An item holder primarily containing two parts: a ball shaped element and a clip. The clip can be seated neatly into a cutout in the ball shaped element. The clip can also be designed as a divot tool or a spike and contains a clamp that can be used to hold a cigar or cigarette, support a golf club or have other uses. The ball shaped element is sized to fit neatly into the ball bracket on any pull cart or motorized cart equipped with such a bracket.

A table tennis ball which has, on the spherical surface thereof, a marking to make a ball rotation measurable. The marking contains a number of marking points, which are distributed on the ball surface in such a way that the standard deviation of the lengths of the orthodromes between each of the marking points and the three nearest neighboring points thereof is at least 12% of the average value of these lengths, and the minimum length of the orthodromes between each of the marking points and the three nearest neighboring points thereof is at least 40% of the average value of these lengths.

A method of manufacturing an article comprises etching an etched feature on a surface of a first polymeric sheet, and forming a fluid-filled bladder element from the first polymeric sheet, with the fluid-filled bladder element having a sealable internal cavity that retains fluid. The method includes assembling the bladder element in the article so that a first portion of the bladder element having the etched feature is exposed to view, and a second portion of the bladder element is blocked from view by the article. An article includes the bladder element with the etched feature.

An electronic golf aid system for assisting users with reading greens on golf courses includes a camera that captures images of the user's field of view, and an electronic display device with a display screen that displays captured images. A processor, which communicates with the camera and display device, is programmed to: receive signals from the camera indicative of images of a golf ball and a cup on the green; determine respective locations for the golf ball and cup; determine a perspective view of the topology of the green between the golf ball and cup from the user's point of view; determine, based on the green's topology, a proposed trajectory line from the golf ball's location to the cup's location; and direct the electronic display device to display the proposed trajectory line superimposed on the surface of the green as the green is shown in real-time on the display screen.

A non-spherical training ball for training a pitcher to throw a ball with proper technique is provided. The training ball has a hollow body having a spherical surface forming a spherical cap having a height greater than the radius of the sphere from which the spherical cap is formed and a substantially planar surface forming the spherical cap plane. Sidewalls form the hollow cavity of the hollow body, the sidewalls have a spherical surface sidewall portion forming the spherical surface of the hollow body and a planar surface sidewall portion forming the substantially planar surface of the hollow body. The sidewall thickness of the planar surface sidewall portion has a thickness greater than the sidewall thickness of the spherical surface sidewall portion.

A pitch training ball includes a center portion, a first cap, and a second cap. The center portion is opaque and has a first planar surface at a first end thereof, and a second planar surface at a second end thereof opposite to the first end. The first cap portion has a first base that is adjacent to the first planar surface. The second cap portion has a second that is adjacent to the second planar surface. The first cap, the center portion, and the second cap cooperate to define a baseball shape. The first and second caps are transparent to translucent.

A multi-layer toy having at least one outer layer adjacent a planar layer or a ball where both the outer layer and the adjacent planar layer or ball each contain related information such that, in play, the information on the outer layer is made to align with the related information on the adjacent planar layer or ball. The information can comprise depictions of objects, things, characters, animals, or words, for a matching game, or the information can comprise numbers for a counting or mental math game. The toy is preferably sized to be hand-held.

A cue ball used for practice and play in pool or billiards. The cue ball is made with a plurality of concentric sphere layers or shells starting with a centermost opaque ball, followed by two or three spheres of differently colored semi-transparent polymer resins; then an outermost clear layer of polymer.

Golf balls including a plurality of radar detectable marks disposed on any single layer or among two or more layers thereof are provided. When all of the radar detectable marks present on any layer of the ball are radially projected onto the outer surface of the ball, the resulting overall pattern of projected radar detectable marks includes a series of three or marks located on a 1.5 mm wide great circle band on the outer surface of the ball.

As described above, one or more aspects of the present disclosure provide articles having structural color, and methods of making articles having structural color. The present disclosure provides for articles that exhibit structural colors through the use of an optical element, where structural colors are visible colors produced, at least in part, through optical effects. The optical element (e.g., a single layer reflector, a single layer filter, a multilayer reflector or a multilayer filter) can include the reflective layer(s), constituent layers, and an optional textured surface. The optical element has a minimum percent reflectance in a wavelength range within the wavelength range of about 380 to 625 nanometers. The optical element imparts a structural color that corresponds substantially to the range of wavelength range.