ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,296,242, issued on May 13.
"Golf bell" was invented by Robert L. Shields (Cape Coral, Fla.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A golf green is enhanced by sliding a spacer tube and bell onto and circumscribing a flag pole. The spacer tube upper end suspends the bell above the golf green, defining a gap smaller than golf ball diameter. The bell rings when struck by the golf ball. The spacer tube and flag pole reliably locate the bell relative to the green. In some embodiments, the bell is positioned relative to a cup within the hole in the green, while in other embodiments the bell is positioned relative to the green surface. A method of insta...