Day 4 of the Week Dedicated to Golf Course Patents – Finally a Web Pattern Layout

What happens when a statistics professor designs a golf course? The possibilities are endless. Actually, I don’t know if the inventor of the course of today is a statistics professor, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

So, what could possibly follow a linear golf course layout, a circular layout, and a shared fairway layout (with movable trees)? A web pattern layout, of course. Today’s course is found in USPN 6,036,606 titled “Golf Course with Multi-Sequential Arrangement of Golf Links,” which explains:

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a golf course which comprises a plurality of golf link sequential arrangements which are obtainable by orienting putting green areas and fairway areas in a predetermined web pattern and wherein there are more fairway areas than putting green areas with the putting green areas having a single associated one of the fairway areas in each of the sequential arrangements.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a golf course comprising a plurality of putting green areas and a plurality of fairway areas and wherein the green areas and fairway areas are disposed in a predetermined web pattern to permit a plurality of sequential arrangements of golf links with the putting green areas having a single associated one of the fairway areas in each of the sequential arrangements.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a method of constructing a golf course to permit a plurality of sequential arrangements of golf links within the golf course and wherein the putting green areas have a single associated one of the fairway areas.

With the present invention there is provided a golf course wherein the putting green areas are not shared with other golfers but are associated with a specific fairway area depending on the selected one of a plurality of sequential arrangements of the golf links so that many different orders of golf links may be played on the same course.

With the golf course of the present invention and by using, for example, nine putting green areas oriented in the predetermined web pattern, it is possible to obtain eighteen different golf link arrangements. Another web pattern of nine links may be easily adapted to an existing 9 golf hole web design to permit much greater sequential arrangements of the golf links.

According to a further broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf course which comprises a plurality of putting green areas which are spaced apart from one another and each associated with two or more fairway areas to constitute a plurality of golf links. A tee area is associated with the fairway area of each of the golf links. Designation means is provided to identify individual ones of the golf links. The green areas and fairway areas are disposed in a predetermined web pattern to permit a plurality of sequential arrangements of the golf links with the putting green areas having a single associated one of the fairway areas in each of the sequential arrangements. At least one of the putting green areas is displaced to a different position in the plurality of sequential arrangements.

According to a further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of constructing a golf course to obtain a plurality of sequential arrangements of golf links within the golf course. The method comprises the steps of disposing a plurality of putting green areas, spaced-apart, and oriented with respect to a web pattern having at least two substantially parallel spaced-apart axes and at least three substantially parallel transverse axes. Fairway areas are delineated between the putting green areas along the axes. Diagonal fairway areas are also delineated along diagonal axes between some of the putting green areas. Tee areas are provided for the fairway areas. Designation means are also provided to identify the golf links formed by individual ones of the fairway areas in association with one of the putting green areas. There are more fairway areas than putting green areas to constitute a plurality of sequential arrangements of the golf links. A specific sequential arrangement of the golf link is identified to direct a golf playing person through the golf course.

According to a further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a Table on which the plurality of sequential arrangements of the golf links are identified whereby to select a specific one of the arrangements to direct a golf playing person along the golf course and wherein this arrangement may be changed from time to time so that the golf links of the golf course may be played several times but in a different arrangements.

You may ask, how many combinations are there? Good question. Check out the diagram below and read the subsequent paragraph.

FIG. 7 illustrates a still further web pattern constructed in accordance with the present invention and wherein the web pattern is comprised of a first group of four spaced-apart substantially parallel axes 25 and a second group of five spaced-apart substantially parallel transverse axes 26. The putting green areas are again oriented in relation to the crossings of each of the groups of axes. As herein shown the starting tee area 27 is disposed in alignment with an outside one of the first and second group of axes 25 and 26. A starting tee area can also be provided in the opposed corner of the groups of axes, as indicated by reference numeral 27’This 18 putting green area arrangement can produce 100 golf links with 52 fairways. It generates in excess of 8,000 different sequential arrangements of golf links.

I think I have spotted a trend; the more likely you are to receive a patent on a golf course layout, the less likely it is that most golfers will be interested in playing it!

Dave Dawsey  – Monitoring Golf Course Architecture Intellectual Property