This invention relates to sporting or recreational balls of the kind which are arranged to be impelled through the air. In particular the invention relates to practice go balls of the kind that can be used by golfers to practice th strokes without the need to use a practice range or a practi net but the invention may be used with other types of sporti balls.

Practice golf balls have been known in the past. O known kind of practice golf ball consists of a light hollow plastics ball which is perforated so that when the ball is struck by the golf club there is considerable air resistance relative to the momentum of the ball and therefore the ball travels only a short distance before the air resistance decelerates the ball thereby allowing the ball to drop to the ground. A problem with this golf ball is that the ball has a considerably different appearance to a regulation playing gol ball and also the "feel" produced upon striking of the ball b the club, due to the ball being very light, is quite differen from a regulation golf ball and this produces psychological differences for the practiser between the practice stroke and stroke played during a golf game. However another more important drawback with this type of practice golf ball is th the flight of the golf ball does not provide a great deal of information to the practiser regarding the practice stroke th has been played. In particular the golf ball is retarded by the air resistance so rapidly that it is difficult to tell whether the ball has been hooked or sliced and also the dista travelled by the ball is only arbitrarily related to the powe of the stroke because wind substantially affects that distanc Another type of practice golf ball comprises a regulation gol ball which is tethered in some way, usually including some elastic component in the tethering line so that the ball retu to the practiser after the stroke. The flight of such a prac tice golf ball is determined to a large extent by the tetheri line so that information on the stroke played conveyed to the practiser by the flight of the practice golf ball is limited. Also, of course, the use of a practice net denies the practis much information on the stroke that can be conveyed by the flight of the ball. It is an object of the present invention

a practice sporting or recreational ball which will have many characteristics in common with standard balls but which will not travel as far under the same impelling force.

It is a preferred object of the present invention t provide a practice golf ball which can be constructed to prov an identical or at least similar "feel" to the practiser when struck by the club face, which will travel only a relatively short distance and yet can give an indication of the spin imparted to the ball by the club face. According to the present invention, there is provid a practice sporting or recreational ball arranged to be impel through the air, the ball including a body and a drag member securable to the body, the drag member being arranged so as t trail behind the body and to apply a substantial drag force t the body when the ball is impelled through the air. Although the singular term "drag member" will be used throughout the specification, it will be appreciated that a plurality of dra components may constitute the "drag member".

In the case of a practice golf ball, the drag membe is preferably flexible and elongated so that it can be readil laid in front of, beside, underneath or even behind the spherical body for playing of a practice stroke and so that t drag member will- trail behind the body after being struck.

The drag member may be a separate component securab to the body, however preferably the drag member is permanentl secured to the body so that the possibility of the body separ¬ ating from the drag member when the ball is impelled through the air is minimised. The drag member may be secured to the body by means of an anchoring lug or ferrule embedded in the The drag member may include a tail member in the general form of a flat ribbon. The tail member may be secure to the body by a cord (or by several cords) so that the tail member trails some distance behind the body when it is impell through the air. Preferably the cord is relatively stiff so as to impart spin on the body to the tail member. Alternativ a suitable chain may be used, the chain being suited to the transmission of any spin on the body to the tail member.

A preferred embodiment of the invention as applied a golf ball will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

The practice golf ball illustrated in the drawing includes a generally spherical body 10 and a drag member 20 secured to the body 10. The drag member 20 is elongated and

flexible so as to trail behind the body 10 and to apply a substantial drag force to the body 10 when the ball is impelled through the air.

The golf ball body 10 may be of generally conventio construction and in fact the body 10 may be a regulation golf ball. For example, as shown in the drawing the body 10 includes a solid core 12 such as a wound core or a core consisting of a solid block. The outer casing 14 of the body 10 is generally conventional, being provided with conventiona dimples and markings so that the golf ball can be laid on the ground or teed up to present an appearance substantially identical to a standard golf ball.

The drag member 20 may be a separate component securable to a conventional golf ball so as to remain secured to the body 10 when the ball is impelled through the air. For example, the elongated flexible drag member 20 may be securable to a standard golf ball by means of a pocket, cage or sack being formed at one end of the drag member 20 and arranged to closely receive therein a standard golf ball. However, as shown in the drawing, the drag member

20 preferably is permanently secured to the body 10 in a manner so that the possibility of the body 10 breaking away from the drag member 20 is minimised. The drag member 20 may be secured to the body 10 in any convenient manner. For example, there may be provided a projection or anchoring lug firmly secured to the body 10 to which the drag member 20 is in turn firmly attached. The lug may be a generally U-shaped loop and be securely anchored to the body 10 such as during fabrication of the body in any convenient manner. For exampl the lug may be provided with an enlarged base which is embedd in the body 10 beneath the outer casing 14 so that the lug cannot be readily separated from the body 10 without causing substantial damage to the casing 14.

Alternatively, as shown in the drawing, there may b provided an anchoring ferrule 16 embedded in the body 10, the drag member 20 being secured to the ferrule 16. For example the cord 24 may have the ferrule 16 crimped around its inner end. The ferrule 16 may be embedded in the body 10 in any convenient manner. For example, the body 10 may be a convent- ional wound or solid core golf ball which may be frozen to

harden the core, after which the bore 18 can be drilled and the ferrule 16 inserted into the bore 18. The ferrule 16 ca be retained in place by use of adhesive such as an epoxy glu

The drag member 20 may be made of any suitable material such as a fabric or a plastics material. For examp dacron fabric of the kind used as sail-cloth may be used. The drag member 20 includes a tail member 22 shown in the drawing in the general form of a flat ribbon. Alternatively the tail member 22 may be tubular so as to form an air sock or the like during the flight of the practice golf ball so that the drag formed by the trailing of the sock behind the body 10 is substantial. The tail member 22 is secured to the body 10 by a fine string, cord or line 24 so as to trail a distance behind the body 10 when it is- impelled through the air. The cord 24 is relatively stiff so as to impart spin o the body 10 to the tail member 22. Accordingly the cord 24 is preferably a woven cord rather than simply a wound line.

In use of the practice golf ball as described abov the drag member 20 may be laid along the ground in front of the body 10 before playing of the practice stroke, i.e. laid to extend in the direction in which the stroke is to be play This can be used to aim the practice stroke and the line of t drag member 20 provides a marker line for the practiser who can try to ensure that the club head travels along the marker line at least at the moment of impact of the club face with the body 10. Of course, it is desirable to place the region where the drag member 20 is joined to the body 10 somewhere other than the rear of the golf ball where the ball will be struck by the club face. This is to ensure that the "feel" will approximate a conventional golf ball and also to ensure that the club face contacts a conventional dimpled portion of the outer casing 14 of the body 10, thereby imparting any spin in the same manner that the club face would impart to a conventional golf ball. When the ball is struck by the club face the body 10 commences upon a trajectory the same as a conventional golf ball would. The drag member 20 lifts up an follows the body 10 so as to retard the flight. Any spin imparted to the body 10 will be imparted somewhat to the tail member 22 through the cord 24. For example, if the body 10 i struck with an open club face imparting slice to the body 10,

the body 10 will have a component of clockwise rotation in flight when viewed from above (if the stroke is played by a right handed golfer) . This clockwise rotation of the ball, together with the usual backspin imparted to the ball, will cause the tail member 22 to spiral or define a helix as it drags behind the body 10 in flight particularly towards the end of the trajectory. The clockwise direction of the helix when viewed by the golfer will provide an indication of the spin imparted to the ball. If the ball is hooked, the direct of the helical movement of the drag member will be in the opposite direction.

Any suitable dimensions for the drag member 20 may used. For example it has been found that the cord 24 can be 25 - 30 cm in length and the tail member 22 can be 80 - 90 cm in length. The width of the tail member 22 can increase from about 3 cm where the cord 24 is attached to about 9 cm at its outer end. However it will be appreciated that these dimensions are merely exemplary.

Furthermore, numerous variations, refinements and modifications of the preferred embodiment are possible. For example, liquid core golf balls can be used, the anchoring lug or ferrule being secured to the casing and the casing sealed so as to prevent leakage of the liquid core material. Also as shown in the drawing, a pocket 26 can be formed in the outer end of the tail member 22 for compact storage of the ball. The body 10 would be inserted in the pocket 26 and then the cord and remainder of the tail member can be folded and tucked into the pocket 26. The pocket 26 can be formed by folding the end of the tail member 22 back upon itself and stitching or glueing along the opposite edges 28, leaving an open mouth 30.

The configuration of the drag member 20 can be varied widely. For example, apart from the flat ribbon and wind sock possibilities already described, it is possible to provide a drag member 20 in the form of a plurality of ribbon or streamers which trail behind the body 10.

It is expected that the practice golf ball accordin to the present invention and described in detail with referen to the drawing will travel somewhat further than the light hollow perforated practice golf ball known in the

therefore the distance travelled will provide a more accurat indication of the power of the stroke and momentum actually imparted to the ball. The "feel" of the practice stroke wil of course closely approximate the "feel" of the stroke of a conventional golf ball.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to practice golf balls, however it will be appreciated that the inventive concept can be applied to other sporting and recreational balls. Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be made to the construction and arrangement of parts as herein describe without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

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