WO1999038578A1

WO1999038578A1 - Golf tee

Info

Publication number: WO1999038578A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/000056
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Petrus Pienaar
Original assignee: STENTAP Ltd; MONTREUIL ALBERT HILAIRE
Current assignee: STENTAP Ltd; MONTREUIL ALBERT HILAIRE
Priority date: 1998-01-30
Filing date: 1999-01-08
Publication date: 1999-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2000-07-30
Also published as: AU1977299A; ZA989361B

Abstract

This invention relates to a golf tee which includes a bulbous formation which projects outwardly from the shank of the tee.

Description

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GOLF TEE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a golf tee.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Conventional golf tees or pegs consist of an elongated shank or spike which is

sharpened at one end and carries at its other end a cupped head for supporting

a golf ball. The tee spike is generally parallel sided but may, particularly in tees

mounded from plastic, taper uniformly from their headed ends towards their

pointed ends

The heads of conventional golf tees have a generally inverted conical shape

with the base of the cone being concavely cupped so that the rim of the cup

provides a seat for a golf ball when the tee is held vertical or nearly so when the

pointed end of its ground spike is pressed into the ground When the ball is

struck from the tee the ball needs to clear the semi-circular edge of the cup in

the direction of its travel and the friction so generated reduces the striking

energy imparted to the ball. This together with the fact that in many cases the

club strikes the firmly embedded tee in its path through the ball to inhibit the follow through of the club further adds to reduced ball striking efficiency

Additionally a struck tee, particularly when made from wood, when firmly

embedded in the ground is very often broken or badly damaged when struck by

a club and the tees further frequently damage or at least scratch the golf club

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A golf ball tee according to the invention includes a ground engaging spike

which is sharpened at one end and carries on its other end a suitable formation

for supporting a golf ball when the spike is held substantially vertical and a

bulbous formation which projects outwardly from the spike and which extend

over a portion of the length of the spike between its sharpened end and the ball

supporting formation, with the spike and its bulbous formation being circular in

cross-section

The ball supporting formation of the tee is cup shaped and has a circular rim on

which a ball may be supported The ball supporting formation may however

have a substantially square rim with the corners of the square projecting

upwardly from the sides of the rim to provide four points on which the ball may

be supported with the sides of the rim clear of the ball In another form of the

invention half of the cup πm is semi-circular and the other half of the rim has two

sides which are angled from the ends of the semi-circular edge to a point to provide a semi-circular ball seat and a remote point on which a ball may be

supported with the angled sides of the cup clear of the ball

In a preferred form of the invention the spike of the tee and the bulbous

formation are circular in cross-section

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is now described by way of example only with reference to the

drawings in which

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the golf tee of the

invention,

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of a ball support formation on a golf

tee of the invention,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the Figure 2 ball support formation,

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the Figure 1 golf tee which is pegged in the

ground and is supporting a golf ball, and FIGURE 5 is a partially sectioned side elevation of a further embodiment of the

golf tee of the invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The golf tee of the invention is shown in Figure 1 to include a ground engaging

shank or spike 10 which is pointed at one end 12 and carries at its other end a

cup shaped ball support formation 14 This tee could be made from any suitable

material such as plastic but is preferably made from wood

The spike 10 of the golf tee is circular in cross-section includes, over a portion

of its length a radially outwardly projecting bulbous formation 16 which is of

significantly larger diameter than the remainder of the spike 10 as seen in the

drawings

The ball support formation 14, in this embodiment of the invention, is

substantially conventional and has the shape of an inverted cone with the base

of the cone inwardly concave with a radius of curvature less than that of a

conventional golf ball so that the contact area between the ball and tee is only

on the πm 18 of the formation In use, a golf ball 20 is teed up in the conventional manner by placing the ball

on the tee and then by means of the ball pressing the tee into the ground. With

the tee of the invention the tee is pressed further into the ground than the

desired teed up height of the ball and then withdrawn to the desired teed up

height, as shown in Figure 4, so that the pointed end 12 of the tee is withdrawn

from its formation in the ground as shown in the drawing The only portion of the

tee now engaging the hole which has been made by it in the soil is in the

equatorial region of the bulbous portion 16 of the tee as indicated by the arrow

22 in the drawing

When the ball 20 is now struck, from the left in Figure 4, even if this is

accomplished cleanly without any contact between the club and the tee, the

fπctional drag of the ball on the right hand edge of the tee rim 18 will cause the

peg to tilt about its pivot zone 22 in the direction of the arrow 24 in the drawing

with very little effort and loss of ball energy An additional advantage to the pivot

action of the tee is that even should the club solidly strike the tee it will be tilted

sharply to the right in the drawing and very often be ejected from the hole 14

without breakage as is often the case with tees having parallel sided spikes 10

which are embedded in fairly hard ground

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a preferred form of ball support formation 26 to that

illustrated and described with reference to Figures 1 and 4 The spike 10 of this tee is identical to that of the Figure 1 tee The ball support formation 26 is similar

to that of the formation 14 of Figure 1 save that the formation is cut away from

approximately diametrical points on the circular rim to provide a ball support

point 28 remote from the remainder of the semi-circular πm portion 30 of the

formation 26 As will be appreciated from Figure 2 a ball having a greater

diameter than the radius of curvature of the formation 26 concavity will now only

be in contact with the semi-circular πm portion 30 of the tee and the point 28 as

the lines joining the πm portion 30 and the point 28 are downwardly curved clear

of the ball as is seen in Figure 2 In use, this tee is pressed into the ground with

the point 28 pointing in the direction of intended ball travel so that when the ball

is struck from the tee the only fπctional engagement between the ball and tee

now is only the point 28 and not what would otherwise be the forward portion of

the rim 30 Obviously with so small a contact area the fπctional drag between the

ball and tee is yet further reduced

The tee of Figure 5 is moulded from a plastics material with its ball support

formation 32 preferably being made from a softer material than that from which

the spike 10 is made and which is moulded onto the upper end of the spike 10

The upper surface profile of the formation 32 is the same as that of Figures 2 and 3

The invention is not limited to the precise details as herein described For - 7 - O 99/38578 PCT/GB99/00056

example the ball support formation 26 could be made square by cutting away the

semi-circular rim portion 30 to result in a support formation which is square in

plan and has four upstanding ball contact points 28.

Claims

1. A golf ball tee comprising a ground engaging spike which is

sharpened at one end and carries on its other end a suitable formation for

supporting a golf ball when the spike is held substantially vertical and a bulbous

formation which projects outwardly from the spike and which extend over a

portion of the length of the spike between its sharpened end and the ball

supporting formation with the spike and its bulbous formation being circular in

cross-section.

2 A tee as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ball supporting formation

is cup shaped and has a circular πm on which a ball may be supported

3 A tee as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ball supporting formation

is cup shaped and has a substantially square rim with the corners of the rim

projecting upwardly from the sides of the πm to provide four points on which a

ball may be supported with the sides of the rim clear of the ball

4 A tee as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ball supporting formation

is cup shaped with one half of the cup πm being semi-circular and the other half

having two sides which are angled from the ends of the semi-circular rim to a

point to provide a semi-circular ball seat and a remote point on which a ball may be supported with the angled sides of the rim clear of the ball.