Marcus Bohn was getting tired of practicing law when the light bulb clicked to “on’’ one day en route to his practice session at Ocotillo Golf Resort.
         “I had been dragging my video camera with me to the range, and I was getting sick of doing that,’’ said the 36-year-old Chandler resident. “I thought, ‘I need a video camera that’s much smaller.’ ’’
          As the story goes, his cousin, Tim Kipley, was working for a surveillance firm in Texas, which had just started manufacturing small video cameras. At the same time, Bohn saw an advertisement seeking inventions for The Golf Channel’s new series, “Fore Inventors Only.’’
         Suddenly it dawned on him: Why not quit his law practice and become an inventor?
        “It all just kind of came together last December,’’ Bohn said in retrospect. “I guess the reality is, the show sparked us to get off our (butts), and just do it. . . .
         “So we ended up buying a few cameras, tore them apart, and put them back together, literally, with super glue and duct tape. Everything happened so fast that, when we went to the first show, the glue was still drying.’’
       Thus the Pro Play Golf Performance System, which basically is a digital audio video recorder/action sports camera with DVD-like quality, was born. And if the new product from Bohn and Kipley clears one more hurdle, it will be among the top five new inventions that viewers will vote on via the Internet come Aug. 28, when the final episode of “Fore Inventors Only’’ takes place live from TGC’s headquarters in Orlando.
     “Yeah, I’m surprised,’’ admitted Bohn, whose invention was one of 1,238 products that entered the chase for what will earn one lucky inventor $50,000 worth of commercial time on The Golf Channel as well as a spot on a shelf in Golfsmith for one year.
      “When we went to Dallas for a tryout I thought we might be around for one show, which still would have been of tremendous marketing value. But we’ve hung around, gone to Orlando a couple of times to tape the show, and a lot of things have fallen into place ever since.’’
      For instance, the Pro Play is now in its sixth version in seven months, having gone from about twice the size to what now is a camera/tripod that weighs five ounces and is three inches by 2.5 inches. Among its functions, the weather-proofed Pro Play captures images, defines motion, develops skills and contains a vault of video lessons from PGA professionals.
      “The camera is versatile, like you could take it with you to Pebble Beach and easily record all of your shots during a round there,’’ Bohn pointed out, noting the shock-proof camera records up to 93 sequences. “And it contains music and still photos, and can be used for other sports, too.’’
       At the moment, the Pro Play is one of 10 inventions remaining in the contest. And at $399, which includes an attractive carrying case, the Pro Play is no more expensive than a new driver.
       “There are quite a few really good inventions, like the Z-Factor, which is a training device for putting, and Hill Shot Golf, which teaches golfers how to hit shots above and below their feet,’’ he pointed out. “But ours is the only high-tech product left, and I think that’s a plus because golfers love video.’’
       Stina Sternberg, the editor of Golf For Women magazine and one of the judges overseeing “Fore Inventors Only,’’ said the product “definitely belonged in the top 10.’’
       “I can’t give away anything as to how far they make it,’’ she said of the future. “But we saw a lot of crazy, wacky, not use-able products during the tryouts, and this one (the Pro Play) we all agreed was great.
        “It’s a genius tool for the golfer who likes to tinker, and most golfers, or so it seems, like to tinker.’’    
         Charles Calhoun, another judge who once participated in TGC’s series “The Big Break,’’ was even more emphatic.
          “I thought it was a wonderful product,’’ Calhoun noted. “It was the best one we’ve seen.’’
       But win, lose or draw, the Pro Play eventually goes on the market, Bohn said.
      “We’ve got about $10,000 in it right now, and if we had gone the traditional route, it would be over half-a-million bucks,’’ he said, noting that the intricate particulars of his product can be viewed at www.proplaygps.com.
          “It’s gotten to the point now, where we’re feverish to win. We don’t want second place.’’