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[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/464,385, filed Apr. 23, 2003 which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] The present invention relates to artificial surfaces from which golf balls are hit to practice ball striking with the feel of natural fairway grass.
[0003] Golf is normally played on natural grass surfaces. To practice the golf swing, a golfer desires to strike a golf ball on surfaces that will react to the club face in much the same way as a natural grass surface. Most golf facilities provide practice ranges and there are facilities dedicated to practicing the golf swing while striking an actual golf ball with a golf club. Since the practice area receives considerable use, these facilities must continually move the area from which golfers practice to allow the grass to grow back. Wear, weather, etc. cause some facilities to have artificial surfaces for permanent or temporary use that will allow golfers an area to warm up or to practice their golf swing while striking a golf ball. Golf mats have been designed and made from a variety of plastic materials that are shaped to mimic grass. The artificial grass is normally attached to a rubberized base and placed over a concrete or otherwise hard impervious surface. When a golfer strikes a golf ball on such a mat, he or she may experience considerable shock when the club face strikes the rather stiff mat surface. When a pitching wedge or other short game club selection is made, the action of the swing requires striking in a downward direction toward the golf ball. Current mats do not allow this technique. Golfers like to practice both fairway shots and Tee shots. Tee shots are normally made using a Tee for holding the golf ball elevated above the ground or the surface of a golf mat. Artificial mats usually have such a rigid backing that a normal golf Tee will not easily penetrate it. As a result, golf mats use special Tees or fixed upright rubber tubes to mimic a Tee leading to a less than natural feel. Some golf mats are such that the golfer must move to natural ground to practice Tee shots.
[0004] There is, therefore, a need for a golf mat that creates a natural feel when striking the golf ball. There is a particular need for a golf mat for use with short game clubs like the pitching wedge or nine iron or the long ball clubs like a Driver or Three Wood. There is also a need for the golf mat to accept standard golf Tees that can be variably placed on the golf mat according to the desires of the golfer.
[0005] Long nylon fibers (fiber bristles) are made approximately twice as long as a desired vertical height. The fiber bristles are placed over and perpendicular to a slot opening in a long, straight U-shaped channel member. The center of the fibers are pressed down to the bottom of the slot and the opening is pressed closed forcing the nylon fibers to be bent and held into a vertical position wherein each fiber has a standing height of approximately one half of their unbent length. In this manner, a completed U-shaped channel member (completed channel member) with a row of fiber bristles is formed. A plurality of these completed channel members are retained into a holding member. In one embodiment, the holding member has mating features (slots) matched to the cross-section of the bottom of the completed channel member. The mating slots may be configured such that the completed channel member slides into the side opening in the mating slots. The holding member is configured to allow the completed channel member to be retained securely for use while also allowing completed channel members to be replaced in case of wear or for changing configurations. The holding member is designed to allow enough completed channel members to be installed to make a bristle surface large enough to provide an area for striking golf balls with a golf club. Since the nylon fiber bristles are long and stiff, they allow a ball to rest on the bristle surface much like grass. While the fiber bristles are stiff in the vertical direction, their length causes them to bend easily in a non-vertical direction. This allows the head of the golf club to traverse “into” the long fiber bristles simulating the taking of a divot on an actual fairway. The completed channel members have long, dense rows of fiber bristles. When the completed channel members are assembled into the holding member, they are placed close enough such that the natural forces of the bent fibers flare in a direction perpendicular to the length of the completed channel members creating a dense bristle surface. Since the completed channel members are removable, a golf mat made according to embodiments of the present invention may be repaired. Likewise, the spacing between completed channel members fitted into the holding member are such that they form a natural shaped slot for inserting a golf Tee. The stiffness and length of the nylon fiber bristles keep the golf Tee in a vertical alignment when inserted into the Tee slot.
[0006] In striking a golf ball, it is important to align the body in a direction perpendicular to the desired ball flight. Many times golfers lay golf clubs parallel to the desired flight direction of a struck golf ball. The parting line between completed channel members in a golf mat made according to embodiments of the present invention serves to locate a region of the bristle surface where a standard wood Tee may be placed. Likewise, the parting line provides the golfer with an imbedded alignment marker for aligning his or her body relative to a desired ball flight path. In another embodiment of the present invention, selected completed channel members with fiber bristle rows of different coloration are placed adjacent to each other to enhance this natural Tee placement line or body alignment line.
[0007] In another embodiment of the present invention, the fiber bristles of a selected completed channel members are trimmed such that the ends of the fiber bristles are not of the same length, rather, they form a “roughened” bristle surface such that a golf ball placed on the bristle surface will stay in a placed position without rolling. Various types of trimming or fiber bristle placement may be used to create an area of long fibers with lengths configured to provide a bristle surface that resists ball movement due to the golf mat being placed on a less than flat surface.
[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the U-shaped channel members are made from a somewhat flexible material. In this embodiment, the long fiber bristles are placed across and perpendicular with the lengthwise slot of the U-shaped channel member. The slot in the U-shaped channel member is partially filled with a viscous quick curing epoxy. A tool (e.g., a wire), the length of the U-shaped channel member, is used to force the fiber bristles into the slot thereby causing them to bend vertical. A fixture may then squeeze the U-shaped channel member closed until the epoxy adequately cures forming flexible completed channel members. The cured epoxy is strong to hold the fiber bristles but flexible enough to allow the flexible completed channel members assembled into a likewise flexible holding member to form a flexible hitting area when placed over an uneven terrain. These flexible completed channel members may be used in a non-flexible holding member where their flexibility allows them to bend during assembly thereby reducing the number of removable parts.
[0009] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.
[0010] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
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[0024] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. For the most part, details concerning materials, processes and the like have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention and are within the skills of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.
[0025] Refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by the same reference numeral through the several views. The nylon bristles in the following description may be referred to as being fiber bristles for simplicity. It is understood that other suitable materials (e.g., polymers) may be used and still be within the scope of the present invention. The fiber bristles in completed channel members are made to form rows of fiber bristles. These rows of fiber bristles are formed by placing fiber bristles into a U-shaped channel members. U-shaped channel members with fiber bristles are referred to as completed channel members. The fiber bristles are made of a material (e.g., nylon 6.0 or 6.6) are such that the frictional heating caused by the moving head of a golf club will not melt the fiber leaving residue on the club head and causing excessive wear.
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[0039] The present invention provides an assembly that contains rows of fiber bristles that have long fiber bristles that are stiff in the vertical direction for holding a golf ball. The long fiber bristles easily bend allowing a golf club head to move easily through them when striking a golf ball. The golf mat has natural alignment lines formed by the interface between adjacent parallel rows of fiber bristles and the shaped slots (V-channels) formed by adjacent completed channel members. The V-channels also serve to capture a wooden Tee while the fiber bristles hold the Tee upright and vertical simulating the natural position for Tee shots. The golf mat assembly may be used in an earthen depression, in a portable platform or within a long platform on a golf practice range. The completed channel members may be flexible or stiff. Flexible completed channel members may require the nylon bristles to be secured using an adhesive like epoxy. Flexible completed channel members allow the rows of fiber bristles to conform to an uneven surface allowing flexibility in use or to simulate uneven golf ball lies.
[0040] The present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.