Wylie Inventor Named on Topgolf Patent

Topgolf International was granted U.S. Patent No. 12,649,095 on June 9, 2026 for a “Galton configuration in golf ball receiving apparatus and systems,” according to patent listings tied to the company. The patent describes a system for receiving golf balls that contain radio-frequency identification tags and routing them through an apparatus designed to improve read rates while reducing jams. Gabriel Heath Denk of Wylie, Texas, is listed as one of the inventors, alongside Brian David Burdette, Justin Dean Pendleton and Michael Ryan Petri. Dallas Innovates highlighted the grant on July 8 in its weekly roundup of North Texas patents. ### Which Topgolf patent is at the center of this story? Patent No. 12,649,095 is assigned to Topgolf International, Inc. and was filed on March 4, 2024 before being issued on June 9, 2026, according to patent records. The abstract says the apparatus includes a body with an ingress and egress for golf balls, at least one antenna of an RFID reader, and multiple internal protrusions arranged in a “Galton configuration.” (patents.justia.com) The patent says those protrusions are positioned so they both slow the balls enough to be read by the RFID system and allow them to pass through without jamming. That matters in Topgolf’s operating model because the company’s venues rely on tagged golf balls being identified as they move through game and scoring systems. ### Who is Gabriel Heath Denk, and how is Wylie connected? (patents.justia.com) Gabriel Heath Denk is identified in patent records as an inventor from Wylie, Texas. In the June 2026 Topgolf patent, Denk is one of four named inventors, all tied to North Texas cities: Burdette in McKinney, Denk in Wylie, Pendleton in The Colony and Petri, whose name appears in the same inventor grouping in Topgolf patent listings. (patents.justia.com) Wylie’s connection is specific rather than symbolic: patent documents and patent-tracking databases list Denk’s city alongside his name. That places a Wylie-based inventor on a newly issued Topgolf patent at a time when Dallas Innovates says Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 13 among 250 metros for patent activity in the week of June 9, with 82 patents granted. (patents.justia.com) ### How does the patent fit into Topgolf’s broader technology? Topgolf’s patent portfolio has long included RFID-based golf-ball systems. An earlier patent, US9339697B2, describes an RFID golf ball target system in which a tag is fixed within the golf ball and linked to a unique identifier used by readers and game systems. The new June 2026 patent appears to address a different part of that chain: how tagged balls are received and identified as they move through equipment. (image-ppubs.uspto.gov) Another Topgolf patent granted on April 14, 2026 covered a golf ball dispenser with an embedded display device, and that patent also listed Denk, Burdette, Pendleton and Petri among its inventors. ### Why are four North Texas inventors drawing attention? (patents.google.com) Dallas Innovates’ July 8 patent roundup singled out the Topgolf grant as part of a broader survey of North Texas inventive activity. The outlet said Dallas-Fort Worth placed No. 13 for patent activity for the week of June 9, citing 82 patents granted across the metro. The four named inventors on the Topgolf grant give the story a local angle because each is tied to the region through the patent records. (patents.justia.com) The assignee, Topgolf International, is listed as a Dallas company in patent materials tied to related filings, including a 2025 design patent for a golf ball dispenser. ### Where can readers verify the patent record next? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Public Search and related patent databases list the June 9, 2026 grant under Topgolf International, Inc. (dallasinnovates.com) Public patent pages also show the March 4, 2024 filing date, the patent number, and the named inventors. Dallas Innovates’ July 8 roundup provides the local publication trail, while patent databases tied to USPTO records provide the formal grant details. (patents.justia.com) Readers tracking what comes next can watch for later Topgolf filings and grants tied to the same inventor group, which already appears on multiple 2025 and 2026 patent records. (dallasinnovates.com) (uspto.gov)