Golf driving target apparatus

A lightweight, portable golf target apparatus, which can be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled, and can be used in confined outdoor areas and in the indoors. A multilayered target having a front layer of 20 gauge fiberglass mesh and underlayers of five mil polyethylene film is attached to an inverted "y" wood frame by elastic bands, and imparts only a small amount of rebounding force to a driven golf ball. The frame can be disassembled into a number of color coded parts, and can be fixed to the ground by stakes. A flat bottom base is attachable for indoor use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The field of the invention is golf apparatus, more particularly the field 
of the invention is golf target apparatus which is useful for practicing 
golf in a confined area. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Golf has become an extremely popular sport in this country. Although the 
sport is quite popular, it is difficult to enjoy on a regular basis 
because it is both time consuming and requires a large area of land in 
order to be played. Even practicing the game requires a large field in 
order to hit the longer distance clubs such as the driver. 
Various types of equipment have been devised in an attempt to bring some of 
the enjoyment of golf to the backyard. One such device is described in 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,719 to Lee. The Lee device has a net which is hung 
from a portable "rocking" frame. Upon impact by a golf ball, the frame 
rocks backward to sustain the force. The bottom portion of the net has a 
pocket which is intended to receive the golf ball after the impact. U.S. 
Pat. No. 1,469,130 to Whitehare discloses another device which is designed 
to catch and retain a golf ball. 
Other target devices in the prior art are intended to catch and return a 
ball, such as a baseball. Examples of such devices are U.S. Pat. No. 
2,944,816 to Dixon, U.S. Pat. No. 2,873,969 to Ziel, and U.S. Pat. No. 
3,963,240 to Tidwell. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,406 to Giusti discloses a golf practicing apparatus in 
which a specially made golf ball adheres to the target upon impact. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,661 to Dean discloses a target system which is used for 
practice driving ranges, and is designed to signal an alarm when the 
target is hit by a golf ball. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to golf driving target apparatus which can be 
successfully used in confined areas such as backyards and indoors. One 
feature that is desirable for such apparatus is that it be lightweight and 
portable. The apparatus must also be able to withstand the impact of a 
golf ball without damage. The velocity of a driven golf ball can often be 
well in excess of 100 miles per hour. The apparatus must be able to 
withstand this impact, yet only imparts a small amount of rebounding force 
to the ball. Otherwise, the ball would unpredictably careen off the 
apparatus with the possibility of causing damage or injury. 
In one embodiment of the present invention, a multilayered target is 
attached to a portable, lightweight frame by means of elastic bands. The 
multiple layers of the target are formed by a first layer of fine 
fiberglass mesh, and second and third layers of polyethylene film. This 
embodiment of the present invention reacts elastically to an impact by a 
golf ball of relatively small velocity, however has a substantially 
inelastic reaction to a high velocity impact. As a result, even the 
hardest hit golf ball only rebounds lightly off of the target.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the 
invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the 
drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will 
nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the 
invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications 
in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles 
of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would 
normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. 
Referring now to the drawings, in one specific embodiment of the invention 
frame 11 is formed by 3/4 inch by 3/4 sticks of wood 12 the majority of 
which are thirty-three inches long. Sticks of wood 12 are connected to 
each other by bolt and wing nut combinations 13. Braces 14 connect the 
corners of frame 11 at a 45.degree. angle for additional strength and are 
also attachable and detachable by bolts and wing nuts. Legs 15 and 15' are 
attached to the side of frame 11, by bolt and wing nut combinations 13A 
and 13A' respectively. 
In FIG. 2, it can be seen that leg 15 is formed by two sticks of wood 15A 
and 15B, which are connected to each other by bolt and wing nut 
combinations 13B. At its base, stick 15B has a hole. Stake 19 is inserted 
through this hole and into the ground to provide stability. Also, eyelets 
17 and 18 are attached to frame 11 near to its base. Stake 20 is inserted 
through these eyelets and into the ground to provide additional stability. 
FIG. 2, as above described shows the view of one side of apparatus 10. A 
view of the opposite side of apparatus 10 would reveal identical 
structure, with leg 16 having the same structure as leg 15 and with 
eyelets and stakes maintaining frame 11 in fixed position with the ground. 
Target 30 has formed about its circumference a number of eyelets 21. 
Elastic bands 22 attach target 30 to frame 11 by connecting between 
eyelets 21 and eyelets 23, which are attached to frame 11. FIG. 3 is an 
enlarged view of one such connection. From FIG. 3 it can be seen that 
elastic band is connected at one end to eyelet 23, passes through eyelet 
21, and is connected at the other end again to eyelet 23. 
FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of the multilayered 
target 30, sectioned along lines A--A of FIG. 3. The first layer 31 of 
target 30 is formed by a fine fiberglass mesh of about twenty gauge. The 
second layer 32 is of polyethylene film. Polyethylene film of four mil 
thickness has been tested and found to be satisfactory. It is believed 
that the thickness of the film should desirably be about five mils in 
thickness. The third layer 33 is also polyethylene film and should be of 
the same thickness as the second layer 32. 
Base member 40 is constructed to hold frame 11 for indoor use. Base member 
40 includes a front base 41, and two side bases 42 and 43 which are 
connected to each end of front base 41. Braces 44 and 45 attach front base 
41 to side bases 42 and 43 respectively, and provide additional stability. 
Holes have been drilled at locations 46 for screws to anchor frame 11 to 
base member 40. It may be desirable to use small suction cups or a high 
frictional material on the bottom of base member 40 in order to provide 
extra gripping to a floor. While although apparatus 10 may have the 
stability to be used on a flat hard surface without the use of stakes 16 
and 17, base member 40 provides the desired stability in order to be 
safely and satisfactorily used indoors. 
The combination of the elastic bands, the mesh, and the layers of 
polyethylene film provide an extremely suitable target for a driven golf 
ball. If a ball hits the target lightly, it will lightly rebound due to 
the elastic property of the elastic bands. However, harder impacts are 
partially absorbed by the mesh and the films which slightly stretch and 
deform about the point of impact, yet the materials are strong enough to 
withstand the impacts without damage. In this way the force of the impact 
is absorbed, and there is a diminished rebounding force. Therefore, even 
with a hard impact by a golf ball, the ball bounces off only lightly from 
the target. 
The preferred embodiment as above described, is also lightweight and 
portable. It can be easily assembled and disassembled and can be used in 
virtually any indoor location or in any confined outdoor area. In the 
above described specific embodiment, the short (33") length of each piece 
12 makes possible packaging the device in a relatively small package for 
marketing, transporting and storing. 
For ease of assembly, each side of frame 11 is a different color. For 
example, the top may be white, the bottom green, and the two sides red and 
blue. Also, each end of braces 14 has the color of the corresponding side 
to which it is to be attached, and legs 15 and 15' have the same colors as 
the sides to which they are attached. And eyelets 21 are also of the same 
color as their corresponding sides. This color coding feature allows a 
person to completely assembly the target apparatus simply and easily, in a 
small amount of time. 
While there have been described above the principles of this invention in 
connection with specific apparatus and techniques it is to be clearly 
understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as 
a limitation to the scope of the invention.