BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Over the years, many indoor games have been designed, manufactured, and sold that used the actual game of golf as the theme. In most cases, the playing surface carried a representation of a golf course, including one or more "holes". For the lack of a better expression, the word "hole" is used to designate that portion of a gold course that includes a tee, a putting green with its hole, the fairway joining them, and the attendant rough, hazards, and the like.

The games developed in the past have suffered from a number of deficiencies that have made them unaccep¬ table to sophisticated golfers. Since the actual game of golf uses a combination of skill and good fortune, it would be desirable that the indoor version provide the same factors for winning. The prior art table games have lacked such realism. These and other dif¬ ficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel way by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the present invention to provide an indoor golf game that is very representative of the outdoor golf game.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a table golf game that uses a combination of skill and luck in a manner similar to outdoor golf.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a golf game that uses the club-selection skills of the actual golf game.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a golf game that uses the direction- selection skills of outdoor golf.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a table golf game in which the scoring used and the rules available are virtually the same as those in actual golf.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the Specification and covered by the Claims appended hereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the invention consists of a golf game having a broad base and a set of boards lying in a recess in the base, each board having a representation of a portion of a golf course, including a tee and a green. An indicator is provided that is adapted to lie on the board to dictate movement of a golf ball element from the tee to the green, an indicator having indicia for distance and angle. A set of cards is provided for each player, each card being representative of a golf club and carrying a selection of distances and angles within the range normally served by the particular golf club.

More specifically, the indicator consists ^' of main body on which is slidably and rotatably mounted an elongated distance rule, the distance rule carrying distance indicia and the main body carrying angular indicia.

IN THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a golf game incorporating the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of a cover used in the game.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the cover taken on the line III-III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a portion of a base used in the game.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the base taken on the line V-V of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the base taken on the line VI-VI of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the base taken on the line VII-VII of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the base taken on the line VIII-VIII of Figure 4.

Figure 9 is a plan view of an indicator used in the game.

Figure 10 is a plan view of a sheet containing ball elements used in the game.

Figure 11 is a plan view of a ball element.

Figure 12 is a plan view of typical hold boards.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to Figure 1, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the golf game, indicated generally by the reference number 10, is shown as consisting of a broad base 11 having a recess 12 in this upper surface 13. A set 14 of boards is provided lying in the recess, each board having a representation (See Figure 13) of a portion 15 of a golf course, including ⁴ 'a tee 16 and a green 17. The green has, in the usual way, a hole with a pin or flagstick. An indicator 18 is provided that is adapted to lie on the board to dictate movement of a golf ball element 26 (See Figure 11) from the tee to the green,

the indicator having indicia 19 and 21 for distance and angle. A set 22 of club cards is provided for each player, each card being representative of a golf club and carrying a selection of distances and angles within the range normally served by the particular golf club for a better-than-average golfer.

As is evident in Figure 9, the indicator 18 con¬ sists of a main body 24 on which is slidably and rota- tably mounted and elongated distance rule 25, the distance rule carrying the distance indicia 19 and the main body carrying angular indicia 21.

Referring next to Figures 10 and 11, the player is provided with three ball elements 26 and the indicator 18 is provided with an origin receptor 27 for a first ball element 26 and a terminal receptor 28 for a second ball element 26.

As shown in Figure 9, the distance rule 25 is formed with a longitudinal slot 29. A pivot pin 31 extends from the main body 24 of the indicator and lies in the slot. The origin receptor 27 is formed on the main body adjacent to pivot pin 31. The main body is provided with rearwardly-directed angled edges 32 and 33 having the angular indicia 21, while the distance rule 25 has spaced parallel edges 34 and 35 that are adapted to be aligned with the angular indicia 21 to select the lateral location of the terminal receptor 28.

Turning now to Figure 11, it can be seen that the ball element 26 consists of disk 36 forward of clear sheet plastic with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side that adheres lightly to the surface of the board, the disk bearing a small ball print 37 and a player- identifying indicia 38.

A set of board 14 consists of nine boards, each board having one "hole" portion 15 of a golf course, with its tee 16 and its green 17 and fairway.

In Figures 1 and- 4, it can be seen that the base 11 has four edges 39, 41, 42, and 43. Ridges 44, 45,

46, and 47 are provided parallel to and spaced inwardly from the edges. These ridges provide an enclosure for the said recess 12 for the boards, for supporting each player's cards, and for embracing the inner surface 48 of a cover 49 (Figures 2 and 3) that is used where the game is not being played. The ridges act as back walls for dice casting, as will be described hereinafter. They also reinforce and stiffen the base when it is formed of thin plastic. The base is provided with recesses 51, 52, 53, and- 54 for .each set 22 of cards, each recess being generally rectangular with a cavity 55, 56 at each end of a central table 57 to permit tilting and removal of the cards from their recesses. The base 11 is provided with grooves 58, 59, 60, and 61 for each player's cards, each groove lying between a ridge and the adjacent edge of the base. Each groove is segmented to receive sub-sets of the set 22 of cards, the sub-sets being devoted to woods, irons, and specials.

It can be seen, then, that the golf game 10 comprises a board 14 having a representation of a por¬ tion 15 of a golf course, including a tee 16 and a green 17. An indicator 18 is provided adapted to lie on the board to dictate the movement of the golf ball element 26 from the tee to the green, the indicator having distance indicia 19 and angle indicia 21.

A set 22 of cards is provided for each player, each card being representative of a particular golf club and carrying a selection of distances and angles within the range normally served by the particular golf club. The said selection consists of combinations of distance and angle and means is provided to select a particular combination by chance. There are 11 com¬ binations on each card, and the means is a standard pair of dice.

The operation and advantages of the present inven¬ tion will now be readily understood in view of the above description. In a practical embodiment of the invention, the set of boards consisted of 9 boards with a representation of a golf hold printed on each side, thus giving a total of 18 holes. Four sets of cards were provided, the faces of each set being printed in one of four distinctive colors; the face of each card carried an indication of the club to be used (except for certain specialty cards and a putting card). Each set had 5 woods, namely a driver, a #3 wood for use in a tee shot, a #3 wood used in a fairway shot, a #4 wood, and a #5 wood. Each set also had 9 irons, namely #3 through #9 irons, a pitching wedge, and a sand wedge. Each set had 5 specialty situation cards, namely greenside bunker, fairway bunker, recovery, half-wedge, and chip shot plus a putting card. There were 12 golf ball markers or elements, three each num¬ bered 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Before beginning play, the set of boards is arranged in the recess 12 in the base, so that the first hold is on top and the first nine holes are arranged sequentially. Each of the four players is

provided with a set of club cards. Each player separa¬ tes his cards into three groups (woods, irons, and spe¬ cialties, including the putting card) and he places them in the three segmentations of his respective groove 58, 59, 60, or 61. The order of play on hole #1 is determined by rolling the dice. On subsequent holes, the order is- determined by causing the player with the winning score on the previous hole to play first.

The object of the golf game is the same as in actual golf, i.e., to complete the circuit in as few strokes as possible. To begin play, the first player places his ball element 26 between the two markers on the tee 16 of the board. He chooses a club card from among his woods or irons. The #3 wood (fairway), spe¬ cialty, and putting cards cannot be used for shots off the tee. The player places the selected club card on the board (hole #1) with back side up, so that the chart or selection 23 is showing. Once a card has been so placed, it cannot be changed.

The player then places the shot locator or indica¬ tor 18 on the board, the main body 24 being arranged on the distance rule 25 so that the angle indicia "0" shows on both sides of the edges 34 and 35 of the rule. The player places the indicator on the board so that the origin receptor 27 exactly overlies the ball ele¬ ment 26 previously placed on the tee 16. He presses the main body, so that it cannot move relative to the ^■ distance rule then directs the distance rule in the direction he would like the ball to go.

The player then rolls the dice and notes the number thus indicated. Since the exposed back of the selected club card has 11 combinations, the dice roll

determines which combination of distance and angle he must use. He presses the lateral extensions on the main body 24 of the indicator against the surface of the board so that the main body cannot move; he then slides the distance rule 25 to the distance dictated by the card and then rotates it to the angle. The distance indicia 19 are brought into registry with the semi-circular edge at the top of the main body 24. The angle, of course, represents a variation of a look of a certain degree away from the desired straight shot

(either off-line left or off-line right). Because of the natural probabilities built into the pair of dice, the number "7" (and its adjacent numbers "6" and "8") will appear most often and, in the practical embodiment of the invention, the most excellent shots are generally dictated by the card when those numbers appear.

When the indicator has been adjusted in accordance with the instructions thus dictated by the dice and the club card, the player places a second ball element 26 in the terminal receptor 28. He then picks up the indicator and his first ball element (from the tee). He then passes the indicator and the dice to the next player. Once each player has completed his tee shot, the players continue to advance their balls toward the green and the hold, the most remote ball being always played first.

When the players are playing on par 3 holes, the left-hand scale along the edge 34 on the distance rule is used. For all other holes (par 4 and 5) the right- hand scale along the edge 35 is used.

In the practical embodiment of the invention, the rule is established that the #3 wood (tee shot) cannot be used after leaving the tee. Similarly, the #3 wood (fairway) cannot be used for a tee shot. The putting and driving cards cannot be used other than on the green or on the tee, respectively.

Also, in the preferred embodiment of the inven¬ tion, there are provided several cards for the spe¬ cialty shots that may occur during play and the player may only use the proper card for that special situation. For instance, the CHIP SHOT card is used for all shots which are 30 yards or closer to the flagstick and are not in a water hazard, in a bunker, out of bounds, or covered by recovery shots (explained below). The GREENSIDE BUNKER card is used for all bunker shots that are less than 50 yards from the nearest edge of the green. The FAIRWAY BUNKER card is used for a bunker shot that is 50 yards or more from the green. A HALF WEDGE card may be used for all shots that are more than 30 yards, except shots in the water, bunker out of bounds, or those covered by recovery shots. A RECOVERY SHOT card is for use for all shots which leave the fairway, except shots in the water, out of bounds, or those covered by the other specialty shot cards, i.e., CHIP SHOT, GREENSIDE BUNKER, FAIRWAY

BUNKER, and PARTIAL WEDGE cards. Therefore, none of the specialty cards can be used on the tee or the green.

The boards 14 in the practical embodiment carry illustrations of holes or portions 15 of various actual golf courses. The illustrations are drawn to approxi¬ mate scale and red markers are used on both sides of the fairway, particularly on the par 4 and par 5 holes, to show 200 yards to the flagstick. It is common

knowledge that the maximum distances attainable by a better-than-average golfer with the various clubs is as follows:

Woods Irons Irons

Driver 240 yards #3 190 #8 140

#3 220 #4 180 #9 120

#4 210 #5 170 Pitching wedge 100

#5 200 #6 160 Sand wedge 60 #7 150

Since most shots in actual golf do not usually provide the maximum possible distance, the average distances are approximately 20 yards less than the minimum. This information is used in developing the combination selections on the backs of the club cards.

When a player reaches the green 17, the distance from the hole will have been determined by the last card used. Many of the specialty cards carry instruc¬ tions as to how far from the hole the ball is to be placed; if not, the distance is measured by the use of a scale printed on the back of the PUTTING card. There are 4 possible putts which will face the player, these representing short, medium, and long putting situations. These distances are putts under 10 feet, putts 10 to 20 fee, putts 20 to 40 feet and putts that are over 40 feet.

Now, putting takes place by use of the dice. Naturally, the degree of difficulty experienced in putting is reflected by the chart on the PUTTING card. The dice rolls required to successfully putt are as follows:

Distance of Putt Roll Required to Make Under 10 feet Any number from 12 through 6. 10 to 20 feet Any number from 12 through 8. 20 to 40 feet Any number from 12 through 10. Over 40 feet Only 12.

If the player misses his first putt, any roll on the second roll other than "doubles" will give him a successful putt for a 2-putt green. If he roll ^' s doubles, however, the player must record a 3-putt score for that hole; he does not roll the dice again.

It is, of course, best if each player records his score on a score card immediately after each hole is completed. Also, unless otherwise noted, the players should play in accordance with the Official Rules of Golf as placed in effect by the United States Golf

Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Special local rules have been developed for the actual holes illustrated on the boards 14 and these have been adopted in the play of the present invention.

It can be seen, then, that the skills necessary in the actual game of golf are useful in playing the pre¬ sent golf game. This is particularly true in the selection of woods and irons for the proper range of distances. It is also true in the selection of the direction of flight of the ball to avoid hazards and to proceed to the green. For instance, in the case of a dog-leg, some players will proceed carefully into the corner of the fairway and out again, while others will try the "short-cut" and risk landing in the rough, hazard, or out-of-bounds. A degree of chance is pre¬ sent, however, because of the moves dictated by the roll of the dice, but this element of luck is also pre¬ sent in the actual game of golf.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is: