Golf Tee Design for Fracture Resistance and Ground Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf tees are fragile, prone to flying out of the ground, difficult to use, especially for older golfers, expensive, and contribute to littering due to frequent breakage and loss, while not meeting regulatory requirements for directionality and durability.
Innovation Solution
A golf tee design featuring a sturdy, aerodynamically shaped head with a central pillar and hollowed-out portion, a robust stem with gripping rings and a bullet-shaped grounding tool, made from durable thermoplastic materials, which securely holds the ball, resists impact, and remains in the ground without flying or breaking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional wooden or flexible plastic tees are used, then the tee is easy to insert into the ground, but the tee is too fragile and readily breaks
Solution Approach 1:
The tee is constructed from a composite material comprising a thermoplastic polymer matrix reinforced with aramid fibers or glass fibers. This composite structure provides both the flexibility needed for easy ground insertion and the strength to resist breaking during use, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and fracture resistance.
2Ease of operation
If the tee head is made lightweight and small, then the tee is easy to use, but the head does not support the required downward pressure for conventional insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The tee head features a contoured, curved top surface with a radius of curvature optimized to distribute the downward insertion force evenly across the ground contact area. This curved geometry allows a relatively small head to support the required downward pressure while maintaining ease of use and proper ball placement.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the tee is made aerodynamic, then the tee flies less distance when hit, but the tee may not comply with regulations regarding directionality indication
Solution Approach 1:
The tee head incorporates an asymmetric design with a contoured top surface that provides aerodynamic properties to reduce flying distance, while simultaneously including a raised directional indicator element that complies with regulatory requirements for directionality indication, thus resolving the contradiction between minimizing flight and maintaining compliance.
4Ease of manufacture
If bright colors are used on the tee, then the tee is easier to find after flying, but the tee still flies up to 10 meters and bright colors increase visibility of littering
Solution Approach 1:
The tee incorporates bright coloring that makes it highly visible for easy retrieval, while the improved structural design and ground-anchoring features prevent the tee from flying far in the first place. This converts the potential harm of visible littering into a benefit by making the tee so visible that it can be easily found and reused, reducing overall littering impact.
5Strength
If strong composite materials are used, then the tee resists breaking, but the tee increases in cost and may require additional assembly time
Solution Approach 1:
The tee is manufactured as a single integrated component molded from fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite material. This merging of the composite material strength with a one-piece construction eliminates the need for additional assembly steps, resolving the contradiction between fracture resistance and assembly complexity while controlling costs through efficient molding processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A golf tee is disclosed, which is resistant to breaking and resistant to flying. The golf tee herein comprises a head; a wider stem; a ground-gripping ring or rings; and a wide and sturdy pointy contoured tip section.