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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION--FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to indoor golf courses, specifically those that can
be used as playing field gameboards for a variety of golf games using a
standard golf ball and putter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION--DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
This invention is related to the game of golf, and specifically to bringing
a realistic, competitive, entertaining, miniaturized golf course indoors.
Golf is an outdoor sport that emphasizes skill over strength. Each player
uses a club to propel his ball from a tee into a distant hole in the
fewest number of strokes possible. It is presumed that the origins of golf
began with "Paganica", a game played by the Romans using a curved stick
and a piece of leather stuffed with feathers some two thousand years ago.
Today, the game is a twenty billion dollar per year industry and is growing
in popularity with no end in sight. Golf is a game that requires practice
to consistently improve ones score. Golf is also a game of many different
games. Putting is the game within the game of golf that accounts for
nearly half of all strokes taken by the average golfer.
However, due to the great expense of building and maintaining outdoor nine
hole putting courses there is a lack of adequate putting courses to
practice and compete on. Thus, the need for people to play, practice and
enjoy golf must take on new forms if we are to foster the games growth and
reduce the average golfers score.
One new avenue of development is miniaturized courses for the home or
office.
Based upon our search and investigation, the most important distinction
between all prior art and the subject game device is that all prior art is
based either on roll of the dice boardgames, U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,065
issued July 7, 1981 to William D. White, or based on complex
electronically sensitized surfaces such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,085 issued
Apr. 12, 1977 to Charles Stephen Maxell, or chipping and putting practice
mats such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,084 issued Apr. 12, 1977 to Ernest
Jeffery. This golf mat utilizes a wire "flag accessory device", which is
placed on the mat and significantly affects the roll of the ball and thus
is an inaccurate gage. However, even if it were an accurate gage it does
not evaluate shots numerically, or evaluate shots that finish on the
carpet outside of the target. Secondly, it does not incorporate
aesthetically pleasing golf holes dyed into the carpet for enhanced
realism. Third it does not serve as a colorful throw rug for a den or
office.
Our product is completely self contained. It is simply the pattern on the
rug that creates the scoring system and golf hole atmosphere which serves
as the field of play for the various games to be played.
No other golf games, utlizing a golf club and a ball attempt to reproduce
the many elements of a golf hole from an aerial view, or utilize a scoring
system to evaluate each individual shot regardless of where the ball comes
to rest.
No other golf games are nine hole putting courses with holes of various
lengths that allow you to play a round, and shoot a score based on which
one of the four games one selects to play. My game device further provides
a group of games that can be played by one or more players on a course as
compared to a solitary player merely practicing putting strokes on a green
mat with a hole in it.
It should be apparent that the preferred embodiment is only one of many
possible embodiments and that other embodiments will be apparent to
individuals skilled in the field and business of golf. Other obvious
embodiments of this invention are any indoor carpet golf course games
involving from 1 to 18 tees, greens, fairways, roughs, sand traps, and
water hazards to simulate a golf course either outlined or solidly colored
on a level loop or cut-pile carpet ranging from very small throw rugs and
medium sized area rugs to room size or complete home or club carpet
courses that cover many rooms and utilize a numerical and/or alphabetical
characters scoring system.
The need for a realistic home play-practice training course for the game of
golf has never been greater. Researching prior art we have not found any
indoor golf games with a unique and golf-related scoring system to
evaluate each individual shot numerically based on where one's ball comes
to rest on the course, whether it be on the fairway, in the rough, on the
green, on a target or targetted area on the green or possibly in a hazard
or out of bounds.
DRAWING FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the carpet material
taken along the line or direction 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of an alternative form of target
area of FIGS. 1 and 4 having alphabetical character scoring zone
designations thereon; and
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating features and a manner of use of
the golf game device of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
With reference to FIG. 1, there is depicted on an elongated mat or runner R
an aerial view of the preferred embodiment for the indoor golf course for
the home or office. As can be seen in FIG. 1, there are two golf holes or
playing fields, which are divided by a water hazard 64 and are to be
played in opposite directions from nine separate tees or playing positions
16-32 to two targets 38 and 40 on the greens 34 and 36 by one or more
players A,B (FIG. 4), each using a standard golf club and ball 80 (80')
and 82 (82'), which are not part of the claimed invention. The mat or
runner R is preferably formed of a cut-pile level loop carpet fiber
material 96, as shown in FIG. 2.
Fairways 10 and 12 are surrounded by the rough 14 which contains eight sand
traps 62,66,68,70,72,74,76 and 78.
The rules of each of the four games, One-Shot Tournaments, Two-Shot
Tournaments, Bump Golf and Create Your Own Hole Competitions are different
but generally the object of each game is the same. That is to score as
many points as possible by hitting the ball from a designated tee toward
the simulated cup 54 and 56 which are the egg or circular shaped centers
of the target areas 38 and 40 on the carpet course.
The scoring system utilized is composed of designated point zones as
follows: out of bounds is designated to be minus two points for any ball
hit off the golf course carpet surface, a water hazard 64 is to be minus
two points, a sand trap hazard 62 is to be minus one point, all areas not
otherwise marked are zero points. An area that surrounds the entire green
encompassing part of the rough and fringe 58 and 60 is the one point zone,
the entire green 34 and 36 other than the target areas 38,40 on the green
is the two point zone, the red, largest concentric ring 42 and 44 is the
three point zone, the white, second largest concentric ring 46 and 48 is
the four point zone, the blue, third largest ring 50 and 52 is the five
point zone and the elongated egg or circular shape center 56 is the six
point zone. The maximum score for a nine hole event using one ball per
player is fifty-four points. Instead of, or in addition to, the
numerically valued scoring point designations for the target areas
depicted in FIGS. 1 and 4, the numerical scoring point zones and
surrounding areas thereof can be marked or labelled with one or more
alphabetical character value scoring designations as "EAGLE", "BIRDIE",
"PAR", "BOGEY", OR "DOUBLE BOGEY", as in FIG. 3, for example. The
elongated center of the target 40 is composed of a half circle at the base
and an elongated curve at the top, whereby the distance from the farthest
and highest point of the elongated curve, to the center of the egg shaped
target is twice that of the radius of the half circle, which is the lower
half and base of the egg shaped target.
The purpose of the elongated center of the Mazer-Target is to add to the
realism of the carpet course. In the game of golf when playing on a
standard playing course, a ball hit slightly too hard, on line, in the
exact direction of the hole may still go into the cup or hole. Thus, the
egg-shaped central area of the target 40 is intended to approximate this
playing condition and compensates for the fact that there is no hole in
the carpet to get in the way of the ball. Thus, shots hit just beyond the
center of the target will still be counted as if they went into the cup
and be scored six points thus adding to the realism of the carpet course
when comparing play on the carpet course to play on a standard outdoor
course.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages of indoor golf course
device described herein, additional objects and advantages of the present
invention are:
(a) to provide an practice golf course on a carpet or carpet like
substance;
(b) to provide an indoor nine hole practice course on an elongated runner
or mat formed of a piece of carpet or carpet like substance;
(c) to provide a indoor golf course with a scoring system in which
designated point zones evaluate each individual shot.
(d) to provide a nine hole indoor golf practice course having two fields of
play for one or more players and affording four separate games, as games,
One Shot Tournaments, Two Shot Tournaments, Bump Golf and Create Your Own
Hole Competitions, to be played with a golf club and a golf ball;
(e) to provide a nine hole practice putting course that can also accomodate
chipping
(f) to provide a nine hole golf course on a mat or runner, which has no
accessory devices, attachments, or holes or openings in, on or to the
carpet runner and which, when not in use, can be left in place as an
attractive throw rug for a recreation room or office.
Further objects and advantages are to provide a elongated egg shaped center
for a target to allow for balls hit a bit too hard beyond the center of
the simulated golf hole to still be counted as a perfect shot going in the
golf hole as would be the case when playing on an outdoor standard playing
course.
REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS
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10 fairway 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
12 fairway 2, 4, 6, 8,
14 rough throughout the course
16 first tee
18 second tee 2 20 third tee 3
22 fourth tee 4 24 fifth tee 5
26 sixth tee 6 28 seventh tee 7
30 eighth tee 8 32 nineth tee 9
34 two point dark green for holes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
36 two point dark green for holes 2, 4, 6, 8,
38 Mazer-Target for holes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
40 target area for holes 2, 4, 6, 8,
42 red three point ring of target area for holes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
44 red three point ring of target area for holes 2, 4, 6, 8,
46 white four point ring of target area for holes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
48 white four point ring of target area for holes 2, 4, 6, 8,
50 blue five point ring of target area for holes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
52 blue five point ring of target area for holes 2, 4, 6, 8,
54 orange six point circular shaped center of target area for
holes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
56 orange six point egg shaped center of target area for holes
2, 4, 6, 8,
58 light green one point zone for holes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
60 light green one point zone for holes 2, 4, 6, 8,
62 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78 yellow negative one point sand traps
64 one long continuous blue negative two point water hazard
80,80' golf club
82,82' golf ball
96 cut level loop carpet material
A,B players
R runner.
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