Abstract:
The invention is combination adjustable golf tee setter and divot tool with a golf ball marker comprising a case, a screw, and a divot tool. The case comprises a retainer for retaining the divot tool the screw comprises a head with includes a magnet for retaining a golf ball marker. The head of the screw includes a recess for facilitating removal of the golf ball marker as required.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS: U.S. Provisional  
       [0001]    Application for Patent No. 60/169,042, filed Dec. 4, 1999, with title, “Combination Adjustable Golf Tee Setter and Divot Tool With Golf Ball Marker Retainer” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Applicant claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Par. 119(e) (i). 
     
    
     
         [0002]    Statement as to rights to inventions made under Federally sponsored research and development: Not Applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0004]    This invention relates to an adjustable device for setting a pin, such as, but not restricted to, a golf tee into a substrate at a controlled height. In the preferred embodiments, the device enables a golfer to set a golf tee at an exact height, that can be adjusted in accordance with which club will be used to hit a golf ball. It incorporates a divot tool as an accessory item as well as a golf ball marker retainer.  
           [0005]    2. Background Information  
           [0006]    This inventor is of the opinion that a key to successful golf is setting a ball on a tee at an exact height, predetermined in accordance with which club will be used to hit the ball. It is very desirable to control said height so that it is repeatable.  
           [0007]    A golf ball set high for a given club will tend to loft when struck with said club.  
           [0008]    A golf ball set low for a given club will tend to skip along the ground when hit with said club.  
           [0009]    Professional golfers tend to properly set their tees instinctively. For the unprofessional golfers, there is no convenient mechanical apparatus available, or known to the trade, to exactly set a golf tee to correspond to a given club, on a repeatable basis.  
           [0010]    A divot can be defined as a piece of turf gouged out with a club in making stroke. For the typical golfer, divots are a problem. A golfer is expected to repair his divots. A divot tool tends to be one more piece of hardware distracting from a serious golfer&#39;s focus on his game.  
           [0011]    Convenient access to a ball marker is desirable for a golfer. The distraction of reaching and searching for a ball marker in one&#39;s pocket can detract from a serious golfer&#39;s concentration.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    The present invention, a combination adjustable golf tee setter and pivot tool assembly with a ball marker retainer, is a device comprising a case, a screw, and a divot tool. The case comprising a case, a screw, and a divot tool. The case comprises a means for retaining the divot tool, a case reference, a protrusion, projections, and a clearance for accepting the screw. The screw comprises a shank, a head, a thread, tee height indicators, a recess, grooves, a magnet, a sloped recess, and a convex surface to match a golf tee head. The magnet is set in the recess as a provision for retaining a ball marker. The sloped recess enables a golfer to press on an edge of the ball marker to flip up the marker for removal from the magnet. The protrusion and projections in the case match up with the grooves in the screw so an elevation of the screw with respect to the case sets the convex surface of the screw with respect to the case, so when the convex surface is placed against a head of a golf tee, and the tee is inserted into a ground surface until the case makes contact with the ground, the golf tee is set at a fixed repeatable height with respect to the ground, predetermined by the setting of a given tee heights indicator with respect to a case reference. The head comprises said tee height indicators, representing alternate golf clubs. A helical groove in the case which results in a one and one quarter inch of linear travel per rotation of the screw just happens to correlate with settings ranging from a wedge, through number 1, 2, and 3 woods, through number 4 through 9 irons. An individual golfer, with practice, soon learns that a given fractional setting might work better for him or her i.e. instead of the exact setting of a height indicator on the case reference, a fractional turn such as a one half or a one quarter setting of a height indicator before or beyond the case reference, as an example. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 illustrates the various embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention, and illustrates a divot tool and ball marker.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 3, 4,  5 , and  6  illustrate the various embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIGS. 7, 7A,  8 , and  8 A indicate a correlation of height indicators versus tee placement.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIGS. 9, 10, and  11  illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    As shown in FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a combination golf apparatus  1  comprising a case  2 , a screw  3 , and a divot tool  4 .  
         [0019]    Referring to FIG. 2, the case  2  comprises a clearance  2 A, a divot tool clearance  2 B, ledges  2 C, a protrusion  2 D, projections  2 E (shown in FIG. 3), and a case reference  2 F (shown in FIG. 1). The ledges  2 C in conjunction with the divot tool clearance  2 B serve to contain the divot tool  4 . When repairing a divot, the divot tool  4  can be moved downward from the case  2  sufficiently to use it to work on the divot to replace it into the turf from which the divot was dislodged by a golfer.  
         [0020]    Referring to FIGS. 3, 4,  5  and  6 , the screw  3  comprises a head  3 A, a recess  3 B, at least one helical groove  3 C, a magnet  3 D, a sloped recess  3 F (shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and  6 ), a convex surface  3 G, and tee height indicators  3 H. The golfer places a metallic ball marker  3 E on the magnet  3 D for convenience in carrying said ball marker  3 E. The ball marker  3 E is usable to mark the position of a ball on a green when said ball needs to be removed from said green so another player can putt. The sloped recess  3 F permits a golfer to press down on an edge of the ball marker  3 E for ease of the ball marker  3 E removal from the magnet  3 D. The at least one groove  3 C matches up with the protrusion  2 D and the projections  2 E to control the linear position of the screw  3  within the case  2 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the helical groove  3 C with one and one inch of linear travel per rotation of the screw  3  within the case  2  works well for ten settings corresponding to ten common golf club variations running from a wedge, through number 1, 2, and 3 woods, through numbers 4 through 9 irons.  
         [0021]    In operation, after a golfer has selected his club, the golfer rotates the screw  3  within the case  4  until the club number indicated by the tee height indicator  3 H matches the case reference  2 F of the case  2 . Referring to FIG. 4, the device  1  is inserted over a golf tee  5  so that the convex surface  3 G of the screw  3  mates with the golf tee  5 . The golf tee  5  is inserted into the ground  100  (shown in FIG. 7) until the case  2  touches the ground. The golf tee  5  is now set at a height with respect to the ground  100  in accordance with the height setting determined by the matching of a tee height indicator  3 H and the case reference  2 F. Arrow A in FIGS. 7, 7A,  8 , and  8 A illustrate a correlation between golf tee height settings and tee height indicators  2 F. An advantage of the device  1  is that it permits repetitive settings at a repeatable given height. This is important for consistent golf ball striking. If a golfer finds that for his clubs and optimum performance is set the tee height indicators  2 F slightly different for his club performance, this is easily accomplished by eyeballing a Kentucky windage factor, i.e. setting a tee height indicator  3 H a fractional turn ahead of, or behind, the case referenced  2 F. A prime advantage of the device  1  is that it permits repeatable settings.  
         [0022]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the combination of at least one helical groove  3 C in the screw  3  and the protrusion  2 D and projections  2 E in the case  2  work well. An alternate embodiment of threads in both the case  2  and the screw  3  was not as convenient for manual manipulation of the device  1  in operation.  
         [0023]    Except for the magnet  3 D, the preferred material of construction of the present invention is an injection moldable structural grade plastic. The magnet  3 D can be made of any suitable magnetic material.  
         [0024]    Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention.  
         [0025]    For example, while the invention is discussed in terms of setting golf tees into the ground at predetermined heights, the basic mechanism may well have other applications, such as setting pins in a substrate, such as nails in wall for picture hanging, or setting studs at varying heights, or nails for temporary structures such as concrete forms where it is desirable to have the nails driven in completely so as to facilitate teardown. Currently this is accomplished with a special double headed nail, which is more expensive than a conventional nail.  
         [0026]    Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.