Golf club holder

Abstract

A golf club carrier includes a central pole having a platform at one end thereof and club holding clips thereon. Golf clubs extend through the holding clips and rest on the platform with the club heads located above the clips. One form of the carrier includes a multi-portion central pole with telescoping sections and a lock for locking the telescoping sections together when the central pole has been extended to a desired length.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the general art of golf, and to the particular field of golf club carriers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically, a golf bag will be used to carry a full complement of golf club drivers and irons, golf balls, tees, and other paraphernalia that will support or assist the golfer in playing the game. The conventional golf bag is usually adapted to be slung over the shoulder by a strap. As such, the golf bag will be heavy to carry under normal playing circumstances, thereby necessitating the use of a golf cart or caddie for transporting all of the equipment when playing a round of golf on a golf course. Even when the golf bag is left behind, transport of the clubs will often be clumsy and cumbersome. This is especially so when it is desired to use several select clubs at, for example, a practice tee or putting green, or more specifically at a driving range where golf bags are often not permitted or allowed on the premises because of strict rules that govern the conduct of a practitioner of the sport to prevent the theft of rented golf balls and golf clubs.

Accordingly, a person desiring to practice his game at a driving range will normally be required to select the clubs he wishes to practice with, and transport them to the driving range. At the same time, the golf bag will have to be left behind, usually in the trunk of the car. When transporting the selected clubs, the golf practitioner will have to carry them loosely to the driving range, along with any other equipment he chooses to bring with him, pay the requisite fee to rent the golf balls, and transport everything to the location from which he will practice his shots. Once reaching the location, the selected golf clubs will have to be laid down on the ground along side of the collection of golf balls, which are usually contained in a bucket, thereby leaving the clubs in disarray and subject to possible damage from abrasion with the ground or being stepped on.

Furthermore, during a game of golf, a golfer will be required to play a shot from just off the green and then putt the ball once it is on the green. Often, the golfer requires at least one club in addition to a putter to complete such play. The golfer will often leave his or her bag at one location and carry several clubs, including a putter, to the shot. The golfer will then leave the clubs lying on the ground while he or she putts out. The clubs are thus subject to wet grass, and subject to be forgotten. If the clubs are forgotten, the golfer will be required to retrace his or her steps until the clubs are retrieved. This is annoying at best.

While the inventor is aware of some non-bag club carriers, most non-bag golf club carriers on the market typically have a single pointed barb at the bottom which sticks into the ground to hold the carrier upright while using a club. Particularly in a dry summer, however, such carriers become somewhat useless when the ground can become so hard that it is nearly impossible to pierce it to prop the carrier. The easiest time to use such a barbed carrier is when the ground is soft enough to be easily pierced to the depth necessary to stand the carrier upright.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that will easily retain and support individual golf clubs and which can be used to transport them in a manner that is efficient and organized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by a golf club carrier that includes a central pole having a platform at one end thereof and club holding clips thereon. Golf clubs extend through the holding clips and rest on the platform with the club heads located above the clips. One form of the carrier includes a multi-portion central pole with telescoping sections and a lock for locking the telescoping sections together when the central pole has been extended to a desired length.

Using the golf club carrier embodying the present invention will permit a golfer to easily and conveniently carry several clubs as required. For example, a golfer can carry a putter, a wedge and another club to a location near a green to play a shot onto the green. This will replace the golfer playing the shot and then returning to his or her bag to retrieve the next club or leaving the clubs lying next to the green, and possibly forgetting the clubs and then having to retrace his or her steps to retrieve the forgotten clubs.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a golf club carrier embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of portion of a golf club carrier showing an adjustment feature.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the golf club carrier embodying the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a golf club carrier 10. Carrier 10 comprises a central pole 12 which has a first end 14 which is a bottom end when the pole is in an upright position as shown in FIG. 1. A base 16 is located on the first end of the central pole and extends outwardly from the pole to define a shelf 18 adjacent to the bottom end of the central pole.

A golf club holding unit 20 is located on the central pole, and includes a sleeve 22 which encircles the central pole and is frictionally held in place on the central pole. A plurality of golf club locking elements 30 extend radially outwardly from the sleeve. The locking elements are identical, and each golf club locking element includes a first arm 32 which is attached to the sleeve, a second arm 34 which is pivotally attached to the first arm to move toward and away from the first arm. The arms move between a golf club holding position shown in FIG. 2 and a golf club releasing position with second arm 34 being spaced apart from first arm 32.

A handle 36 is located on the second arm. Each of the first and second arms has an arcuate section, such as arcuate section 40, with the arcuate sections being located adjacent to each other to define a golf club accommodating space 42 when the arms are in the golf club holding position.

The golf club holding unit is located to position the golf club locking elements in line with the base so that golf clubs G will have one end GP in contact with the base when the golf club extends through the golf club accommodating space of the golf club holding unit with the head GH of the golf club being located adjacent to the golf club holding unit. The golf club holding unit is interposed between the golf club head and the base.

The golf clubs are thus securely held in place on the carrier. The carrier can rest on the base and remain in an upright orientation so the clubs are held off of the ground and in an orientation that will be seen by the golfer so the clubs and carrier will not be forgotten. If suitable, the central pole can be formed of a plurality of sections, such as sections 50 and 52, that telescopingly fit together. A locking unit 56 holds the sections together once the sections are set at the desired position. Locking unit 56 includes a handle 58 which is pivotally mounted on section 52 and is moved toward and away from the central pole as indicated by double-headed arrow 60 to force a cam 62 through a slot defined in section 52 and against section 50 to frictionally engage section 50.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A golf club carrier comprising:

A) a central pole having a first end which is a bottom end when the pole is in an upright position;

B) a base on the first end of the central pole, the base extending outwardly from the pole to define a shelf adjacent to the bottom end of the central pole;

C) a golf club holding unit on the central pole, the golf club holding unit including (1) a sleeve which encircles the central pole and is frictionally held in place on the central pole, (2) a plurality of golf club locking elements extending radially outwardly from the sleeve, each golf club locking element including (a) a first arm which is attached to the sleeve, (b) a second arm which is pivotally attached to the first arm to move toward and away from the first arm, the arms moving between a golf club holding position and a golf club releasing position, (c) a handle on the second arm, (d) the first and second arms each having an arcuate section, with the arcuate sections being located adjacent to each other to define a golf club accommodating space when the arms are in the golf club holding position, (3) the golf club holding unit being located to position the golf club locking elements in line with the base so that a golf club will have one end in contact with the base when the golf club extends through the golf club accommodating space of the golf club holding unit with the head of the golf club being located adjacent to the golf club holding unit and the golf club holding unit being interposed between the golf club head and the base.

2. The golf club carrier defined in claim 1 wherein the central pole includes a plurality of sections that are telescopingly engaged with each other.

3. The golf club carrier defined in claim 2 further including a locking unit on the central pole to lock the telescoping sections together.

4. A golf club carrier comprising:

A) a central pole having a first end which is a bottom end when the pole is in an upright position;

B) a base on the first end of the central pole, the base extending outwardly from the pole to define a shelf adjacent to the bottom end of the central pole;

C) a golf club holding unit on the central pole, the golf club holding unit including (1) a plurality of golf club locking elements, (2) the golf club holding unit being located to position the golf club locking elements in line with the base so that a golf club will have one end in contact with the base when the golf club extends through the golf club holding unit with the head of the golf club being located adjacent to the golf club holding unit and the golf club holding unit being interposed between the golf club head and the base.