While golf can be enjoyed at a wide range of fitness levels there is especially with the elderly a problem of continuously having to bend over when teeing up the ball, removing the ball from holes and otherwise retrieving the ball from water hazards or the like. For persons suffering from back trouble, arthritic joints etc. this can be a source of considerable discomfort which substantially detracts from their enjoyment of the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages and accordingly a golfing aid is disclosed for enabling a user to remotely tee up a ball without bending over, said golfing aid in an upright position of use including a shaft having at a lower end thereof a basket with retaining means for releasibly holding said ball together with a tee, said tee being in a point down vertical position for insertion into the ground with said ball set thereon and said retaining means being operable from an opposite upper end of the shaft to subsequently release said ball and tee for a golf drive and said shaft being of sufficient length to enable operation of said golfing aid from a stand-up position.

Preferably said retaining means comprise a movable plunger which is shaped to engage the top of the ball.

The currently preferred form of this invention will now be described with reference to the attached representations in which: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figures 1 and 2 show side and front elevation views of a golfing aid according to this concept, Figure 3 shows the lower end of the device when in use to tee up a golf ball, and Figure 4 shows the set up ball and tee ready for the drive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to figures 1 and 2 there is shown a golfing aid comprising a tubular metal shaft 1 which is of a length sufficient to enable use of the device from a stand up position as described later. Although the invention is not limited to any specific dimensions for the shaft with this embodiment it is about 680 mm in length and about 10 mm in diameter. At the lower end of the shaft is a open sided semi-circular basket preferably formed from steel wire.

More specifically the basket forms a ball carrying cavity 1A which with this embodiment is defined by an open front side 2, lateral members 2A and rear ball supporting members 2B. The basket is thus adapted not only to hold the ball 7 for the tee up as shown in figure 3 but also to act in the manner of a scoop which can be inserted under a ball to pick it up as described later in more detail. There is also a plunger 3 extending down through the top of the basket.

This plunger is movable in the downward direction against the bias of a spring 4 by user exterted pressure on a thumb plate 5 at the upper end of the shaft. The thumb plate 5 is connected to the plunger 3 by a rod 6 which extends down through the interior of the tubular shaft 1 and connects to the plunger 3.

In use of the device a ball 7 is placed into the basket 2 and a tee 8 is fitted into an open nich or slot 9 formed in the bottom of this basket. The tee is placed so that the cup end 8A faces the ball 7. Pushing the plunger 3 down via the thumb plate 5 then serves to hold the ball 7 and tee 8 aligned in a position for insertion of the pointed tee end 8B into the ground as shown in figure 3 without the user having to bend over. After the tee is pushed into the ground and adjusted for desired ball height the thumb plate 5 is released so that the spring 4 then raises the plumger 3 to allow the basket to be moved away to one side as shown in figure 4. This leaves the ball 7 on the planted upright tee ready for the drive. After the drive the slot 9 can be hooked under the tee 8 to remove it from the ground-again without the user having to bend over.

The device may also be used in the manner of a scoop to remove balls from the hole at each green. The basket is lowered into the hole and the open side moved toward the ball to scoop it up in said basket. In a similar manner balls may be removed from water hazards or the like.

Although not essential to the invention it is preferred that the upper end of the shaft also be fitted with a spike 10 to enable it to be temporarily stuck into the ground when not in use. Alternatively or in addition a spring clip 11 may be affixed to the shaft which enables it to be fitted to the frame of a golf buggy.

It will thus be appreciated that this invention at least in the form of the embodiment described provides a novel and useful accessory for golf. Clearly however the example disclosed is only the currently preferred form of this invention and a wide variety of modifications may be made which would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example the shape and configuration of the basket and tee slot may be changed according to design preference. Also while the embodiment described is made from welded steel the invention extends to any other suitable material such as moulded plastic.