Patent Publication Number: US-2012040768-A1

Title: Putting practice device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims benefit of Australian provisional application 2004905618 filed 28 Sep. 2004 and U.S. provisional application No. 60/669,364 filed 8 Apr. 2005. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a golf putting practice device. 
     BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
     There are a number of variables involved in putting in the game of golf. Typically, the golfer first chooses a putting line along which to putt by assessing the slope of the green to determine what “borrow” is necessary so that if the putting line is predicted correctly and the ball is struck along the putting line at the correct pace, the ball will travel from where it is located on the green into the hole. The putting line is determined by a number of factors including the severity of slopes on the green and the speed of the green. Assuming the golfer is able to determine the correct putting line, the golfer must also strike the golf ball along the right putting line. To do so, the planar surface of the putter club head must be substantially perpendicular (or “square”) to the putting line on which the golfer strikes the ball when the ball is struck and the putter club head must be moving substantially along the putting line. For example, in the case of a straight putt where there is no borrow, the putting line will extend directly from the centre of the golf ball to the hole. If the ball is struck along the putting line, the ball should go in the hole. However, if it is not struck along the correct line it will miss the hole. The necessary degree of alignment of the putter depends on the length of the putt and it will be appreciated that as the putt gets longer alignment of the putter correctly becomes more important. 
     It will be appreciated that the mechanics of the human body are such that any club that is swung will tend to move in an arc around the player&#39;s body and hence, depending on the length of the player&#39;s back swing, will tend to move off the putting line. In order to strike the ball correctly, the player needs to have the club face square and the putting club travelling along the putting line. 
     It is not legal in golf to make any lines or marks on the green in order to aid in putting. Accordingly, it is necessary for golfers to practice their alignment if they wish to improve their putting. Putting is an activity that does not require much special equipment in order to be practiced and it can be practiced on practice surfaces such as floors that have an appropriate floor covering such as carpet. Typically when practicing golf, the golfer practices by aiming at a target. 
     It would be advantageous to provide a golf putting practice apparatus that enabled the user to practice alignment of the putter club head. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a practice putting apparatus comprising:
         a putting target; and   a light source for lighting a guide path on a practice surface, the guide path being parallel to a putting line along which a golf ball is intended to be struck at said target to thereby provide a visual aid to alignment of the putter head when making a putting stroke along the putting line.       

     In an embodiment said putting target comprises a golf ball return device for returning a ball that reaches a simulated golf hole towards the place from which it was struck. 
     In an embodiment said light source comprises a first light and a second light. 
     Preferably, each light emits a broad planar beam of light in a plane substantially perpendicular to said practice surface to thereby light said guide path. 
     Preferably, each light comprises a laser and a cylindrical prism. 
     In one embodiment, the first and second lights are mounted to a housing of said putting target device. 
     Preferably, said first and second lights are spaced apart whereby said guide path comprises a pair of spaced apart lines of light. 
     Thus, in use, a golfer can align the putter between the two lines of light. 
     Preferably, one or both of the lights is slidably mounted to the housing so that one or both of the lines of light can be moved. 
     Thus, the position of the lines can be adjusted to account for the size of the putter or any borrow of the practice surface. 
     In one embodiment, one or more of the lights may be detachably mounted to the housing. 
     In one embodiment, a first light is located on said housing and a second light is movable whereby it can be placed on the opposite side of the position where the putter is to be located relative to the target and aligned with the first light such that said guide path comprises a single line of light parallel to said putting line. 
     Preferably, said first light is slidably mounted to said housing to thereby allow adjustment of said line of light so that it is coincident with the putting line. 
     In another embodiment, said light source comprises a light mounted on a housing said putting target and a mirror to be placed on the opposite side to the target of the position where the putter is to be located and aligned relative to the light to reflect light from the light such that said guide path comprises a single line of light parallel to said putting line. 
     The apparatus may also include a timer for turning off at least part of said light source after a predetermined period of time. 
     In an embodiment said light source comprises a light mounted on a housing that houses that target, and said apparatus further comprises a launch mat from which the golf ball can be struck, the launch mat comprising alignment means that can be aligned along the guide path, and which provides a continuation of the guide path when the light source is blocked by the putter. 
     The alignment means may comprise linear markings on the mat. 
     The alignment means may comprise a linear indentation in the mat. 
     It is preferred in this embodiment that the light is centrally mounted relative to the target. 
     The apparatus may comprise an additional light source comprising first and second side lights mounted to either side of the target. 
     The apparatus may further comprise switching means for switching between at least first and second modes of operation, the side lights operating in the first mode and the central lights operating in the second mode. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a practice putting apparatus of a first preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-section along a cross-section coincident with line  124   a  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing a practice putting apparatus of a second preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing a practice putting apparatus of a third preferred embodiment in a first mode of operation; and 
         FIG. 5  shows a second mode of operation of the practice putting apparatus of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a practice putting apparatus  100 , 120 . The practice putting apparatus has a putting target in the form of a golf ball return device  100  and has a light source  120  provided by first light  120   a  which is mounted on the housing  110  of the golf ball return device  100 . The second light  120   b  is movable and is intended to be aligned in use with the first light to define a single line of light  124  that provides a guide path parallel to a putting line along which a golf ball is intended to be struck at the golf ball return device  100  to thereby provide a visual aid to the alignment of the putter  50  having a putting face  52  so that a golfer can practice aligning the putter relative to the putting line when striking a golf ball. That is, so that the putter face is square to the putting line and the putter club head is moving substantially along the putting line. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the line of light  124  consists of a first portion  124   a  which is projected by the first light  120   a  and a second portion  124   b  which is projected by the second light source  120   b . Each light source  120  emits a broad planar beam of light so as to project a line along a practice surface  40  on which the practice putting apparatus  100 , 120  is located. That is, the lights are positioned so that the beam of light is perpendicular to the base of the housing  110  and hence to the practice surface. The first light  120  is slidably mounted within groove  112  of housing  110  in order to allow adjustment of the guide path. This allows the person practicing to adjust for any borrow caused by unevenness in the practice surface. That is, most floors are uneven so that the ball will tend to roll from left to right or right to left. Accordingly, if the putting line from the place where the putter head  50  is located to the golf ball return device  100  corresponds to arrow A or B, the golfer can move first light  120   a  to align with the correct putting line and then move second light  120   b  so that it lines up with the first line. As both the first and second lights  120  project lines of light on the practice surface  40  it is easy to align them correctly. 
     The apparatus will now be explained in more detail with reference to  FIG. 2  which is a schematic cross-sectional view of the golf ball return device  100  and the first light  120   a  placed on practice surface  40 . It will be seen that golf ball return device  100  has a ramp  101  up which the golf ball travels when struck correctly to rest in dish portion  102 . A sensor  103  is placed at the bottom of the dish so that when the ball comes to rest on the sensor it triggers a return mechanism  104 . The return mechanism  104  is not shown in detail however persons skilled in the art will be familiar with the operation of such devices. Typically they have a spring loaded mechanism which is loaded upon the golf ball being received on the sensor  103 . The spring loaded mechanism draws back a shaft and then releases the shaft to strike the golf ball and return it back towards the golfer. It is also known in the art to make this mechanism adjustable so that the player can adjust the distance through which the ball is returned. 
     Light  120   a  consists of a mounting portion  121  that is slidably received within groove  122 . The light has a laser  122  and a cylindrical prism  123  which projects a broad planar beam of light  125  which will define line  124   a  on the practice surface  40 . 
     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that any appropriate power source such as mains power or battery power can be used to power the return mechanism  104  and light  120   a . Second light  120   b  is essentially of the same construction as light  120   a , however, it typically has a broader base so it is easier to position. It will be more usual for light  120   b  to be battery operated as this makes it more convenient to move this light  120   b  into position. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that if light  120   a  is strong enough, light  120   b  can be replaced by a mirror to reflect the second portion  124   b  of the single line of light when aligned correctly. An advantage of the first embodiment is that the lines of light are on both the target side of the putter and behind the putter the line of light (as perceived by the golfer) is not interrupted by the golf ball or the putter head  50  so that no matter where the putter is located along line  124  the golfer will be able to perceive whether they have aligned their club face perpendicularly to the putting line. 
     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that a number of additional features can be incorporated into the apparatus. For example, the device may incorporate a timer which switches off the lights  120  after a fixed period such as five minutes after the device is turned on. This has the advantage of defining a strict practice period for the golfer (for example, if the golfer is practicing in their office) and also as acting as a power saving device. Further possible variations will be apparent from the description of the other embodiments. 
     A second preferred embodiment of a practice putting apparatus  200 , 220  is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Where appropriate, the same reference numerals are used to describe elements in the second preferred embodiment that are like elements in the first embodiment. The light source in the second preferred embodiment is provided by a pair of lights  220   a , 220   b  both mounted within groove  112 . The lights are slidably mounted so that their position can be moved. In this embodiment, the guide path is defined by lines of light  224   a  and  224   b  which pass to either side of putter head  50 . The lights can be slidably adjusted to adjust the width of the gap between first line of light  224   a  and second line of light  224   b  so that the lines of light pass just to the side of the putter head  50  when the golfer putts along putting line C. As in the first embodiment, the lights  220  can also be adjusted in order to adjust for different required putting lines to account for borrow in the practice surface  40 . In one variant of this embodiment, one or both of the lights  220  is made detachable so that the person can switch from a first mode in which they practice keeping their putter perpendicular to the putting line C with lines to either side of the putter head and a second mode where they can practice in accordance with the technique of the first embodiment. 
     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous minor variations can be made. For example, rather than mounting the lights within the groove, the lights can be mounted on a rail or, the first light can be mounted substantially within the housing, for example directly above return mechanism  104 . 
     The light sources may also incorporate a means for adjusting the orientation of the light so that the line extends substantially in the region of where the putter is to be located. It will also be appreciated that one or more light sources may be fixed in position on the housing or that the light source may be configured to project a beam along different lines using diverting optics such as mirrors to vary the path. 
     Further, rather than a golf ball return device, the target could be in the form of a simulated hole in the region of dish portion  102  and the person could manually retrieve their balls. Other return mechanisms are also known in the art and can be substituted for the return mechanism of the preferred embodiment. These and other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. In particular, further modifications may incorporate features of other embodiments described herein. 
     A practice putting apparatus of a third embodiment is illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . In this embodiment the apparatus  300  has three fixed lights  320  comprising first and second side lights  320   a , 320   b  and a central light  320   c.    
       FIG. 4  illustrates the apparatus in a first mode of operation where the two side lights  320   a , 320   b  are on so as to define a guide path by first line of light  324   a  and second line of light  324   b.    
     The apparatus also has a switching mechanism for switching the apparatus from a state in which it is off, to the first mode of operation illustrated in  FIG. 4  and to a second mode of operation illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The switching means includes a switch  330  mounted to the top of the housing  110 , the switch  330  is formed of rubber and has a plurality of rubber fins  331  to facilitate switching of the switch with the head of a putter. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown the apparatus of  FIG. 4  operating in a second mode of operation in which the first and second side lights  320   a , 320   b  are off and the central light  320   c  is on. To enhance this mode of operation, it is preferred that in this embodiment the apparatus is additionally provided with a launch mat  360  from which a golf ball can be struck. The launch mat has an alignment means in the form of linear markings  361  that allows the launch mat  360  to be aligned with the remainder of the guide path defined by the light  320   c  (i.e. line of light  324   c ). 
     The line markings may be the same colour as the light to thereby give the appearance of the guideline extending beyond the putter head  50  even when the putter blocks the light  324   c  from the light source  320   c.    
     In a further embodiment, the alignment means may, additionally, or alternatively comprise an elongate depression in the mat  360  along which the golf ball can be struck in use. 
     Variation or further modifications of the third embodiment will be apparent to persons skilled in the art including variations employing features of the other embodiments.