WO1997015358A1 - Improvements relating to golf mats - Google Patents

Abstract

A brush strip is formed from a metal channel member (1) which receives the roots of plastics filaments (2) and is pinched to clamp them. The strip is then formed into a Flemish coil with the filaments (2) upstanding to provide an artificial turf surface. Underneath, metal bars (5) may be welded to the channel member (1) to rigidify the structure and complete the mat. They can also assist location at different angular positions in a surround (7). A hole (4) at the centre of the coil can be plugged with an insert which can carry a flexible tee peg or receive ordinary pegs. Alternatively, the hole can serve as access for practice balls to be lifted or projected up on to the mat. A circular mat with upstanding filaments can be provided by other brush constructions, and the filaments may differ in length and/or stiffness in different areas.

Description

"Improvements relating to Golf Mats" This invention relates to golf mats.

Practice mats for golf are common. When new, with uniform upstanding filaments, they serve as a good substi- tute for grass. However, they take tremendous punishment from the practice shots played on them, and they soon become worn and useless. They can sometimes be turned round through 180°, but while this can extend their life, it will not be more than doubled. We have produced golf mats of conventional rectangular form where the roots of plastics filaments are captive in elongate metal channel members, making elongate thin brush strips. The channel members are then slid into parallel grooves on the upper side of a platform base. The grooves are close enough, and the filaments spread enough at their upper ends, to give a fair imitation of well groomed, lush turf. However, this is an expensive assembly, and although it performs well, it inevitably wears, particularly over the central area, and there has to be replacement from time to time. This can be partial, for example by removing worn strips and fitting new ones, while leaving others. But that is awkward and time consuming. On the other hand, total replacement often means discarding relatively unworn areas, particularly at the corners and along the edges. It is the aim of this invention to provide a simpler and less expensive golf mat, which should have a substantially longer life with more even use over its whole area. According to the present invention there is provided a practice mat for golf comprising artificial turf in a generally circular configuration.

The mat may have a mounting allowing it to be adjusted angularly about its centre to present different playing areas to a user standing in a set practice position. The stance mat or surround does not of course have to be of the same nature or quality as the mat off which balls are struck. Each angular adjustment may be as little as 30° to present a fresh area of reasonable size, clear of the worn part, and so there could be twelve "lives" for the mat.

The centre of the mat may have a hole and this could be plugged by an element providing a continuation of the artificial turf, but carrying a tee peg. Alternatively, the hole could provide an opening up through which balls can be passed for practice strokes. A vertically movable tee could be in registry with the hole, there being means for charging the tee with a ball when below the mat and for raising the tee to present the ball above the mat. Alternatively, there could be means for projecting balls one by one at an angle up through the hole to land on the practice area of the mat.

The filaments forming the artificial grass may differ at different radii. For example, they could vary in height and/or stiffness in different annular bands. In one preferred version the mat is formed from an elongate brush strip wound into a Flemish coil. The strip will generally have a channel member in which upstanding filaments are trapped, and the base of the channel member will then be secured at discrete points to a support frame. This can be arranged to co-operate selectively with detents in the mounting for the angular adjustment of the mat.

For a better understanding of the invention, one embodiment will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross section of a brush strip, and Figure 2 is an underneath plan view of a golf mat constructed from the strip of Figure 1. The brush strip of Figure 1 comprises a metal channel member 1 which receives and retains plastics filaments 2. In this example the filaments are doubled around a wire 3 within the channel, their free ends being upstanding to a substantially uniform height. After placement, the sides of the member 1 are squeezed in to trap the filaments.

This construction is known, and has been used, for example, for ski mats. The strip can be produced in virtual¬ ly endless lengths and cut to any desired one.

For a golf mat, such a strip is tightly wound in a Flemish coil, as seen in Figure 2. The coil has all its turns in one plane, and each turn closely follows round the turn inside it. A hole 4 is inevitably left in the middle as there is a limit to the tightness of the turns.

To make this structure rigid, a simple frame of radial bars 5 is tack or spot welded to the member 1 on the underside, not necessarily at every turn of the coil, and the mat can rest on this frame. In this example it is a simple cross, but there could be more bars if desired and in a different configuration. In particular, they may leave the hole 4 free, for example by radiating from a ring, for purposes referred to below. The bars 5 project to key in to recesses 6 in a surrounding stance mat or platform 7, indicated in outline. This provides a convenient way of registering the mat when it is angularly adjusted since the circumferentially equi-spaced projecting ends can be located in any angular position for which there are a set of four recesses 6 at the corners of a square. In the example shown there are twelve such recesses corresponding to the hour positions of a clock face, giving twelve different angular positions for the mat.

The central hole 4 can be plugged by a disc (not shown) , which may have an artificial turf surface and provision for plugging in a tee peg. Alternatively, the disc could have a permanent flexible tee peg, this being of rubber and integrally formed with or bonded to the disc.

It will be understood that other forms of brush construction could be used to present upstanding filaments in a close packed circular array.

The filaments need not be uniform throughout. To simulate close-cropped fairway, semi-rough and rough, the filaments could be of different lengths in separate annular bands. They could also differ in stiffness, for example one band having fine filaments more densely packed than another band with thicker, coarser filaments. With the Flemish coil arrangement, this is simply achieved by winding one type of brush strip first, securing its trailing end to one of the bars 5, securing the end of another type of brush strip to that bar and following on round, and so on.

As mentioned above, the mat could be combined with devices either for presenting a teed-up ball through the hole 4 or for projecting balls one by one at an angle up through the hole to land on the current practice sector. The supporting frame of bars 5 would then leave the hole 4 free.

Claims

1. A practice mat for golf comprising artificial turf in a generally circular configuration.

2. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the mat has a mounting allowing it to be adjusted angularly about its centre to present different playing areas to a user standing in a set practice position.

3. A practice mat as claimed in Claim l or 2, wherein the centre of the mat has a hole.

4. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the hole is plugged by an element providing a continuation of the artificial turf.

5. A practice mat as claimed in Claim , wherein the element carries a tee peg.

6. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the hole provides an opening up through which balls can be passed for practice strokes.

7. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 6, wherein a vertically movable tee is in registry with the hole, there being means for charging the tee with a ball when below the mat and for raising the tee to present the ball above the mat.

8. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 6, wherein there are means for projecting balls one by one at an angle up through the hole to land on the practice area of the mat.

9. A practice mat as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the filaments forming the artificial grass differ at different radii.

10. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the filaments vary in height in different annular bands.

11. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 9 or 10, wherein the filaments differ in stiffness in different annular bands.

12. A practice mat as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mat is formed from an elongate brush strip wound into a flemish coil.

13. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the brush strip has a channel member in which upstanding filaments are trapped, the base of the channel member being secured at discrete points to a support frame.

14. A practice mat as claimed in Claim 13 as appendant to Claim 2, wherein the support frame can co-operate selectively with detents in the mounting for the angular adjustment of the mat.