This invention relates to bags used for carrying golf clubs.

It is not uncommon for golf bags to be equipped with dividing means to provide separation of the clubs either by orifices created by holes in a top plate or by the fitment of a separate tube for each of the 14 clubs intended to be carried in the bag.

The common disadvantage of existing bags is that the lU club heads can strike each other when being returned to the bag or when the bag is bounced about during the course of a golf round at which time the bag is normally carried on a golf trolley .

The principal aim of the invention,therefore,is to I provide a golf bag which positively separates each club from its neighbours and enables club-head to club-head contact to be readily avoided either during removal and replacement of a club or during transport on a golf trolley.

Z \J According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the clubs most often used,namely the Putter and Driver, are presented in the most prominent positions in the bag for greatest convenience in location and removal .

S _U B _S TITUTESHEET

According to a further embodiment of the invention all receptacles for the accessories required in the playing of a round of golf.such as tees,gloves,shoes .balls, ball markers,pencils,clothing articles,caps,etc,are

D provided in the front of the bag,which enables a better display of their contents, and more convenient access to same, than the means commonly provided.

In it's most general form the invention consists of a carrier for golf clubs comprising a hollow elongated

FU body having a top and bottom ends,a plurality of tubes extending at least partly from said top end to near said bottom end to accommodate shafts of said golf clubs,means at or near said top end supporting a first end of said tubes in a first predetermined array,and

I D means within said body positioning a second end of said tubes in a second predetermined array substantially different from said first array whereby at least some of the said golf clubs inserted into said tubes are disposed upwardly divergent from others of said clubs.

0 The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings,in which:

Figure 1: Is a plan from the top end of a golf club carrier according to this invention;

Figure 2: Is a frontal elevation of the carrier; 5 Figure 3: Is a longitudinal section as viewed on the line A-A of Figure 2;and;

SUBSTITUTESHEET

Figure 4: Is a section as viewed on the line B-B .of Figure 2 and shows the geometric array of the club positioning tubes at their bottom ends.

With reference to the drawings a golf club carrier,or b bag,according to one preferred embodiment of the invention is in the shape of a substantially trapezoidal prism approximately 800mm in length,tapered in cross-section towards the bottom,constructed of one major plastic moulding forming the main body 9 of the lU bag and a separate moulded top-plate 7,said top-plate containing a number of orifices 8 which determine the positions of the club heads of inserted clubs (not shown) with a specific geometric array, or pattern, by providing the upper location for the individual tubes lb 13.The tubes 13 are spigotted into protrusions 5 (Fig.3) surrounding each of the orifices 8 and are positioned and oriented in a different specific array, or geometry, at their lower ends by tube orientation devices 15 situated in the lower part of the main body

20 9 of the bag.

The orientation devices 15 are equipped with protrusions 16 which serve the purpose of locating the clubs at varying heights in respective bores of the tubes 13 to further assist in club head separation. 2 b Compartments,or receptacles,17 and 18 of convenient shapes to suit the storage of desired accessories are

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

preferably moulded into the front of the main body 9.

During the manufacturing process the compartments 17 and 18 may be completed or closed by the addition of separate or combined hinged lids 19 and 20.The lids 19 b and 20 and details of the compartments 17 and 18 are arranged so as to prevent the ingress of rain-water and at the same time to permit ventilation for drying out purposes.The shape of the compartments 17 and 18, whose walls may be flexible but preferably are inflexible,

10 and the necessary space within the main body 9 for such compartments is both dictated and facilitated by the orientation of the tubes 13.

A comparison of figures 1 and 4 will reveal that the tubes 13, at their lower ends 13B, are arrayed in lb general alignment in the form of two arms of a single V-configura ion 14, whereas at their upper ends 13A they are arrayed in general alignment in the form of pairs of arms of two substantially parallel V-configurations 10 and 11. By this arrangement , and U depending in degree upon the spacing between the V-configurations 10 and 11, upwardly diverging rela ionship between the tubes 13 becomes possible. Hence, although close spacing between adjacent tubes 13 at their lower ends 13B occurs, adequate , and b increased , spacing of the heads of inserted golf clubs is provided to ensure against inter-club contact.

Furthermore, besides achieving such club-head separation in a more compact golf bag than would be possible with parallel arranged tubes 13, this construction provides for relatively large storage compartments 17 and 18, within the envelope of the main body, as can be seen from Fig 3.

The configuration 14 of the lower array and the configurations 10 and 11 of the upper array, therefore it will be seen, achieve a particular disposition of the tubes 13 within the main body 9. Some of those tubes (as can be noted from Fig. 3) are disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body while others are inclined thereto which facilitates the golf club head spacing referred to above.

From Fig.4 it will be noted that the configuration 14 of the lower array involves a lateral displacement with respect to the longitudinal axis 9A of the main body 9 which closely conforms to the inner wall 9B of the body 9. This provision permits the location of the lower end portion 18A of the large compartment 18 about the axis 9A. Hence the golf club carrier can be constructed as a compact unit with accessory compartments substantially internal of the main body 9.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

In a preferred angular disposition of the tubes 13 the lower tube ends labelled 14A in Fig. 4 correspond to the upper tube ends labelled 11A in Fig.1.The remaining lower tube ends of Fig.4 correspond to the upper tube b ends of Fig.l in the manner indicated by the use of similar letter suffix to the designating numerals, such as lower tube end 14B corresponds to upper tube end 10B. A feature derived from this latter disposition of tubes 13 is that they are upwardly inclined towards the 0 longitudinal axis of the body 9 while the remaining tubes are fixed in a diposition substantially parallel to that axis.

As an alternative to the above arrangement the tubes 13 may extend only part of the the way down the main body b 9,instead of the full length,having their ends closed off to provide stops which control club head height, for optimum separation of club heads.In this case an orientation device,or devices, are positioned slightly above the lower end of the shortest tube 13 to position 0 the club shafts in the required orientation and coordinates.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

In yet another embodiment of the invention there are provided a number of mounting points, or anchor points, by means of moulded-in metal nuts or studs to which is attached a frame for the support of wheel members and a b folding handle to create an integral Bag and Buggy combination of lighter weight than the conventional systems due to the elimination of the bag support elements required in such systems.

Whereas several embodiments have been described in the 0 foregoing passages other forms,refinements and modifications are feasible within the scope of the invention. For example, instead of a V-shaped configuration of the arrays 10,11 or 14 other configurations may be used, such as U-shape or lb semi-circular. The preferred arrangement is that the configurations 11 and 14 conform closely to the inside wall of the bag while the configuration 10 is spaced inwardly of the wall.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET