US1544380A - Golf-practicing device - Google Patents

Description

June 30, 1925.

D. B. EDMONSTON GOLF PRACTICING DEVICE Filed Nov. 6', 1924 Patented June 30, 1925.

DAVID B. EDMONSTON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUIVII'BLL GOLF-PRACTICING DEVICE.

Application filed November 6, i924. Serial No. 748,139.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID B. EDMONSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Inn provements in Golf-Practicing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for practicing golf indoors and particularly the strokes known as putting, whereby facility and skill may be acquired in putting strokes, and the device may be used either individually or competitively byseveral persons.

One of the main objectsof the invention is to provide a device which maybe used indoors and which will simulate as closely as possible the conditions found on putting greens. I am aware that devices have been proposed for practicing putting indoors. Some of these involve an inclined'plane up which the ball must roll to drop in the hole. Others use various forms of triggers or trapping devices. These are defective or objectionable because of the increased power or drive required to move the ball up the plane or beyond the triggers; in other words, a stroke will not be true with respectto the power-required. They are also open to objection on account of cost or otherwise.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which may be applied to the edge of a rug or the like, the base-of the device having substantially the same thickness as the rug, whereby the course or surface on which the ball rolls will be substantially level, without elevations or' obstructions to obstruct or deflect the travel of the ball. v

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved device of the kind' stated in which the ball, having once entered the hole, will be retained therein, in a manner similar to aliole in the ground, except in the case of such hard stroke that the ball would jump the hole under outdoor conditions, in. which event the present device enables it to rebound out of the hole. This object is elfected by the use of a retaining device which is so located and positioned that the ball will be stopped or caught thereby and be held in the hole, so that it will not overrun the same or rebound out of the hole, except under the abnormalcondition referred to.

A further object of the invention is to as thesurface of the rug.

provide a device which will deflect or retain the ball in the hole after marginal shots, that is, shots in which the ball travels to one ofthe lateral edges of the hole, with respect to its line of travel and, with which,

under ground conditions, the ball would I drop into the hole, but with which, in the I use of some of such indoor devices, the tend" ency is to deflect the ball away from the hole, or prevent it fromdropping-therein. In short, the purpose of the device is to produce a result, with respect-to'the fall of the ball in the hole, the same as that found under outdoor conditions;

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which willstop balls which miss the hole, and prevent the same from rolling around the room, underarticles of furniture or the like. I V A further object of the invention is; to provide means for retaining the device in position at the edge of 'a rug, mat or carpet to which it may be applied. i r

iVith these and other ob 'ects in View one form of the invention is hereinaftende-. scribed and is illustrated in the accompany ing drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the device. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 illustrating a ball caught by the retainer. Fig. 3 is a has a base board 7, of substantially.thesame thickness as the rug, whereby its top "surface willbe at substantially'the same level This-board or base may be of any suitable material and desired dimensions. I have found between two and three feet aconvenient length and about seven inches a convenient width. The material may conveniently be that known as compressed paper or wall board, acomposition having qualities which are quite suitable for the intended purpose. The base has a circular hole'8 which may be made of standard size of holes in putting greens, said hole being preferably located at the middle of the board. It may be set somewhat closer to the front edge of the board than is shown in the drawing. At itsrear edge, the base has a back strip'9 fixed there- V stripsmaybean inch or't'wohigh. and may be made of wood', and they form' a'three- V sided enclosure which Will retain wild'ballsand preventrthemj rolling about the room. -'.To the "back strip 9 is fixeda retainer or .holding device indicated at 11. This: may

convenientlyconsist of a piece of composition board of little orno elast c1ty,be1ng I quite stiff or hard in fact, and it may be fixed to the back-strip by being iset'in a notch 12 in the top of the strip. Tl1ec0n 'structionland location of this retainer 1s of considerable ii'nporta ncei It is set on the back stripat a slightinclin'ation, upwardly and forwardly, asshown in Fig. 2, and its front edge projects somewhat over the-hole 8,,sufliciently farlthataball'will engage said edge before" it would engage the rear edge of'the hole. Said front" edge is curved, as indicated 13,011 an areconcentric with that of the hole whereby [two h'orns or 'points 14 are formed These horns or points are blunt, and the edge 1315 located in such vertical position that a standard golf b'a'lhas indicated will just enter or' engage the said edge and Will be pinched andheldfthereby when driven with "sufficient force to strike the retainer. As stated, the

material isfdead -or Without elasticity suf-I ficient to 1 cause a rebounding action suflt ci-ent' to cause theballit'o leave the hole- 7 undera normal "stroke", but when the stroke 'is'abnorma'lly hard, the elasticityr of the ball ivill'causeit to rebou'ndout ofthe hole. 'In other Words, if the stroke is such that under "outdoor conditions the ball would drop in the h0le, the retainer will act asst'at'ed, and

remain in thehole, but if the stroke is so hard-that" under outdoor conditions the ball "wouldjuinp or travel over'the hole,;in'such case tlieball, instead of dropping into the hole to be engagedby the edge of the retainer will strike the said edge a sufficient *distance" below the top of the ball to cause arebound'ing action, which will throw the ball back out of the hole. Accordingly,

the device has-an action 'very nearly the same; u'ith'respect to the final result, as that produced under outdoo'r conditions Where, if'the ball hugs the green, it Will fall int-o thehole, but' 'i f hit suflicient ly hard "will travel clear over the hole, the intent 'of 'thepresenf invention being to stop and hold the ballsof 'the first kind, but permit a rebound'of the balls of the second kind. 7 The horns 14 are blunted so that they will not 'becoine inashedi inib'y repeated contact of a ballngainstrthesame. The edge 13 is1curveds0 that it. Will acco 'ninodate balls driven from various; angles. The horns 141m also located iii-such position that they correspond-to the Vertical axis or the" center line (if a ball Which may enter the rim of the cup at either sidefi That is, assuming a ball traveling across the i Will roll toward the hole.

'It may thus be used fonindivid rim of'the holejat oaasiae; if itsvertical axial line is Within therim' of thecup will engagethe horn andgbe deflected 0r ,retained in-theiholeywhereas ifits vertical axis is outside a perpendicular dropped froni theho1m 14 it will rim the hole and be deflected outside. This corresponds to 0 the hole,

H the retainer, and the slight inclination of the latter are suclra's to justallbuv a ball to bepi'nched byt'he retainer, by reason of -1 f the c'u'rvatuie of f top surface, thus n g ji' from. leav1ng, the hole under an o nary stroke.

With thensejo'f at device, af war a found' that if the ball driven xvith just suflici'ent force itv'v'ill drop into andj sta'y in Q? Y the hole. Ifislightlyexcessive force is used,

a ball that 'hit's t-heholeiwill engageth'e edge ,of'the retainer andwi l l'b'e stopped-and held in the hole.;-A retainer'niade of comparetively rigid inelastic material; such as: coin-s position, will beffound superior to t-lieause of Wood or thelilie" fOr thisIp-urpOs'e, "but oba1; may 4 be varied as i found 1 viously the inateri suitable.

. For holdingthe deviceinpositionat the y edge of a'rugor ni'at,.I' provide alpair of at strips '16" fastened to the edge of the board 7 adjacent the rug and; '[rovided 'at their} 4 fre 'nds'with pins17 "hen-the device is applied-to theedge- (if a rug the strips are placed under said edge and, the rug pressed tach'ing devices shown as; flexible metal down upon the pins, beingthereby hooked. theretoand hel'd in position against acci-I dental displacemetf And the sur'face of the rug and 't-ha ltfof the base 7 Willbe' atsubstantia1ly..the same level" so that the ball will not bounceor-jump"but will roll across the joint.

In using the device it" islapplied zto the edge of a rug as stated: Then the: ball is placed at a suitable or desired distance from the; device andupon being" hit by I a putter be stoppedand'eaught by-theback and side strips. If it hits the, hole, it' will beheld therein to complete the 'stroke,' 'e

referred to. f s nah-practice cases of excessive force as above or in competition {players miay play in succe'ss on, and keep a score as 1n the; actual gamm fitmissesni-t will I 1251 Being c'onjstrueted. of inexp eiisive materials, the device can cheaply 1nanu-' I factured and -Willgivea near approach to the actual playing conditions of the regular outdoor game. The ballcan be removed from the device by a mere tap by the blade of the putter, so it is unnecessary to stoop and pick the ball out, as in some other devices, Which becomes very tiresome on repetition. Also, several balls may be holed in succession, Without removing the preceding balls. This saves time and travel back and forth.

The particular description of the form shown, and the materials used, is not to be regarded as a limitation thereto, but various changes or modifications may be made Within the scope of the following claims.

I claim: I

1. In a device of the kind described, a base board having a hole therein, and a fixed retainer projecting over the hole at a proper height to frictionally engage the top of a ball entering the hole.

2. In a device of the kind described, a base board having a hole therein, and a rigid retainer projecting above the board in position to engage a ball in the hole, the front edge of the retainer having the form of a forwardly presented concave curve.

A device as set forth in claim 2, said curve being concentric to the curvature of the rim of the hole.

4. A device as set forth in claim 2, the points at the ends of said curved edge being located Within the vertical plane of the rim of the hole.

5. A device as set forth in claim 2, the points at the ends of said curved edge each being in position substantially in line with the vertical axis of a ball entering the extreme side edge of the hole.

6. A device of the kind described, comprising a base board having a hole therein and adapted to be applied to tlieedge ofa rug or the like, the thickness of the board being substantially equal to that of therug, and means to fasten the edge of the board to the edge of the rug.

7. A device as set forthin claim 6, said board being provided with a back stop strip atthe rear edge thereof.

8. A device as set forth in claim 6, the rear and side edges of the board having stop strips for the purpose described! 9.. In a device of the kind described, a base board having a hole therein, a back strip at the rear edge of the board, and a retainer projecting forwardly from said back strip with its front edge over the hole at a proper heightto engage a ball thereby.

10. A device as set forth in claim 9, said retainer being inclined slightly upwardly and forwardly from the back strip.

11; A device as set forth in claim 9, said retainer being inclined upwardly and for Wardly from the back strip and having a concave front edge located over the hole at a proper height to engage thereby a ball in the hole. 1

In testimony whereof, I affix my signm ture in presence of a Witness.

DAVID B. EDMONSTON. fitness:

G'no. TEW'. i

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