This invention relates to apparatus for retrieving a tethered golf ball or other sports missile.
One feature of the retriever is the geometry of the line-spooling and the line-guiding elements which allows the line to pay out with minimal drag. The retriever accordingly is advantageously used where the distance which the ball or other missile travels is important. The retriever of the invention is accordingly well suited for retrieving golf balls, for it enables a golfer realistically to practice a variety of strokes, whether for putting, driving or shots of intermediate distance. The retriever which the invention provides is also suited for use with other sports missiles, including hockey pucks, footballs, baseballs, tennis balls, and the like.
Apparatus for retrieving tethered balls is known, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,439. The golf ball retriever of that patent employs a fishing rod-type spinning reel from which the line feeds through numerous guides and control elements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,230 describes a golf ball retriever which has a relatively complex arrangement of driven and control elements for storing and for paying out the tethering line. Additional prior art is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,399,293; 3,340,735; and 4,092,027.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved retriever for a tethered sports missile, and particularly a retriever which imposes minimal hinderance on the missile whether in the form of drag or in the anchorage of the tether to the missile. A more specific object is to provide a retriever for a tethered sports missile which pays out the tethering line with minimal drag, and in particular without any powered elements.
Another object is to provide a retriever having the foregoing features which readily can meter the distance the sports missile travels.
Other objects are that the retriever be easy to use and yet compact to store and transport.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.