Golf toss game

Abstract

An advanced golf toss game that is interesting and more challenging for the entire family includes at least two stands with each stand having a base for disposition on the ground and a vertically extending frame that includes two spaced-apart upright members with at least two curved step-like target bars extending between and attached to the upright members with one target bar being the lower target and one target being the upper target. Each step-like target bar includes two horizontal tubular sections or bars joined by a vertically extending bar to form the curvilinear shape and each bar has a point value associated with it so that two players—or teams of players—can toss in alternating turns stringed pairs of golf balls at the opposite upper and lower targets within the frame in an attempt to hook and wrap their teams stringed golf ball pairs onto the bars for accumulating points to win the game.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to outdoor recreational games, and more particularly pertains to an advanced and more challenging golf toss game than is currently available.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Although electronic games, video games, and television dominate the leisure activities of many people, there is still a place for simpler games, games that don't require the individual to sit in front of the computer screen or television screen. For example, board games are still popular—witness the still continuing strong sales of the Monopoly board game and the games of chess, checkers, and yahztee. In addition, at out door activities such as parties (baptisms, communions, quinceros, graduations, etc.), family gatherings, picnics, tailgating parties, and other social events, games are also played that don't require electronics and joysticks. Such games can include croquet, volleyball, Frisbee toss, badminton, softball, kickball, soccer and horseshoes. Also, various types of games of more recent vintage have been invented that require tossing balls, darts, or arrows at targets. The targets can be set up on stands or supports or laid upon the ground, and such games can be played by teams with points awarded on an individual or team basis. The games are usually simple to set up and have relatively straightforward rules, and the prior art discloses a number of such games.

For example, the Welbourn patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,419) discloses a projectile game apparatus that includes one elevated undulate crossbar onto which bolas are hurled for engagement thereto in a scored sequence.

The Wehr patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,480) discloses a toss game apparatus that has a dual use wherein the target can be used as a target for projectiles and as a support when throwing the projectiles at the target.

The Lynch patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,014 B2) discloses a game of gung-ho that includes a support having spaced-apart rungs and on which projectiles are tossed so that they wrap around the horizontal rungs for playing and scoring the game.

The Gove patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,982 B1) discloses an indoor/outdoor game that includes a freestanding upright having at least three target zones each of which has a different sized forward opening into which projectiles are thrown and scored if they successfully lodge in the forward opening.

The Reid patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,956 B1) discloses a ball and ladder game that includes tossing a plurality of tethered balls onto horizontal bars to vary the level of skill of the game.

The Lynch patent (U.S. patent publication no. 2002/0084588 A1) discloses a target game with rungs wherein the spacing between the horizontal rungs is one-half the spacing of the massive ends of the projectiles that are tossed onto the horizontal rungs.

The Vande Hey et al. (U.S. Design D478,938 S) discloses a yard game target that includes a base and an upright having horizontal rungs onto which projectiles are tossed and scored as part of the play of the yard game.

The Advocate patent (U.S. Pat. No. 7,198,273 B1) discloses a tossing game system and method that includes a base and a collapsible ladder with multiple horizontal rungs for tossing projectiles thereon as part of the game playing process.

Nonetheless, despite the ingenuity of the above devices, there remains a need for an advanced golf toss game that is more interesting and challenging than other similar games currently on the available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprehends an advanced golf toss game in which pairs of golf balls stringed together are tossed at curvilinear or step-like target bars in an attempt to wrap the stringed golf balls around the target bars thereby scoring points so that the individual or team with the most points wins the game. The step-like target bars make it harder to toss the stringed golf balls for hooking and wrapping them about the step-like target bars than tossing and hooking stringed golf balls about straight horizontally disposed and extending piping, conduit, or bars.

Thus, the golf toss game of the present invention includes a pair of stands and each stand includes a base comprised of at least four base members connected together by base elbows. Extending upwardly from the two base members that comprise the opposed side base members are a pair of upright members with one upright member attached to one base member and one upright member attached to the other base member. A cross bar or crosspiece extends between and connects to the upright members at the respective upper ends of the upright members.

Extending between the upright members is at least one pair of step-like target bars at which the stringed pairs of golf balls are thrown in an attempt to hook or wrap the stringed pairs of golf balls about the step-like target bars. Each step-like bar is composed of at least three separate tubular sections or bars two of which are horizontally extending and one of which is vertically extending with the vertically extending bar joining the two horizontally extending bars. This gives the step-like target bars an exaggerated or elongated s-shape curve or curvilinear configuration. The step-like target bars are located in the same plane as the upright members and the crossbar with the upright members and the crossbar serving as the frame for supporting the step-like target bars. In addition, the step-like target bars provide more challenge for players than tossing a projectile at a straight bar. Each frame thus includes one pair of upright members, one crossbar, and two step-like target bars spaced from each other and more particularly denoted the lower target and the upper target.

The step-like target bars are thus located in the same vertical plane with one step-like target bar being the lower target and one step-like target bar being the upper target. Moreover, the horizontally extending sections or bars of each target bar have point values assigned to them starting with the bars that compose the upper target and continuing in ascending point value to the horizontally extending bars that compose the lower target. The stringed pairs of golf balls include at least six sets of stringed golf balls with each set consisting of three stringed pairs of golf balls (two golf balls connected by one string), and the strings for each set of stringed golf balls having different colors to differentiate the opposing players or teams. Each team is given three sets of stringed balls and the stands are set up at least 21 feet from each other. The base, the upright members, the cross bar, the separate bars that comprise each step-like target bar and all the elbows and tees used to join the elements of each frame or framework member are comprised of PVC pipe or conduit, PVC elbows, PVC tees, and PVC glue thereby making assembly and disassembly quick and easy, and without the need to utilize hand tools.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a golf toss game that is an interesting and challenging game for families to play with fun-filled advanced golf ball tossing and throwing.

It: is another objective of the present invention to provide a golf toss game that provides hours of fin for people at parties, family gatherings, tailgating parties, and other social events and outdoor activities.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a golf toss game that is made from PVC piping and thus is durable for giving a long and useful life.

It is still yet another objective of the present invention to provide a golf toss game that is quickly and easily assembled and disassembled with no tools and is reasonably priced.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a golf toss game that allows parents and children to interact while working both the mind and the body engaged in a fun-filled, wholesome activity.

Still yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a golf toss game that can be played by two to six players and can be adapted to accommodate up to 12 individuals.

These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the golf toss game of the present invention illustrating the frame and base and a pair of stringed golf balls that have been tossed at the frame for hooking onto the step-like target bars;

FIG. 2 is a sectioned elevational view of the golf toss game of the present invention illustrating one stringed pair of golf balls;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the golf toss game of the present invention illustrating one stringed golf ball pair wrapped about the cross bar, one stringed golf ball pair wrapped about one scoring section of the upper step-like target bar denoted the three point bar, and one stringed golf ball pair wrapped about the section of the lower step-like bar denoted the four point bar;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the golf toss game of the present invention illustrating the frame and the base;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the golf toss game of the present invention illustrating the spacing of the stands from each other;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the golf toss game of the present invention illustrating the disposition of the stands and the players for playing the golf toss game; and

FIG. 7 is a sectioned elevational view of the golf toss game of the present invention illustrating the slidable reciprocable continuous movement of the step-like target bars up and down along the upright members of the frame to adjust the vertical distance between the target bars and thus to alter the difficulty of the game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Illustrated in FIGS. 1-7 is an advanced golf toss game 10 that is more challenging and interesting than other types of golf toss games currently available and which can be played by individuals, families, employees, teenagers, college students, etc., at all sorts of outdoor activities, gatherings, events, and occasions. All of the structural elements of the golf toss game 10 are composed of PVC piping or conduit thereby giving the golf toss game 10 durability and a long and useful life. In addition, the golf toss game 10 of the present invention can be easily assembled and disassembled without the use of tools, and it is reasonably priced.

Thus, as shown in FIGS. 1-7, the advanced golf toss game 10 of the present invention includes at least two stands 12 for playing the game 10. Each stand 12 includes a base 14—generally square-shaped—that is comprised of a plurality of tubular elongated base members 16 of varying lengths that rest upon the ground to support other elements hereinafter further described. The base members 16 are interconnected by a plurality of base elbows 18 at the four corners of the base 14, and by several base tees 20. Each base tee 20 includes a base tee socket 22 that is upwardly opening. The base members 16 can be further delineated as the side members or sections, the front member and the rear member. The base tees 20 are generally located midway on both side sections to form the side sections and to support elements of the stand 12 hereinafter further described.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, mounted to the base 14, and, more specifically, secured to the base tees 20 is a frame or framework 24. The frame 24 is centrally located on the base 14 and extends vertically upwardly therefrom. The frame 24 includes a pair of spaced-apart upright members 26 with one upright member 26 connected to the socket 22 of one base tee 20 and the other upright member 26 connected to the socket 22 of the other base tee 20. Each upright member 26 is further composed of separate tubular pieces or piping of varying lengths that are adjoined by PVC tees designated as the frame tees 28. Each upright member 26 defines a lower end 30 and an opposite upper end 32. Extending across the frame 24 at the upper ends 32 is a crosspiece or cross bar 34 that connects to the upper ends 32 of each upright member 26 by frame elbows 36 and provides further stability to the frame 24 as a whole.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, the targets at which players throw objects or projectiles to be hereinafter further described include at least two step-like target bars 38 that are spaced from each and extend between and are secured to the upright members 26 along their vertical extensions by the frame tees 28. Each step-like target bar 38 has an s-shaped or curvilinear shape or configuration. Such s-shaped or curvilinear configuration provides for a more challenging and difficult game. The step-like target bars 38 can be further defined as an upper target and a lower target.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-7, each step-like target bar 38 is further defined by comprising at least three separate bars or tubular sections that are interconnected by a plurality of frame elbow 36—at least four elbows 36 in the preferred embodiment. Thus, each step-like target bar 38 is composed of two horizontally extending straight bars interconnected by a vertically extending tubular section or bar having a shorter length than the horizontally extending bars. For each step-like target bar 38 one of the two horizontally extending bars or tubular sections is located at a higher elevation relative to the upright members 26 than the other horizontally extending bar or tubular section. This creates the s-shaped or curvilinear configuration for the target bars 38—that is the upper and lower targets. In addition, it should be noted that the step-like target bars 38 are located in the same plane as the upright members 26 and the crosspiece 34, i.e. the target bars 38 are coplanar with the frame 24 itself. The various elbows 18 and 36 and tees 20 and 28 allow the base 14, the frame 24 and the step-like target bars 38 to be assembled and disassembled easily and quickly thereby facilitating the set-up, breakdown, storage, and transport of the golf toss game 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 6, the game 10 is played by alternately tossing, just as in horseshoes and lawn darts, objects or projectiles at the target bars 38. In the golf toss game 10 the object that is tossed is a pair of balls 40, such as golf balls, stringed and connected to each other by a string 42. To differentiate between teams, the strings 42—and if desired the golf balls 40—will have two different colors. Normally six sets of stringed pairs of golf balls 40 and 42 are provided with each player or each team being given three sets of the same colored stringed golf ball pairs 40 and 42. The players 44 toss the stringed pairs of golf balls 40 and 42 at the targets bars 38 in an attempt to successfully hook and wrap each stringed pairs of golf balls 40 and 42 about the target bars 38 thereby earning for themselves or their teams points for successfully doing so with the sections of the target bars 38 having different point values associated therewith as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Illustrated in FIG. 7 is an alternative mounting means for the step-like target bars 38—the upper and lower targets—that allows the step-like target bars 38 to be continuously slidably linearly adjustable up and down along the vertical extension of the upright members 26. Thus, the slidably adjustable mounting means allows the players 44 to vary the distance between the step-like target bars 38 thereby varying the level of difficulty of the game 10. As shown in FIG. 7 the target bars 38 are mounted to the upright members 26 by collars 46 that encompass and slide over and upon the upright members 26. Arrows 48 indicate the vertical up and down slidable movement of the target bars 38 upon the upright members 26. The target bars 38 are slidably adjustable along the upright members 26 independent of each other (only the target bar 38 denoted the upper target is shown in FIG. 7), and when one or both target bars 38 have been appropriately adjusted, they are fixed in place by tightening a fastening member 50, such as a bolt, through the collar 46 and against the upright members 26. The slidably adjustable mounting means shown in FIG. 7 allows the target bars 38 to be vertically and precisely adjusted to a wide range of positions along the lengths of the upright members 26, instead of just to predetermined discrete positions along the upright members 26 as defined and set by through holes or apertures that would be spaced along the vertical extension of the upright members 26.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, the point system is as follows. The cross bar 34 is worth one point, and then proceeding clockwise the tubular bar or section 52 at the upper left hand of the target bar 38 denoted the upper target is worth two points, the other tubular bar or section 54 for the upper target, and on the right hand, is worth three points, the tubular bar or section 56 for the target bar 38 denoted the lower target and located immediately beneath the tubular bar 54 worth three points is worth five points, and finally the tubular bar or section 58 on the left hand side and comprising the other section of the lower target is worth four points.

The golf toss game 10 is played similar to the well-known game of horseshoes. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, both stands 12 are assembled and then set up at least 21 feet from each other as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The sets of stringed golf ball pairs 40 and 42 are then distributed to the players 44 with each player or team having the same color for their stringed golf balls 40 and 42. Normally the game 10 is played by two to six players 44, but the game 10 can accommodate as many as 12 players. The individual players 44 or teams of players alternately take turns and attempt to successfully toss and hook or wrap the stringed golf ball pairs 40 and 42 around the crossbar 34 and the various sections 52-58 of each step-like target bar 38 thereby accumulating points for their team. The first player 44 or team to accumulate 31 points wins the game 10. Should an opponent ring his/her/their stringed golf ball pair 40 and 42 around any section 52-58, or about the crossbar 34, of the same level and point value that already has at least one stringed golf ball pair 40 and 42 from the other player 44 or team, then both players 44 or teams points are canceled for that particular round.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as being illustrative and not restrictive, with the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, consonant with the foregoing detailed description, as indicating the scope of the invention as well as all modifications which may fall within a range of equivalency which are also intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A golf toss game having a pair of stands at which projectiles are thrown to score and accumulate points, comprising:

each stand including a generally square-shaped base with the base including a plurality of interconnected base members;

a frame mounted to and extending vertically upwardly from the base and at which the projectiles are thrown;

the frame including a pair of spaced-apart upright members mounted to and extending upwardly from the base members;

each upright member including a lower end and an opposite upper end;

a crosspiece extending between and adjoining the upright members adjacent the upper ends thereof;

at least two step-like target bars mounted to the upright members and extending therebetween with the target bars being located in the same plane as the crosspiece and the upright members;

each target bar including at least two horizontally extending tubular sections interconnected by a vertically oriented tubular section;

the horizontally extending tubular sections of each target bar having a unique point value associated therewith and the target bars further delineated as an upper target and a lower target;

the projectiles including a plurality of pairs of balls with each pair of balls connected together by a string; and

wherein players stand opposite of each stand and alternately toss the stringed pairs of balls at the frame, the crosspiece and the target bars in order to hook and wrap the stringed pairs of balls about the crosspiece and the tubular sections of the target bars for accumulating points with the first player to score a predetermined amount of points being declared the winner.

2. A golf toss game including a pair of stands at which projectiles are thrown in order to score and accumulate points, comprising:

each stand including a generally square-shaped base with the base including a plurality of interconnected base members;

a frame mounted to and extending vertically upwardly from the base and at which the projectiles are thrown;

the frame including a pair of spaced-apart upright members mounted to and extending upwardly from the base members;

each upright member including a lower end and an opposite upper end;

a crosspiece extending between and adjoining the upright members adjacent the upper ends thereof;

at least two step-like target bars mounted to the upright members and extending therebetween with the target bars being located in the same plane as the crosspiece and the upright members;

each target bar including at least two horizontally extending tubular sections interconnected by a vertically oriented tubular section;

the crosspiece and the horizontally extending tubular sections of each target bar having a unique point value associated therewith;

the projectiles including a plurality of pairs of balls with each pair of balls connected together by a string; and

wherein players stand opposite of each stand and alternately toss the stringed pairs of balls at the frame, the crosspiece, and the target bars in order to hook and wrap the stringed pairs of balls about the crosspiece and the tubular sections of the target bars for accumulating points with the first player to accumulate a predetermined amount of points being declared the winner.

3. The golf toss game of claim 2 wherein the step-like target bars are further defined as an upper target and a lower target.

4. The golf toss game of claim 3 further including a slidably adjustable mounting means for mounting the step-like target bars to the upright members so that each step-like target bar can be selectively and independently adjustable along the upright members to vary the distance of the step-like target bars from each other.