This invention relates to golf apparatus and is particularly concerned with apparatus for teeing-up golf balls.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for teeing-up golf balls which includes means that defines an upwardly-projecting tee and wherein ball- lifting means is selectively actuable for lifting an individual ball from a loading position adjacent the base of the tee, to an upper position for discharge onto the tee.

The present invention has the advantage of overcoming a problem experienced with earlier forms of teeing-up apparatus in which the means defining the tee is first moved down to floor level or below for the teeing-up operation, and then, as loaded with the ball, is raised up again ready for teeing-off. Movement of the tee, first down and then up, between strikes can readily lead to uncertainty in the stability, and possibly also in the height, of the tee with respect to the floor or ground on which the golfer is standing. With the present invention, the tee-defining means may be fixed with respect to the floor or ground such that uncertainty in stability and height of the tee can be eliminated, movement between strikes being confined to that of the ball-lifting means alone in lifting the ball and discharging it onto the tee.

The supply of balls to the loading position, which may be at or below floor or ground level, may be by means of a downwardly-inclined chute or other track along which the balls are delivered one behind the other. Delivery of

the balls to the loading position may be blocked while the arm or other ball-lifting means is in its actuated condition, by means of a resiliently-biased catch at the lower end of the track. This catch may be deflected while the ball-lifting means is in its unactuated condition to allow the lowermost ball on the track to roll from the track into .the loading position.

The ball-lifting means may take the form of a pivoted arm, and as such may be conveniently foot-pedal actuated so that the golfer does not need to break grip on his/her club between successive strikes. Such means may have a ledge for receiving an individual ball at the loading position, actuation of the ball-lifting means in this case lifting the ledge with the ball on it, to just above the tee for delivery of the ball onto the tee. The ledge may be inclined during this actuation of the lifting means such that the lifted ball rolls from the ledge onto the tee.

It has been found to be of advantage to include a cage or other enclosure within the ball-lifting means for receiving the ball to be lifted and to arrange that such enclosure is itself lifted to above the tee upon actuation of the ball-lifting means. The ball may in this respect be delivered onto the tee from within the enclosure as the enclosure descends with return of the ball-lifting means towards its unactuated condition. The tee may in these circumstances be arranged to project upwardly through a bottom-opening of the enclosure until the enclosure is lifted above the tee whereupon the ball can seat itself over the opening and thus be deposited directly onto the tee as the tee re-enters the opening with descent of the enclosure.

Golf-ball teeing-up apparatus in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of

example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an installation incorporating the golf teeing-up apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation of the installation of Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional side elevations to an enlarged scale compared with Figure 2, showing the golf teeing-up apparatus in its normal, unactuated condition and its actuated condition, respectively;

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a modification of the golf teeing-up apparatus of Figures 1 to 4, Figure 5 showing a form of wire-frame used in the modification, and Figure 6 (which is a sectional side-elevation corresponding to part of Figure 4, but to a larger scale) showing the wire-frame installed to give effect to the modification;

Figure 7 is a sectional side elevation of a second form of golf-ball teeing-up apparatus according to the present invention;

Figure 8 is a plan view, partially broken away and to enlarged scale, of a portion of the golf teeing-up apparatus of Figure 7; and

Figures 9 and 10 are sectional side elevations of part of the golf teeing-up apparatus of Figure 7, showing the apparatus in its normal, unactuated condition and its actuated condition, respectively.

Both forms of golf-ball teeing-up apparatus to be described are for use at a golf-driving range or at practice nets, and as such each is incorporated into a

platform that provides a raised floor on which the golfer stands at the tee. With the form of apparatus illustrated in Figure 1, the raised floor 1 of the platform is provided with a mat 2 that extends from front to back of the platform along the line of drive from the location 3 of the tee. The mat 2 may be, as shown, limited to a front-to-back strip, in which case another mat 4 is provided for the golfer's feet; alternatively, a single mat covering substantially the whole of the floor 1 may be used (mats are shown only in Figure 1 of the drawings) .

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a golf-ball reservoir in the form of a bucket 10, is located on the opposite side of the platform from where the golfer stands to address the tee 11 at location 3. Balls 12 entered into the bucket 10 descend, one behind the other in line and under gravity, along a helical path 13 to be discharged from the bottom of the bucket 10 onto a chute 14 under the floor 1; the helical path may be defined by a tube, but preferably, simply by a twin- or three-wire track. The chute 14 is inclined downwardly to deliver the balls 12 one behind the other towards the tee 11, ready to be teed-up in turn.

As shown more clearly in Figure 3, the tee 11 is in the form of a tube that screws into a platform-mounted socket

15 to project vertically upwards through the platform floor 1. The height of the tee 11 above the floor 1 is adjusted simply by screwing it up or down in the socket 15, and the balls 12 fed from the bucket 10 along the chute 14, are lifted individually onto the tee 11 by the golfer actuating a foot-pedal 16.

Referring especially to Figures 3 and 4, the foot-pedal

16 is coupled beneath the floor 1 to a pivoted arm 17. The tee 11 projects through the arm 17, the arm 17 being

appropriately apertured to avoid disturbance of the tee 11 throughout actuation of the arm 17 between its normal position and raised position (shown in Figures 3 and 4 respectively) . In the normal, un-depressed condition of the pedal 16, the arm 17 is loaded with the first, lowermost ball 12 in line, from the chute 14. Depression of the pedal 16 against the action of a spring 18 pivots the arm 17 up through a slot 19 in the floor 1 to lift this ball 12 and deliver it onto the tee 11. More particularly, the ball 12 is lifted by the arm 17 on a cupped ledge 20, to a position just above the tee 11 where the inclination of the arm 17 causes it to roll gently onto the tee 11 from the ledge 20. Positive location of the ball 12 on the tee 11 is in this respect ensured by enclosure of the tee 11 within the body of the arm 17; the ball 12 in rolling off the ledge 20 onto the tee 11 from the raised arm 17 is surrounded on the three other sides to preclude overrun and any tendency to sideways deflection from the tee 11.

Release of the pedal 16 allows the arm 17 to return under the action of the spring 18 and its own partially counter-balanced weight. The return is cushioned by a damper unit 21 so that there is no shock to disturb the teed ball 12, or the golfer in driving it off from the tee 11.

Return of the arm 17 brings the ledge 20 down onto a catch 22, deflecting the catch 22 back against the action of a spring 23 (as shown in Figure 3) . The catch 22 is deflected back in this way from a position in which it blocks discharge of the lowermost ball 12 from the chute 14 while the arm 17 is raised (as shown in Figure 4) . Return of the arm 17 thus frees the lowermost ball 12, allowing it to roll off the chute 14 onto the cupped ledge 20 ready to be delivered onto the tee 11 when required.

The ball 12 runs gently off the chute 14 without any tendency to overrun and jam the mechanism, under its own weight alone. In this respect, it is freed from the weight of the other balls 12 backed up behind it on the chute 14 by a blade 24 that projects downwardly from the leading edge of the arm 17. The blade 24 divides off the lowermost ball 12 from those behind it on the chute 14, as the arm 17 completes its return and the catch 22 is deflected back by the ledge 20.

Once the arm 17 has returned to its normal position in the floor 1 and the teed-up ball 12 has been driven off, the golfer can tee up again simply by depressing the pedal 16 with his/her foot. Depression of the pedal 16 raises the arm 17, carrying with it the fresh ball 12 resting on the ledge 20. As the arm 17 rises, the catch 22 returns under its spring 23 to block the end of the chute 14, and the blade 24 is lifted away. Lifting of the blade 24 releases the obstruction to the line of balls 12 higher up the chute 14, allowing them to roll down onto the catch 22.

Return of the arm 17 after the lifted ball 12 has been delivered to the tee 11 and foot-pressure on the pedal 16 has been released, brings the blade 24 and ledge 20 down again, to relieve the new, lowermost ball 12 from the weight of the line of balls 12 behind it, and release the catch 22. This ball 12 is thus freed to roll gently onto the ledge 20 to re-load the arm 17 ready for re-actuation of the pedal 16 by the golfer in re-charging the tee 11.

Operation of the apparatus to lift the ball 12 onto the tee 11, is carried out simply by depressing the pedal 16 by foot. Thus, the golfer can readily tee-up repeatedly from the balls 12 supplied to the bucket 10, without any need to change his/her grip on the golf club.

Successful operation of the apparatus without jamming, is dependent upon the functioning of the catch 22 to hold the lowermost ball 12 back from leaving the chute 14 until the arm 17 has returned to its normal, horizontal position and is accordingly ready to be re-loaded with that ball 12. Although the catch 22 may be effective in this when provided simply in the form of a plate to obstruct the middle of the chute 14, it may be preferable to provide it in a form that extends across most of that width. The plate-form catch 22 may, to this end, be fitted with a rod that extends transversely to either side from the plate so as to add to the width of the obstruction.

The catch 22 of the apparatus described is required to withstand and act positively under the weight of the balls 12 backed up on the chute 14 behind the lowermost ball 12. Relief from the effects of this weight and any tendency for it to cause the lowermost ball to rise up over the catch 22, can be achieved using the modification illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.

Referring to Figures 5 and 6, a wire frame 25 having a cross-piece 26 and carried on a transverse pivot axis 27 above the chute 14, is coupled by a link 28 to the catch 22. When the catch 22 is in its deflected position (as in Figure 3) , the frame 25 is raised up with the cross- piece 26 clear of the line of balls 12; the weight of the balls 12 is then taken from the lowermost, divided-off ball 12, by the blade 24. On the other hand, when the catch 22 is operative to block the lowermost ball 12 (as in Figures 4 and 6) , the frame 25 is pulled down via the link 28. This draws the cross-piece 26 down between balls 12 of the line so that the weight on the lowermost ball 12 obstructed by the catch 22, is relieved by the cross-piece 26.

The second form of golf-teeing apparatus to be described, is similar in general construction and operation to the first form described, but differs from it in certain features that have been found to be of significant practical and economic advantage. In particular, with the second form of golf-teeing apparatus to be described with reference to Figures 7 to 10, the need for the floor of the platform to be slotted (as by the slot 19 of the first-described apparatus) in front of the tee opening is avoided, control of ball loading from the supply chute is much simplified, and a more positive ball-teeing action is achieved.

Referring to Figures 7 and 9, the pedal-operated lever or arm 30 in this case, is cranked to avoid the necessity for it to pivot up through the floor 31 when the pedal 32 is depressed to load a ball, indicated in outline as 33 in Figure 9, onto the tee 34. The ball is loaded on the tee 34 from a cage 35 at the far end of the arm 30, and remains trapped within the cage 35 while the pedal 32 is depressed. It is only when the pedal 32 is released to allow the arm 30 to return to its normal position (as in Figures 7 to 9) under the action of a spring 36, and the cage 35 in consequence descends, that the ball is deposited onto the tee 34; this is in contrast to the teeing action in the first-described apparatus in which the ball rolls onto the tee when the pedal-operated arm rises.

The cage 35 has a bottom-opening 37 that is in register with the tee 34 so that the cage 35 is free to move with the tee 34 projecting up through it, on pivoting of the arm 30 from its normal, rest position. In the normal position of the arm 30, the cage 35 rests on a catch 38 so as to deflect the catch 38 downwardly against a spring (not shown) from a position in which it would otherwise block discharge of the lowermost ball, individually

identified as ball 39, from a delivery chute 40 (the supply bucket is not shown) . With deflection of the catch 38 in this way however, the ball 39 is free to roll from the chute 40 onto a cupped-floor ledge or entrance 41 of the cage 35 (as shown in Figure 9) . The ball 39 is blocked from running further into the cage 35 by a pin 42 which is fixed upright in front of the tee 34 and which, like the tee 34, projects up through the bottom-opening 37 of the cage 35.

After the teed-up ball 33 has been driven off, depression of the pedal 32 to tee-up another ball, pivots the arm 30 from its normal position to raise the cage 35 containing the ball 39. As the cage 35 rises, the catch 38 returns to block discharge of the next, lowermost ball 43 (Figure 9) from the chute 40. The ball 39 obstructs any tendency for the ball 43 to run off the chute 40, until the catch 38 has fully returned, since, although being lifted with the cage 35, it remains blocked by the pin 42 from running further into the cage 35 until the cage 35 is clear of the catch 38.

It is only when the cage 35 has been lifted clear of the catch 38 and through the floor 31 clear of the pin 42 and then the tee 34 as shown in Figure 10, that the ball 39 is free to run further into the cage 35. The tipping of the cage 35 as the pedal 32 is fully depressed, thus causes the ball 39 to roll from the entrance 41 further into the cage 35 where it seats over the bottom-opening 37, resting against a front wall 44 of the cage 35. The opening 37 is of a configuration too small to allow the ball 39 to fall through onto the tee 34, but locates the ball 39 over the tee 34 with sufficient precision (irrespective of height adjustment of the tee 34) to ensure that the ball 39 is deposited cleanly and securely on the tee 34 when the cage 35 descends as the pedal 32 is released.

An apertured foam-plastic pad 45 (or U-shape member) is carried atop the cage 35 so as to occupy the aperture 46 in the floor 31 through which the cage 35 moves, when the arm 30 has returned to its normal, unoperated condition (Figure 9) . The pad 45 reduces significantly the area of the floor-aperture 46 that remains open surrounding the tee 34 in this condition.

Although both forms of golf-teeing apparatus described above, have been described as incorporated in the floor of a platform, it will be appreciated that the use of a platform is not necessary and that the apparatus can be installed directly into the structural floor of the range or other location where the tee is required.