Golf ball retriever

A golf ball retriever including an elongated handle and a retriever head formed by an array of rigid curved fingers forming a rear facing trough, each finger having a lower section disposed horizontally with the handle held at about a 30 degree angle to the ground. The finger rips are downwardly inclined slightly with a ramp surface aiding capture of a golf ball as the retriever head is swept through mud or water with manipulation of the handle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention concerns golf ball retrievers adapted to retrieve lost golf 
balls from water hazards and muddy locations. 
There have previously been conceived various such devices, most of which 
are impractical in situations where the ball attempted to be retrieved is 
not within view. 
There have thus been conceived rake like retrievers intended to alleviate 
the problems involved in retrieving a golf ball from water and/or mud. See 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,738,214; 4,635,987; 4,730,859; 3,437,368; 4,411,463; and 
4,645,254 for examples of these designs. However, such devices heretofore 
proposed have either not provided an effective "capture" of the golf ball 
allowing convenient retrieval or a configuration allowing effective use in 
mud. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,981 shows a rake like retriever which has rearwardly 
curved fingers arranged in a fan shape which are intended to capture the 
golf balls when the fingers encounter the golf ball. 
However, it has been found that in use, the tips of the fingers are usually 
extended upwardly when the handle is held in a natural position, tending 
to push any ball encountered by the fingers ahead of the device rather 
than being trapped. 
Furthermore, the fingers are long and constructed of relatively thin metal 
so as to be flexible and are too compliant to be easily forced through mud 
to retrieve a lost ball. 
The present invention has the object of providing a golf ball retriever 
which is easy to use so as to very effectively capture a golf ball hidden 
in water and/or mud, which is particularly effective in dragging mud 
bottoms of ponds and other water hazards. 
Another object is to provide such a device which is simple and rugged. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a golf ball retriever comprised of a head 
portion having a series of short, rigid fingers secured together in a 
parallel array by being fixed to cross piece. The tip of each finger is 
curved back reversely to form a collecting hook shape. 
The cross piece is mounted to an elongated handle preferably of a 
telescoping design. The mounting is at an angle to the handle so that the 
reversely extending finger tips are disposed approximately parallel to the 
ground surface when the handle is held naturally and swept over an area 
being searched. 
The angled mounting and the rigidity of the fingers creates a very 
effective collecting action, particularly in heavy mud, as the balls when 
encountered have a marked tendency to be moved into the collecting shape, 
where they are securely retained while the retriever head is swung out of 
the water or mud after each sweep.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology will be 
employed for the sake of clarity and a particular embodiment described in 
accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it is to be understood 
that the same is not intended to be limiting and should not be so 
construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and 
variations within the scope of the appended claims. 
Referring to the Drawings, the golf ball retriever device 10 according to 
the present invention includes a retriever head 12 detachably mounted to 
an elongated handle 14. The handle 14 is preferably of a telescopic design 
to enable convenient storage in a golf bag. The handle 14 is also 
preferably mounted to the retriever head 12 by means of a quick release 
connector 16 of well known design to allow ready disassembly as a further 
aid to convenient storage. 
The retriever head 12 includes a parallel array of formed fingers 18 fixed 
together but spaced apart with a tip cross rod 20 welded to the underside 
of the top of each finger 18. The fingers 18 are preferably widely spaced 
in the array to create an open design, but sufficiently close to ensure 
that a golf ball cannot pass between the fingers 18, i.e., a spacing on 
the order of 13/8 inches. A angled mounting bracket 22 clamped across the 
central fingers 18 enables securement of the quick-release connector 16. 
The parallel array of fingers 18 extends transversely to the elongated 
handle 14, and a looped finger 24 is located at either end of the array, 
located within the perimeter of the adjacent formed fingers so as to act 
as an end confinement preventing the escape of any golf ball captured 
within the finger array. 
Each finger 18 is formed with a forwardly extending curved upper section 26 
and a lower, rearwardly extending end section 28. The tips 32 of the lower 
sections lie approximately below the beginning of the horizontal part of 
the upper section 26. Thus a rear facing partially cylindrical trough 
shape is created by the finger array. The inside of the trough is sized to 
allow a golf ball to freely move completely against the inside of the 
forward curved sections 26, i.e., a radius of 1/16 inches has been 
successfully employed. 
Each end section 28 has a slight bottom curve 30 acting as a retaining 
feature, and slightly downwardly inclined tips 32. An angled surface 34 
disposes a ramp surface on the tip 32 each finger 18. 
The mounting bracket 22 establishes an angle between the direction in which 
the end sections 28 extend and the longitudinal axis of the handle 14 such 
that the finger end sections 28 extend approximately horizontally when the 
handle 14 is held naturally by a person using the retriever 10 to sweep an 
area in search of a lost ball. This preferred angle A has been determined 
to be about 30 degrees, since the handle 14 is typically extended at a 
relatively shallow angle to the ground in reaching over areas to be swept 
in the search for a lost golf ball. 
The vertical dimension of the rearward facing gap between the top of each 
finger 18 and the respective end section 28 is also set to ensure that a 
golf ball 36 may easily pass into the interior of the partially 
cylindrical trough formed by the finger array. 
This relationship creates a particularly effective capturing action as 
depicted in FIG. 4. 
The downwardly curved end sections 28 and angled tips 32 tend to engage an 
encountered golf ball 36 at a very low point and in a manner tending to 
cause the golf ball 36 to pass up the end sections and into the slight 
trough created behind the curve 30. The angled mounting bracket 22 tends 
to cause the finger end sections 28 to be disposed in the generally 
horizontal direction when the handle 14 is held naturally to cause this 
result. This is in distinction to prior designs which tended to push the 
balls by contact with the upwardly tilted ends of the fingers. 
The completely open design created by the fingers 18 connected only by the 
small diameter cross rod 20 facilitates movement of the retriever head 12 
through water and particularly mud and separation out of the golf ball. 
The fingers 18 are relatively short in length, i.e., only slightly longer 
than the golf ball itself and constructed of sturdy material, i.e., 1/8 
inch stainless steel wire, so as to create rigid elements capable of being 
pulled through mud and debris without deflecting to separate out and 
capture any golf ball trapped therein. 
The retriever head 20 can be made in various widths and still be effective. 
The illustrated embodiment is approximately of ten inches, using six 
fingers 18 and two end elements 24, but either fewer or more fingers can 
be incorporated and still be effective. 
Thus a simple and rugged retriever has been provided which has been formed 
to be extremely effective for retrieving golf balls from water and mud 
hazards.