Moving practice green and ball pickup apparatus

Abstract

A movable simulated golf green enables the practicing of approach shots on a golf driving range, or other location. The apparatus is constructed as part of a motorized vehicle so as to be driven about to various selected locations on the range. The green surface is made of a flexible sheet material laid over, but only connected to a structural under layer along its periphery. Thus an air layer pumped between the flexible sheet and the under layer causes the flexible layer to rise to a position slightly above the structural surface. The inner facing surfaces of these layers each have a metallic contact layer on them so that when they contact each other an electrical circuit may be closed. The electrical circuit provides a power source and several lamps for illuminating when a golf ball contacts the green surface and forces the metal layers into contact momentarily. The circuit is compounded so as to indicate by different color lamps, how far the ball impact on the green is from a flagpole positioned on the green. The apparatus also provides a ball pickup device which picks up stray golf balls and deposits them into a bin carried by the apparatus. The device is preferably remote controlled by radio commands from a fixed location and incorporates an on-board controller that steers the device to each new position on the golf range.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.