Ball collector

Abstract

The ball collector has a form similar to a golf club head and is used for collecting golf balls and positioning them on the tee. The ball collector comprises a body having a concavity in its base leading to a pair of arms at one end. The pathway between the concavity and the arms includes a summit onto or over which the ball passes to hold the ball in the arms.

1 . A ball collector comprising a body having a ball guidance pathway, the ball guidance pathway comprising a concavity on the underside of the body to fit over the ball and leading to a pair of arms at one end of the body sized to hold the ball but allowing the ball to be removed from the top of the arms, the pathway having bottom edge formations between the concavity and the arms rising to a summit to hold the ball on the arms. 
   
   
       2 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the summit is a projection that prevents the ball from rolling back down the pathway. 
   
   
       3 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the concavity has a top and sides that guide the ball to roll along the top of the concavity and roll up the bottom edge formations to the arms. 
   
   
       4 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the ball collector is made of a plastics material of a rigidity/hardness such that the collector will not deform under the weight of a golf ball or pressure applied thereto by a golfer. 
   
   
       5 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 1 , further including a handle. 
   
   
       6 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the handle is telescopic. 
   
   
       7 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the exterior of the body opposite to the arms has a ball manoeuvring formation. 
   
   
       8 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the handle further includes a stand, to enable to device to be supported. 
   
   
       9 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein an external part of the body includes at least one tee-receiving socket to receive a golfing tee. 
   
   
       10 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the tee-receiving socket is configured to receive and hold a tee and allow the tee to be planted into the ground or other surface. 
   
   
       11 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the tee-receiving socket comprises a base that the stem of the tee passes into and which has a channel to receive the stem of the tee and which grips the tee. 
   
   
       12 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the tee-receiving socket comprises a cavity or recess in the exterior of the body that has a back wall and a top wall to constrain and guide the tee, the back wall being curved or otherwise angled forwardly at its upper end to guide the tee from an initially partly inclined state to an upright state as the body is pressed down into the ground or other support surface. 
   
   
       13 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the body has a plurality of tee-receiving sockets and which are each of different heights to each other to drive a tee to a different selected depth into the ground or other support surface. 
   
   
       14 . A ball collector as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the handle comprises a stem that is provided with a ball gripping pick-up cup at an end. 
   
   
       15 . A golfing accessory comprising a long handle stem and a body at one end of the handle stem, the body having a cavity or recess in an external face thereof that defines at least one tee-receiving socket to receive a golfing tee and hold the tee and allow the tee to be planted into the ground or other surface. 
   
   
       16 . A golfing accessory as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the tee-receiving socket comprises a base that the stem of the tee passes into and which has a channel to receive the stem of the tee and which grips the tee. 
   
   
       17 . A golfing accessory as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the tee-receiving socket comprises a cavity or recess in the exterior of the body that has a back wall and a top wall to constrain and guide the tee, the back wall being curved or otherwise angled forwardly at its upper end to guide the tee from an initially partly inclined state to an upright state as the body is pressed down into the ground or other support surface. 
   
   
       18 . A golfing accessory as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the handle comprises a stem that is provided with a ball gripping pick-up cup at an end.