Abstract:
A golf scoring device for tracking accuracy statistics during a golf game is provided. Accuracy statistics calculated are total greens per regulation, putts taken per round, and fairways hit per round. Additionally, the golf scoring device may include sand saves per round, up and downs per round, and total score per round. The device may calculate information either digitally or through mechanical structures. The user resets the device at the end of golf play.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     Golf is a game approached by players for recreation, exercise, and competition. Players typically keep track of statistics regarding their game; however, these statistics are commonly limited to their strokes per hole, and strokes per golf round. However, with the explosion of golf as a popular sport among millions of golfers worldwide playing in golf leagues, among golfers who are perfecting their golf game by seeking incremental goals towards the eventual putting out a hole, and among professionals who are seeking to win a golf tournament, these minimum statistics could be enhanced by keeping track of cumulative statistical accuracy tracking data.  
         [0002]     Golf calculators are known in the art as seen by U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,687 to Alex. However, the &#39;687 patent teaches a microcontroller-based golf calculator which calculates handicaps. While such information is useful for those on golf leagues, the &#39;687 patent only provides information on total score and number of putts. The &#39;687 patent does nothing to direct a users attention towards specific goals but rather encourages the golf user to swing for the golf green and then putt in a minimum number of strokes. Similarly, the U.S. Design Pat. No. 418,067 issued to Bezas also keeps track of the putts and score for each hole. These devices do not teach or encourage golf users to use accuracy tracking statistics for hitting fairways off the golf tee, hitting the golf green in a regulation number of swings, making up and downs, or making sand saves. These accuracy tracking statistics encourage positive play, helps keep the golf course free of errant golf balls that have been over hit by players in a sometimes futile attempt to reach the green in a single stroke and therefore slicing or hooking over the fairways, and helps the player make it to the green efficiently and with a minimum number of golf club strokes.  
         [0003]     Therefore, an objective of the current invention is to provide a simple yet effective way of tracking accuracy based statistics such as greens hit in regulation, putts, fairways hit, sand saves, up and downs, and total score.  
         [0004]     Some specialty devices have been developed to include some accuracy tracking capabilities. Specifically, a digital golf score card has been developed that resembles a paper score card for up to four players and includes scores, player handicaps, pars, hole handicaps, putts, chips, full swing shots, fairways hit, roughs hit, sands and sand saves. This type of product would appear to have every imaginable data necessary for a player to hone his accuracy on the golf course; however, this digital golf score card lacks simplicity for the user makes the user responsible for keeping track of other people&#39;s scores and accuracy statistics, and buries the user under a mountain of data that can also be downloaded into a computer. In addition, the digital golf scoring device does not track accuracy statistics such as greens in regulation and up and downs that help the user improve their game. Accordingly, a still further objective of the present invention is a simple, personal, hand held device that keeps track of golf accuracy information that can help a user improve their golf game.  
         [0005]     A still further objective of the present invention is a hand held device that has information that supplements the courses score cards which already have upon them the individual score per hole as well as the par per hole.  
         [0006]     A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a golf scoring device that is easy to use and cost effective to manufacture.  
         [0007]     These and/or other objectives of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims that follow.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The foregoing objectives may be achieved by a golf scoring device that compliments a supplied golf course scoring card that has a button incremented for each green hit in a regulation golf round, a button incremented for each putt taken per golf round, and a button incremented by the user for each fairway hit per golf round. The increments by the user are visually presented to the user on a display. The display may correspond to each of the above buttons or may be centrally located such that the increments by the user are displayed side by side or may routinely flash across the screen. The display may be mechanically changed and therefore not require a battery or utilize a powered microprocessor.  
         [0009]     The golf scoring device may be in a rectangular format similar to the size of a credit card that may fit easily into a user&#39;s pocket or may be incorporated into a golf tool such as a divot or pitch-mark repair tool. The golf scoring device is not intended to be limited to a specific based structure but rather teaches a portable device with specific golf accuracy tracking features and therefore can be on different objects ranging from a golf club glove to a hand held device to a golf divot tool. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the golf scoring device shaped similar to a credit card.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is the device of  FIG. 1  with the front cover removed.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a back perspective view of a golf scoring device with a divot tool.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of a device of  FIG. 3  showing the front cover removed but illustrating it as a rotated outline exposing the front face of the device.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a device similar to that of  FIG. 1  but with mechanical dials for incrementation.  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is similar to the device of  FIG. 4  but with mechanical dials for incrementation. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     In the figures the golf scoring device is generally referred to by the numeral  10 . As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the device  10  has a base  12  and an upper face  14 . Protruding through the upper face  14  are a number of buttons  16  or tabulation members which may be incremented by the user for each successive stroke obtained. Although the tabulation members  16  are displayed as buttons here they may also work as dials that may be mechanically turned or other mechanical apparatus. The buttons  16  influence a display  18 . The display  18  may be immediately below each button  16  or may be centrally located and combine all the numerals in a common LCD screen (not shown). For illustration purposes,  FIG. 1  has numerals in the displays  18 .  
         [0017]     The upper face  14  as seen in  FIG. 1  has graphically printed upon the cover  14  abbreviations indicating to the user what the buttons  16  are to be incremented for. The letter G stands for greens hit in regulation, P stands for putts taken per round, F stands for fairways hit per round, SS stands for sand saves per round, U/D stands for Up and Downs per round and S stands for golfers total score per round.  
         [0018]     In use, the user will strike the buttons  16  corresponding to each letter for each of the strokes taken corresponding with the above directions. Fairways hit per round is defined as any first tee shot on a par four or par five that comes to rest in the closely mown area of the hole and commonly referred to as “the fairway”. Greens hit in regulation is defined as reaching the putting surface in three shots or less on a par five, two or less on a par four or one shot on a par three. Putts are defined as any stroke taken on the putting surface and it does not include putts from off the green (fringe, fairway, etc.). Sand saves are defined as getting into the hole in two or less strokes after the golf ball has come to rest in a green-side bunker. An up and down is defined as moving the ball into the golf hole in two strokes from off the green (i.e. when your second shot on a par four is just short of the green and you still make par, the user has just made an up and down). Score is defined as the total number of strokes completed in a golf round. The swing is typically defined as one which is completed with the intent to strike the ball to put it into play; therefore, a swing that is voluntarily stopped prior to making contact with the ball is not a stroke whereas a swing that is completed with the intention of hitting the ball, but in which the ball is not struck, is still counted as a stroke.  
         [0019]     In both mechanical and digital calculation of shot increments, either mechanical space or digital ram space should be allotted for 1 to 18 increments for greens hit in regulation, 1 to 54 increments for putts taken per round, 1 through 16 increments for fairways hit per round (because there are usually two par three holes where the fairway is not the target), 1 through 18 increments for sand saves per round, and 1 through 18 increments for up and downs per round, and 1 through 120 for golfers total score per round. For mechanical increments using a dial these increments are typically numerals spaced on the outer circumference of a dial and when using a digital processor are stored in memory as digital bits.  
         [0020]     As seen in  FIG. 2  the top cover  14  of  FIG. 1  has been removed to expose the base with a printed circuit board with wires  18  leading to the CPU  20  and powered by the battery  22 . The battery  22  may also be a solar power cell (not shown). To use this digital device  10  the user depresses power button  24 . In some models, the power button  24  may be located on just one side and on other models there may be a second power button  24  located on an opposite side so that the user may be able to manipulate it with either hand. The user pushes the power button  24  which presses leaf spring  26  which typically biases the power button  24  in an off position. The leaf spring  26  makes contact with a lead wire of the circuitry  18 , thus completing a circuit between the battery and the CPU and enabling the CPU  20  to take in information from the user pressing buttons  16 . The CPU takes this information form the button  16  and increments the display  18  for each push of the button  16 . The CPU also stores the increments into temporary RAM memory such that when the power button  24  is released and the power driving the displays  18  is turned off the information is retained in the memory.  
         [0021]     The CPU may be reset or the memory cleared in a variety of ways including a reset button  28  accessible from the rear back face of the device by a paper clip or other small wire. Various other configurations may enable the increments to be backed up one after the user inadvertently pushes a button  16  too many times.  
         [0022]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the golf scoring device  10  may come in the form of a golf divot tool. In this form the golf tool has comfortable room for three accuracy tracking statistics which may be the greens in regulations, the putts, and the fairways hit.  
         [0023]     As shown in  FIG. 3  the base  12  is circular and has a back face that can have a logo  30  placed upon it. Attached to the circular base is a divot tool  32  which has two feet  34  placed upon them. The divot tool is commonly referred to as a pitch mark repair tool. Golfers typically use the tool  32  to repair marks left by balls landing on the putting green in the normal course of play.  
         [0024]     As seen in  FIG. 4  the front face of the device  10  has a front swivel plate  36  (illustrated in dashed lines) that is moved to expose the front face  14  of the device  10 . The front face  36  pivots around pivot point  38 . The device  10  as seen in  FIG. 4  has the information to encourage a golfer to keep track of accuracy data namely greens in regulations, putts, and fairways hit. No power button is required but as seen in this drawing the device  10  is turned on as the swivel moves away from the base  14  by having a dimple  40  upon the cover release a power button  42  thus engaging the circuitry of the device  10 . The device  10  uses a similar CPU, circuitry, and power source as seen in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0025]     As seen in  FIG. 5 a  simplified device  10  is shown using mechanical dials  44  to keep track of score. As seen in  FIG. 6  mechanical dials may also be used on the device with the divot tool. When using mechanical dials space is typically of the essence and the dials are designed such that the greens have numerals  1 - 18 , the putts have numerals  1 - 54 , and the fairways hit have numerals  1 - 16 .  
         [0026]     The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.