Distance marker within a golf course fairway

Claim 1

A visual distance marker for a golf course which is implanted in an elongated fairway of a golf course and is unaffected by the operation of a reel-type lawn mower passing thereover, said marker comprising: a very thin, flat, generally straight flexible upstanding marker strip having an upper distal end and a lower end and a uniform generally rectangular cross section along substantially its entire length; said marker strip lower end connected to an enlarged anchor portion, said anchor portion completely embedded into a grassy area of the golf course fairway; said anchor portion including an elongated straight tubular member having a length generally in the range of less than half the length of said strip, said strip having a width slightly less than the inside diameter of said tubular member; said strip and said tubular member connected adjacent their generally aligned lower ends by passing an elongated bolt or pin through aligned holes formed through said tubular member and said strip; said upper end extending above ground a distance such that said strip may be initially depressed by the leading edge bar of the lawn mower and said strip will be subsequently depressed by the mower and rolling bar of the mower, so that said strip will not be severed when the grassy area of said fairway is being mowed in a direction lengthwise or diagonally across said fairway; said strip marker being oriented in the fairway so that its width or greatest transverse dimension faces the direction of the tee associated with said fairway, and being sufficiently resilient to return to its original straight and upstanding orientation thereafter; indicia on the width portion of said marker strip for communicating to a golfer the distance of said strip from said tee associated with said fairway to enable a golfer to determine the distance a golf ball lying along the length of the fairway has been driven from said tee.