US2456511A - Golf tee - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 14, 1948. s. e. ISSERSTEDT 2,456,511

GOLF TEE Filed Feb. 2, 1946 INVENTOR- 3. G. ISSERSTEDT Patented Dec. 14, 1948 GOLF TEE Siegfried Gordon Isserstedt, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application February 2, 1946, Serial No. 645,075

This invention relates to golf tees.

Golf tees have been produced in several difierent forms constructed from wood, plastic material and other composition, as well as metal. In substantially all cases, the tees have a general similarly, viz. a cup or cup-like element at the top designed to receive the spherical contour of the ball to form a base therefor and a pointed stem projecting downwardly therefrom usually from the centre of the cup-like portion.

When using the conventional tee in hard ground, it is very diflicult to cause the tee properly to penetrate the ground. Moreover, when a firm penetration has been achieved and the tee is used in hard ground, the stem very often is broken. Furthermore, when a golf ball is supported by a conventional tee and it is desired to give the ball a low trajectory, a part of the rim of the tee disposed forwardly of the ball in the direction of the drive obstructs the entirely free movement of the ball. This has some effect on the flight of the ball and more particularly when the tee is in hard ground and does not yield and where the cup portion is relatively deep, as is the case in some constructions employing a head of substantial diameter in order to permit easy seating of the ball. To overcome this obstruction, tees are sometimes made with a narrower head in order to achieve a shallower cup, but this in turn makes it difficult to balance the ball on a tee when it is not introduced to the ground absolutely. vertically.

It is desirable when using a tee to introduce it to the ground each time to a substantially uniform extent in order that the player may achieve uniform results in his drive at each tee. It has previously been proposed to provide a tee with a head hav ng a circumferent al projectin shoulder so that the shank of the tee may be introduced to the ground until the shoulder of the head engages the ground. This makes it possible to tee the ball at the same height each time. It has also been proposed to employ a circular rubber tee forming in eifect a pedestal which is placed upon the ground and which will support the ball above the ground to a uniform distance in each case.

In this first type of special tee, the head is very often broken off due to the deep enetration of the shank in the ground, whereas in the latter type of special construction the tee is very often driven away with the ball and sometimes lost but at least making it necessary for the user to look for it.

The present invention avoids the general dis- 3 Claims. (01. 273- 2a 9 advantages of the prior art, as above indicated, and provides further advantages. It is an object of the present invention to form a new type of tee which will make it easier to introduce to the ground and notwithstanding that the ground may be hard.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple form of tee which may be produced very inexpensively, stamped and formed from sheet material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tee having a support for the ball so formed that it does not present any obstruction to the flight of the ball as it leaves the tee.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tee which may be readily nested thereby to provide for a neat package of tees.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple tee construction employing a stop means having a surface disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tee and a bladed shank such that the tee will tend automatically to assume a normal vertical position when pushed into the ground, and which will always maintain the ball spaced from the ground to a substantial uniform extent.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tee of this kind which will provide a flat surface of substantial area usable if desired for advertising material.

With these and other objects in view the invention generally comprises a single piece of fiat material cut to form a pointed blade, the upper portion of which is bent to form a pair of spaced apart slightly inclined surfaces formed at the top edge of the material and designed firmly to support the ball. In particular, the pointed blade is so formed in the construction that, the edges thereof are substantially aligned with the path of flight of the ball, and the bent portion thereof in effect forms a wing providing at its lower edge a stop means for disposing the head of the tee at a predetermined uniform distance from the ground while forming the means also for guiding the tee accurately into the ground.

The invention will be clearly understood by reference to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved form of tee according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of this tee disposed formable material which may include metal,

plastic or other suitable material. This is stamped to form a blade ill which is tapered to form a lower point I I. The upper edge of the blade, as indicated at l2, forms part of the smil port for the ball. The complete support is formed" by bending a lateral upper wing I3 of, the blank;

to be disposed in spaced apart relation to the blade so that the forward edge M of the wing is disposed in line with the forward edge of the blade 1.0 when viewing the tee in sideelevatiom The lower edge 15 of the wing :13 is disposedjsube stantially at right angles to thelongitudinal axis of the blade and forms a stop designed to engage the ground and maintain the supporting head of the tee spaced uniformly from the ground during each use of the tee. It also forms ameans of accurately locating the tee in the ground. In this, connection, it will be appreciated that the edges of the blade will tend to cut through the ground. Therefore, when the tee is pressed into the ground anduthe lower edge l5 of the wing 13 engages the ground, the rear edgeof the blade I!) will tend to ,cut through the ground if the blade is introduced thereto so that :the tee would be canted rearwardly and vice versa ifintroduced so that the'f'ront portion of the tee would tend to cant forwardly;

The upper supporting surface of the-tee providedby the upper edgeszof the blade and=:the.wing respectively is slightly rearwardl-y and downwardly inclined and then is projected upwardly in the form of a shoulder 16. Consequently no di fiiculty will be experienced in balancing the ball on the-tee as it will immediately tend to seek a position of rest engaging the shoulder- 15, while the forward portions .of the supportdo notform, asv in the case 'ofthe ordinary tee, a rim or other obstructionv which would tend ito-affectflthe projection of the ball from the tee in anyway. Inv particular, as will benoted from ,a consideration of Fig. 3, the supporting edges in spaced apart relation in effectform a guidewayfror'n which the ball may be cleanly projected.

Preferabl at the point of connection between thewing l3 and the blade ill, the material is out-5 wardly curved or flared as indicated'at I! in effect to form a bead-like channel which willmateflwith the corresponding formation on another tee "so that the tees maybe readilyn-ested or-stackedfias indicated in Fig. 4, and will be held fi-"oi-n inad Vertent dislodgment b'y' wedging. v j

' inan alternative form of construction, a wingmay be formed of greater depth and'a lower 'por tion thereof turned inwardly-to form a fiat-shoul der 18 of greater area'than the normal edge-- (Fig. 1). It will 'be readily apparent that this :type of tee presents a number of advantages. In the first place, it does not form any obstruction to the projection of the ball from the tee as above indicated, while it also forms a firm base for the ball which will not require special adjusting of the tee properly to balance the ball. This is due to the fact that it will automatically tend to seat itself properly. Apart from this, however, it will be apparent' that'the tee "will operate to prevent breakage of the shank which often occurs in normal tees since even in hard ground and if the tee is hit,

the blade thereof will tend to cut through the ground.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A golf tee comprising a blade pointed to form a shank designed to pierce the ground, said blade in its-upper portion having an integral wing disposed to overlie a face of the blade in spaced apart relation thereto, the upper edge of said wing and. the upper edge of said blade being dis posed in substantially thesame plane and jointly fonrning'a support for a golf ball, said wing being connected. to; thebladealong one edge thereof, the-oppositeedge of the iblad'eand the opposite edgeiof the wing being. free from one another, said opposite edges. being disposed at the front or the'fteeforminga channel therebetween openingwtowards'the :fronthof the tee :to provide, in effect, a guidewa-y to cause-free-projection .of the ball from the tee when said ball. is struck, said upper edges; of thewbla-d'e and the wing being slightly inclined-rearward ly downwardly, said tee being formed with an upwardly projecting shoulder substantially at the point of connection betweentthe Wing and the'blade and formingwith said; upper edges a'firm seat for'the lball.

2.,A3' Qlf tee as claimed :in claim 1 in which the teeis outwardlyfiared, in-the area .of the connection between the wing and the :blade to form in effect a -zbeeid channel for wedging said tees in ne edrelation.

Agolf teeQQmprisin-g a :blade pointed to form arsli an 'dee igned topierce ;-the ground, said blade in; it upperportionhaving an integral wing dis-1 posed to overlie a face ofthe. blade in spaced apart relation thereto, the upper edge of said win 'and the upper-edge oil-said blade .ibeing disposed :in,substantially-the same plane and jointly forming agsupport for} axgoldrsball, said.wing be.- in cqnnfictedctothegblade along :one;edg-e thereof, the oppositeiedgeof thelbladeand-the opposite edge of the wing beingttee from-one another,

saidqopposite edges being disposed-atl'the front of the teea'ifli iming 12a. channel itherebetween opening tewalds the iron-hot the tee to provide, in effect, a guideway to cause free projection of the ball fromithe tee when said ball is struck;

Y GORDON. IS

awareness GEE-ED: The following references are of record in the

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