Golf practice and amusement apparatus

Claim 1

A portable and compact golf practice and amusement apparatus wherein the players use regular golf balls and conventional type golf putters, comprising: an elongated playing mat of flexible resilient material having an upper surface defining a putting surface having characteristics simulating an actual putting green as to drag and resistance to the rolling of a golf ball thereacross, and a bottom surface adapted to be laid atop a floor, carpet, lawn and the like, the mat having a front edge, a back edge parallel to and longitudinally spaced from the front edge, and a pair of transversely spaced apart longitudinally extending side edges interconnecting the opposite ends of the front and back edges respectively; a first opening located in the back end portion of the mat, centrally thereof, and extending completely therethrough, the opening spaced a slight distance inwardly from the back edge of the mat; a second opening located in the front end portion of the mat, centrally thereof, extending completely therethrough, and spaced inwardly from the front edge of the mat; a first golf ball trapping and receiving cup adapted to fit into and be retained in the first opening, the first cup having cylindrical vertically extending side walls of a length less than the thickness of the mat and terminating in a closed bottom end and an open top end, the exterior diameter of the side walls being less than the diameter of the first opening such that the cup may be axially inserted thereinto, and an annular ring like flange extending completely about the cup side wall top edges and projecting outwardly therefrom to support the cup in the first opening with the flange portion and cup opening lying substantially in the plane of the upper mat surface to permit the entry of a properly aimed golf ball which is properly putted along the upper surface thereinto without affecting the course of travel of the golf ball into the cup; a second golf ball trapping and receiving cup adapted to fit into and be retained by the second opening, the second cup having vertically extending cylindrical side walls terminating in an open topped end and a closed bottom end, the side walls extending for a length less than the thickness of the mat, the exterior diameter of the side walls being less than the diameter of the second opening such that the cup may be axially inserted into the second opening, and an annular ring like flange member extending completely about and connected to the top edge of the side walls and projecting outwardly therefrom to support the second cup in its respective second opening with the flange member and cup opening lying substantially in the plane of the upper mat surface to permit the entry of a properly aimed golf ball which is properly putted along the upper surface thereinto without affecting the course of travel of the golf ball into the cup; the first cup being of a smaller inner diameter than the inner diameter of the second cup with the first cup being located nearer the back edge of the mat than the second cup is to the front edge of the mat in order to increase the difficulty in putting a golf ball into the first cup without the golf ball going off of the mat and the player being penalized accordingly; the depth of both the first cup and the second cup being shallow relative to the diameter of a conventional golf ball to permit a putted golf ball to run through the cup rather than be trapped therein should the golf ball be putted too hard by the player for the distance to the cup; a first plurality of longitudinally spaced apart first shot teeoff position markers disposed intermediaTe the second opening and one side edge of the mat and extending in longitudinal alignment from a position nearest the mat front edge to a position on the opposite side of the second opening; a second plurality of longitudinally spaced apart first shot tee-off position markers disposed intermediate the second opening and the second side edge of the mat, the markers disposed in longitudinal alignment and extending from a position nearest the mat front edge to a position on the opposite side of the second opening; the second plurality of first shot tee-off position markers each being transversely aligned with an associated one of the first plurality of spaced apart first shot tee-off position markers; a further first shot tee-off position marker disposed centrally of the mat upper surface intermediate the first and second plurality of position markers and spaced slightly rearwardly of the second opening; each of said first shot tee-off position markers simulating various tees of a real golf course; each of said first shot tee-off position markers being appropriately identified by numerical marking indicia defining a predetermined numerical sequence of use of a player of each marker; a plurality of transversely extending longitudinally spaced apart lines formed integrally on the upper mat surface dividing the complete back end portion of the mat into four adjacent regional sections each being disposed at a successively longer distance from the second opening; and marking indicia associated with each of the regional sections and formed integral with the upper mat surface to identify each regional section to permit a player to position a golf ball on a selected first shot tee-off position marker and proceed to putt on the mat in a competitive or practice manner utilizing the first and second cup and the marking lines and regional sections to simulate play of the game of golf.