System for providing loaner clubs to novice golfers

• US 9,623,303 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2015
• Issued: 04/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Topgolf International Inc. (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Topgolf International Inc. (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Inventors: Caster, Mark, McCracken, Steven Carl, Wagner, Christopher Daniel, Semsak, Mark, Allen, Neil John
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAU, STEPHEN LUTHER
• Application Number:
  US14/841,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20150367209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0694 Visual indication, e.g. Indicia
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/005 Club sets
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 55/10 Stands for golf clubs , e.g. for use on the course ; Golf club holders, racks or presses
• 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

Abstract

A system for providing loaner clubs to novice golfers includes a coding scheme for golf club holders, which can be provided at a golf range having targets, in order to facilitate play by people entirely new to the game of golf. In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can include a golf club stand including holders for golf clubs of different types, and visual indicators associated with the holders for the golf clubs of different types, where the visual indicators correspond to targets of different distances within a golf range.

Claims

1. A golf club stand comprising:

holders for golf clubs of different types; and

physically separate visual indicators associated with the holders for the golf clubs of different types,

wherein the physically separate visual indicators correspond to targets of different distances within a golf range, and each of the holders for the golf clubs of different types has more than one of the physically separate visual indicators associated therewith.

2. The golf club stand of claim 1, wherein the physically separate visual indicators are colors that match colors associated with the different targets.

3. The golf club stand of claim 2, comprising a panel including a ranging chart for the targets.

4. The golf club stand of claim 3, wherein the holders comprise holes in the panel.

5. The golf club stand of claim 1, comprising a panel including a men portion and a ladies portion, and each of the holders is in either the men portion of the panel or the ladies portion of the panel.

6. The golf club stand of claim 1, wherein the golf club stand has two sides, each of the sides configured to hold clubs for a respective bay and including visual indicators corresponding to the different targets.

7. A golf club stand comprising:

holders for golf clubs of different types; and

visual indicators associated with the holders for the golf clubs of different types,

wherein the visual indicators correspond to targets of different distances within a golf range, and each of the holders for the golf clubs of different types has more than one of the visual indicators associated therewith,

wherein the visual indicators are colors that match colors associated with the different targets, and

wherein each of the holders has three different colors associated therewith, thereby indicating three different targets for a club in the holder.

8. The golf club stand of claim 7, comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion includes the holders and the visual indicators, and the second portion includes openings for golf club bags.

9. The golf club stand of claim 8, wherein the second portion comprises an angled base and a stop for each of the openings for golf club bags.

10. The golf club stand of claim 9, wherein the angled base for each of the openings for golf club bags comprises a flat surface placed at an angle of about five degrees, and the stop for each of the openings for golf club bags comprises a crossbar placed at or about twenty three inches from the angled base.

11. A golf club stand comprising:

a first portion of the golf club stand including holders for golf clubs of different types and visual indicators associated with the holders for the golf clubs of different types, wherein each of the holders is in either a men portion or a ladies portion of the first portion of the golf club stand, and the visual indicators correspond to targets of different distances within a golf range; and

a second portion of the golf club stand including openings for golf club bags,

wherein the second portion of the golf club stand comprises an angled base and a stop for each of the openings for golf club bags.

12. The golf club stand of claim 11, wherein the golf club stand has two sides, each of the sides being for a respective bay, and each of the sides having a respective angled based and stop for each of the openings for golf club bags.

13. The golf club stand of claim 11, wherein the angled base for each of the openings for golf club bags comprises a flat surface placed at an angle between five and thirty degrees, inclusive, with respect to ground.

14. The golf club stand of claim 11, wherein the angled base for each of the openings for golf club bags comprises a flat surface placed at an angle of about five degrees.

15. The golf club stand of claim 11, wherein the stop for each of the openings for golf club bags comprises a crossbar.

16. The golf club stand of claim 15, wherein the crossbar for each of the openings for golf club bags is placed at or about twenty three inches from the angled base.

17. The golf club stand of claim 11, wherein each of the holders for the golf clubs of different types has more than one of the visual indicators associated therewith.

18. The golf club stand of claim 17, wherein the visual indicators are colors that match colors associated with the targets of different distances within the golf range.

19. The golf club stand of claim 17, wherein the first portion of the golf club stand comprises a ranging chart for the targets of different distances within the golf range.

20. The golf club stand of claim 17, wherein each of the holders has three different colors associated therewith, thereby indicating three different targets for a club in the holder.