Abstract:
A combination golf and dice game for a golf foursome comprising a first die and a second dice. The first die has different indica defining specified pairings of the foursome while the second die has different indicia defining at least one of a skill challenge(s) and scoring rules for the game. A player rolls the pair of dice to obtain both the specified pairing of the foursome being dictated by the first die such that a first team competes against a second team under one of the specified skill challenges and scoring rules of the game dictated by the second dice. A method of playing the game for a golf foursome is also disclosed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a game expressed intended to be played by a golf foursome during their round of golf, which game may or may not include a wager.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Golf is an extremely popular game. There have been numerous games developed which “simulate” the game of golf, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,967 to Murphy et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,218 to LaRocca.  
         [0003]     SUMMARY OF TEE INVENTION  
         [0004]     According to the present invention there is provided a game to be played by a golf foursome during a round of golf. The game includes instructions outlining a number of golf contests, intended to make the round of golf more entertaining, in the form of skills, challenges, or scoring options. The instructions instruct the players to compete in golf pairings and randomly select one of the golf contests prior to beginning each golf hole. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]     These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:  
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a golf pairings selection dice constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is a pattern view of the golf pairings selection dice illustrated in  FIG. 1 , so that all sides can be viewed at once.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a golf contest selection dice constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a pattern view of the golf contest selection dice illustrated in  FIG. 3 , so that all sides can be viewed at once.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0010]     The preferred embodiment, a game intended to be played by a golf foursome during a round of golf will now be described with reference to sample set of instructions and selection dice illustrated in  FIG. 1  through  4 .  
         [0011]     The game includes instructions and two dice: a golf pairings selection dice  100  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , and a golf contest selection dice  200  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 .  
         [0012]     On the first tee one player in the foursome rolls both dice to begin the game. Golf pairings selection dice  100  determines the partners while golf contest selection dice  200  determines the game to be played for that hole. As each die is six sided, there are 36 different combinations. Dice  100  and  200  are rolled on each tee, rotating through all four players.  
         [0013]     An example of the presentation of the game may have dice  100  and  200  as different colors, such as blue and red, respectively. Dice  100  and  200  come in a faux velvet bag with drawstring (not shown), are made of polyurethane foam or other such material, and about 2 inches on each side with rounded corners with debossed or inscripted print on each side.  
         [0014]     Each player accumulates points when their team wins a hole and/or when points are awarded individually in certain games. Make sure you are clear on the bet value of points to be won before you tee off. At the end of the round each player in the foursome adds up the points they have accumulated, both as individuals and as team players. Their total is compared to that of the other players, and rewarded accordingly. For example, if there was a friendly wager, each person would pay what he or she owes to the others.  
         [0015]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , there are 6 example pairings on die  100 . The pairings include: long hair vs. short hair  102  (the two players with the longest hair team up against the two with the shortest hair), giants vs. dwarfs  104  (the tallest players pair up against the shortest), vintage vs. fresh  106  (the oldest players pair up against the youngest), chubbies vs. small fries  108  (the heaviest players pair up against the lightest), big feet vs little feet  110  (the two players with the largest feet pair up against the two with the smallest feet), and choose partners  112  (foursome&#39;s choice).  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , there are 6 example games on die  200 , one of which is to be played on a hole. The games include hi/lo  202 , greenies,  204 , skills challenge  206 , best ball  208 , Stableford  210 , and Las Vegas  212 . Details on the games are given below, with an example method of scoring.  
         [0017]     Hi/Lo  202 : In this game each player on a team plays their own ball and their scores are totaled to give a team score. If player A gets 4, and player B gets 5, the team score is 9. The team with the lowest total wins the hole. A point is added to the winning team&#39;s individual totals.  
         [0018]     Greenies  204 : In this game, one good shot on the hole can help your team win a bet point. Points or nibs are won by individual players as follows: 
        hitting the fairway=1 point     closest to the pin=1 point     a Sandy (up and down from a bunker—ie out of a sand trap and into the hole in two shots)=1 point     first player in the hole=1 point 
 
 Other shots could be added to this list, and point values may vary based upon relative difficulty. Individual points won on the hole are tallied for a team total to determine which team won the hole. The players of the winning team add an additional point to their individual point totals. In the case of a tie between golf pairings, individual player points are awarded, but no golf paring team points are awarded. 
       
 
         [0023]     Skills Challenge  206 : Points or nibs are won by individual players as follows: 
        longest drive=1 point     straightest drive=1 point     fewest putts=1 point     lowest score on the hole=1 point        
 
         [0028]     Individual points won on the hole are tallied for a team total to determine which team won the hole. The players of the winning team add an additional point to their individual point totals. Other skills challenges could include: hitting the fairway, straightest drive, closest to the pin, first player in the hole, or out of a sand trap and into the hole in two shots. Again, in the case of a tie, individual points are awarded but no golf pairing team points are awarded.  
         [0029]     Best Ball  208 : Each player on the team plays his or her own golf ball throughout the hole, and the low score or “best ball” of the two players serves as the team score. If Player A gets a 5 and B gets a 4, then the team score for that hole is 4. The team with the lowest best ball adds a point to each of their individual totals for winning the hole.  
         [0030]     Stableford  210 : In a Stableford competition the golfers are awarded scores based on their performance, In this embodiment, a Modified Stableford version is used: 
        Double eagle: 8 points     Eagle: 5 points     Birdie: 3 points     Par: 2 points     Bogey: 1 point     Double bogey or worse: 0 points 
 
 If your foursome chooses they can use their handicaps accordingly. Each player plays their own ball and both player&#39;s Stableford points are added together. The team with the highest combined Stableford score, adds a point to their individual totals for winning the hole. 
       
 
         [0037]     Las Vegas  212 : In Las Vegas, each player plays their own ball and the two player&#39;s scores are combined or paired together to give a team total. The scores are not added together as in HI/Lo. If Player A gets a 4 and Player B gets a 5, the team score is 45 (the lower number goes first). If both players get 4s, that&#39;s 44; if one gets an 8 and the other gets a 3, that&#39;s 38. The team with the lowest paired score wins the hole and a point is added to each individual total. Another option is to take the difference between the team totals, which then determines the number of points won on the hole. For example: Team A scores 44 and Team B scores 38; each player on Team B wins 6 points.  
         [0038]     These instructions outline a number of golf contests, intended to make the round of golf more entertaining. These golf contests are in the form of both skills challenges and scoring options. The instructions direct that the players randomly select one of the golf contests prior to beginning each golf hole. A random golf contest selection device is provided in the form of die  200 . It will be appreciated that other forms of random selection device could be alternatively used, and that other contests may be incorporated  
         [0039]     In view of the fact that the golf pairings will be continually changing, it may be preferable that points be awarded to each player based upon his or her individual performance on the skills challenges and points be awarded to each player in each of the golf pairings based upon the relative performance of their golf pairings.  
         [0040]     The above game rules are a sample of a game intended to be played by a golf foursome during a round of golf. The instructions instruct the golfers to randomly select golf pairings prior to beginning each golf hole, such that the golf pairings change during the round of golf. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a random golf pairing selection device is provided in the form of a die  100 . As mentioned above, other forms of random selection device could alternatively be used. Referring to  FIG. 2 , some examples of pairings are: long hair vs. short hair  102  (the two players with the longest hair team up against the two with the shortest hair), giants vs. dwarfs  104  (the tallest players pair up against the shortest), vintage vs. fresh  106  (the oldest players pair up against the youngest), chubbies vs. small fries  108  (the heaviest players pair up against the lightest), big feet vs little feet  110  (the two players with the largest feet pair up against the two with the smallest feet), and choose partners  112  (foursome&#39;s choice). Other partnering options may also be incorporated.  
         [0041]     In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.  
         [0042]     It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims.