Abstract:
The present invention A golf ball and tee placer comprises a tee holder including an aperture having adhesive putty therein for releasably holding a tee head in said tee holder. The tee holder is for placing tees vertically into the ground by urging the tee holder with the tee downwardly into the ground. The tee holder adapted to leave the tee in the ground by subsequently urging the tee holder upwardly away from the ground. In addition the golf ball and tee placer comprises a mechanism for preselectively controlling the depth of penetration of the tee into the ground when the tee holder is used for urging the tee into the ground, thereby leaving the tee in the ground at a preselected tee height.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of this invention relates to golf ball and golf tee devices and in particular relates to golf ball &amp; tee placing devices. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The game of golf is played with a golf ball which is often teed up on a tee in order to position the ball a predetermined height above the ground.“Teeing up a ball”, as it is called, is usually carried out on the first shot of every hole on a golf course. A golf tee is placed into the ground at a predetermined height in order to place a ball onto the top of the golf tee so that the ball rests upon the golf tee at a predetermined height above the ground. 
     Currently the practice is to place a golf tee into the ground manually by hand, wherein the distance of the head of the tee above the ground is judged by eye sight of the player. As a result the tee height can be variable from one tee placement to the next depending upon how well a player can judge the height of the top of the tee above the ground. 
     In addition, often it is difficult to get the tee into the ground particularly where the ground is very hard and dried out and therefore, requiring a great deal of force in order to drive the tee into the ground. The tee is normally pushed into the ground using the thumb and/or fingers and this limits the amount of force that can be placed upon the tee in order to get it to the right height above the ground. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to have a device which will place a tee into the ground at a pre-determined height and avoids having to use finger pressure in order to drive the tee into the ground. In addition, it would be desirable to have a device which can consistently place the tee into the ground at the same height each time a new tee is placed into the ground. 
     The game of golf also requires picking up and placing balls onto the ground in various locations throughout the game. This requires the player to stoop over many times throughout the course of the game to either pick-up and/or place a ball onto the ground. Similarly the player must stoop considerably in order to place the tee into the ground. 
     Therefore, it is also desirable to have a device which minimizes stooping during the game of golf by providing a device which will place the tee into the ground without having to stoop as far down and/or be able to pick-up a ball without having to stoop as far down. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention a A golf ball and tee placer, comprises: 
     a) a tee holder including a means for releasably holding a tee head in said tee holder, said tee holder for placing tees vertically into the ground by urging said tee holder with said tee downwardly into the ground, and said holding means adapted for leaving said tee in said ground by subsequently urging said tee holder upwardly away from the ground; and 
     b) a means for preselectively controlling the depth of penetration of said tee into the ground when said tee holder is used for urging said tee into said ground, thereby leaving said tee in the ground at a preselected tee height. 
     Preferably said controlling means includes a stop surface rigidly connected to said tee holder which makes contact with the ground surface when said tee has penetrated the ground a predetermined amount thereby preventing further penetration of said tee into said ground leaving said tee in the ground at a preselected tee height. Preferably said controlling means includes a means for adjusting the distance between the stop surface and the tee head when said tee head is placed in said tee holder, such that one can adjust the tee height of the tee above the ground. Preferably said golf ball and tee placer is adapted to be held in a hand. Preferably said holding means includes a tee aperture dimensioned to slidably receive said tee head therein. 
     Preferably said holding means includes and a means for adhesively holding said tee head in said aperture. 
     Preferably said adhesive holding means includes putty adhesive housed within the aperture for contacting the tee head surface and releasably adhesively holding the tee head in said aperture. 
     Preferably said holding means includes a means for releasably biassing said tee within said aperture. 
     Preferably said biassing means includes wire springs for applying bias against said tee head holding said tee against said stop block. 
     Preferably said tee placer further comprises a frame for mounting said tee holder thereon such that said frame can be easily held in a hand. 
     Preferably said frame includes a tube dimensioned and adapted to receive golf balls therein, said tube having a bottom end and a top end. 
     Preferably said tube bottom end is said stop surface. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding of the present invention and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the present invention a golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom elevational view of the present invention a golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 3 is a alternate side elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 4 is a alternate bottom elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 6 is a partial cut away cross-sectional view of the golf ball and tee placer taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the golf ball and tee placer showing the device mounted in situ onto the ground; 
     FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of the golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the golf ball and tee placer shown with a tee in place; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a golf ball placer; 
     FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the golf ball placer; 
     FIG. 13 is a top elevational view of the end of the golf ball placer; 
     FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of the golf ball placer; 
     FIG. 15 is a bottom elevational view of the golf ball placer; 
     FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing the use of the golf ball placer; 
     FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the present invention a golf ball placer shown retrieving a ball out of a golf hole; 
     FIG. 18 is a side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention a golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 19 is a bottom elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG. 18; 
     FIG. 20 is an alternate side view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG. 18; 
     FIG. 21 is a bottom elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG. 20; 
     FIG. 22 is a bottom elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG. 23; 
     FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIGS. 18 and 20; 
     FIG. 24 is a bottom elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG. 25; 
     FIG. 25 is a side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention a golf ball and tee placer; 
     FIG. 26 is a bottom elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG.  27 ; 
     FIG. 27 is a side elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer showing picking up a golf ball from the ground; 
     FIG. 28 is a bottom elevational view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG. 29; 
     FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional elevational schematic view of the golf ball and tee placer shown in FIG.  25  and  27 ; 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Definitions 
     Putty adhesive: Any putty adhesive like material which is known in the art to be suitable for the present application including nut not limited to mastic putty, plumbers putty, latex putty, silicone putties, and any other latex, silicone, rubber or other materials which are suitable for the present application. Some suitable commercially available putty adhesives are sold under the tradenames Handi-Tak®, Tac‘n’Stick®, Holdit®, and Instant Tact®. 
     Tee: refers to a wood or plastic golf tee used for placing into the ground and supporting a ball on top. The upper part of the tee is referred to the tee head. 
     Description 
     Referring firstly to FIGS. 9 and 10 in particular, the present invention a golf ball and tee placer shown generally as  10  comprises a tube  20  having a bottom end  21  and a top end  23  and having grooves  24  proximate bottom end  21  and top end  23  for partially receiving springs  22  therein. 
     Golf ball and tee placer  10  further comprises a tee holder shown generally as  30  including rail  40  mounted onto tube  20 , slide  38  having a tee head aperture  44  which is partially filled with putty adhesive  46 , a screw guide  34 , a positioning screw  32  and a thumb adjuster  36 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8 as well, tube  20  is dimensioned to receive slidably therein, golf ball  28 . The length of tube  20  will determine how many golf balls  28  can be accommodated within the length of tube  20 . Mounted onto tube  20  is tee holder  30  and in particular rail  40  and screw guide  34  are rigidly connected to the outer diameter of tube  20 . 
     Slide  38  cooperates with rail  40  and is adapted to slide longitudinally along rail  40  in accordance with the location of positioning screw  32 . As shown in FIGS. 7,  8 ,  9  and  10 , rail  40  and slide  38  a slidably connected with a dove tail arrangement in order to hold slide  38  onto rail  40 . Positioning screw  32  is rotatably fastened to one end of slide  38  and is screwably threaded through screw guide  34  which is rigidly fastened to tube  20 . Thumb adjuster  36  is used to rotate positioning screw  32  thereby, longitudinally moving positioning screw  32  through screw guide  34 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 6 as well, the length of tube  20  will determine how many golf balls  28  can be housed within tube  20 . Preferably tube  20  has a slot  26  defined therein and dimensioned large enough to be able to place a finger through slot  26  and touch golf balls  28 . The inner diameter of tube  20  is dimensioned to receive slidably therein golf balls  28 . On both the bottom end  21  and the top end  23  of tube  20  are grooves  24  dimensioned to receive springs  22 . Springs  22  fit around the outside of tube  20  and pass through grooves  24 , thereby impinging upon the outer diameter of golf ball  28  as it passes by springs  22 . Springs  22  and grooves  24  are dimensioned and adapted to retain golf balls  28  within tube  20  and are also adapted to be able to pick-up golf ball  28 . 
     In use golf ball and tee placer  10  is used primarily to place tee  42  at a predetermined and consistent tee height  70  relative to ground surface  54  of ground  52 . Tee head  43  of tee  42  is placed manually into tee head aperture  44  of slide  38  and is held in place by the suction of putty adhesive  46  as well as the adhesive forces of putty adhesive  46  against tee head surface  55 . 
     In order to place tee  42  into ground  52 , golf ball and tee placer  10  is manually positioned against the ground as shown in FIG. 8, such that stop surface  50  of tube  20  makes substantially flush contact with ground surface  54  of ground  52 . In the position shown in FIG. 8, tee spike  45  of tee  42  is forced into ground  52  and tee  42  is installed in the ground having a tee height  70  being the distance between the top of tee head  43  and ground surface  54 . In this way it is apparent that tee  42  can consistently be placed into ground  52  at a uniform tee height  70  each time it is used. 
     Tee height  70  can be very finely adjusted by turning thumb screw adjuster  36  which in turn rotates positioning screw  32  which threadably moves positioning screw  32  through screw guide  34  and slidably moves slide  38  along rail  40  thereby varying tee height  70  to the desired height. Tee height  70  can also be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the amount of putty adhesive  46  within tee head aperture  44 . 
     It would be apparent to those skilled in the arts that other methods of holding tee  42  in tee aperture  44  can be used. For example as shown in FIG. 6 wire springs  80  can be arranged longitudinally along tee head aperture  44  to impinge against the sides of tee head  43  and/or tee head aperture  44  can be adapted to frictionally receive tee head  43  and/or any other means known in the mechanical arts for releasably receiving and holding tee  42  into tee head aperture  44  can be used and adapted with the present invention. 
     In particular an alternative to putty adhesive is shown in FIG.  6 . Three or four small wire springs  80  mounted longitudinally within tee head aperture  44  provide resilient biasing forces against the sides of tee head  43 . The biasing force is enough to hold tee  42  against stop block  81  in tee holder  30  but will release tee  42  when implanted in the ground. Any other method known in the art for holding tee  42  in tee head aperture  44  can be used. 
     In addition to using golf ball and tee placer  10  for consistently placing of tees  42  at a consistent tee height  70  into ground  52 , tube  20  also can store golf balls  28  as shown in FIGS.  6 . FIG. 6 in fact shows four golf balls housed within tube  20  and depending upon the length of the tube more or fewer golf balls can be stored within tube  20 . 
     In order to use golf ball and tee placer  10  for picking up or placing golf balls  28  off or onto the ground surface  54  or onto a tee  42 , coil springs  22  are adapted to snugly fit around the circumference of tube  20  and fit within grooves  24  which are dimensioned to receive the diameter of coil springs  22  such that when a ball  28  enters or exits through bottom end  21  or top end  23 , the outer diameter of golf ball  28  impinges against springs  22  and the biasing force of springs  22  clamp onto the outer diameter of golf ball  28  thereby retaining golf ball  28  within tube  20 . Preferably springs  22  and grooves  24  are dimensioned to be able to hold and grip golf ball  28  when only one third of the diameter of the golf ball is projecting into tube  20 . 
     Once golf ball  28  has entered the main body of tube  20 , springs  22  passing through grooves  24  present a barrier within tube  20  to prevent golf balls  28  from escaping from either the bottom end  21  or top end  23  of tube  20  unless force is applied to a golf ball  28 . Therefore, golf ball and tee placer  10  also acts as a golf ball storage tube as well as a device which can be used to pick-up a golf ball or place a golf ball. 
     Golf ball  28  is picked up simply by placing tube  20  over the outer diameter of a golf ball  28  thereby urging golf ball  28  into the inner diameter of tube  20 , and past springs  22 . Golf ball  28  is deposited simply by urging golf ball  28  out of the inner diameter of tube  20 , and past springs  22 . 
     Slot  26  defined in tube  20  is dimensioned to allow the finger of a person not shown to pass through slot  26  in order to urge a golf ball  28  out of bottom end  21  or top end  23 . Thereby golf balls  28  can be placed upon a tee by urging golf ball  28  out of tube  20  by placing a finger through slot  26  and urging golf ball  28  out of either end of tube  20 . Golf ball  28  will exit from tube  20  if enough force is applied to deform springs  22  thereby allowing golf ball  28  to pass by springs  22 . 
     Alternate Embodiment of Golf Ball and Tee Placer 
     Depicted in FIGS. 18 through 29 is an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a golf ball and tee placer shown generally as  200 . Referring specifically to FIG. 23 golf ball and tee placer  200  comprises tube  220 , spring  222 , groove  224 , tee holder  230 , having a body  232  and aperture  244  defined within a tee holder  230  and putty adhesive  246  within tee head aperture  244 . Tee head aperture  244  is a dimensioned to receive tee head  243  of tee  242 . 
     Similar to the previously described embodiment, (golf ball and tee placer  10 ), the present embodiment is similar except for the features of tee holder  230  as well as slot  226  having slide  292  with a slide arm  294  projecting perpendicularly from slide  292  as depicted in FIG.  29 . 
     Tee holder  230  in addition has a tee stop  290  which impinges against ground surface  254  of ground  252 . 
     Putty adhesive  246  is of the type which holds tee head  243  in tee head aperture  244  by suction created by putty adhesive  246  impinging upon tee head  243  as well as by adhesive forces of putty adhesive  246  upon tee head  243 . As previously described, it is also possible to use wire springs  80  as shown in FIGS. 6 mounted within tee head aperture  244 . 
     The present embodiment of the invention, a golf ball and tee placer  200  is used in almost analogous fashion as described above for golf ball and tee placer  10 . The major differences are that tee holder  230  is not as finely adjustable as tee holder  30  was in the previous embodiment The height of the head above, ground surface  254  can be adjusted by varying the amount of putty adhesive  246  within tee head aperture  244  and/or by physically displacing tee holder  230  along the outer body of tube  220 . In this regard tee holder  230  may have two or three distinct positions on which it can be mounted along tube  220 . The position of tee holder  230  along tube  220  as well as the thickness of tee stop  220  will determine the position of tee head  243  above ground surface  254 . Springs  222  and grooves  224  are analogous to springs  22  and  24  in the previous embodiment. 
     In use a tee  242  is manually placed within tee head aperture  244  and is releasably held within tee head aperture  244  as was the case also with tee head aperture  44  in the previous embodiment. In order to place a tee  242  into ground  252 , tube  220  is urged such that tee spike  245  penetrates ground  252  until tee stop  290  makes contact with ground surface  254 . Once this contact has been established, tube  220  can than be raised away from ground surface  254  leaving tee  242  at a predetermined and consistent height above ground surface  254 . Tee  242  is left behind in ground  252  since the force of putty adhesive  246  upon tee head  243  is just enough to hold tee  42  in tee head aperture  244 . This is also true for the previous embodiment, golf ball and tee placer  10 . As discussed in the previous embodiment, other methods for releasably holding tee head  243  in tee head  244  such as wire springs  80  as shown in FIG. 6 can also be used. 
     In addition, referring now specifically to FIGS.  25  and as well FIGS. 29, slot  226  has disposed therein a slot  292  having a slide arm  294  which penetrates through the diameter of tube  220 . In this manner rather than placing a finger through slot  226 , slide  292  is simply moved up or down along slot  226  such that slide arm  294  urges golf balls  228  out of either end of tube  220 . 
     Springs  222 , grooves  224  and the ability to pick-up golf balls and retain golf balls within  220  is analogous to the previous embodiment as described. 
     Alternate Embodiment Golf Ball Placer 
     Referring now to FIGS. 11 through 17 which define an alternate embodiment of the present invention a golf ball placer showing generally as  100  comprising a tubular body  102  having a spring  104  mounted around the outer diameter of tubular body  102  and being received within grooves  108 , tubular body  102  being adapted in dimension to receive the outer diameter slidably of golf ball  106  as shown in FIG.  12 . 
     Optionally tubular body  102  is attached to a telescoping handle  130  using flanges  110  and a connecting member  112 . Telescoping handle  130  is of the type known in the art and the connection between golf ball placer  100  and telescoping handle  130  can be of any type known in the art. Springs  104  and groove  108  as well as the diameter of tubular body  102  are dimensioned and adapted such that the outer diameter of golf ball  106  is impinged upon and gripped by spring  104  when approximately ⅓of the diameter of the golf ball is housed within tubular body  102 . This is also true of the previous embodiments. 
     In this manner, golf ball placer  100  can be used to pick-up golf balls within holes as depicted in FIG.  16  and also from golf ball cups as shown in FIG.  17  and simply by placing a finger through finger opening  136  as shown in FIG. 112, golf ball  106  can be urged out of tubular body  102  for subsequent use. 
     It should be apparent to persons skilled in the arts that various modifications and adaptation of this structure described above are possible without departure from the spirit of the invention the scope of which defined in the appended claim.