United States Patent: 3591182

[US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database]

( 699 of 699 )

United States Patent	3,591,182
Grubler	July 6, 1971

GOLF GAME AND METHOD OF PLAY

Abstract

The present game simulates the playing of a game of golf whereby the players select a translucent sheet representing the tee, fairway, rough and green for the first hole course and mount the same on a base capable of directing light through said sheet as desired. Thereafter each player selects a shot card in turn and places the same on said sheet at the tee, indicates his elected club, lights the base and from his shot card marks the indicated lay of the ball on said sheet, moves his shot card to the indicated lay of the ball, selects a new club, lights the base and marks the new lay of the ball on the sheet and repeats until the ball is indicated as in the hole on the green. The remaining players in their turn follow the same procedure until all have holed out whereupon they select a new translucent sheet for the second hole, repeat as for the first hole and select further sheets in turn for the remaining holes and play the same in a similar manner.

Inventors:	Grubler; William R. (Wheeling, WV)
Appl. No.:	04/724,441
Filed:	April 26, 1968

Current U.S. Class: 273/237 ; 273/240; 273/245; 273/284; 273/286

Current International Class: A63F 7/06 (20060101); A63F 7/00 (20060101); A63F 9/06 (20060101); A63f 007/06 ()

Field of Search: 273/87,85,134CA,134CG,134AD,131,94

References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents


2260467	October 1941	Le May

Other References

CADACO CATALOGUE, page 8, "Foto-Electric Football".

Primary Examiner: Oechsle; Anton O.
Assistant Examiner: Shapiro; Paul E.

Claims

I claim:

1. A method of playing a simulated golf game consisting in supporting a light transmitting sheet having indicia thereon representing one hole course of a golf course above a source of light, selecting a light transmitting shot card from a plurality thereof which card has a plurality of lines on one face each representing the direction and distance of a flight of a ball and which lines are each a portion of the length of said hole course, selecting one line of said selected card, placing said selected card on said sheet with an end of the selected line at a point on said sheet representing the position of the ball on the hole course, each card having directing arrows on a second face thereof which face is placed upwardly, directing said selected card arrows on said hole course in the desired direction of movement of the ball, lighting said source of light, transmitting light through said sheet and card thereon, marking the location of a point of the selected line on said sheet, turning off said source of light, selecting further cards in turn and placing each on said sheet and repeating the above steps until the ball is indicated as being in the hole on the selected sheet.

2. A golf game comprising an open top housing, means for producing light from within said housing through the open top thereof, a plurality of translucent sheets each capable of being mounted on and closing said housing open top and having light shine therethrough, each of said sheets having indicia thereon representing a course of one hole of a golf course, a plurality of translucent shot cards each capable of having light shine therethrough, indicia on one face representing in-line arrows and indicia on its opposite face representing numbered divergent broken lines extending a portion of the length of the course of one of said sheets with each card being capable of being placed on the one of said sheets on said housing whereby when said light is caused to shine through the sheet and card thereon a selected one of the lines will indicate the path and distance of the ball along the course of the hole represented on the sheet, a transparent place connected to said housing beneath and extending across said housing opening, a pair of rollers rotatably connected to said housing within the same with each roller at an opposite end of said housing, a crank positioned exteriorly of said housing and connected to one of said rollers for rotating the same, a flexible band having an opaque longitudinal portion and a light transmitting portion, connected to one of said rollers, for being wrapped therearound while said light transmitting portion is connected to the other of said rollers for being wrapped therearound, spring means connected to the other of said rollers tending to wrap said light transmitting portion around the other of said rollers, and means for guiding said band longitudinally of and beneath said plate, said light producing means being mounted within said housing beneath said band.

Description

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The golf game employs a base having a light source which may be switched on and off and may have a band movable above the light source which band is opaque in one-half its length and transparent in its other half. A plurality of translucent sheets, each having indicia thereon representing a tee, fairway, rough and green of one hole of a golf course are provided with each sheet being placed in turn over said light source. Also a plurality of translucent shot cards are provided, each having diverging lines, which shot cards are each selected by each player in turn, placed on the translucent sheet above the light source and the player selects one of said divergent lines on his selected shot card and marks the end of the selected line on the translucent sheet to indicate the lay of his ball. This is repeated by each player until all players hole out whereupon a new translucent sheet is selected and the foregoing procedure is repeated until the course is played.

DESCRIPTION

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus to be used by one or more players to play a simulated game of golf based upon the skill of the players and which apparatus is economical to produce and can be played or stored in a small area.

Further objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the elements of the apparatus for one play thereof.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the base of the apparatus taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a translucent sheet representing one hole course of a golf course.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a stack of shot cards to be used in playing the golf game.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second stack of smaller shot cards to be used primarily on the green in playing the present game.

And FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a flexible band forming a part of the base of the present game apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, wherein like and corresponding parts are indicated by similar reference characters, numeral 1 generally indicates the base housing of the present game apparatus and has a bottom 2 and upright sides 3 and 4 connected by upright ends 5 and 6 and attached to said bottom providing a rectangular housing including top 7 attached to said sides and ends and having a rectangular opening 8. Said top 7 has inwardly extending side tongues 9, 10, 11 and 12.

A glass 13 is positioned beneath top 7 closing opening 8. Angle members 14 are attached to ends 5 and 6 and support glass 13 thereon.

A rod 15 rotatably extends through one end portion of sides 3 and 4 and has a crank 16 exteriorly of side 3. A second rod 17 rotatably extends through the opposite end portions of sides 3 and 4. A roller 18 has rod 15 extending therethrough and is fixedly attached to said rod for rotation therewith. A curtain-type roller 20 has rod 17 extending therethrough and is connected thereto by a coil spring 19 and ratchet (not shown) in the conventional manner of a curtain roller.

A rolled end portion 21 of a flexible band is wrapped around and affixed at the end to roller 20. One-half 22 of the longitudinal length of said band including rolled portion 21 is light transmitting while the other longitudinal one-half 23 of said band including rolled end portion 24 thereof is opaque. Said band can be, for example, a web of plastic or a web of transparent plastic joined to a web of opaque plastic, cloth or the like. Rolled end portion 24 is wrapped around roller 18 and attached at its end to said roller 18.

Longitudinally extended angle guides 25 and 30 are attached to sides 4 and 3, respectively, and slidably support said band beneath glass 13.

A lamp fixture 26 is mounted on bottom 2 and has a tubular electric lamp 27 detachably mounted thereon beneath said band. Wires 26a are connected to an on-off switch and source of current (not shown) for at times supplying electrical current to lamp 27 for lighting the same. A similar lamp fixture 28 is mounted on bottom 2 alongside fixture 26 and has a tubular electric lamp 29 detachably mounted thereon and wires similar to wires 26, switch and source of electrical current (not shown) attached thereto also for at times lighting lamp 29.

A plurality of translucent sheets are also provided with each sheet representing a hole course of a golf course and as said sheets are generally similar only two such sheets 31 and 31a are shown in the drawings for explanation purposes. That is, each of said sheets is rectangular in form and capable of mating in opening 8 upon glass 13. For example, sheet 31 has side recesses 32, 33, 34 and 35 for mating with tongues 9, 12, 11 and 10, respectively, of top 7. Likewise sheet 31a is of the same shape and size and has recesses 32a, 33a, 34a and 35a for mating with tongues 9, 12, 11 and 10, respectively, of top 7 when sheet 31a is on glass 13.

Sheet 31 has indicia thereon representing tee A, fairway B, distance lines 36 of said fairway, hole 37, distance lines 38 from said hole on the green thereof, distance lines 39 from said hole on the rough therearound, sand traps 40, trees and bushes 41 on both the fairway and the rough. Numbers C to the left of the fairway B in FIG. 1 represent the distances from hole 37 to tee A while the numbers D to the right of fairway B in FIG. 1 represent the distance from tee A along fairway B.

Similarly indicia is provided on sheet 31a to provide tee A', fairway B', fairway distance lines 36a, hole 37a, hole distance lines 38a on the green, hole distance lines 39a in the rough around hole 37a, sand traps 40a, rough 41a. Numbers C' at the top of the fairway B' in FIG. 4 represent the distances along said fairway from tee A'.

Distance lines 38 and 39 in FIG. 1 and distance lines 38a and 39a in FIG. 4 are given numbers as shown to represent the distances from the respective holes 37 and 37a.

There are a plurality of sheets, for example 9, 18, 27 or 36, similar to sheets 31 and 31a, each having said indicia thereon to represent a conventional tee, fairway, rough and green of a hole of a conventional golf course.

In addition, there are provided a plurality, for example 25, translucent shot cards 42. Each card 42 has a plurality of lines 43 diverging from a common point with straight lines 44 and 45 each contiguous from a line 43 on one face of the card as shown in FIG. 1. On the opposite face of each card 42 there are a pair of arrows 46 and 47 in line with one another and with arrow 46 located at the same position on the card as the common point for lines 43.

A further plurality, for example, 25, of translucent cards 48 are provided, each similar to but smaller than a card 42. Each card 48 has lines 49 diverging from a common point on one face of the card, a center straight line 50 as well lines 50 each contiguous from one of the lines 49. On the opposite face of each card 48 there are a pair of in line arrows 51 and 52 with arrow 51 located on the card at the same position as the common point for lines 49.

In the playing of the game either lights 27 and 29 are turned off with band 21--24 omitted from base 1 or lights 27 and 29 illuminated and spring 19 pulling rolled end 21 around roller 20 until the opaque portion 23 extends the length of opening 8 preventing light from showing therethrough. Thereupon a sheet, such as sheet 31 or the like, representing hole 1 of a golf course is placed on glass 13.

Thereafter the first player to tee off announces his choice of a golf club to the other players by indicating a driver or one of the two to seven irons. The player then selects a shot card 42 from a stack thereof as shown in FIG. 5 and places the selected card with arrows 46--47 up on sheet 31 with arrow 46 on tee A and with arrow 47 directed in the intended direction of the shot of an imaginary ball. This intended direction can be varied as the player desires to account for imaginary hooks, slices or flight of the ball along the fairway B. When the shot card 42 is thus positioned, the imaginary lay of the ball is exposed by either illuminating lights 27, 29 or when band 21--24 is used and said lights are lit, cranking crank 16 drawing transparent section 22 to extend along opening 8 and passing light through sheet 31 and card 42 to expose the flight of the ball for the club selected. Each line 43 of card 42 represents one of the clubs, such as the driver or two to seven irons and the end of the one of the lines 43 corresponding to the club previously elected by the player indicates the end of the flight of the ball. The end of the line 43 so selected is marked on sheet 31 by lifting the shot card and using a marking pencil and not on the shot card. Each player uses a different color marking pencil. Any penalty, as will be explained later, is assessed before marking the spot on sheet 31. This same procedure is repeated for the next player and so on until all players have teed off.

The player who is then farthest away from the hole 37 plays first for the second shot. The player again announces his choice of a club to the other players, selects a second shot card 42 or 52 from the stack and places the card on top of sheet 31 with arrow 46 or 51 on that player's marks on sheet 31. The intended direction of the ball can again be varied by directing arrow 47 or 52 in the direction the player desires. Following this second shot, the resting place of the imaginary ball is again marked on sheet 31 by turning on the lights or moving band section 22 over the lit lights when said band is used. The next player next farthest from hole 37 shoots second using the same steps as the first player and the remaining players do likewise.

When a player's ball reaches green D or D' he marks the ball's location on sheet 31 and does not play again until all players have reached green D or D'. When all players have reached green D or D', the one farthest away from hole 37 putts first and the next player farthest from hole 37 plays next and so on until all players have holed out. After his first putt on the green, a player may elect to continue putting by playing until he has holed out.

After all players have holed out, each player's total strokes or plays are entered on a score card for that hole and play begins on the second hole by removing sheet 31 and placing the sheet for the second hole such as sheet 31 on glass 13. The player with the fewest strokes or plays on the previous hole tees off first and the remaining players then tee off in the order of their score for the previous hole repeating the steps hereinbefore described for the first hole, further sheets are used in the same manner for the succeeding holes of the game. Regular golf rules apply to the play of the present game and the shot cards 42 and 52 may be selected from anywhere in their deck or stack, which stack should be mixed frequently.

There are, for example, 25 shot cards 42 and 25 smaller shot cards 52 and there are thus 25 possible shots with each type of club. However, since the cards can be directed in many directions by the player, the combination of possible shots is very great.

The larger cards 42 have lines 43 for indicating the flight of a ball by seven clubs namely, the driver and the two to seven irons. The distance and direction of the shot for the club selected is identified by one of the numbers 2 through 7 or letter d for driver alongside one of the lines 43.

The smaller cards 52 are for indicating the flight of a ball by four clubs, namely, the 8 and 9 irons, wedge and putter. The distance and direction of the flight of a ball for the club selected is indicated on each card by the numbers 8 or 9 or letter W for wedge alongside the lines 49 on card 48. Putts are identified by lines 44 and 45 on card 42 or lines 50 on card 48. Lines 43 and 49 represent distances of a portion of the course in yards and lines 44, 45 and 50 represent distances of a portion of the green D or D' in feet.

If during play a line 43 or 49 does not end on a green, lines 44, 45 or 50 are disregarded, but if line 43 or 49 does end on a green the line 44, 45 or 50 contiguous thereto is used to indicate the roll of the ball on the green and the end of the contiguous line 44, 45 or 50 indicates where the ball stops. Thus the ball may be indicated as stopping on the green or rolling off the green after having landed there.

While the drawing only shows two sheets 31 and 31a representing two holes of a conventional golf course, the game includes, for example, nine such sheets representing the nine holes of a golf course and each sheet would include indicia representing the tee, fairway, rough, sand traps, water hazards, out of bounds, green and hole laid out in a different manner such as are the various holes of a golf course. Sheets 31 and 31a are representative examples of the nine sheets.

The rough is represented on each sheet as the area marked 41 or 41a. If, during play, the ball is indicated as stopping in the rough, the player is penalized 20 yards and his next play will originate 20 yards behind the mark on the sheet where the ball stopped. That is, 20 yards is added to the distance from the green when marking the lay of the ball on the sheet.

If the ball is indicated as landing in one of the sand traps 40 or 40a, the player is penalized 60 yards and his next pay will originate 60 yards behind where his ball is indicated as having stopped. Thus the players next play originates 60 farther from the green than the mark on the sheet representing the lay of his ball.

The sheets also include water hazards such as 40' or 40" and if the ball is indicated as landing in a water hazard the player is penalized one stroke in his score and his next play will originate 10 yards from the side of the water hazard which is farthest away from the green. Thus this penalty distance is added to the distance away from the green for the lay of the ball when marking the same on the sheet.

If the ball during play is indicated as landing off the fairway or green and not in the rough, water hazard or sand trap, it is out of bounds and the player is penalized one stroke on his score and his next play will originate 10 yards farther away from the green than the indicated landing mark of the ball.

After a player is penalized for landing in the rough, sand trap, water hazard or out of bounds, his penalty may cause his next play to originate from a similar hazard. In this case, the second hazard is disregarded and play is resumed as if originating from the fairway B or B'. Also if the line 43 or 49 during play passes through a rough, sand trap, water hazard or out of bounds, no penalty is assessed and the next play of the player originates from the indicated final lay of the ball.

Each green D or D' includes numbered circular lines 38 or 38a, respectively, indicating the distance in feet from the cup 37 or 37a, while lines 39 or 39a, indicate the distance from the green in yards.

The putting play is only made when the ball is indicated as having landed on the green. For this play only cards 48 are selected and lines 50 only used. The card 48 selected is placed on sheet 31 or 31a with arrow 51 placed over the spot marked on the green for the ball and arrow 52 directed toward the hole 37 or 37a. Thereafter, light is caused to pass through card 48 and the centerline 50 indicates the path of the ball. If the centerline 50 goes over the hole 37 or 37a, the ball is considered as in the cup, even if the centerline 50 continues past the cup. If the centerline 50 goes past the cup but not over the cup, the putt is considered to have missed the cup and the second putt will originate from the point at which the centerline 50 passes closest to the cup. If the centerline 50 does not extend to the cup, the second putt will originate from the point at which the left-hand line 50 of FIG. 1 passes closest to the cup. If the first putt is unsuccessful, play is continued in the same manner as for the first putt until the player has holed out. After the first unsuccessful putt the player may elect to continue putting until he holes out.

When during play, an approach shot originating from outside the green, that is, a selected line 43 of card 42 or line 49 of card 48 extends to the green and the following or contiguous line 44, 45 or 50 passes over the hole 37 or 37a, but does not end exactly on the hole, the ball is not considered as in the hole. However if the following line 44, 45 or 50 ends exactly on the hole, the ball is considered as in the cup. When the line following line 44, 45 or 50 goes beyond or to the side of the hole, the point at which it ends, whether it be on the green or off, determines the point from which the player's next play originates. If the ball is considered to have rolled off the green, the player's next play will originate at the end of the line minus any penalties. The player must continue to play from the fairway, off the green, until the ball is indicated as having stopped on the green before he can putt. If on an approach play, the selected line 43 or 49 extends to the green and the contiguous line 44, 45 or 50 thereof does not go exactly to the hole, the next play of the player will be his first putt and play is continued as explained hereinbefore for putting.

After completing play for all players on one sheet such as 31 or 31a, the marks thereon are removed and a new sheet substituted on glass 13 until all holes of the game are played and scored.

The present game is capable of considerable modification and such changes thereto as come within the scope of the appended claims are deemed to be a part of the invention.

* * * * *

Current U.S. Class:	273/237 ; 273/240; 273/245; 273/284; 273/286
Current International Class:	A63F 7/06 (20060101); A63F 7/00 (20060101); A63F 9/06 (20060101); A63f 007/06 ()
Field of Search:	273/87,85,134CA,134CG,134AD,131,94