quirky88

@Strange below is what it states. I have a meeting with a lawyer next week to see if there's loopholes however I was hoping there would be another texhnology solution if not... "Golf balls for use with a system for finding golf balls and methods for making such golf balls. In the case of one exemplary golf ball, the ball includes a shell, a core material and a tag having a diode which is coupled to an antenna which has at least a portion formed from an elastic conductive material, such as an elastic conductive ink. The core material may include a void for receiving at least part of the diode. Other golf balls are described and methods for making balls are also described." the patent office have assured me that the game/concept cannot be patented any more than basketball can, it's the technology that comes with it... @swansont the holes are pretty large so a lot go in (see picture) it depends how close to centre of the hole it goes to how many point

I was thinking colour coded however the only issue if there are 50 bays and potentially 200 people playing at the same time, that's a lot of different coloured balls and scanners to detect. Barcode could work however like you say It would be hard to get it to match up and scan at the right point. I heard of a place that uses cameras on each bay to follow each specific ball and assign then points depending where they go however this has also been copyrighted. the issue with buying the balls @Area54 is that it would be in competition with their business regardless of the fact it's nowhere near. They won't to be the only ones who can provide this game in the world using that technology so I am trying to look for tweaks. Thanks again guys @studiot it is more of a fun activity for family's as opposed to professionals. Similar to how trampoline parks are for recreation not skilled trampolinists. you're correct that the balls that don't hit the holes don't need scored however!

We are looking to open a golfing driving range whereby you hit the golf balls at targets and if they go in one of the holes, you are awarded a different number of points. This is already being done by a company with Radio Frequency chipped balls and is patented. I wonder if there are any other types of sensor that might work like laser/infrared?? Really appreciate everyones help! (also I was unsure if this is Physics or Engineering so I double posted, sorry!)