GOLF ACCESSORY HOLDER

Abstract

A golf accessory holder is made up of an oblong housing for a spring-loaded spool, a divot repair tool is slidable through a guideway on the housing, the tool being attached at one end to a flexible line which is wound upon the spool to enable extension of the tool when grasped by the golfer to repair a divot in the ground and to automatically retract the tool when released to slide upwardly into the groove; and other accessories, including a ball marker and golf tees may be releasably mounted on the housing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 12/070,438, filed Feb. 19, 2008, titled “GOLF ACCESSORY HOLDER,” which application is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND AND FIELD

The following relates to golf accessory holders, and more particularly relates to a novel and improved golf accessory holder for a divot repair tool which can be releasably secured to the waist of a golfer.

In the game of golf, divots can be caused by a golf club gouging the turf, for example, in striking the golf ball, or can be caused by the impact of the golf ball landing on the green so as to cause a depression and unevenness in the green's surface. The latter form of divot is customarily referred to as a “ball mark”. The ball marks which are formed on the green are repaired by the golfer with the aid of a repair tool which includes a flat handle portion that is gripped in the fingers and a pair of tines at one end of the handle which can be inserted into the ground beneath the ball mark and pried up to restore the ground surface to its original condition.

Numerous types of holders have been devised in the past for hand-held divot repair tools so that the golfer does not have to reach into a pocket of the golf bag or in the clothing being worn by the golfer. Nevertheless, there is a continuing need for a holder which can be mounted externally of the clothing and which will greatly facilitate both the storage and release of the divot repair tool, as well as to permit mounting of other golf accessories on the holder, such as, golf tees, ball markers, etc.; and further wherein the ball marker will cooperate with the holder in securely aligning the repair tool in the storage position without dislodging golf tees or a ball marker but will leave it at least partially exposed so that it may be easily grasped by the golfer.

SUMMARY

It is therefore desirable to provide for a novel and improved golf accessory holder which can be worn externally of the golfer or releasably secured to a golf bag; and wherein a spring-wound, retractable divot repair tool is easily insertable into a guideway in the holder for convenient storage and release of the divot repair tool.

Another feature is to provide for a novel and improved golf accessory holder which can be releasably clipped onto the golfer's waist and which facilitates convenient storage and release of different accessories, including but not limited to a divot repair tool, golf tees, and a ball marker.

In one embodiment the golf accessory holder comprises a housing having spaced front and rear walls, an upper end wall and upwardly convergent sidewalls joining the housing and an upper plate member in overlying spaced relation to the front wall, a member for retracting a flexible, elongated line extending through the housing and a divot repair tool secured to a free end of the line for downward extension through a guideway on the housing, and the tool being manually extendable away from the holder. In a second embodiment, a golf accessory holder includes the same basic housing as employed in the one embodiment, with additional retainer slots for golf tees, a belt clip on the back of the housing, together with the divot repair tool and magnetic ball marker as illustrated in the one embodiment.

The above and other objects, advantages and features will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a golf accessory holder;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the one embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the one embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of the one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the divot repair tool in the extended position;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is an additional exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There is shown by way of illustrative example in FIGS. 1 to 8 various embodiments of a golf accessory holder G which broadly comprises an oblong housing 11, and a spring-loaded spool 13 journaled within the housing with a flexible line 15 wound upon the spool. A divot repair tool 17 is slidably disposed in a guideway 19 which forms a part of the housing, one end of the tool being attached to a free end of the flexible line 15. Other accessories that may be secured to the holder G are a ball marker 21, the ball marker 21 being releasably positioned above the guideway 19, and at least one golf tee clip 23 at the lower end of the housing 11. A second golf tee clip 25 may be positioned along an exterior side 27 of the housing 11. A third tee clip 29 may also be positioned along an opposite exterior side 31 of the second golf tee clip 25 as shown in FIG. 6. In addition, a belt clip 33 is mounted externally of housing 11, preferably on the back of the housing 11, for the purpose of securing the holder G onto the waist of the golfer, for example, by suspending from a belt, not shown, around the golfer's waist in a well known manner.

The housing 11 is made up of substantially flat front and rear walls 35 and 37 which are mounted in spaced parallel relation to one another to receive a generally circular canister 39 therebetween which houses the spool 13. In turn, the spool 13 has a center pin 41 with a return spring 44 having opposite ends journaled in the front and rear walls 35 and 37 so as to center the spool 13 within the canister 39.

The guideway 19 includes an upper end wall 43 and upwardly convergent sidewalls 46, 48 joining the front wall 35 with an upper plate member 69, and a lower rounded rim or ring-like end 47 overlying the guideway 19, the upper plate member 69 being recessed as at 52, over the guideway, to permit the golfer to insert a finger into the guideway 19 in order to guide the tool into and out of the end of the guideway. Also, the rim 47 will prevent the tool from slipping out of alignment with the guideway 19, which then prevents the tool from dislodging the ball marker 21 or the golf tees. The guideway 19 also includes a sufficient gap 50 to permit upward sliding movement of the handle portion 40 of the divot tool 17 into a stored position, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. A free end (not shown) of the flexible line 15 is fed upwardly through an opening 51 at the upper end of the front wall 35 and then advanced downwardly for insertion through an opening 53 in the upper flat handle end 49 of the divot repair tool 17. The free end of the line 15 may be secured in any suitable manner to the tool 17, for example, by tying a knot at the free end of the line 15 after it is inserted through the opening 53 or utilization of a plug which is press-fit into the opening 53. The repair tool 17 is merely representative of several types of repair tools which typically are provided with a relatively flat handle portion as at 49, and a pair of tines 61 at the lower end which can be inserted into the ground beneath a ball mark and pried up to return the ball mark to its original condition.

The greater length of the tool 17 is exposed so that it may be easily removed from the holder G by manually grasping the tool 17 and advancing it downwardly to the extended position as shown in FIG. 6. As is customary practice, the golfer may simply reach down to force the tool into the ground as described to fix the ball mark and then return the tool to the stored position by raising his or her hand to permit the line 15 to be wound under spring pressure of the spring until the upper end of the tool slides into the stored position as described earlier.

The belt clip 33, as shown in FIGS. 3 through 5 and 7, includes an upper end portion 63 pivotally mounted on the rear wall 37 of the holder G and has a downwardly extending arm 65 terminating in a right angle portion 67 which bears against the lower end of the rear wall 37. In this way, the arm 65 can be forced outwardly along with the right angle portion 67 and passed over the belt or waist band of the pants then released to retain securely in place. Modified forms of the belt clip 33 may be mounted on the housing 10, including standard U-shaped spring clips to permit mounting on golfer's waist, such as, over a belt; or the clip may be mounted on an external portion of the golf bag when not in use.

The upper plate 69 of the guideway 19 has a magnetized surface 21, containing preferably dual magnetic discs 83, 83′, for releasable attachment of the ball marker 21. The upper plate 69 of the guideway has a slightly recessed ledge 71 for releasable attachment of the ball marker 21 directly beneath the ledge 71 that is flush with the edge of the ball marker 21. Any other type of tacky or magnetized surface may be used to aid in releasable securement of the ball marker 21, without departing from the scope of the various embodiments set forth.

One or more golf tees T may be inserted into the housing 11. For example, an open groove or slot 73 includes the tee clip 23 in the lower end of the housing 11 and which extends transversely of the length of the housing 11. The clip 25 extends through an intermediate portion of the housing 11 above the spool 13 for transverse extension of the second golf tee T without interfering with the extension and retraction of the divot repair tool 17. Various forms of golf tee clips, such as pinch clips, may be used as well.

Although a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other modifications, permutations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and any claims hereafter introduced should be interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions, and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope.

Claims

1. A golf accessory holder comprising:

a housing having spaced front and rear walls, an upper end wall and upwardly convergent sidewalls joining said housing and an upper plate member in overlying spaced relation to said front wall;

means for retracting a flexible, elongated line extending through said housing; and

a divot repair tool secured to a free end of said line for downward extension through a guideway on said housing, said tool being manually extendable away from said holder.

2. A golf accessory holder according to claim 1 wherein said guideway is open-ended at its lower end for downward extension of said tool and said line away from said housing for a distance sufficient to enable a golfer to repair a divot in the ground.

3. A golf accessory holder according to claim 1 wherein said retracting means includes a spring-loaded spool journaled in said housing.

4. A golf accessory holder according to claim 3 wherein said upper plate member is recessed over said guideway and has a rounded end overlying the lower end of said guideway.

5. A golf accessory holder according to claim 1 wherein said guideway is sized to receive one end of said tool.

6. A golf accessory holder according to claim 1 wherein said spool is interposed between front and rear walls of said housing.

7. A golf accessory holder according to claim 1 including a ball marker releasably positioned on said upper plate member above said guideway.

8. A golf accessory holder according to claim 7 wherein said upper plate member includes means for removing said ball marker.

9. A golf accessory holder according to claim 7 wherein said ball marker is magnetically secured to said upper plate member.

10. A golf accessory holder according to claim 1 including a clip member mounted on said housing; said clip member having a spring-loaded arm extending externally of said rear wall.

11. A golf accessory holder according to claim 1 including recesses in said housing for insertion of golf tees.

12. A golf accessory holder according to claim 11 wherein said recesses extend transversely of the length of said housing.

13. A golf accessory holder comprising:

an oblong housing having spaced parallel front and rear walls;

a guideway defined by an upper casing joining upwardly convergent sidewalls in spaced relation to said front wall;

a spool journaled in said housing including a flexible, elongated line extending around said spool for downward extension through said guideway;

a divot repair tool secured to a free end of said line for downward extension through said guideway, said guideway being open-ended at its lower end for downward extension of said tool and said line away from said housing for a distance sufficient to enable a golfer to repair a divot in the ground; and

said tool being manually extendable away from said holder and said spool including means for retracting said line and rewinding around said spool until said tool returns into a seated position within said guideway.

14. A golf accessory holder according to claim 13 wherein said housing includes a belt clip mounted on said rear wall.

15. A golf accessory holder according to claim 13 wherein said guideway is of a length sufficient to receive an upper end of said tool.

16. A golf accessory holder according to claim 13 wherein said upper casing includes a recessed portion and a lower rounded rim overlying said guideway.

17. A golf accessory holder according to claim 13 including a magnetized surface on said upper casing and a ball marker releasably positioned on said magnetized surface.

18. A golf accessory holder according to claim 14 wherein said clip includes a spring-loaded arm extending externally of said rear wall.

19. A golf accessory holder according to claim 13 including a ledge having an exterior surface flush with an exterior surface of said ball marker.