Hey all,

I'm a novice and am looking to make a golf ball "hole in one" detector. I have an oversized golf hole (about 12" round) in my yard and I would like to make some sort of ball sensor to detect a hole in one. I originally envisioned a light turning on if the cup sensed a golf ball as it is very difficult to tell if the golf ball made it in the hole from far away. The only thing I could think of is using a funnel of some sort inside of the golf hole so that if a ball makes it into the hole, it is automatically going to sit at the base of the funnel. Inside of the funnel neck, I figured a photocell or motion sensor would be there so that when the golf ball covers the sensor, it would trigger the light to turn on. All I have done so far is think about the concept, I am totally open to suggestion! Any ideas on how I can make this for a reasonable amount of money would be appreciated! Please include the parts that you would recommend as well since this is all new to me and I may not be familiar with what certain parts are.

Thank you!!

 

 

Keep it simple! A funnel and a small mechanical switch will do it.

 

Cut a slit in the side of the funnel snd slide one of these on the slit (with the long switch-arm pointing to the bottom of the funnel. The weight of the ball will cause the snap-action switch to toggle ON. Just connect a batter in series with this switch and some type of light or. Buzzer or what ever you want.
https://www.amazon.com/Twidec-Switc...oswitches&qid=1652241590&s=industrial&sr=1-19

 

Cut a slit in the side of the funnel snd slide one of these on the slit (with the long switch-arm pointing to the bottom of the funnel. The weight of the ball will cause the snap-action switch to toggle ON. Just connect a batter in series with this switch and some type of light or. Buzzer or what ever you want.
https://www.amazon.com/Twidec-Switc...oswitches&qid=1652241590&s=industrial&sr=1-19

Thank you! Is this what you're suggesting? If so, what should I purchase for the battery and what should I purchase for the light? Can I use any LED spot light or does it have to be 12v or something?

 

Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting for mounting the switch. I'll let someone else handle the lamp and battery. A pack of 3-AA batteries in a holder will be easiest and a resistor + LED. Really depends in distance, color of LED and conditions (full daylight from 360° around the hole or a single direction).

note, of the three connectors on the switch, two will be connected when the switch is not triggered. A different pair will be connected when the switch is triggered.

 

Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting for mounting the switch. I'll let someone else handle the lamp and battery. A pack of 3-AA batteries in a holder will be easiest and a resistor + LED. Really depends in distance, color of LED and conditions (full daylight from 360° around the hole or a single direction).

note, of the three connectors on the switch, two will be connected when the switch is not triggered. A different pair will be connected when the switch is triggered.

I bought these items, so hopefully it works! Only thing left to fund is a 12" funnel which is surprisingly uncommon. Two more questions for you... #1 - do I have to connect something to the "off" circuit or could I just leave it disconnected? #2 - I'm assuming I can just directly connect this 12v light to the circuit, though, you mentioned a resistor... will I need a resistor with this set up?

 

1) no, you do not need to connect anything to the "off" loop. You just need to connect to two of the three terminals on the switch in your case.
2) a typical 12v device like this will not need any current limiting resistors - they should be (SHOULD BE) in the device. The resistor was worth mentioning in case you bought a bare LED.

the light you bought says it is 2 Watts at 12V on Amazon. I hope this is true and I hope you can see it in daylight. If it is 2 Watts at 12V, that means your battery pack of 8-AA in series will deliver 320mA and last for 3 to 7 hours - remove the ball ASAP or you will need to replace the batteries. Don't forget the ball in the hole. There is no timer to turn off the LED automatically after a given time.