Golf ball holder and method thereof

Abstract

An apparatus has a golf ball holder including a receiver assembly having a resilient wall. The resilient wall is configured to: (A) form a stressed shape in response to the application of a stressing force to the resilient wall of the receiver assembly, and in the stressed shape, a golf ball is releasable from the receiver assembly; and (B) form an unstressed shape in response to the removal of the stressing force from the resilient wall of the receiver assembly, and in the unstressed shape, the receiver assembly is ready to receive and to hold the golf ball.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf ball holder for a golf ball, the golf ball holder comprising:
 a receiver assembly, wherein the receiver assembly includes an inner surface forming an inner cavity, wherein the inner cavity is generally semispherical in shape, wherein the receiver assembly is constructed from a material capable of maintaining the spherical shape of the inner cavity;   a cleaning medium, wherein the cleaning medium is secured to the inner surface;   a resilient finger assembly extending from the receiver assembly, wherein the finger assembly includes a plurality of fingers for releasably holding the golf ball in golf ball holder, wherein each of the plurality of fingers extends beyond a hemisphere of the inner cavity, and wherein at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of fingers defines a gap therebetween; and   a clip, wherein the clip is affixed to the receiver assembly, and wherein the clip is configured to secure an object between the clip and the receiver assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of fingers allow a portion of the golf ball opposite the inner cavity to remain exposed to allow rotation of the golf ball within the golf ball holder by a user. 
     
     
         3 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the inner cavity is greater than a diameter of the golf ball. 
     
     
         4 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball holder has dimensions relative to the golf ball such that the golf ball can rest within the receiver assembly without contacting the finger assembly. 
     
     
         5 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein the receiver assembly, the finger assembly, and the clip are molded to form a single unit. 
     
     
         6 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball holder is generally spherical. 
     
     
         7 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of fingers follows the generally semispherical shape of the inner cavity. 
     
     
         8 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein the receiver assembly does not extend beyond the hemisphere of the inner cavity. 
     
     
         9 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball contacts less than all of the plurality of fingers when the golf ball is within the golf ball holder. 
     
     
         10 . The golf ball holder of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning medium is one or more of a cloth material, a fiber material, a sponge material, a pad, a lining material, and a foam material. 
     
     
         11 . A golf ball holder for a golf ball, the golf ball holder comprising:
 a main body, the main body forming an inner cavity, wherein the inner cavity is generally spherical in shape, the main body comprising:
 a receiver assembly, wherein the receiver assembly includes an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein the inner surface forms a portion of the inner cavity, wherein the outer surface includes a clip, and wherein the receiver assembly does not extend beyond a hemisphere of the inner cavity; and 
 a finger assembly, wherein the finger assembly includes a plurality of fingers for releasably holding the golf ball in the golf ball holder, wherein the finger assembly extends beyond the hemisphere of the inner cavity, wherein an inner surface of the finger assembly forms at least some of the inner cavity; and 
   a cleaning medium, wherein the cleaning medium is secured to the inner surface of the receiver assembly.   
     
     
         12 . The golf ball holder of  claim 11 , wherein the clip is configured to secure an object between the clip and the receiver assembly. 
     
     
         13 . The golf ball holder of  claim 11 , wherein the golf ball contacts less than all of the plurality of fingers when contained within the receiver assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The golf ball holder of  claim 11 , wherein the golf ball holder has dimensions such that the golf ball can rest within the receiver assembly without contacting the finger assembly. 
     
     
         15 . The golf ball holder of  claim 11 , wherein the finger assembly does not fully enclose the golf ball. 
     
     
         16 . The golf ball holder of  claim 11 , wherein the golf ball is insertable into, and releasable from, the inner cavity via the finger assembly. 
     
     
         17 . The golf ball holder of  claim 11 , wherein any adjacent ones of each of the plurality of fingers defines a gap therebetween. 
     
     
         18 . The golf ball holder of  claim 11 , wherein the main body is molded as a single unit. 
     
     
         19 . A method of use of a golf ball holder to clean a golf ball, the method comprising:
 providing the golf ball holder, wherein the golf ball holder comprises:
 a receiver assembly, wherein the receiver assembly includes an inner surface forming an inner cavity, wherein the inner cavity is generally semispherical in shape, wherein the receiver assembly is constructed from a material capable of maintaining the spherical shape of the inner cavity; 
 a cleaning medium, wherein the cleaning medium is secured to the inner surface; 
 a finger assembly extending from the receiver assembly, wherein the finger assembly includes a plurality of fingers, wherein each of the plurality of fingers extends beyond a hemisphere of the inner cavity, and wherein at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of fingers define a gap therebetween; and 
 a clip, wherein the clip is affixed to the receiver assembly, and wherein the clip is configured to secure an object between the clip and the receiver assembly; 
   urging the golf ball past the finger assembly into the receiver assembly;   rotating the golf ball against the cleaning medium within the receiver assembly; and   pulling, from the receiver assembly past the finger assembly, the golf ball.