Golf tee and related methods
Disclosed is an improved golf tee.
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DevelopmentNot applicable.
The Names of the Parties to a Joint Research AgreementNot applicable.
Reference to an Appendix Submitted on a Compact Disc and Incorporated by Reference of the Material on the Compact DiscNot applicable.
Statement Regarding Prior Disclosures by the Inventor or a Joint InventorReserved for a later date, if necessary.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of InventionThe disclosed subject matter is in the field of golf and golf tees.
Background of the InventionGolf is a sport that involves a player striking or hitting a ball (“golf ball”) with a club until the ball falls into a targeted hole. A golf tee is a device used to hold in a golf ball stationary while raising it above the ground for the player's initial strike or hit. While the ball is hit when raised, it offers lower resistance, which allows the golfer to hit the ball a greater distance, than if the ball was on the turf.
Traditionally, golf tees are made of wood or plastic, with a bottom stem made to pierce the turf and anchor the tee in the ground. The top of the tee is typically concave to hold and stabilize the ball before it is hit.
Unfortunately, due to the design of the typical golf tee, it is unable to hold the ball without being anchored perpendicular to the turf. Although the concave top allows the ball to rest in place, it does not provide any further support. Unless the tee is straight up the ball will not stay in place, meaning that golfers are unable to use a tee inserted into the turf at an angle. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved golf tee to provide golfers with a tee that is more stable and effective at holding a golf ball.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee that may provide a more stable base for holding a golf ball raised above the turf.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee that allows a golf ball to be stably raised above the ground even when the tee is not inserted into the turf at a ninety-degree angle.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee that allows users to make fine rotational adjustments and positioning of the golf ball to provide a desired angle to strike the ball from.
In view of the foregoing objectives, disclosed may be an improved golf tee comprising: an upper crown with a ball; a lower stem with a socket; wherein the crown and stem are connected by the ball and the socket joined as a ball-and-socket joint; and, wherein the angle of the crown relative to the ground is adjusted from an initial position to secondary positions by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the ball-and-socket joint and relative to the lower stem. In one embodiment, the upper crown may further comprise eight crown arms. In another embodiment, the crown arms may include rounded crown edges. In yet another embodiment, the rounded crown edges could be equal in size to a turbulator of a golf ball. Sometimes, the upper crown includes a crown base and the crown base could be attached to the ball of the ball-and-socket joint. Other times or at the same time, the lower stem may include a stem base comprising the socket attached to the opposite end of the stem base. Furthermore, the ball-and-socket joint has at least one socket cutout.
In use, the angle of the crown relative to the ground can preferably be adjusted to tilt between 75 and 105 degrees while holding a golf ball by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the socket and relative to the lower stem.
Other objectives of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the invention has been shown and described. These objectives are not to be construed as limitations of applicant's invention, but are merely aimed to suggest some of the many benefits that may be realized by the apparatus of the present application and with its many embodiments.
Other objectives of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the invention has been shown and described. The manner in which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached figures in which:
In the figures, the following reference numeral designate the below
- identified components:
- Upper crown [10];
- Rounded crown edge(s) [11];
- Crown arm(s) [12];
- Crown base [13];
- Crown ornaments [14];
- Lower stem [20];
- Stem base [21];
- Socket [30];
- Socket cutout(s) [31]; and,
- Ball-and-socket joint [40].
It is to be noted, however, that the appended figures illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments that will be appreciated by those reasonably skilled in the relevant arts. Also, figures are not necessarily made to scale but are representative.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSOther assembly methods may be practiced depending on the use of alternative embodiments described herein, and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
The crown base 13 is the lower component of the crown 10 which provides support for the crown 10 and the crown arms 12. The crown base 13 may also contain multiple crown ornaments 14; the ornaments 14 both provide a decorative look to the upper crown 10 and crown base 13 while also giving the user additional grip and purchase on the crown 10 when rotating and manipulating the golf tee. Located at the lower side of the crown bottom 13, opposite the rounded crown edges 11, is a ball 15; the ball 15 is part of the ball-and-socket joint 40 and allows the crown 10 to be rotationally manipulated to adjust the yaw, pitch, and roll of the golf tee while still supporting the golf ball.
To form the ball-and-socket joint 40, the ball 15 is attached to a socket 30 that is attached to a lower stem 20. The socket 30 provides support for the ball 15 and upper crown 10 and allows the crown 10 to rotate when the user moves the crown 10. The ball 15 and socket 30 can be attached by applying pressure from the ball 15 into the socket 30, causing the two parts to snap together and form the ball-and-socket joint 40. When attaching the ball 15 and socket 30, the socket 30 contains multiple socket cut-outs 31; the cut-outs 31 are evenly spaced around the socket 30 to give the necessary flexibility to allow the ball-and-socket joint 40 to form without the socket 30 breaking, cracking, or warping. The cut-outs 31 also provide support for the crown's 10 rotation with the ball-and-socket joint 40 by giving the socket 30 some flexibility while the user adjusts the crown's 10 yaw, pitch, and roll. The lower stem 20 also has a stem base 21, which is located opposite the socket 30. The stem base 21 is tapered to come to an end with a smaller diameter than the remainder of the lower stem 20, like a traditional golf tee, to allow the improved golf tee to more easily be pressed and anchored into turf. Anchoring the improved golf tee holds the golf ball still and steady above the turf to give the user a better chance to hit the ball without the added friction from the turf.
The socket 30 is on top of the lower stem 20 and is visible outside the lower stem 20; the socket 30 is this wide to support the ball 15, which in turn supports a golf ball on the top of the golf tee. The multiple crown arms 12 and crown edges 11 are outside of the socket 30 and are the golf tee parts that make contact with the golf ball when holding it.
Although the method and apparatus is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead might be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the disclosed method and apparatus, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. The principles of the disclosure may be applied to a traditional golf tee; thus, the breadth and scope of the claimed invention should not be limited by any of the above-described embodiments.
Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open-ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like, the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof, the terms “a” or “an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more,” or the like, and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that might be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.
The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases might be absent. The use of the term “assembly” does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of the module are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of a module, whether control logic or other components, might be combined in a single package or separately maintained and might further be distributed across multiple locations.
Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives might be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.
All original claims submitted with this specification are incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein.
Claims
1. An improved golf tee comprising:
- an upper crown with a ball; and
- a lower stem with a socket;
- wherein the crown and stem are connected by the ball and the socket joined as a ball-and-socket joint; and,
- wherein the angle of the crown relative to the ground is adjusted from an initial position to secondary positions by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the ball-and-socket joint and relative to the lower stem.
2. The upper crown of claim 1 further comprising eight crown arms.
3. The crown arms of claim 2 further comprising rounded crown edges.
4. The rounded crown edges of claim 3 wherein the edges are equal in size to a turbulator of a golf ball.
5. The upper crown of claim 1 further comprising a crown base.
6. The crown base of claim 5 wherein the crown base is attached to the ball of the ball-and-socket joint.
7. The lower stem of claim 1 further comprising a stem base.
8. The lower stem of claim 1 further comprising the socket attached to the opposite end of the stem base.
9. The ball-and-socket joint of claim 1 wherein the socket has at least one socket cutout.
10. The ball-and-socket joint of claim 1 wherein the angle of the crown relative to the ground can be adjusted to tilt between 75 and 105 degrees while holding a golf ball by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the socket and relative to the lower stem.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 3, 2022
Publication Date: Mar 30, 2023
Inventors: Keith Murphy (San Diego, CA), Patrick Pineda (San Diego, CA)
Application Number: 17/592,289