Night golf system

• US 5,445,373 A
• Filed: 06/03/1993
• Issued: 08/29/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Night Golf, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Night Golf, Inc.
• Inventors: Franks, Randy
• Primary Examiner(s): Graham, Mark S.
• Application Number:
  US08/072,788
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 273/176, 273/32 R, 273/35 R, 273/35 B, 273/35 A, 362/253, 362/234
• US Class Current: 473/409
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/76 with means enabling use in the dark, other than powered illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/06 with illuminating devices ; with reflective surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3691 Golf courses; Golf practising terrains having a plurality of driving areas, fairways, greens special golf games, e.g. miniature golf, A63B67/02; mats for simulating golf greens A63B69/3661
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 2/00 Systems of lighting devices, not provided for in main groups F21S4/00 - F21S10/00 or F21S19/00, e.g. of modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 9/02 the power supply being a battery or accumulator
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 21/0824 Ground spikes
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 21/30 Pivoted housings or frames
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/105 of arenas or the like

Abstract

A portable lighting system that is disclosed for use in coordination with a glow-in-the-dark golf ball. Various predetermined locations on the golf course are illuminated so that a golfer can see the general layout and various hazards of each golf hole on the golf course. The golf course, other than the predetermined illuminated locations, however, remains substantially unlit so that a high contrast is created between the glow-in-the-dark golf ball and the golf course backdrop. The lighting system comprises various portable recharged lights that are hauled between different golf courses in a trailer. The trailer contains a power supply that recharges the illumination units after a night golf session. A light-stick is used to illuminate the area around a golfer while navigating around the golf course. The carrying stick is inserted into the ground before a golf shot to illuminate the area immediately surrounding the golf ball.

Claims

1. A method of playing golf at night on a golf course comprising:

providing a glow-in-the-dark golf ball having a high illumination contrast with a dark exterior light level;

illuminating only predetermined spot locations on the golf course and various hazards of each golf hole on the golf course;

providing illumination units each having a light beam for illuminating said spot locations;

maintaining the golf course, other than the illuminated predetermined spot locations, substantially unlit, so that substantially the entire fairway on each golf course hole remains unlit with a dark sky backdrop and a dark ground level, wherein each fairway extends from a tee location along a central axis to an associated golf green;

illuminating said spot locations with the illumination units while the light beams are directed away from the fairway central axis; and

playing golf with the glow-in-the-dark golf ball while only the spot locations around the perimeter of the golf course exist in an illuminated state thereby allowing the golfer to identify discontinuities and hazards in the golf course while at the same time maintaining a constant sharp illumination contrast between the glow-in-the-dark golf ball and the exterior light level along a standard flight trajectory and landing path for various locations on the fairway.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the course includes a plurality of holes, each hole having a corresponding green, a conventional cup located in the green, and a portable golf flag readily inserted and temporarily supported by a conventional receptor located inside the cup and further comprising the steps of:

rigidly attaching an illumination unit to the top of the golf flag thereby illuminating the golf green for identifying a location of the corresponding golf green cup;

removing a conventional golf flag from the golf flag receptor and temporarily inserting the golf flag with the attached illumination unit into the cup prior to a night golf session, the illumination sufficiently lighting the golf green so that the golfer can exchange the glow-in-the-dark golf ball with a standard non-illuminating golf ball for putting; and

removing the golf flag and the attached illumination unit from the cup and inserting the conventional golf flag back into the receptor after completion of the night golf session.

3. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:

providing the illumination units with a rechargeable power supply, the illumination units capable of being lifted by hand and transported to various locations on the golf course;

locating the multiple spot locations outside a periphery of each fairway on the golf course such that when illuminated with the fairway illumination units allow a golfer to identify the general layout of the corresponding hole; and

temporarily mounting each fairway illumination unit directly into the ground in a single stationary position next to an associated predetermined spot location along a longitudinal path of each golf course fairway prior to the night golf session;

directing the light beam of each illumination unit at the associated spot location along the outside periphery of the fairways;

extracting each fairway illumination from the ground after completion of a night golf session.

4. The method of claim 3 including transporting and installing the illumination units at different golf courses, the illumination units installed at one specific golf course prior to the beginning of a night golf session.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the illumination units are transported to the various spot locations on the golf course in a trailer, the trailer including a watertight lockable chamber having sufficient space for storing all the illumination units when not located on the golf course while at the same time being light enough to be hauled by a conventional golf cart and small enough to travel within a cart path provided on the golf course for said conventional golf cart.

6. The method of claim 3 including recharging the illumination units before each night golf session, each unit capable of maintaining a charge of sufficient length to illuminate an associated spot location for at least one night golf session.

7. The method according to claim 1 including illuminating hazards around each golf course that typically cannot be identified by a golfer at night.

8. The method of claim 1 including illuminating small reference locations at predetermined distances from each golf hole green, the illuminated reference locations providing only sufficient light to be identified by the golfer as a distance reference point while at the same time maintaining the area surrounding the reference location in substantial darkness.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the area around each golf green is illuminated from a variable location positioned directly above a repositionable golf hole thereby identifying variable positions of the golf holes on the associated golf greens.

10. The method of claim 1 including illuminating the golf course tee-boxes for identifying at night the tee off locations on the golf course.

11. A method according to claim 1 wherein the majority of the illuminated spot locations are located outside the periphery of the golf course fairways.

12. A method according to claim 1 wherein the golf course is of a size and layout sanctioned for regulation play by the Professional Golfers Association.

13. A method of playing golf at night on a golf course comprising:

providing a glow-in-the-dark golf ball having a high illumination contrast with a dark exterior light level;

providing multiple fairway illumination units each having a light source generating a light beam and a rechargeable power supply, the illumination units lifted by hand and transported to various locations on the golf course;

identifying multiple spot locations outside a periphery of each fairway on the golf course that when illuminated with the fairway illumination units allow a golfer to identify the general layout of the corresponding hole;

temporarily mounting each fairway illumination unit directly into the ground in a single stationary position next to an associated predetermined spot location along a longitudinal path of each golf course fairway prior to the night golf session;

directing the light beam of each illumination unit at the associated spot location along the outside periphery of the fairways;

illuminating only predetermined spot locations on the golf course and various hazards of each golf hole on the golf course while maintaining the golf course, other than the illuminated predetermined spot locations, substantially unlit, so that substantially an entire fairway on each golf course hole remains unlit with a dark sky backdrop and a dark ground level;

playing golf with the glow-in-the-dark golf ball while only the spot locations around the perimeter of the golf course exist in an illuminated state thereby allowing the golfer to identify discontinuities and hazards in the golf course while at the same time maintaining a constant sharp illumination contrast between the glow-in-the-dark golf ball and the exterior light level along a standard flight trajectory and landing path for various locations on the fairway;

extracting each fairway illumination from the ground after completion of a night golf session;

the illumination units transported to the various spot locations on the golf course in a trailer, the trailer including a watertight lockable chamber having sufficient space for storing all the illumination units when not located on the golf course while at the same time being light enough to be hauled by a conventional golf cart and small enough to travel within a cart path provided on the golf course for said conventional golf cart; and

separately coupling each illumination unit inside the trailer chamber to a charging unit also located inside the trailer chamber thereby recharging all the illumination units at the same time while stored in the trailer chamber.

14. A method of playing golf at night on a golf course comprising:

providing a glow-in-the-dark golf ball having a high illumination contrast with a dark exterior light level;

providing multiple fairway illumination units each having a light source generating a light beam and a rechargeable power supply, the illumination units lifted by hand and transported to various locations on the golf course;

identifying multiple spot locations outside a periphery of each fairway on the golf course that when illuminated with the fairway illumination units allow a golfer to identify the general layout of the corresponding hole;

temporarily mounting each fairway illumination unit directly into the ground in a single stationary position next to an associated predetermined spot location along a longitudinal path of each golf course fairway prior to the night golf session;

automatically activating some of the illumination units after being installed on the golf course, the illumination units activating a predetermined amount of time after the outside light level falls below a predetermined level for eliminating false activation due to intermittent shading at the spot locations and deactivating a given amount of time after activation substantially equal to the period of time required to complete the night golf session;

directing the light beam of each illumination unit at the associated spot location along the outside periphery of the fairways;

illuminating only predetermined spot locations on the golf course and various hazards of each golf hole on the golf course;

maintaining the golf course, other than the illuminated predetermined spot locations, substantially unlit, so that substantially an entire fairway on each golf course hole remains unlit with a dark sky backdrop and a dark ground level;

playing golf with the glow-in-the-dark golf ball while only the spot locations around the perimeter of the golf course exist in an illuminated state thereby allowing the golfer to identify discontinuities and hazards in the golf course while at the same time maintaining a constant sharp illumination contrast between the glow-in-the-dark golf ball and the exterior light level along a standard flight trajectory and landing path for various locations on the fairway; and

extracting each fairway illumination from the ground after completion of a night golf session.

15. A method of playing golf at night on a golf course comprising:

providing a glow-in-the-dark golf ball having a high illumination contrast with a dark exterior light level;

illuminating only predetermined spot locations on the golf course and various hazards of each golf hole on the golf course;

maintaining the golf course, other than the illuminated predetermined spot locations, substantially unlit, so that substantially the entire fairway on each golf course hole remains unlit with a dark sky backdrop and a dark ground level;

playing golf with the glow-in-the-dark golf ball while only the spot locations around the perimeter of the golf course exist in an illuminated state thereby allowing the golfer to identify discontinuities and hazards in the golf course while at the same time maintaining a constant sharp illumination contrast between the glow-in-the-dark golf ball and the exterior light level along a standard flight trajectory and landing path for various locations on the fairway;

providing a light-stick having a horizontally aligned top member with a downwardly angled section slidingly attached to a portable flashlight and a vertically aligned carrying stick attached at a top end to the top member and having a vertically aligned downwardly extending spike protruding from a bottom end for holding the support member above the ground in an upright position;

carrying the light-stick with the attached flashlight in a golfer'"'"'s hand during a golf session for illuminating the area around the golfer while navigating around the golf course;

inserting the carrying stick spike into the ground before addressing the golf ball for a golf shot, the carrying stick holding the flashlight above the ground at a downward angle;

directing the flashlight at the golf ball to illuminate the area surrounding the golf ball; and

extracting the spike from the ground after the golfer completes a golf shot.

16. A method for playing golf at night on a golf course comprising:

providing a glow-in-the-dark golf ball having a high illumination contrast with a dark exterior light level;

illuminating only predetermined spot locations on the golf course and various hazards of each golf hole on the golf course;

providing multiple fairway illumination units each having a light source generating a light beam and a rechargeable power supply, the illumination units lifted by hand and transported to various locations on the golf course;

identifying multiple spot locations outside a periphery of each fairway on the golf course that when illuminated with the fairway illumination units allow a golfer to identify the general layout of the corresponding hole;

temporarily mounting each fairway illumination unit directly into the ground in a single stationary position next to an associated predetermined spot location along a longitudinal path of each golf course fairway prior to the night golf session, the light source of each illumination unit located near ground level and the light beam from each illumination unit directed upwards and away from the associated fairway;

directing the light beam of each illumination unit at the associated spot location along the outside periphery of the fairways;

maintaining the golf course, other than the illuminated predetermined spot locations, substantially unlit, so that substantially the entire fairway on each golf course hole remains unlit with a dark sky backdrop and a dark ground level;

playing golf with the glow-in-the-dark golf ball while only the spot locations around the perimeter of the golf course exist in an illuminated state thereby allowing the golfer to identify discontinuities and hazards in the golf course while at the same time maintaining a constant sharp illumination contrast between the glow-in-the-dark golf ball and the exterior light level along a standard flight trajectory and landing path for various locations on the fairway; and

extracting each fairway illumination from the ground after completion of a night golf session.