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  Golf course du jourUSPTO Application #: 20070072692Title: Golf course du jour Abstract: A system is provided for a golf course wherein a golf course comprises a course of land with a plurality of tee areas and a plurality of greens, each tee area being selectively associated with at least two selected greens. Preferably, the course has six greens. (end of abstract)
Agent: Ronald L. Hofer - Mooresville, NC, US Inventor: William J Oakley USPTO Applicaton #: 20070072692 - Class: 473169000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Golf, Projectile Addressing Surface And Target, Or Distance Marker (e.g., Course, Putting Green With Cup, Driving Range, Miniature Golf Course, Etc.), Plural Addressing Surfaces (e.g., Driving Range, Etc.), Having Sequential Play (e.g., Regulation Earth Course, Etc.) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070072692. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of provisional U.S. application Ser. No. 60/680,842 filed May 12, 2005. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to golf courses. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system which facilitates the changing of golf courses and the play thereon. [0003] Golf is generally played on conventional golf courses of nine or eighteen holes. Although conventional golf courses are very popular and generally have been successful, conventional golf courses are subject to several limitations. Some of the limitations are related to efficiencies and other limitations are related to convenience of use. [0004] For example, a conventional golf course generally does not make efficient use of the land. A conventional golf course occupies a substantial amount of real estate and is expensive to build and to maintain. This expense is generally passed on to the golfer who must pay a relatively high fee to play the course. Furthermore, conventional golf courses are limited in the sense that changes to the golf course play are usually limited to slight changes of location of the tee boxes and to moving the cup position on the greens. Substantial changes of tee box location and moving the greens themselves are normally too expensive to undertake and would involve inconvenience to the users of the course if undertaken during the golfing season. Thus, most of the variety of playing a conventional golf course is dependant upon inconsistent shots provided by the player himself. The golf course remains the same from month to month and simply does not offer much variety to the play of the course. Also, since the course remains the same, players tend to follow the same cart pathways from tees to greens, which can lead to excessive wear and tear on the pathways. [0005] Furthermore, a considerable percentage of the land occupied by a conventional golf course is not utilized for golf play. The land may be aesthetically pleasing, but may be considered underutilized. Sometimes weddings, receptions, parties or the like are held on golf course land, but generally such events interfere to a great extent with the use of the golf course and so they are not cost efficient or the best use of the land. Walking paths suffer a similar disadvantage and are generally not available on golf courses The choice of which golf course to play is usually limited to courses which are located nearby. Hence, most golfers have a limited number of golf courses available for play. Many golfers play the same course many times until the course becomes routine and uninteresting. Again, it should be noted that the managers of conventional golf courses are able to change their play only with difficulty and at considerable expense. [0006] Another limitation concerning conventional golf courses relates to their convenience. As mentioned above, since golf courses tend to remain static, a player desiring a variety of courses must travel a distance to find different courses. Also, play on a conventional golf course is often slow, particularly if the course is crowded with average players. Play may be slowed because of players looking for lost balls. Furthermore, some golf courses have limited signage and navigation from green to the next tee could be facilitated. Similarly, strangers to a course may have difficulty ascertaining which green is to be played from a particular tee. [0007] Thus, it would be advantageous if a system were provided which could increase the efficiency of use of the land occupied by a golf course. It would be particularly desirable if the cost of, and/or time required for, a round of golf were reduced. Of course, it would also be desirable if one course could be readily modified to provide different play at the same handicap or different handicap so that golfers could play the same course without repetition. It also would be desirable if speed of play could be increased by reducing the time spent looking for lost golf balls. Still further, it would be desirable to reduce times that players are confused regarding the correct cart path to follow. And it would be beneficial if wear and tear on the grass of a golf course were reduced by controlling the pathways used by carts on the grass areas. [0008] These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] In accordance with the present invention, a system is provided for a golf course. A preferred golf course system comprises a course of land with a plurality of tee areas and a plurality of greens, each tee area being selectively associated with at least two selected greens. Preferably, the course has six greens. [0010] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the golf course system includes a course of land having a plurality of tee areas and a plurality of greens, each tee area being selectively associated with at least two greens and course play is determined by GPS devices which guide the player around the course. Optionally, and preferably, the course and/or each golf cart is provided with golf ball tracking devices which display the golf ball path on the golf cart to facilitate location of the golf ball on the course. [0011] In still another preferred embodiment, a selected golf course design is generated by use of a compute. The computer has a data base of possible tee areas, cart paths, green locations, course area, and course requirements. The course design is selectively programmed by use of the computer and then used to program navigation devices located on each players cart so that each player has guidance to each tee area and associated green in sequence. Optionally, acceptable cart paths are programmed into the data base by using a GPS equipped cart which can be driven along acceptable paths while its route is input into the computer database. [0012] In accordance with the method of the present invention, a golf course is designed by: [0013] (A) inputting locations of tee areas, green locations and course areas into a computer data base; [0014] (B) programming a computer program with a golf course design program for selectively choosing tee areas and associated greens in response to criteria selected by the designer; and [0015] (C) programming the course design into a navigation device on each golf cart to provide guidance to each golfer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING [0016] FIG. 1 is a plan view diagram of a preferred embodiment of a golf course of the present invention utilizing an elongated section of real estate; [0017] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the course of FIG. 1 indicated by circle 2 in FIG. 1; [0018] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the course of FIG. 1 indicated by circle 3 in FIG. 1; [0019] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the course of FIG. 1 indicated by circle 4 in FIG. 1; [0020] FIGS. 5 to 7 are each plan view diagrams of alternative designs of preferred golf courses of the present invention, each design utilizing the same real estate as the golf course of FIGS. 1 to 4; [0021] FIG. 8 is a plan view diagram of a preferred embodiment of a golf course of the present invention utilizing a generally parallelogram shaped piece of real estate; and [0022] FIGS. 9 to 16 are each plan view diagrams of alternative designs of preferred golf courses of the present invention, each design utilizing the same real estate as the golf course of FIG. 8; and DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Continue reading... Full patent description for Golf course du jour Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Golf course du jour patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Golf course du jour or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Golf assistance device Next Patent Application: Golf club graphics Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Golf course du jour patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.38377 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Daimler Chrysler , DirecTV , Exxonmobil Chemical Company , Goodyear , Intel , Kyocera Wireless , |
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