The invention relates to golf practising apparatus, com¬ prising a housing which accommodates a rotatable drum or capstan for taking up and paying out a line fastened to the capstan and to which a golf ball can be attached to the free end thereof.

Apparatus for practising tennis strokes are known in which ε tennis ball is attached to a rubber cere and the free end of the cord is firmly anchored in some suitable mεnner, such that when the tennis ball is struck the rubber cord is stretched and tensioned so that the ball will return to the player, enabling a further stroke to be made.

Apparatus of this kind cannot be used for practising golf strokes, mainly because the mass of a gclf ball is so large that if the line were permitted to return the golf ball in ε manner similar to the aforedescribed tennis ball, the golf ball could cause serious injury and damage to the player and the surrounding respectively, and also due to the fact that the line thicknesses required to ensure that the line will not break when striking a golf ball are of such high values as to cause movement of the ball to deviate excessively from its natural movement.

Accordingly, it is a main object of the invention to provide apparatus of the aforedescribed kind which incorporates a thin line and which enables the ball to be returned without risk of injury or damage.

This main object is fully achieved bv means of the invention defined in the following claims and describee hereinafter with reference to an exemplifying embodiment thereof illu¬ strated in the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 illustrates a line catch arrangement; and Figure 3 illustrates the capstan provided with a brake and return spring.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 1 includes ε housing 1 which come is s two mutually identical and mutually parallel side members 2, 3 which are made of metal or some other mechanically strong material, such εs glass-fibre reinforced plastic, and which are connected together by means of cross-ties ^ 5 or similar spacing devices. A line drum or capstan 7 is mounted on a stationary central shaft 6 extending between the sice members 2, 3. As will best be seen from Figure 2, the capstan 7 comprises a cylinder 8 having peripheral flanges 9 (only one such flange being shown in Figure 2). Mounted concentrically in the cylinder 8, with the aid of ties 10, 11, 12, 13, is ε brake drum 14 provided with end walls, e.g. the end wall 15 shown in Figure 2, in which the stationary or fixed shaft 6 is mounted. The brake drum 14 of the illustrated embodiment has fitted thereto a helical spring, or coil spring, 16 whose one end 17 is attached to the drum 14 and the other end 18 of which is attached to the shaft 16. The arrangement is such that when the line 19 is unwound from the drum 7, the spring 16 is tensioned and exerts a progressively increasing braking force on the drum 7. The spring 16 is preferably dimensioned so that it will function as a return spring sub¬ sequent to the line 19 having been partially or fully un¬ wound from the drum 7, so that the line will be wound auto- matically back onto the drum. The line 19 preferably has ε length of 30 meters and is substantially non-stretchable or, in all events, only slightly stretchable, and consists, e.g., of a plaited line having a diameter of 1.5 - 2 mm. As illustrated in Figure 1, the housing 1 is provided with an anchorage 20 by means of which the apparatus can be εncho-

red to the ground, said anchorεge in the illustrεted case hεving the form of ε rod whose upper end pεrt 21 is firmly connected to the side member 2. The free end-pεrt of the roc is mounted for free rotation in a pipe or tube 22, which can be driven substantially vertically into the ground. The hou¬ sing 1 is therewith εble to swing freely around a vertical axis. Mounted on the side member 2 is εr. elongated line guide 23 which is made of spring steel or some other suit¬ able material and which carries or. its free end ε ring, eye or some other guide means 2*-* which embrεces the line 19 ar.c permits said line to pas? freely therethrough. Attached te the end of the line 19 located externally of the guide devi¬ ce 2*4 is a stop member 25 which in the illustrated cεsε has the form of a ball which is unable to pass through the cper.- ing in the guide device. The stop member 25 is also connec¬ ted to a thin line 26 made of a highly stretchable elastic material, for example a line made of natural rubber, this outer line being much shorter than the line 19, and hεving ε length of, e.g., 2-3 meters.

When the helical spring 16 is dimensioned to return the golf ball 27 attached to the outer end of the line 19 to the position from which the ball was driven, it may be desired to prevent the golf ball from being returned, and conse- quently the illustrated apparatus is also provided with ε locking device. An exemplifying embodiment of such a .-locking device is illustrated in Figures 1 and 3- Thus, a locking arm 29 is arranged for free pivotal movement on a shaft 28 extending between the side members 2 and 3. One end of the locking arm 29 is journalled on the shaft 28 and consequent¬ ly, when the apparatus is operative and the line 19 runs out in the manner illustrated in Figure 1, the locking arm will tend to swing anticlockwise in Figure 3 to the position shown in full lines, in which a locking hook 30 lies against the outwardly running line 19 and presses the line lightly against an anvil surface 31- The braking force exerted on

the line 19 is quite negligible. When the spring 16 begins to return the line, the locking hook will engage the line and cause the locking arm 29 to swing in a clockwise direc¬ tion, so that the right-hand edge part 32 of the arm, as seen in Figure 3, clamps the line firmly against the anvil and therewith prevents further winding of the line 19 ontc the capstan 7.

If, on the other hand, it is desired that the golf ball will always be returnee tc the location from which it was struck, the locking device is released, by roving a lock ⁱ ng pin 11 having a conical lower end εxiεlly in a groove 3^ (Figure 1} provided in a support plate 35 arranged between the side members to the position shown in broker, lines in Figure 3, whereafter the conical end of said locking pin is moved downwardly by turning the pin 33 with the aid of a knob 36. The locking pin 3 is screwed into a nut 37 firmly connected to the support plate 3^. The conical end of the locking pin engages with an abutment 38 and swings the locking arm 29 to the position shown in broken lines, in which the locking arm is out of contact with the line 19.

When using the described apparatus, the golf ball is placed on the ground and the line 19 wound fully onto the capstan 7. When the golf ball is struck it is assumed that the ball will travel obliquely relative to the line guide 23- The line guide will rotate the housing 1, at the same time as the elastic line 26 is placed under tension, such that the line guide points in the direction of the ball. The large force acting on the elastic line 26 when the ball is struck causes the line 26 to stretch and absorb the abrupt jerk that occurs, while said force is successively applied to the non-stretchable line 19, such that the cεpstεr. 7 will rotate in an acceptable fashion and excessive feed of the line from the capstan is prevented by the braking force exerted by the helical spring 16, this force increasing progressive!v as

the line 19 runs off the capstan 7. When the line has reached the ground, which according to the aforegoing implies that the golf ball has been driven a distance of about 15-20 meters, the line, together with the golf ball, can be drawn back to the place from which the golf ball wεs driven and wound onto the capstan, it being assumed in this case that the spring 16 functions as a line return soring, although it will be understood that the capstan 7 can be turned manually by means of devices not shown. When using the illustrated apparatus, there is no danger of the golf ball being slung back and injuring the player or causing damage to the surroundings, and the provision of the pro¬ gressive braking device, which in the illustrated embodiment comprises the spring 16, and the stretchable short line 2β eliminates all risk of the capstan rotating too rapidly and therewith tangling the line 19. The most important function of the stop device 24 is that of preventing the stretchable, short line 26 from being wound onto the capstan 7 and, in a stretched state, forming mutually locking turns which can cause damage to the line when attempting to loosen the same.