Patent GB-1342333-A (GB)
Title: Golf practice and game apparatus
IPC: A63B63/00
Filed: 1972-05-19
Abstract: 1342333 Golf practice and game apparatus SPORTS MANAGEMENT SERVICES Inc 19 May 1972 [20 May 1971] 23554/72 Heading A6D An apparatus for practising golf comprises a base having at one end a tee 90 and at a fixed distance from the tee an upright screen 18 which is vertically moveable. The screen is generally impenetrable to golf balls but has a penetrable target area which may be indexed by movement of the screen to any one of a plurality of different predetermined heights above the base. Each of the predetermined heights is calculated to be the height a ball will reach at the screen if struck from the tee by a particular respective golf club in the correct manner. Thus, after having selected the corresponding height for a club to be used, a correctly struck ball will pass through the target area of the screen and a badly struck ball will bounce off the screen. As described with reference to Fig. 5 the screen is supported on two rollers 22, 24, the upper roller 22 being loaded by a weight 28 acting on a string 26 wound on the axle shaft. The lower roller 24 is motor driven in accordance with a switch selected at control panel 94 to index the target position. The target is elliptical with its long axis horizontal and com-  prises a plurality of vertical edge to edge strips. Balls passing therethrough are collected in vertical shoots 36 made of netting. Three shoots are shown (Fig. 6), the central shoot 38 catching "true" balls and delivering them to a tray 44 (Figs. 5 and 6) and the side shoots 40, 40 catching "hook" and "slice" balls and delivering them to tray 46. A further tray 60 collects balls rebounded from the screen. Conduits 48, 54, 62 deliver the balls to respective troughs 50, 56, 64 which return them to the tee off position. If desired separate trays may collect "hook" and "slice" balls and deliver them to separate troughs. Control arrangement The control panel 94 bears ten switches (98) (Fig. 8) (not shown) and "on" and "off" lamps. Each switch (110-128 in Fig. 9) is associated with a particular club and is arranged to deliver power to a respective cam operated switch (130-148). The cam operated switches are gauged and driven from the roller drive motor 158 which is itself energised via the cam operated switches. Thus when one of the switches 110-128 is operated, power is fed via the corresponding cam operated switch to the motor which then drives the screen and the cam switches until the said corresponding cam switch opens. The target is then at the correct height for the club associated with the switch chosen. Upper and lower limit switches 152-164 operate when the target area reaches the top or bottom of the screen. In practice the height of the target for a "driver" is 10 feet above ground when 50 feet distant from the tee. The maximum height of the target is 28 feet (for a number 9 iron), and the other predetermined heights are spaced at 2 ft. intervals therebetween. The apparatus is enclosed in a canvas or like enclosure 2 comprising side and top sheets supported on wires. The wires may be lightened by turnbuckles 12 and are connected to the top of a structure which supports the screen and the ball return shoots. If desired two apparatus may be placed back to back and share a common support structure for both screens and both ball shoots.