GOLF TEE WITH DIVOT REPAIR TOOL
The present disclosure relates to a golf tee, comprising: (a) a top portion connected to a bottom portion through a stem portion, wherein the top portion comprises one or more ball positioning elements that extend outwardly from the top portion, and wherein the top portion is configured to receive a golf ball with the one or more ball positioning elements; (b) the stem portion having an elongated body and comprising a first end connected to the top portion and a second end connected to the bottom portion; and (c) wherein the bottom portion has a blade shape that is thickest at a point where the bottom portion connects to the stem portion and narrows as the bottom portion extends further away from the top portion, wherein the bottom portion is configured to position the golf tee into the ground.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/190,471, filed on May 19, 2021, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDA golf tee is typically a thin, wood or plastic peg, two or three inches in height, atop which a golf ball sits in a stable and stationary position. Typically a tee is pushed down into the turf at the tee box, leaving a portion of the tee above ground, and the ball placed atop the golf tee prior to playing the stroke. A golf tee may only be used on the tee box under certain golfing rules, although the use of a tee is not required. A separate divot tool is used to repair divots on golf greens and/or fairways and/or other areas of a golf course caused by golf balls landing on the ground. Divot tools typically include a sharp bottom portion to assist with digging under the divot when repairing the divot.
BRIEF SUMMARYAccording to one aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure, a golf tee is provided. The golf tee includes a first portion receiving a golf ball, the first portion includes a plurality of ball positioning elements that positions the golf ball for play. A thumb panel is coupled to the first portion and configured for a player to grip and place the golf tee for play. A bottom portion is configured to position the golf tee firmly into the ground. A stem portion couples the thumb panel to the bottom portion. The thumb panel and bottom portion are also configured to have the golf tee function as a divot repair tool.
According to some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a golf tee, including: a top portion connected to a bottom portion through a stem portion, wherein the top portion comprises one or more ball positioning elements that extend outwardly from the top portion, and wherein the top portion may be configured to receive a golf ball with the one or more ball positioning elements. The golf tee may include the stem portion having an elongated body and comprising a first end connected to the top portion and a second end connected to the bottom portion. The golf tee may include the bottom portion that is a blade shape that may be thickest at a point where the bottom portion connects to the stem portion and narrows as the bottom portion extends further away from the top portion, wherein the bottom portion may be configured to position the golf tee into the ground as well as repair divots.
The present disclosure further relates to a golf tee, containing a top portion connected to a bottom portion through a stem portion, wherein the top portion comprises one or more ball positioning elements that extend outwardly from the top portion, and wherein the top portion may be configured to receive a golf ball with the one or more ball positioning elements. The golf tee may include the stem portion having an elongated body and comprising a first end connected to the top portion and a second end connected to the bottom portion. The golf tee may include a thumb panel integrally coupled to the top portion, below the one or more ball positioning elements, the thumb panel configured to provide for a gripping position for placing the golf tee for play; and the bottom portion is a blade shape that may be thickest at a point where the bottom portion connects to the stem portion and narrows as the bottom portion extends further away from the top portion, wherein the bottom portion may be configured to position the golf tee into the ground as well as repair divots.
In some embodiments, a golf tee may include a bottom portion having a blade shape. The blade shape may include a fork blade design. The fork blade design may have a plurality of forks (e.g., two forks). The bottom portion of the golf tee may have an enlarged blade design. A stem portion of a golf tee may have a shape selected from the group consisting of a cube, a cylinder, a rectangular prism, a triangular prism, a cone, and a combination thereof. The golf tee may include three ball positioning elements on a top portion of the golf tee. The golf tee may include a thumb panel integrally coupled to the top portion, below the one or more ball positioning elements, the thumb panel configured to provide for a gripping position for placing the golf tee for play. The thumb panel may have a substantially cylindrical cross-section. In some embodiments, the thumb panel may be removed. The golf tee may be configured to position the golf tee into the ground as well as to repair divots.
In some embodiments, the thumb panel may be removed while still achieving the dual use of the golf tee supporting a golf ball when the tee is pushed into the ground, and also for use in repairing divots.
Additional features and advantages of the present disclosure are described in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of this disclosure.
The disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals are used to refer to similar elements. It is emphasized that various features may not be drawn to scale and the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
The figures and descriptions provided herein may have been simplified to illustrate aspects that are relevant for a clear understanding of the herein described devices, systems, and methods, while eliminating, for the purpose of clarity, other aspects that may be found in typical similar devices, systems, and methods. Those of ordinary skill may recognize that other elements and/or operations may be desirable and/or necessary to implement the devices, systems, and methods described herein. But because such elements and operations are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present disclosure, a discussion of such elements and operations may not be provided herein. However, the present disclosure is deemed to inherently include all such elements, variations, and modifications to the described aspects that would be known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, as used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. That is, terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms, when used herein, do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.
Given the fork design at the bottom portion 108 of the tee and the position of the thumb panel 104 along the top portion 102 of the tee, the golf tee according to the present disclosure serves a dual use; that is, the golf tee can be used to position a golf ball at the top portion 102, while the bottom portion can also be used as a divot repair tool in addition to positioning the tee into the ground. It is noted that in some embodiments (as described further below), the thumb panel 104 may be removed while still achieving dual use of the golf tee. When playing a golf stroke into a green, the trajectory of the golf ball often takes a high trajectory causing an indentation, or divot, when the ball lands on the green. It is typical and courteous for golfers to repair the divots they create, and thus most golf players carry a separate divot repair tool to properly repair the divot on the green. According to the present disclosure, a dual use golf tee/divot tool is provided such that the golfer no longer needs to carry a separate divot repair tool, but may rather use a dual use device to both tee up the golf ball and repair the divot. The thumb panel 104 and fork design provide an ergonomic arrangement for the golfer to easily repair divots, while also using the same device to tee up the golf ball for play.
As with the embodiment of
As with the embodiment of
The thumb panel 404 may be integrally coupled to top portion 402. Also, the thumb panel 404 may be used by a golfer to grip and position the golf tee 400 on the ground for play. A stem portion 406 may extend vertically and integrally connect thumb panel 404 and bottom portion 408. A golfer may apply a vertical force on the thumb panel 404, which leads to bottom portion 408 to be pressed firmly into the ground. Note bottom portion 408 may include a fork blade design which assists in firmly positioning golf tee 400 into the ground.
As with the embodiment of
Given the fork blade design at the bottom portion 508 of the tee, the golf tee according to the present disclosure serves a dual use; that is, the golf tee can also be used as a divot repair tool. When playing a golf stroke into a green, the trajectory of the golf ball often takes a high trajectory causing an indentation, or divot, when the ball lands on the green. It is typical and courteous for golfers to repair the divots they create, and thus most golf players carry a separate divot repair tool to properly repair the divot on the green. According to the present disclosure, a dual use golf tee/divot tool is provided such that the golfer no longer needs to carry a separate divot repair tool, but may rather use a dual use device to both tee up the golf ball and repair the divot. The fork blade design may provide an ergonomic arrangement for the golfer to easily repair divots, while also using the same device to tee up the golf ball for play.
As with the embodiment of
As with the embodiment of
A stem portion 806 may extend vertically and integrally connect to a bottom portion 808. Note bottom portion 808 may include a fork blade design, which assists in firmly positioning golf tee 800 into the ground.
As with the embodiment of
Reference in the specification to “one implementation” or “an implementation” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the implementation is included in at least one implementation of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one implementation,” “in some implementations,” “in one instance,” “in some instances,” “in one case,” “in some cases,” “in one embodiment,” or “in some embodiments” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same implementation or embodiment.
Finally, the above descriptions of the implementations of the present disclosure have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the present disclosure be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims of this application. As will be understood by those familiar with the art, the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the present disclosure, which is set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A golf tee, comprising:
- (a) a top portion connected to a bottom portion through a stem portion, wherein the top portion comprises one or more ball positioning elements that extend outwardly from the top portion, and wherein the top portion is configured to receive a golf ball with the one or more ball positioning elements;
- (b) the stem portion having an elongated body and comprising a first end connected to the top portion and a second end connected to the bottom portion; and
- (c) wherein the bottom portion is a blade shape that is thickest at a point where the bottom portion connects to the stem portion and narrows as the bottom portion extends further away from the top portion, wherein the bottom portion is configured to position the golf tee into the ground.
2. The golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the top portion has an air launch design and further comprises through holes.
3. The golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the blade shape comprises a fork blade design.
4. The golf tee according to claim 3, wherein the fork blade design has two forks.
5. The golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the bottom portion has an enlarged blade design.
6. The golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the stem portion has a shape selected from the group consisting of a cube, a cylinder, a rectangular prism, a triangular prism, a cone, and a combination thereof.
7. The golf tee according to claim 1, wherein there are three ball positioning elements on the top portion.
8. The golf tee according to claim 1, further comprising a thumb panel integrally coupled to the top portion, below the one or more ball positioning elements, the thumb panel configured to provide for a gripping position for placing the golf tee for play.
9. The golf tee according to claim 7, wherein the thumb panel has a substantially cylindrical cross-section.
10. The golf tee according to claim 1, wherein the golf tee is configured to repair divots.
11. A golf tee, comprising:
- (a) a top portion connected to a bottom portion through a stem portion, wherein the top portion comprises one or more ball positioning elements that extend outwardly from the top portion, and wherein the top portion is configured to receive a golf ball with the one or more ball positioning elements;
- (b) the stem portion having an elongated body and comprising a first end connected to the top portion and a second end connected to the bottom portion;
- (c) a thumb panel integrally coupled to the top portion, below the one or more ball positioning elements, the thumb panel configured to provide for a gripping position for placing the golf tee for play; and
- (d) wherein the bottom portion is a blade shape that is thickest at a point where the bottom portion connects to the stem portion and narrows as the bottom portion extends further away from the top portion, wherein the bottom portion is configured to position the golf tee into the ground.
12. The golf tee according to claim 11, wherein the top portion has an air launch design and further comprises through holes.
13. The golf tee according to claim 11, wherein the blade shape comprises a fork blade design.
14. The golf tee according to claim 13, wherein the fork blade design has two forks.
15. The golf tee according to claim 11, wherein the bottom portion has an enlarged blade design.
16. The golf tee according to claim 11, wherein there are three ball positioning elements on the top portion.
17. The golf tee according to claim 11, further comprising a thumb panel embedded in the stem portion, the thumb panel configured to provide for a gripping position for placing the golf tee for play.
18. The golf tee according to claim 11, wherein the thumb panel has a substantially cylindrical cross-section.
19. The golf tee according to claim 11, wherein the golf tee is configured to repair divots.
Type: Application
Filed: May 16, 2022
Publication Date: Nov 24, 2022
Inventors: John R. IACONO (Elmhurst, IL), Juliana T. IACONO (Elmhurst, IL)
Application Number: 17/745,727