Golf is an extremely popular sport and it will be appreciated that, during a conventional round of golf, a golfer will typically"tee-off"once at the start of each hole by placing his ball on a tee and using a golf club to strike the golf ball in its stationery position on the tee. Conventionally, golf tees have an upper part in the form of an inverted inverted conical frustrum or bell-mouth, which provides an upwardly open recess on which a golf ball may be firmly placed, and a single axially extending prong extending from the upper part to allow the tee to be fixed in the ground with the open recess facing upwards.

In golf tees of the prior art, the golf tee flies out of the ground on impact with the golfer's club and breaks into pieces and/or is lost on the golf course. Also, in most of the prior art golf tees, the underside of the golf ball touches the tee when the golf ball is placed on the concave surface of the golf tee. As a result, the golf club makes full contact with the golf tee as well as the golf ball, thus causing a slight misplacement of the golf ball with respect to the club head.

Such misplacement causes a golf ball to deviate from its intended trajectory.

Also in most of the prior art golf tees, the golf club makes full impact with the golf tee as well as the golf ball thus the energy of the golf club is imparted to the golf tee as well as the ball. Such absorption of a small amount of the energy of the golf club by the golf tee slightly reduces the energy imparted to the golf ball by the golf club thus causing some reduction in the distance travelled by the golf ball. Although, this reduction in the distance travelled is small and of the order of a few feet, it can be critical in the sport of golf.

The present invention is directed to an improved golf tee.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a golf tee having an upper portion affording a recess to locate the lower surface of a golf ball and having a lower portion branching into a plurality of prongs or legs for insertion into the ground.

Preferably, the prongs have a tapered shape to facilitate insertion into the ground.

Whilst, in the preferred embodiment, the lower portion of the tee is simply bifurcated, thus providing two legs, variants may have three, four or more legs preferably extending in a common plane, and in approximately the same direction as one another.

According to another aspect of the invention there are provided corrugated features on the side surface of the two tapered prongs to enable the golfer to firmly grip the prongs between the thumb and the forefinger so as to exert some inward pressure on the prongs. Such inward pressure results in a slight decrease in the distance between the two prongs such that when the prongs are inserted into the ground, and the pressure exerted by the golfer is released, the prongs exert an outward force on the surrounding earth, thus"gripping"the surrounding earth and keeping the tee firmly anchored into the ground even after the golf ball is hit with the full force of the golfer's drive.

Preferably, the tee has a visually striking appearance when it is inserted into the ground, for example the concave surface of the tee defining the recess on which the golf ball is located may be brightly coloured and/or reflective. Thus, after the golfer has struck the ball during the swing he may continue to look at the tee (which remains fixed in the ground as described above), for a desired period after the ball has been struck. It is envisaged that by continuing to focus on the tee in such a way after the ball has been struck, the golfer will be encouraged to keep his head down immediately after the ball has been struck, thereby avoiding the common swing fault of lifting the head during the swing.

The golf tee in accordance with the present invention affords more secure fixing of the tee in the ground. In addition, the multi-pronged lower portion allows the tee to be used as a fork for repairing pitch marks. Additionally, the limbs or prongs of the lower portion may also be used to clear earth etc. from the soles of the user's shoe.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a combination of a golf tee with a ball marker detachably secured to the golf tee and re-securable to the golf tee.

In such a combination, the ball marker may have the form of a plate or disc with a prong or stem projecting from one face of the disc or plate and the golf tee may have a bore or aperture adapted to receive said prong or stem as an interference fit.

Alternatively, the ball marker may have the form of a plate or disc with an aperture therethrough and the golf tee may have a prong or stem projecting therefrom and sized to be an interference fit in said aperture.

Where the ball marker has a prong or stem extending therefrom for engagement in a bore or aperture in the golf tee, the bore or aperture may extend laterally through or into the body of the golf tee from one side thereof.

Alternatively, the upper portion of the golf tee may have, extending from the upper end thereof, a bore to receive said prong or stem of the ball marker so that the ball marker can be fitted to the top of the tee body, and in this case the upper surface of the ball marker is made concave or otherwise affords an upwardly open recess for secure location of a golf ball placed thereon.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the outer rim formed by the upwardly facing recess may be'castellated', with sections of the rim being cut away to leave a discontinuous rim formed from a series of projections or castellations. Thus, when a golf ball is placed on the tee, the area of contact between the golf ball and rim is reduced, allowing the golf ball to be struck more'cleanly'during the swing. In a preferred embodiment, the rim is almost entirely cut away along certain sections to ensure a clean contact between clubhead and ball, and hence reduced impedance of the ball as it leaves the tee after being struck by the golf club.

In another aspect of the invention, the tee may be provided with a specific area that can be used to carry advertising information in the form of text, pictures or images. Such advertising information can be imparted onto the specific area by processes such as molding, adhesive transfer and printing such as ink jet printing. Preferably, the specific area is in the form of a circular, substantially flat area.

Embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first form of golf tee embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view from below of the tee of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment in an assembled condition; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the golf tee of Figure 3 showing a ball marker detached from the tee; Figure 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment; Figure 6 is a side view of the embodiment of Figure 4, partly in phantom; Figure 7 is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 4 but showing the ball marker detached from the tee; Figure 8 is a plan view from above showing a golf ball seated on a tee embodying the invention and incorporating an aiming device; Figure 9 is a perspective view of a further embodiment, showing the castellated rim according to one aspect of the present invention; and Figure 10 shows a side view of the embodiment of Figure 9, further incorporating the feature of"breaks"in the castellated rim.

Referring to Figure 1, the golf tee shown has an upper part similar to that of a conventional golf tee and thus in the form of an inverted conical frustrum or bell-mouth providing an upwardly open recess on which a golf ball may be firmly seated. However, instead of the single axially extending prong of a conventional golf tee, the lower part of the golf tee of Figure 1 is bifurcated, providing two legs or prongs 20 projecting downwardly for insertion in the ground to support the tee and the ball thereon. In the preferred embodiment, the upper part of the golf tee has a waisted form, and widens below the waist to accommodate the upper ends of the legs or prongs20. The legs or prongs 20 may, as illustrated, diverge downwardly somewhat. Preferably, as indicated in the underneath plan view of Figure 2, the prongs 20 are of somewhat flattened configuration so as to be wider in the common plane of the legs than in a plane at right-angles thereto. The twin prongs, when inserted in the ground, support the tee more firmly than the single prong of the conventional golf tee and thus support the golf ball more stably prior to it being hit. Furthermore, the twin prongs 20 allow the tee to be used as a fork for repairing pitch marks, so that a player can repair pitch marks, as golfing etiquette encourages.

The golf tee illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 has generally the same configuration as that of Figures 1 and 2 and affords the same advantages, but additionally incorporates, conveniently, a ball marker detachably and replaceably carried by the body of the tee. More particularly, as shown in Figure 4, the ball marker comprises a disc 30, with a central downwardly depending prong or spike 32 projecting axially downwardly from its underside. For storage, the disc 30 is fitted on top of the tee body 24, with the prong or spike 32 engaging, as an interference fit, in a vertical bore 26 extending into the tee body 24 from the upper end thereof. In this condition, as illustrated in Figure 3, the disc portion 30 of the ball marker forms the upper end of the tee. The upper end of the ball marker disc 30 may be upwardly concave or recessed to allow a golf ball to be located securely thereon and to allow the tee to be used as golf tee with the ball marker in place on the tee body 24 as illustrated in Figure 3. Alternatively, the ball marker disc 30 may be entirely flat on its upper surface and the upper end of the tee body 24 may be upwardly concave or otherwise formed with an upwardly open recess, with the bore 26 extending downwardly into the tee body from the bottom of this recess, the arrangement being such that the ball marker 30 has to be removed for use of the tee as a golf tee. Of course, even where the upper end of the tee body 24 is concave or otherwise recessed in this manner, the upper surface of the ball marker disc 30 may likewise be upwardly concave, so that the combination may be used as a golf tee without removing the ball marker and yet so that if the ball marker should become detached or lost, the tee body 24 may still be used as a golf tee.

In a further variant of the arrangement of Figures 3 and 4, in which the upper end of the tee body 24 is itself formed as a concave or recessed surface capable of stably supporting a golf ball, the disc 30 of the ball marker is flat when it is in an undetached condition, but is sufficiently flexible to adopt an upwardly concave configuration when the ball marker is pushed firmly into place in the top of the tee body 24.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 to 7, there is again provided a bifurcated golf tee in combination with a ball marker, which is detachable from and replaceable on the body of the golf tee. The embodiment of Figures 5 to 7 differs from that of Figures 3 and 4 in that, in Figures 5 to 7, the central prong 32 (shown in broken lines in Figure 6) of the ball marker is received, when the ball marker is not in use, as an interference fit in a transverse bore through the body of the tee, such bore extending generally perpendicularly to the common plane of the two prongs or legs 20 of the golf tee, so that, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, in the stowed condition, the ball marker disc 30 lies flat against the body of the tee in a plane generally parallel with the common plane of the legs 20. Figure 7 illustrates the ball marker detached from the tee.

In an alternative arrangement, (not shown), the ball marker disc may have a central aperture and the body of the tee may have a lateral projection or prong which can be received as an interference fit in the central aperture in the marker disc when the marker is in the stowed position, which may be substantially the same position as that illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.

As illustrated in Figure 8 schematically, a tee in accordance with the invention may have a stalk or quill projecting, in the common plane of the legs 20, in a direction which is substantially horizontal when the tee is inserted into the ground, this stalk or quill, indicated at 40 in Figure 8, being of such a length as to project slightly beyond the perimeter of a golf ball supported on the tee, (as viewed from above) so as to serve as an aid to aiming the stroke to be made. In this case, in use, the tee will be inserted so that the legs 20 and the quill or pointer 40 extends in the intended direction of the drive. It is to be noted that in this variant the quill or pointer 40 will be provided only on one side of the tee and will be arranged to the front of the tee, thereby avoiding the risk that, in making the stoke, the head of the club might strike a rearward projection before reaching the ball, thereby displacing the ball and leading to a possible inaccuracy of the shot.

Referring now to Figure 9, the rim of the upwardly open recess forming the upper part of the tee may be castellated so as to form a series of castellations 31 (of which only one is labelled in Figure 9). The castellations 31 together form a castellated rim surrounding the upwardly open recess of the upper part of the tee such that, when a golf ball is placed upon the tee, the contact area between the ball and the rim of the upwardly open recess is reduced, thereby reducing the contact area between the club face and tee when the golf ball is struck and increasing the transfer of power between the club face and the golf ball as the golf ball is struck.

The castellations 31 may be formed integrally with the main body of the tee, as shown in Figure 9, or they may be formed separately and subsequently attached to the rim of the tee by, for example, gluing. It would be appreciated that, although the castellations 31 shown in Figure 9 are of roughly bell-shaped cross-section any number of cross-sections are contemplated, the only constraint on the cross-section of the castellations being that, together, the castellations must provide, either alone or in conjunction with the concave surface of the tee, a stable contact area for the golf ball so as to ensure secure seating of the golf ball upon the tee.

Turning now to Figure 10, the castellated rim formed by castellations 31 may incorporate one or more whole sections 32 where the rim is cut-way to the level of the base of the castellations 31 so as to form a"break"in the series of castellations. Preferably, there are two such sections formed in the castellated rim and, in use, the golfer orientates the tee so that, when a golf ball is placed on the tee, the sections 32 are positioned on the ball-to-target line and act to yet further reduce the contact area between the club face and castellated rim as the golf club strikes the ball, as well as reducing any impedance of the golf ball as it departs the tee after being struck.

In a contemplated embodiment (not shown) the castellated rim, in its simplest form, may comprise only two castellations and two cut away sections in between the two castellations, the tee once again being orientated so that the cut away sections both lie on the ball-to-target line. It is envisaged that this simpler form of the castellated rim may be easier and cheaper to manufacture than the castellated rim shown in Figure 9.

As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the tee may also be provided with a textured region, preferably in the shape of a corrugated region 33, to help the golfer to grip the two prongs 20 and force them towards each other before inserting the tee into the ground. As mentioned previously, forcing the prongs 20 together in such a way before inserting them into the ground causes each of the prongs 20 to exert an outward and opposite force, once the prongs are released, which acts to"grip"the surrounding earth and secure the tee firmly in place during the time of impact of the golf club with the golf ball. Of course, any number of textured surfaces may be used to form the textured regions 33, provided that the texture will allow the golfer to firmly grip the prongs 20 as required. Of course, it would be appreciated that, although the corrugated regions 33 are only shown in the present specification in conjunction with the castellated rim of Figures 9 and 10, such textured regions may equally be incorporated into any other embodiment of the invention, in particular those embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 8.

Tees and tee/ball marker combinations in accordance with the invention can be made of plastics, wood, metal, shape memory materials or biodegradable material.

In the present specification"comprise"means"includes or consists of'and "comprising"means"including or consisting of.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.