Shoe Attachable Golf Tee Placing Apparatus

Abstract

A golf tee placing device that has a tee receiving and supporting member, the support member is attached to a base member, which has a recess for receiving and retaining the device on the cleat of a golf shoe, whereby a tee can be placed in the ground by foot rather than by hand.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to golf accessories, specifically to a device for placing a golf tee into the ground.

Generally, a golfer can tee up his ball only in an area known as the "tee box". Often, in dry seasons, these tee boxes become hard and compacted, making it impossible to hand place an ordinary wooden or plastic tee. Even when the tee box is soft enough to allow hand placement, it is impossible to place the tee at a uniform height from "tee box" to "tee box", for the condition of the turf varies from box to box.

Previous inventions have included a dibble for punching a hole into the tee area, whereby a tee could be placed in the hole. Although this device allowed a tee to be placed in hard ground, it did not, as does the instant device, implant the tee in the ground; it merely punched a hole that would receive a tee. Also the instant invention is an improvement over previous tee placing devices that were attached to the grip of a golf club; these devices placed needless stresses on the golf club shaft.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a device that will implant a tee in hard ground.

A further object is to insure that the tee is placed at a uniform height irrespective of the varying conditions of the "tee boxes".

Further objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation view, partly in section, illustrating the preferred form of the tee placing device of this invention in combination with a golf shoe spike on the heel of a golf shoe.

FIG. 2 is a similar view illustrating the preferred form of the golf tee placing device as it is removed from the implanted tee.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the preferred form of the device, illustrating the hinge and lever mechanism that provides for the removal of the tee after placement.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the preferred form of the device, illustrating the hinge and lever arrangement used in removing the device from the tee after placement.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the preferred form of the device, illustrating the position of the device with respect to the heel cleats of a golf shoe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the drawings, the letter A designates the body of the golf tee placing device of this invention; the device is made of iron, steel, or an alloy thereof that can be magnetized. The placing device cooperates with a golf cleat B made from a magnetic material, such as iron, steel, or an alloy thereof; the cleat B is a standard cleat attached to the bottom of shoe C. The wearer of shoe C may position the tee placing device A in contact with the cleat B, whereby the device A is held in contact with the cleat B and the tee T is held substantially perpendicular to the bottom of the shoe by the magnetic attraction between the device A and the cleat B. Thus, the wearer of shoe C can force the tee into the ground by stepping on the device A with the golf tee therein. The device A is then removed from the implanted tee leaving a properly placed tee; the device is then removed from the shoe and stored until its next use.

The instant invention in its broadest form defines a member including a means for releasably receiving and attaching the cleat of a golf shoe, a means for disengagingly receiving a golf tee, and when said member includes two portions, a means for connecting said aforementioned cleat receiving means and tee receiving means.

The preferred form of the tee placing device is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this form the means for releasably attaching the device to the golf shoe is the magnetic base member 10. The upper surface of the base member defines the recess 14 for receiving a golf cleat B; the lower portion of the base member has two grooves 19 disposed on opposite sides of the outer perimeter of the base member which grooves function as hereinafter explained. When the base member 10 is placed on the cleat B, the cleat fits into the recess 14 and the base member is held in contact with the cleat B with the tee T being substantially perpendicular to the bottom of the shoe C.

The tee receiving means of the device is defined by the support member 12, comprised of two mirror image pieces 24 that cooperate to form the tee receiving recess 26. Each support piece 24 is provided with a groove 21 in its upper portion, which co-act with the grooves 19 to define the semi-cylindrical grooves 20.

The connecting means between the support member 12 and the base member 10 includes a pivotal connection provided by the hinges 16 which are disposed on opposite sides thereof as shown. Each of the two hinges has an upper hinge plate 15, a lower hinge plate 17, and a hinge pin 22 connecting the two plates. The upper hinge plates 15 are attached to opposite sides of the base member, while each of the lower hinge plates 17 is attached to a support member piece 24 as shown in FIG. 3.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hinge pins 22 each carry a lever 18 which is pivotally mounted thereon. The inner fingers of the levers 18 extend into the semi-cylindrical grooves 20. By pressing the outer fingers of the lever 18 toward the base member 10, the inner fingers engage the lower hinge plates 17 and swing the support pieces 24 away from their tee carrying position of FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2. Conversely, when the outer fingers of the levers 18 are rotated away from the base member 10, the inner fingers traverse the groove 20, allowing the outer fingers of the levers to be swept back flush against the support member 12 as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3.

In operation a tee is placed in the device A between the support pieces 24 which are closed about the neck and head of the tee, leaving the stem protruding from the lower surface of the device A. The magnetic attraction between the permanent magnet base member 10 and the support pieces 24 keep the support pieces closed against the lower surface of said base member, thereby firmly supporting the tee. The device A is then placed on the golf cleat B, by fitting the cleat into the recess 14 of the base member 10. The magnetic attraction between the magnetic base member 10 and the cleat B, hold the device against the bottom of the shoe with the tee substantially perpendicular to the bottom of the shoe. The golfer then steps down with his shoe, positioning the tee generally vertical to the ground, and drives the tee properly into the ground. He then reaches down and squeezes the levers 18, which cause the inner fingers of the levers 18 to engage the lower hinge plates 17 causing the support pieces 24 to swing away from the tee, and by lifting his foot, clears the device from the placed tee. The golfer then takes the device from his shoe, and to facilitate storing the device, the outer finger of levers 18 are rotated away from the base member 10, thereby sweeping the outer fingers back against the support member 12. Sometimes it may be possible for the golfer to lift his shoe after placing the tee and cause the tee to be disengaged from the device or the device to be disengaged from the shoe, whereby the golfer may then complete the disengagement.

It is evident from the foregoing description that the instant invention allows the placement of a tee in ground that is too hard for hand placement. Also, it is evident that by using such a device, tees are implanted to the same depth even under varying turf conditions from "tee box" to "tee box".

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above, that embodiment is illustrative only; the invention is limited solely by the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A device for placing a golf tee in the ground comprising

a base member defining a recess for receiving a golf cleat,

said base member being magnetic to retain said base member in engagement with said golf cleat,

a pair of support pieces,

a pair of hinges each including a pair of hinge plates and a pin joining said plates,

each of said support pieces being pivotally connected to opposite sides of said base member by said hinges,

said support pieces co-acting to define a tee receiving recess,

a lever mounted on each of said hinge pins and having an inner arm positioned to engage the underside of the hinge plate on each of said support pieces and an outer arm extending outwardly from said hinge pin, whereby squeezing of the outer arms of said levers pivots said support pieces away from said base member,

said base member and said support pieces defining grooves in which the inner arms of said levers may travel to allow the outer arms of said levers to be positioned flat against said support pieces.

2. A device for placing a golf tee in the ground, comprising:

a base member having in its upper portion a means for releasably engaging the cleat of a golf shoe to support said base member thereon;

a support member having means for releasably supporting the tee with its stem projecting substantially vertically through an aperture of said support member;

said support member including two support member pieces which co-act to define a recess for receiving the upper portion of said golf tee and to define said aperture to allow the stem of said tee to protrude from the support member; and

means for connecting said support member pivotally to said base member whereby the support member pieces can pivot toward each other to close on and support said tee, or pivot away from each other to release said tee.

3. A device for placing a golf tee in the ground, comprising:

a base member having in its upper portion a means for releasably engaging the cleat of a golf shoe to support said base member thereon;

a support member having means for releasably supporting the tee with its stem projecting substantially vertically through an aperture of said support member; and

means for connecting pivotally said support member to said base member, said connecting means including two hinges, each hinge being attached to one of said support pieces of said support member and to said base member, whereby when the tee is placed in the ground thereby the device may be lifted from the tee by pivoting said support member pieces away from the tee to have the tee properly placed in the ground.