US3312468A - Golf tee setter - Google Patents

Description

April 4, 1967 J. A. LYNCH 3,312,468

GOLF TEE SETTER Filed May 6, 1964 INVENTOR.

JAMES A LYNCH ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,312,468 GOLF TEE SETTER James A. Lynch, 4108 Sunrise Way, Louisville, Ky. 40220 Filed May 6, 1964, Ser. No. 365,389 1 Claim. (Cl. 27333) This invention rel-ates to an improvement in golf tee setting devices and more particularly to an improved pocket type tee setter especially designed to effect ready setting of a golf tee in hardened ground. More specifically, this invention relates to a tee setter whereby a golf tee may be set in hardened ground at a pre-determined height and whereby the tee'may be raised or lowered so that the correct driving height can be ascertained visually.

Under the present practice, the depth at which a tee is driven into the ground may depend upon factors which are entirely unrelated to the characteristics of a golfers swing or to the particular club which he selects. Thus, for example, if the ground is hard and dry, the difliculty which a golfer encounters when driving a tee into the ground may cause him to tee the ball higher than normal and, if the ground is damp and soft, to tee the ball lower than normal. Since the height at which a ball is supported by a tee is peculiar to a golfers swing and the loft of the club which is selected, it is important that the tee be set at the correct height for a particular golfer and. club if consistently good drives :are to be made.v

Variations in the height at which a ball is teed may produce unwanted variations in the flight path of the ball even though the golfers swing is consistent and his selection of the clubs is identical.

It is well known that the setting of golf tees in the ground or driving tees on heavily played and usually unwatered golf courses, such as public courses, particularly in dry weather, is quite difiicult. It is not unusual during the dry season that the players are required to hammer their tees into the ground with any object available for that purpose, such as, for example, the head of a golf club or the shoe of the player. Such practice is hard on the club head and detracts from and slows up the game. Additionally, it is not unusual that a golfer will split the tee in attempting to drive same into the hardened ground.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tee setter to be used by a golfer in driving a tee vertically into the ground at a height which may be visually gauged by the golfer.

Another object of this invention is to provide -a gripping means whereby a tee may be raised to the desired height if the initial thrust drives the shank thereof too deeply in the ground.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a pocket type tee setter in the nature of a golfing accessory which may be carried in the pocket and which is effective to set tees into the hardened ground by a simple thrust or push of the hand.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a golf tee setter which may be inexpensively manufactured and which is characterized by dependable and simple operation over a long period of use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation illustrating the tee setter of my invention and its relation with the ball and with the tee in which the ball acts as a coupling between the setter and the tee.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation illustrating the relation of the resilient gripping means to the shank of the tee.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation illustrating the method by which the gripping means may be released so as to disengage the tee setter from the teed ball.

The tee setter 1 consists of a hand piece which contains a transverse bar 3 having a curved surface for engagement with the palm of the hand whereby sufiicient hand thrust may be applied thereto to drive the tee into the ground. Connected to the transverse bar 3 is a shaft 2 having a head portion 4 which contains a socket adapted to register with the ground surface of the ball. This piece may be made from metal or may be molded of plastic as a unitary piece or of other materials well known to those skilled in the art. In the lower portion of the shaft 2 is a hole 5a through which a transverse steel spring member may be inserted. In the modification shown'in FIG. 1, the steel spring member is bent at 6 and 6a to form a bow spring arrangement terminating in depending arms 7 which are arcuate in shape, each of which contains a gripping dog 8 at the lower end thereof. Gripping dogs 8 are adapted to engage with the shank 12 of tee 9 so :as to hold the head 11 of tee 9 in coupling engagement with ball 10 which is fitted into the socket of head 4 of the hand piece. Since the entire spring assembly is made from spring steel the shank 12 of the tee 9 is held in firm engagement with the ball so that it will not become disengaged from the ball when hand thrust is applied to the transverse bar 3 to drive the tee into the ground. Furthermore, in the event that the tee is driven too far into the ground, as is determined visually by the golfer, it is possible to manipulate the tee setting device to raise the ball to the desired level for a particular club without disengaging the gripping dogs 8 from the shank of the tee 9. Thereafter, when the teed ball is at the proper level for a particular drive, the gripping dogs 8 are disengaged from the shank of the tee 9 by applying finger pressure to the under-surface of the bow spring 6 as is illustrated in FIG. 3 so as to spread the arms and gripping dogs laterally for a suificient distance to clear both the tee and the ball 10 (see FIG. 3).

It will be noted from the construction of this device that there is provided a method by which the ball acts as a coupling between the hand piece and the tee. Thus, it is possible for the golfer to visually gauge the distance at which the ball is elevated from the ground as the tee is driven into the ground by hand thrust. Additionally, the gripping dogs 8 are constructed to reinforce the shank of the tee at the point of greatest strain, thus tending to alleviate the possibility of splitting or splintering of the tee as it is driven into the ground. Furthermore, the gripping dogs 8 retain the tee in firm engagement with the ball so that if the tee is driven to deeply for the golfers preference, he may, by lifting the transverse bar 3, raise the tee to the desired level for a particular drive. Thereafter, by application of finger pressure on the finger members he may spread the depending arms sufficiently to remove the entire tee setter from engagement with the ball and the tee.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that I have provided a tee setting device which is simple in its method of operation and economical to produce. This device allows the golfer to carry it in his pocket as a golfing accessory and to visually determine the elevation of the ball prior to disengaging the setter from the ball and tee. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made in the tee setter of my invention. The specific embodiments disclosed herein are intended to be exemplary in nature and non-limiting, except as to be commensurate in scope with the appended claim.

I claim:

A portable golf tee setter adapted to be carried in a golfers pocket, which comprises:

(1) a hand piece including a palm engaging portion, a

shaft portion, and a head portion,

(a) said palm engaging portion having suflicient surface area for receiving hand thrust,

(b) said head portion containing a socket adapted to engage with the surface of a golf ball,

(2) a resilient tee gripping means of unitary one piece construction including: a transverse 1 strap spring member, depending arcuate arms and gripping dogs located at the end of said arms,

(a) said transverse strap spring member being mounted in said shaft of said hand piece and bent to form bow springs which act as finger members for application of upwardly directed finger pressure to separate said depending arcuate arms,

(b) said depending arcuate arms depending from said bow springs and having a sufficient radius to accommodate a golf ball in coupling engagement with said socket and a tee,

(c) said gripping dogs being adapted for gripping a tee along its shank,

whereby the gripping dogs may be held in firm engagement with the shank of said tee to maintain the ball in coupling engagement with the socket of said hand piece and the head of the tee as thrust is applied thereto and to maintain said coupling engagement until finger pressure is applied upwardly to said bow springs to separate said arcuate arms and thereby release the gripping dogs from engagement with the shank of said tee.

References'Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 683,244 9/1901 Boda et al 27333 1,530,354 3/1925 Cox 29428 2,606,764 8/1952 Mason 27333 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

G. I. MARLO, Assistant Examiner.

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