Putting practice device

Claim 1

A device used to practice putting by assisting a user to guide the head of a putter including: a mat providing a generally flat surface having a ball position marker on which a golf ball is placed, a series of post members aligned in two spaced apart rows on opposite sides of the ball position marker wherein one row of post members has a fewer number of members than the other row so that a space is provided for stroking the ball with an inside to outside stroke, with no other structure extending upwardly from the mat between said two rows of post members to thereby provide a guideway between said rows for the putter, and elongated guides on the surface for assisting the user to control the direction of movement of the club head as the ball is struck.

Claim 2

A device used to practice putting by assisting a user to guide the head of a putter including: a mat providing a generally flat surface having a ball position marker on which a golf ball is placed, a series of post members aligned in two spaced apart rows on opposite sides of the ball position marker wherein one row of post members has a fewer number of members than the other row so that a space is provided for stroking the ball with an inside to outside stroke, with no other structure extending upwardly from the mat between said two rows of post members to thereby provide a guideway between said rows for the putter, and elongated guides on the surface for assisting the user to control the direction of movement of the club head as the ball is struck.

Claim 6

A device used to practice putting comprising: a first station including a mat providing a generally flat surface having a ball position marker on which a golf ball is placed, a series of post members aligned in two spaced apart rows on opposite sides of the ball position marker wherein one row of post members has a fewer number of members than the other row so that a space is provided for stroking the ball with an inside to outside stroke, with no other structure extending upwardly from the mat between said two rows of post members thereby to provide a guideway between said rows for the putter, and elongated (strip-type) guides on the surface for assisting the user to control the direction of movement of the club head, and a second station remote from the first station for catching a golf ball leaving the first station, said second station being an integral structure and including, a body member adapted to rest on a horizontal surface and including a leading edge, a pair of side walls, one side wall at each end of the leading edge and extending rearwardly from the leading edge, said side walls at their rearward ends being joined together by a rear lip, and a collector station in the rearward portion of the body member, an entry ramp and an exit ramp in a side-to-side relationship with a partition wall separation said ramps, said entry ramp serving as a target for the ball and having an entry end coextensive with the leading edge and an exit end terminating at a forward lip which is adjacent and forward to the collector station, said entry end of the entry ramp being lower than the exit end of the entry ramp when the body member is horizontal, said collector station including a generally flat floor which is below both the forward lip and rear lip and has a rear edge which abuts the rear lip, said floor being tilted to allow a ball under the force gravity to roll from the collector station onto the exit ramp when the body member is resting on a horizontal surface, with the forward lip being below the rear lip and the rear lip being of a height that stops the forward movement of the ball if it is not exceeding a predetermined speed, but allows the ball to roll over said lip if the ball exceeds said speed.

Claim 7

A device used to practice putting comprising: a first station including a mat providing a generally flat surface having a ball position marker on which a golf ball is placed, a series of post members aligned in two spaced apart rows on opposite sides of the ball position marker wherein one row of post members has a fewer number of members than the other row so that a space is provided for stroking the ball with an inside to outside stroke, with no other structure extending upwardly from the mat between said two rows of post members thereby to provide a guideway between said rows for the putter, and elongated (strip-type) guides on the surface for assisting the user to control the direction of movement of the club head, and a second station remote from the first station for catching a golf ball leaving the first station, said second station being an integral structure and including, a body member adapted to rest on a horizontal surface and including a leading edge, a pair of side walls, one side wall at each end of the leading edge and extending rearwardly from the leading edge, said side walls at their rearward ends being joined together by a rear lip, and a collector station in the rearward portion of the body member, an entry ramp and an exit ramp in a side-to-side relationship with a partition wall separation said ramps, said entry ramp serving as a target for the ball and having an entry end coextensive with the leading edge and an exit end terminating at a forward lip which is adjacent and forward to the collector station, said entry end of the entry ramp being lower than the exit end of the entry ramp when the body member is horizontal, said collector station including a generally flat floor which is below both the forward lip and rear lip and has a rear edge which abuts the rear lip, said floor being tilted to allow a ball under the force gravity to roll from the collector station onto the exit ramp when the body member is resting on a horizontal surface, with the forward lip being below the rear lip and the rear lip being of a height that stops the forward movement of the ball if it is not exceeding a predetermined speed, but allows the ball to roll over said lip if the ball exceeds said speed.