US20030176229A1

US20030176229A1 - Golf swing guide

Info

Publication number: US20030176229A1
Application number: US10/096,815
Authority: US
Inventors: Alwyn Jacobys Schutte
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-03-14
Filing date: 2002-03-14
Publication date: 2003-09-18

Abstract

A completely portable lightweight training aid to guide the golfer during the backswing and downswing, while at the same time allowing the golfer to strike golf balls. The aid works on the principle that movement go where there is least resistance and is designed in such a manner that when a successful swing is performed, no part of the training device would have been touched by the golfer at any stage during the entire golf swing.

The training aid consist of a rigid elongated member, with the longer edges arcuately shaped and from a side on view in three dimensional space the member also curves and twists inwardly.The underlying surface of the member is called the guiding surface. A v-shaped tubular member with a planar surface on the end of one v and with attachment means for a golf club, guides the hands along the guiding surface of the training aid at a constant distance without touching the guiding surface. The planar surface of the club attachment also indicates and guides the relationship of the clubface and club shaft to the guiding surface at any given point during the backswing or downswing. A downwardly extending padded tubular member that is mounted to the training aid, indicate clearly where the shaft of the golf club should travel. If the golf club strikes the padded tubular member it rotate upwards, thereby indicating the wrong move.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to golf practice equipment. More specifically it relates to controlling the backswing and downswing of the golfer, without the golf club being attached or sliding as well as allowing the golfer to strike golf balls.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various prior devices have been suggested to control the path of the club head on the backswing, downswing and follow through in the golf swing. These devices generally fall in the following categories:

Golf shaft gliding on the outward part of a tubular PVC pipe whereas prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,322,456, 6,273,826, 5,441,275, 4,928,974, 4,040,633 relates to this application. While most of these devices were generally designed for practice purposes only (not for striking the golf ball), they are still fundamentally flawed. All these prior art devices employ flat backswing and downswing planes which is flawed. For striking a golf ball these devices are also unsuitable because the golfer must be free of any interference whilst these devices suggest sliding of the golf shaft. If mistakes are made during the downswing (not sliding on the pvc pipe) it can lead to various injuries or damage of the golf shaft.

Club head sliding on inward part of flat plane whereas prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,079 relates to this application. The same flaws as discussed above apply.

Golf shaft attached to flat plane or attached to guiding arm whereas U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,595,545, 5,429,367, 5,330,192, 5,421,579, 5,072,942, 5,538,251, 5,301,948, 5,188,367 relate to this application. All of these devices employ flat swing planes and any device that attaches the golf club is not suitable for striking golf balls.

Hands follow flat plane for backswing purposes, whereas prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,743 relates to this application. Apart from the same flaws as discussed above the device also claims a means of keeping the head still during the swing. Hundreds of studies of top professional golfers revealed that the head moves in various ways during the backswing and downswing, suggesting the application to be flawed.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is the object of this invention to provide a golf training device that guides the golfer during the backswing and downswing, without the golf club being attached or sliding, while at the same time allowing the golfer to strike golf balls.

The device embraces the principle that movement go where there is least resistance and is designed in such a manner that when a successful swing is performed, no part of the training device would have been touched by the golfer at any stage during the entire golf swing.

Further objectives of the invention is safety. The training aid is designed in such a way that even when mistakes are made, the golfer cannot be injured or impart damage to the golf club.

Furthermore the invention overcame all prior art swing plane flaws, by using a uniquely designed guiding surface that is not only c-shaped, but it also continuously curves inwards away from a vertical extending axis. The reason for this design is that a successful downswing and golf shot can only be achieved, if the hands travel in a continuously curved shape from a front on as well as a side on view in the downswing.

It is also the purpose of this invention to provide a means of establishing the correct relationship of the clubface and the club shaft to the guiding surface at any point during the backswing or downswing. To achieve this the guiding surface not only curves continuously away from a vertically extending axis, but at a certain point in the downswing the lowest end of the guiding surface also begin to twist or rotate inward. In order for the golfer to follow the guiding surface, a v-shaped member that attaches to the golf shaft is provided with a planar surface at the end of one v. This planar surface is then used by the golfer to be moved along the guiding surface at a predetermined distance without touching the guiding surface and at the same time keeping the planar surface both horizontally and vertically square to the guiding surface. This v-shaped attachment also serves to protect the golfer's hands and ensuring that the left arm does not contact the guiding surface during the backswing or downswing

A further objective of the invention is to control the movement of the shaft of the golf club. A downwardly extending elongated padded tubular member is mounted towards the bottom of the surface opposing the guiding surface, complete with a rotational bearing and a force releasing mechanism to set the tubular member at a desired angle. If during any part of the downswing the shaft of the golf club is projected outside the desired path of movement, the padded tubular member will be struck and projected around its axis, indicating the wrong move.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front on view of the training aid [0015]
FIG. 2 is a side on view of the c-shaped member to illustrate the continuously curving properties of the member. [0016]
FIG. 3 is a view from the top of the c-shaped member to illustrate the inwardly twisting or rotating properties of the member. [0017]
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the guiding surface of the c-shaped member with the v-shaped club attachment guiding the club along the guiding surface at a constant distance. [0018]
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the padded tubular member mounted on the opposing side to the guiding surface.[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In reference to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, the [0020] reference numeral 20 is used to describe the training aid as a whole. The c-shaped member 21 with the upper end curving faster than the lower end is constructed of a rigid and lightweight material and is designed in such a way that the lower end does not extend past the golfer's right knee to allow maximum visibility of the golf ball. The upper end extends to a certain point to allow the shaft of the golf club to pass in the follow through. The guiding surface 22 overlays the hands of the golfer and the v-shaped member 36. The padded tubular member 23 is preferably constructed of a lightweight true temper steel and padded with a sponge like material to soften the blow if struck by the golf shaft. The padded tubular member is mounted on member 21 by means of a rotational bearing and if rotated will be stopped by stopper 24.
[0021] Member 21 is suspended in the air by means of horizontal extending arm 29 and mounted at a preferred angle to extending arm 29 by means of an insert lock joint 25. Member 29 is kept in a horizontal position by a retractable locking triangle 26. The horizontal extending arm 29 folds downwards after use by means of pivot joint 28 and is set to the preferred height by locking mechanism 27.The c-shaped member 21 and horizontal extending arm 29 is stabilized in their preferred positions by the three tripod legs 33. The tripod legs are kept in position by locking mechanisms 31 and 35, and stabilized by triangles 34.
Referring to FIG. 2 which represent a side on view of [0022] member 21, illustrate how the guiding surface continuously curve inwards. The dashed line is used to illustrate the amount of curve.
With reference to FIG. 3 which represent a view from the top of [0023] member 21, illustrate how the lowest end of the guiding surface start to twist or rotate inwardly at approximately reference point 37. The two dashed lines are used to further illustrate this point.
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of guiding [0024] surface 22 to illustrate how the v-shaped member 36 guides the hands of the golf player along the guiding surface at a constant distance without touching the guiding surface. By keeping the planar surfaces 38 and 39 square to the guiding surface throughout the backswing and downswing the correct relationship between clubface, club shaft and guiding surface 22 is maintained. The v-shaped member 36 is attached to the golf club just below the grip of the golf club at a preferred angle and is locked in position by locking handle 41. The v-shaped shafts 40 are manufactured from a lightweight material, preferably graphite and overlays the hands of the golfer. For a tall golfer the planar surface 39 and 38 will move along the outside of the guiding surface 22 whereas for a shorter golfer the planar surface will move along the inside of guiding surface 22.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of c-shaped [0025] member 21 with padded tubular member 23 mounted on the opposing side to the guiding surface 22. The padded tubular member 23 is mounted by means of a rotational bearing and has got adjustable means for height by adjusting self locking handle 42. The padded tubular member 23 is suspended in the preferred position by springloaded clip 43 and if struck by the golf shaft the rotational motion is stopped by stopper 24.

Claims

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A c-shaped member wherein the upper part is curving faster than the lower part And;

Whereas the c-shaped member is continuously curving inwards and away from a vertically extending axis with the lowest end starting to twist or rotate inwardly at a certain point, so that the only planar surface left on the member is on a ninety degree angle directly between the two longer edges, but excluding the area where the lowest end is in the process of twisting or rotating inwardly.

2. The member as set forth in claim 1 is suspended above the ground at a preferred angle, in such a way as to accommodate the height of a golf player in the address position and whereas the combination of curved, twisted and planar surface closest to the golfer's hands in the address position, is referred to as the guiding surface and whereby the hands of a golf player are overlaid or on the inside of the guiding surface.

3. A v-shaped member with a planar surface on the end of one v and with attachment means for a golf club, whereas the planar surface is running preferably parallel to a golf club shaft after attachment to said golf club shaft and the planar surface is overlying the hands of a golf player.

4. Whereas the training aid as set forth in claim 3 is used to guide and protect the hands of the golf player along the guiding surface as set forth in claim 2 and at a predetermined constant distance without touching the said guiding surface.

5. The training aid as set forth in claim 3 is also used to control the correct relationship between the club face, the shaft of the golf club and the guiding surface of the training aid as set forth in claim 2, by means of the planar surface as set forth in claim 3 staying square both on a horizontal and vertical axis to the guiding surface of the training aid as set forth in claim 2, during the backswing and downswing of the golf player.

6. A downwardly extending elongated padded tubular member, pivotally mounted towards the lower part of the training aid as set forth in claim 1, on the surface opposing the guiding surface as set forth in claim 2 whereas the padded tubular member serves as an additional control mechanism for the path of the club shaft in the downswing of a golf player.

7. The padded elongated tubular member as set forth in claim 6 having a means of adjusting height.

8. The padded elongated tubular member as set forth in claim 6, is set at a preferred angle by means of a force releasing mechanism.

9. A stopper means mounted to the surface opposing the guiding surface as set forth in claim 2 to stop the rotation of the elongated padded tubular member if struck by the golf club, whereby striking the padded tubular member, the wrong move by the golf player is indicated.

10. A self standing stand in the form of a tripod with a supporting arm folding out sideways to a preferably horizontal position as to support the training aid as set forth in claim 1 in a preferred position.

11. The supporting arm as set forth in claim 10 connected to the upper side of the training device as set forth in claim 1 at a preferred angle and on the opposing side to the guiding surface as set forth in claim 2,in such a way that the supporting arm runs parallel to the mounting surface.

12. The stand as set forth in claim 10 having an adjustable means for height and direction for the supporting arm.

13. During a successful swing neither the golfer, nor the v-shaped member as set forth in claim 3 or the golf club would have made any contact with either the c-shaped member as set forth in claim 1, the padded member as set forth in claim 6 or the self standing stand as set forth in claim 10.