Golf game - Patent Review 4743026

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This invention relates to a golf game, and more particularly, to a game which may be played on a storable medium and may include the elements of both skill and chance.

A number of games have previously been developed based on the game of golf and involving hitting a golf ball with a club along a representation of a link of a golf course. One such game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,233, granted to Charles A. Barbarow on Jun. 6, 1978. In the game of that reference a player stands a selected distance from a plurality of scoring zones defined by a pair of spaced support members, the player hitting the ball such that it lands within one of the scoring zones. In one form of playing the game, a marker is advanced on a game board according to the scoring zone upon which the ball comes to rest. The marker is moved to one of a number of discrete positions between a tee position and a hole position for each of the ten links depicted on the game board. Certain of the discrete positions have associated with them an element of chance; a player who is required to move his marker to such a position, according to where his ball comes to rest in the scoring zone, is required to draw a card; the card may require the player to either advance or retard his position on the game board. In the foregoing fashion, the players advance from link to link on the game board according to their skill in hitting a golf ball and also according to chance if their ball should land on one of the positions associated with card selection.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,781,230, granted to H. Hill on Nov. 11, 1930, discloses an apparatus for playing golf in a restricted space, which apparatus has a series of laterally offset receptacles acting as the equivalent of the scoring zones of U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,233. A game board is provided on which nine links are depicted, each link having five sets of laterally-offset positions for each of a series of positions between the tee and the green.

Additionally, each green has a matrix of five-by-five positions, the central position of which is a hole position. Each of the players has a marker which is moved from position to position on the board according to the receptacle of the apparatus in which the ball of the player comes to rest. This reference has the feature over the foregoing reference that a penalty is recognized if the golf ball is either "pulled" or "sliced".

U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,494, granted to R.B. Talley, Jr. on Sept. 19, 1967, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,136, granted to F.L. Buenzle on Oct. 22, 1974, both disclose an apparatus, including a length of carpet, for playing a game simulating a round of golf. The game of each of those references is played in a similar fashion, a player first hitting the ball from one end of the carpet toward the other end and having their second hitting position determined by the accuracy of the first hit, the closeness of the return hitting position to the first end of the carpet varying with the proximity attained by the ball to the second end of the carpet. Utilizing a length of carpet has the obvious advantage that the playing surface may be rapidly and easily stored.

The subject invention is a golf game that combines many of the advantages of the foregoing games and has additional advantages. The invention is a golf game adapted to be used in association with a golf club and a golf ball, the game comprising a storable flexible medium having marking denoting a playing surface for the game, a series of charts each depicting in plan view a different link of a golf course, a series of markers for the charts, and a series of scorecards by means of which the players keep track of their score. The surface of the flexible medium is divided into a pre-putting region and a putting region by a line of demarcation. The pre-putting region has a tee-off zone proximate of its one end and has a series of target zones between the tee-off zone and the opposite end, the target zones extending parallel to the ends of the pre-putting region. The pre-putting region is also divided longitudinally between its ends such that each target zone has a central portion and at least one lateral portion on each side of the central portion. Each chart of the series of charts is divided by longitudinal and lateral lines. The longitudinal lines extend from the tee-off area toward the hole area and divide the chart into longitudinal divisions corresponding to the central portion and lateral portions of the target zones on the flexible medium. The distance represented by the separation between each adjacent pair of lateral lines has a relationship to the separation between the lateral edges of the target zones.

The game of the invention is played by each player in turn first hitting the ball from the tee-off zone of the pre-putting region of the flexible medium. After hitting the ball, the player places a marker at the position on the particular chart corresponding to the longitudinal and lateral position at which the ball comes to rest on the flexible medium. According to the position of the marker on the chart, the ball is rehit by the player from the tee-off zone of the pre-putting region of the flexible medium and the marker is moved to a position further along the chart according to the new position at which the ball comes to rest on the flexible medium. Such hitting of the ball is repeated until the marker on the chart is within a pre-selected distance of the hole on the chart. The player then moves to the putting region of the flexible medium and hits the ball until it moves within a hole designation in that region. The players enter on their scorecards the strokes required to complete the link.

The game of the invention may further comprise chance game movement selection means associated with certain of the target zones of the pre-putting region of the flexible medium. In this form of the game, a ball hit by a player from the tee-off zone of the pre-putting region of the flexible medium may come to rest on the one of the target zones associated with the selection means. In such case, the position of the marker of the player on the particular chart is modified according to the selection means. That selection means may comprise a series of cards each of which has described thereon a penalty or bonus. The player whose ball comes to rest on the one of the target zones associated with the selection means has to randomly select one of the cards, the position of the marker of the player on the particular chart being moved according to the description on the chosen card. The penalty descriptions on the series of cards generally require the players to move back their markers on the board to some extent and the bonus descriptions on the series of cards generally require the players to advance their markers on the board to some extent.

The storable flexible medium may be a piece of carpet capable of being rolled up. On such carpet the direction of play in both the pre-putting and putting regions is parallel to the line of demarcation between the two regions. The marking on the pre-putting region of the playing surface may include a series of small delineated areas each of which is located within a respective one of the target zones. A player whose ball comes to rest on one of such delineated areas when hit from the tee-off zone is credited with scoring a hole-in-one in the game.

The invention will next be described in terms of a preferred embodiment, utilizing the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the playing surface of the game, that playing surface including both a pre-putting region and a putting region

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a representative one of the series of charts utilized in the game.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view depicting a person teeing-off on the playing surface of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a double series of cards utilized in the game, and a sample text from each of the cards.

With reference to FIG. 1, playing surface 11 is divided into a pre-putting region 12 and a putting region 13. Pre-putting region 12 is in turn generally divided into a grid by four lines extending longitudinally in the region and thirty-seven lines extending laterally in the region. One end of the pre-putting region 12 is identified as the TEE, and it is from this end of that region that each player hits his ball until such time as he qualifies to play on the surface of putting region 13. The pre-putting region 12 is intended to be representative of the fairway and the rough on either side of the fairway of a golf link. The central longitudinal division of pre-putting region 12, extending from TEE to M, is intended to depict the middle fairway of a golf link. The longitudinal divisions on either side of that central division represent the left and right fairways, respectively designated LF and RF. The longitudinal divisions on either side of the left and right fairways are intended to represent the left and right rough areas of the golf link, LR representing the left rough and RR representing the right rough.

The alternately-designated zones, 15 and 16, on FIG. 1 are zones representing the chance selection means of the game. As will be more fully explained subsequently, if the ball hit by a player from the TEE should come to rest within one of the zones, 15 or 16, then the player is required to draw a card from a corresponding one of two piles of cards, 17 and 18, generally illustrated in FIG. 4. A ball coming to rest on one of the zones 15 would require the player to draw a card from the top of the pile of cards 17 designated RUB OF THE GREEN, and correspondingly, a ball coming to rest on one of the zones 16 would obligate the player to draw a card from the pile of cards 18, designated MISSED SHOT. Each of the RUB OF THE GREEN cards denotes the occurrence of a chance external factor, such as someone picking up the ball, whereas MISSED SHOT cards denote a defective shot by the player, such as a club topping the ball. The bonus or penalty associated with the cards generally requires the player to move forward, backward or sideward.

The playing surface is formed from a piece of all-weather carpeting twelve feet long and four feet wide, the pre-putting region being thirty-three inches wide and the putting region being fifteen inches wide. The longitudinal division marked M is nine inches wide, the longitudinal divisions LF and RF are 6 inches wide, and the longitudinal divisions LR and RR are 6 inches wide. The overall colour of the carpet is preferably green, with white lettering and lines as shown in FIG. 1. The zones 15 are red and the zones 16 are yellow. Two other colours are utilized on the carpet, blue being utilized for the small zone designated 20 in FIG. 1 and brown being utilized for the zone designated 21 in that Figure; the reason for zones 20 and 21 will subsequently become apparent. Four circled numbers are shown in the pre-putting region 12 of FIG. 1 and their purpose will also subsequently become apparent.

FIG. 2 illustrates a representative one of the series of charts utilized with the game. Eighteen charts are provided with each game, and each of those charts depicts a respective one of the golf links of a golf course; charts for nationally-known golf courses would be made available. The term "link" as used in this document refers to the area between the tee and the putting green and also both the laterally-surrounding area and the area beyond the putting green on which a ball might reasonably be expected to land during play of the game, i.e. the area encompassed by both the terms "fairway" and "rough".

The area 22 within the heavy line 23 on the chart of FIG. 2 is an artistic representation of the fairway of the golf link; such artistic representation has no bearing on the playing of the game. Since the playing surface of the carpet has to be compatible with the link layouts on all of the charts, the carpet surface represents the fairway in a simplified rectilinear form. The area 24 within the heavy line 26 on FIG. 2 is the putting green of the golf link on the chart, and small circle 27 is the hole on putting green 24. The areas designated 28 are "sand traps", and the thin band 29 is a stream representing a "lateral water hazard". The area 30 within heavy line 31 is a "regular water hazard", and the band 32 is a roadway that intersects the golf link. The remaining region on the chart of FIG. 2 and between the double row of numbers there shown is the "rough" of the golf link; that region will henceforth be designated as rough 33. The chart of FIG. 2 is colour-coded, with fairway 22 being light green, putting green 24 being dark green, sand traps 28 being brown, lateral water hazard 29 being blue, regular water hazard 30 being also blue, roadway 32 being black, and the remainder of the chart being white. The numbers on the right side of the chart of FIG. 2 represent the yardage from the tee on the link, and the numbers on the left side of the chart represent yardage measured from hole 27.

The charts representing the eighteen links of a golf course are preferably made of a light cardboard into which coloured pins may be inserted as markers. Each player has a set of ten pins having a distinctive colour from the pins of other players. The game is intended for play by one to six players, and is best suited to two to four players.

The game is commenced by the players flipping a coin or using other means to determine the order of play. On the second and subsequent links the order of play is determined by the scores attained on the previous link, the player with the lower score on the previous link playing the first shot on the subsequent link. The players in turn tee-off their ball from the central zone marked TEE on the pre-putting region 12. The golf club used by each player would normally be a putter, and the ball used would normally be a regular golf ball. The chart of FIG. 2 which represents the first link of the golf course is studied by each player to determine how the hole is "to be played". In that regard, each game of golf may be played on either a "championship" course or a "regular" course. The chart of FIG. 2 illustrates the difference. The regular first hole depicted in FIG. 2 has a tee positioned 340 yards from the hole, whereas the championship first hole has the tee position 400 yards from the hole, i.e. at the one end of the chart.

Although the player must keep in mind the particular chart associated with the golf link when teeing off, they must also consider the position of the chance zones 15 and 16 on the carpet. If their golf ball comes to rest on one of those zones a card must be drawn from the corresponding one of the piles of cards 17 and 18. If, for instance, the ball on the first shot comes to rest on the zone 15 positioned between the yardage markers "230" and "240" of FIG. 1, then the top card must be drawn from the pile of cards 17. Assuming that the representative card associated with the pile of cards 17 in FIG. 4 were drawn, the player has to play their third shot again from the tee; in other words, no yardage was gained on the first shot. If, on the other hand, the ball had come to rest on the zone 16 between the yardage indicators "200" and "210" of FIG. 1 the player would draw the top card from the pile of cards 18. If the top card contained the representative text associated with the pile of cards 18 in FIG. 4, the player would move back ten spaces from zone 16; the effect would be the same as if the ball landed on yardage 130. The player would then place a pin on the chart of the link being played, 130 yards from the tee. The five longitudinal divisions on each chart are intended to correspond with the five longitudinal divisions of the pre-putting region 12, and the player's pin is positioned laterally on the chart according to the lateral position at which the ball comes to rest on pre-putting region 12. If a ball lands on a line it is deemed to be in that zone in which the larger amount of the ball rests. If the ball sits exactly on the line, the player may choose which zone he wishes the ball to be in, and, if that choice involves one of the zones 15 or 16, the choice must be made before a card is drawn from the respective pile of cards 17 or 18. A slight exception to the foregoing rules is made w