Golf Putting Pad and Game

Abstract

In some embodiments, a golf putting pad may include a substrate, a boundary area extending about a periphery of the substrate, and a putting area extending over a portion of the substrate inside of the boundary area. The putting area may include a plurality of holes, each of which may be sized to receive a golf ball. The golf putting pad may further include an out-of-bounds gutter area between the putting area and the boundary area and defining a periphery of the putting area. In some embodiments, the putting area may be substantially planar and may define a slope. The slope may be within a range of zero percent to five percent. In some embodiments, the slope may be adjustable.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf putting pad comprising:
 a substrate;   a boundary area extending about a periphery of the substrate;   a putting area extending over a portion of the substrate inside of the boundary area and including a plurality of holes, each hole sized to receive a golf ball; and   an out-of-bounds gutter area between the putting area and the boundary area and defining a periphery of the putting area.   
     
     
         2 . The golf putting pad of  claim 1 , wherein the out-of-bounds gutter area comprises a gap between a putting turf associated with the putting area and a second turf associated with the boundary area. 
     
     
         3 . The golf putting pad of  claim 1 , wherein the out-of-bounds gutter area comprises an interface between a putting turf associated with the putting area and a second turf associated with the boundary area. 
     
     
         4 . The golf putting pad of  claim 1 , wherein the out-of-bounds gutter area comprises a cut-out portion of the substrate. 
     
     
         5 . The golf putting pad of  claim 1 , wherein the golf putting pad defines a substantially planar surface having a grade of slope within a range of zero percent to approximately four percent relative to a horizontal plane. 
     
     
         6 . The golf putting pad of  claim 5 , wherein the slope is adjustable. 
     
     
         7 . The golf putting pad of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holes comprises:
 a first hole positioned at a center of the putting area; and   a plurality of second holes positioned around and spaced substantially equidistant apart from the first hole.   
     
     
         8 . The golf putting pad of  claim 1 , wherein the putting area comprises a substantially square shape, the golf putting pad further comprising:
 a first hole positioned at a center of the putting area; and   four peripheral holes, each peripheral hole associated with a corner of the putting area and spaced apart from the first hole by a substantially equal distance.   
     
     
         9 . The golf putting pad of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the golf putting pad has a width of approximately sixteen feet;   the putting area has a width of approximately fifteen feet; and   each of the four peripheral holes is spaced apart from the center hole by approximately six feet, from each other by approximately nine feet, and from sides of the putting area by approximately three feet.   
     
     
         10 . A method comprising:
 providing a golf putting pad including a boundary area, a putting area, and an out-of-bounds gutter area, the boundary area extending about a periphery of the golf putting pad, the putting area inside of the boundary area and including a plurality of holes, each hole is sized to receive a golf ball, the out-of-bounds gutter area between the putting area and the boundary area and defining a periphery of the putting area; and   determining a score for a golfer based on at least a first attempt to putt a golf ball into each hole of a selected sequence of the plurality of holes, the selected sequence defining a round; and   recording a total score for the round for the golfer based on the score for each hole.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the golf putting pad comprises a slope within a range of zero percent to five percent. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the slope is adjustable within the range. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising defining the selected sequence of the plurality of holes to include at least one uphill putt, at least one downhill putt, and at least two cross-slope putts. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 recording the total score of each golfer of a plurality of golfers; and   comparing the total scores to determine a winner based on the lowest total score.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 changing at least one of the slope and the selected sequence of the plurality of holes to define a second round; and   determining a second score for the golfer for the second round based on at least a first attempt to putt the golf ball into each hole of the second round; and   recording a total score for the second round for the golfer based on the score for each hole.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein determining the score comprises:
 assigning a score of one for a selected hole when the golfer makes a first putt from a tee area into the selected hole;   assigning a score of two for the selected hole when the golfer misses the first putt and the golf ball remains on the putting area; and   assigning a score of three for the selected hole when the golfer misses the first putt and the golf ball rolls into the out-of-bounds gutter area.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein determining the score comprises:
 counting a number of putts used by the golfer to advance the golf ball from a tee area for a selected hole into the hole;   adding a penalty stroke to the number of putts when the golf ball rolls into the out-of-bounds gutter area or into another hole of the plurality of holes; and   determining the score for the hole when the golf ball falls into the selected hole.   
     
     
         18 . A golf putting pad comprising:
 a putting area defining a substantially planar surface including a plurality of holes, each hole sized to receive a golf ball; and   an out-of-bounds gutter area along a periphery of the putting area; and   wherein the putting area defines the grade of a slope within a range of zero percent to five percent.   
     
     
         19 . The golf putting pad of  claim 18 , further comprising one or more supports controllable to adjust the slope to provide a selected slope. 
     
     
         20 . The golf putting pad of  claim 18 , wherein:
 the putting area includes a substantially square putting surface;   the plurality of holes includes a center hole at an approximate center of the putting area and includes four peripheral holes near corners of the substantially square putting surface, the four peripheral holes spaced apart from each other by a first distance and from the center hole by a second distance that is approximately ⅔rds of the first distance.