention comprising a shank portion of a length sufficient to protrude through the divot and a head portion connected thereto and shaped to engage the top surface of the divot and retain the divot in position.

Preferably the head portion is shaped so as to apply a downward pressure to the divot when the shank portion is fully inserted through the replaced divot.

In one embodiment the shank portion comprises a single downwardly extending leg but it can comprise a plurality of downwardly extending iegs.

If necessary the shank portion can be shaped so that it will break when a lateral load is applied thereto. For instance, the shank portion can have a plurality of notches formed thereon at intervals along its length which define weakening points where it will break when a lateral load is applied thereto, eg by a golf club.

Preferably, the shank portion is rectangular and uniform in cross section throughout its entire length, but any other cross section such as square, oval, circular or triangular are possible. The shank portion can also be of non-uniform cross section throughout its length.

The shank portion can have serrations, or other means formed thereon such as a number of hinged flaps or tines, which open when an attempt is made to withdraw the divot anchor thereby increasing the divot anchor's resistance to removal from the grass surface.

Preferably, the head portion is larger than the shank portion and may comprise a single or plurality of outwardly extending arms, but the head portion could also be of any suitable shape such as circular. It can also be of substantially the same size as the shank portion.

Conveniently, the head portion comprises two arms extending outwardly from the upper end of the shank portion in opposite directions to form a 'T' shaped configuration but it may also comprise one or more arms extending radially outwardly from the shank.

Preferably, the head portion is curved and resiliently deforms when engaged with the grass surface to hold the divot in position.

It will be appreciated that the head portion of the divot anchor may lie proud of the surface when it is in position in the replaced divot and thus could cause damage to mowers and other machinery. The protruding head portion of the divot anchor, if not inserted fully in the divot, could also interfere with subsequent play by golfers if, for example, the ball was deflected by it hitting said protruding part during play To substantially overcome this problem the head portion is specifically designed to -have a low cross sectional profile.

The divot anchors are preferably made from a moulded plastics material but they could also be made from any biodegradable material such as newspaper so that after a time they will be absorbed into the surrounding ground.

One way in which biodegradable divot anchors could be made is by laser cutting them from a flat sheet of biodegradable material or moulding or extruding them from such a material.

A preferred method of carrying out the invention and a divot anchor for use therewith will now be described , by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side view of a divot anchor of the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the divot anchor shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a schematic view showing how the divot anchor of figures 1, 2 and 3 is used in accordance with the method of the invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic view of the divot anchor shown in Figure 1 fully inserted into the replaced divot.

Referring to the drawings there is shown in Figure 1 a divot anchor consisting of a shank portion 1 and a head portion 2.

The shank portion 1 comprises a shaft which is rectangular and uniform in cross section throughout its length and has two identical side surfaces 3 and two identical facing end surfaces 4 (see figure 3). The side surfaces 3 of the shank portion 1 are of a width which is slightly greater than the width of the facing end surfaces 4 so that the shank portion will break easily when a lateral load is applied to either the shank portion 1 or the head portion 2 of the divot anchor. For example, a suitable width for the side surfaces 3 is 5 millimetres and a suitable width for the facing end surfaces 4 is 4 millimetres. The dimensions are given by way of example only and the actual dimensions will depend on the overall size of the divot anchor. The shank portion 1, by way of example, is 55 millimetres in length and its lower end has a pointed tip 5 formed thereon for ease of insertion into the grass surface through the replaced divot 6 (see Figure 4). The upper end of the shank portion 1 of the divot anchor has the head portion 2 formed thereon which, by way of example, is 60 millimetres in length and has the same width as the side surfaces 3 of the shank portion 1. The head portion 2 comprises two laterally extending arms 7 and 8 which are both curved slightly downwardly along their length and are resiliently deformable. The upper surface of the arms 7 and 8 is also curved in a transverse direction across its width and each arm tapers longitudinally along its length from a maximum thickness at the upper end of the shank portion 1 to a minimum thickness at its tip so that the head portion 2 provides a low profile when the divot anchor is fully inserted into the replaced divot 6 (see Figure 5). It will be noted that the curvature of the arms 7 and 8 has been straightened during insertion in the direction of arrow B (see figure 5) whereby they exert a downward pressure on the upper surface of the divot to assist in retaining it in the grass surface.

The divot anchor may be inserted through the centre of the replaced divot 6 in the direction of arrow A (see Figure 4) so that its shank portion 1 extends and passes through the bottom surface of the divot 6 to be retained.

Claims

1. A divot anchor for retaining a divot in a grass surface comprising a shank portion of a length sufficient to protrude through the divot and a head portion connected thereto and shaped to engage the top surface of the divot and retain the divot in position.

2. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the head portion is shaped so as to apply a downward pressure to the divot.

3.A divot anchor as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the shank portion comprises a single downwardly extending leg.

4. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the shank portion comprises a plurality of downwardly extending legs.

5. A divot anchor as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shank portion is shaped so that the head portion will break off when a lateral load is applied thereto.

6. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 5 wherein the shank portion is rectangular in cross section.

7. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the shank portion has a plurality of notches formed thereon along its length where the shank portion may break when a lateral load is applied thereto.

8. A divot anchor as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shank portion has serrations formed thereon to increase its resistance to removal from the grass surface.

9. A divot anchor as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shank portion is of uniform cross section throughout its length.

10. A divot anchor as claimed in any of claims 1-8 wherein the shank portion is of non-uniform cross section throughout its length.

11. A divot anchor as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the head portion is of substantially the same size as the shank portion.

12. A divot anchor as claimed in any of claims 1-10 wherein the head portion is larger than the shank portion.

13. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 12 wherein the head portion comprises at least one outwardly extending arm.

14. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 13 wherein the or each arm extends radially outwardly from the shank.

15. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 14 wherein two arms extend from the shank portion in opposite directions to provide a 'T' shaped head.

16. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 12 wherein the head portion is circular in shape.

17. A divot anchor as claimed in any of claims 12-16 wherein the head portion is curved in cross section and resiliently deforms so as to be substantially planar when engaged with the grass surface to hold the divot in position.

18. A divot anchor as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the head portion is of a low profile to prevent hinderance to mowers and the like.

19. A divot anchor as claimed in any preceding claim made from a biodegradable material.

20. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 19 made by laser cutting the biodegradable material from a flat sheet thereof.

21. A method for retaining a divot in a grass surface comprising the steps of a) replacing the divot in the recess in the grass surface from which it came, and b) retaining the divot in said recess by inserting a divot anchor through the replaced divot to hold it in position in the grass surface and thereby prevent removal of the divot from said recess.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21 wherein the divot anchor is inserted so as to protrude through the bottom of the divot.

23. A divot anchor as claimed in claim 2i wherein the divot anchor is inserted through the divot at an angle so as to protrude through the side of the divot.

24. A method as claimed in claim 22 or claim 23 wherein a plurality of divot anchors are inserted through the replaced divot.

25. A divot anchor substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

26. A method substantially for retaining a divot in a grass surface substantially as herein described.