Invention aids golfers
FRANKLIN TWP — You're never too old to try something new — just ask Phil Triggs.
Triggs, 85, of Franklin Township invented the Golf Tee Height Adjuster, which is designed to give golfers the same height every time they place the tee into the turf of the tee box.
Triggs has done everything with this item himself, from creating the mold for the half-ounce unit to the marketing of the product.
“No matter what happens, I've had a lot of fun with this,” said Triggs, who came up with the idea in November.
Golfers first decide the height they want to tee off from by placing a tee into the turf and marking the bottom of the tee. Then they place the tee inside the tee adjuster and cut the adjuster at the proper marking.
The golfer's tee is placed inside the cut tee adjuster and pushed into the turf with the ball on top. When the adjuster hits the turf, the hand is released and the unit falls into the hand.
“I have the designing process in writing and got it notarized to protect myself,” Triggs said. “It costs $14,000 to get a patent.
“I'm not going there. At this stage of my life. I don't even buy green bananas.”
Triggs has been a golfer for 50 years. He plays two or three times a week and shoots in the mid-90s.
He said he's not looking for a get-rich scheme with this item.
“If I got a company to buy the idea and I got some royalties, that'd be ideal,” Triggs said. “I do have some time invested in this.
“Otherwise, I can make them and sell them myself. I can make 25 to 30 tee adjusters in an hour.”
Triggs said he sent them to numerous club pros in the region, including Arnold Palmer. He also sent one to Oakview Golf Club pro Jesse Horner in Slippery Rock.
Palmer has yet to respond.
“I can see where it'd be an effective teaching tool for juniors or novices only,” Horner said. “But once you tee up a ball a half-dozen times, you know how you want to tee it up.
“I passed along the adjuster I received to my guy who teaches kids. He may use it there.”
Horner emphasized that he sees more than a hundred inventions when he attends PGA golf shows each year.
“It's amazing what's out there,” he said. “Only one or two of those inventions ever make it, the technology in golf is so advanced today.
“Phil's a good guy. ... What he's got may help a beginner golfer,” the golf pro added.
Triggs is a retired sales manager who helped develop a multimillion dollar business for the company he was with.
“I know what it takes to sell and I think this is worthwhile. Besides, I want to fill my spare time in a productive way,” he said.
