Exercising And Training Type Golf Club

Abstract

The pivoted member at the upper end of the golf club shaft, which is biased outwardly by a compression spring, is adapted to be squeezed by the uppermost hand of the user and moved against the fixed semi-cylindrical portion of the shaft to provide a generally cylindrical grip portion. If the gripping force exerted by the golfer's hand is not sufficient to compress the spring and force the pivoted member against the shaft, an awkward and uncomfortable grip portion is provided which prevents the golfer from swinging the club in the proper manner.

Description

The present invention relates to an exercising and training grip arrangement particularly adapted for use with a golf club.

With the grip normally used by a right-handed golfer, the left hand grips the club at the uppermost end thereof while the right hand grips the club immediately below the left hand and, in some instances, the right hand partially overlaps the left hand. It is considered essential for a proper swing, to grasp the grip portion of the shaft firmly with the left hand, particularly with the middle finger, ring finger and the small finger. If a golfer is left-handed, it is the right hand that is positioned uppermost on the shaft and it is important that the right hand grip the shaft firmly.

The novel grip portion of this invention trains the user to firmly grip the shaft of the club with the hand which is uppermost on the shaft and at the same time exercises and strengthens the muscles of this hand and arm.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a golfer with an exercising and training type of golf club which will require the user to apply proper pressure on the grip of the club to insure that the left wrist of a right-handed golfer does not bend during the swing when hitting the ball. Conversely, the mounting of the left-handed head on the shaft would serve the left-handed golfer as well.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a golf club which requires the user to exert at least a predetermined force on the grip portion of the shaft with the uppermost hand to form on the shaft a grip portion of conventional configuration which is comfortable to hold while he swings the club.

Another object of the invention is to provide the upper end of the shaft of a golf club with a grip portion which is uncomfortable to hold while using the club unless the user grasps the shaft with the uppermost hand with at least a predetermined gripping force.

A further object of the invention is to provide a golf club with an exercising and training grip portion which has a pleasing appearance and which may be employed by either right-handed or left-handed golfers.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a golf club with an exercising and training grip portion which is of rugged, durable construction, which is formed of relatively few parts, which is easily assembled, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following specification and claims when taken in conjuction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a golf club having the improved grip portion of the present invention with the correct position of the hands of a right-handed golfer shown in phantom lines;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the grip portion of the golf club, taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 with the hands omitted for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of the end club grip;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the grip portion shown in open position;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the grip portion of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the stationary portion of the grip; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the pivotal portion of the grip.

For the purpose of illustrating the present invention, there is shown in FIG. 1 a right-handed golf club 1 having a shaft 3 with a head 5 for striking a golf ball secured to the lower end thereof in a conventional manner.

The novel exercising and training grip portion 7 includes a substantially rigid member 9 which may be fixedly secured to the upper end of the shaft 3 by any suitable means. For example, the rigid member 9 may be formed of any suitable light weight material such as strong plastic, aluminum, etc. and may be molded in place on the shaft 3.

The outer end portion 11 of the member 9, which is remote from the shaft 3, is of generally semi-cylindrical configuration with and the diametrical planar face 13 thereof facing forwardly and upwardly when the club is held in the position shown in FIG. 1 addressing a golf ball.

The planar face 13 extends from the outer end 15 of the member 9 to a shoulder 17 which forms an end wall portion between the generally cylindrical inner end portion 19 of the member 9 and the outer end portion 11.

A narrow rectangular-shaped slot 21 is formed in the inner end portion 19 and extends axially of the shaft 3. The slot 21 includes the side walls 23 and 25, which extend from the shoulder 17 to the end wall 27, and a bottom wall 29 which is an extension of the planar face 13.

An elongated pivoted member 31, also formed of suitable strong, lightweight, rigid material, is of generally semi-cylindrical configuration complementary in shape to the end portion 11 of the member 9 and includes a diametrical planar surface 33. A tongue 35 formed integral with the member 31 extends outwardly from the inner end 37 and into the slot 21. The pivoted member 31 is connected to the member 9 by a pin 39 which extends through aligned openings 41 and 43 formed in the end portion 19 and through an opening 45 formed in the tongue 35.

A calibrated coil compression spring 47 is positioned between the member 9 and the member 31 with one end of the spring seated in a recess 49 formed in the planar surface 13 and with the other end seated in an opposed recess 51 formed in the planar surface 33 of the pivoted member 31.

The tongue 35 includes a first lower surface portion 53 which is an extension of the planar surface 33 to approximately opposite the opening 45, and a second lower surface portion 55 which diverges outwardly from the surface 53. The surface 55 of the tongue 35 abuts against the bottom wall 29 of the slot 21 to provide stop means for limiting the extent to which the member 31 may pivot outwardly under the action of the spring 47.

The present golf club is intentionally constructed to be awkward and uncomfortable to hold and difficult to swing unless sufficient gripping force is exerted by the uppermost hand on the shaft to tightly and firmly grasp the shaft for a proper swing and to prevent the club from turning in the hands when a golf ball is struck.

In use, the palm of the uppermost hand of the user is placed over the pivoted member and the fingers are wrapped around the shaft in the usual manner while the other hand grips the shaft immediately below the pivoted member. If the force exerted by the uppermost hand is not sufficient to compress the spring and bring the planar face of the pivoted member against the planar of the rigid member, an awkward and uncomfortable grip portion is provided which prevents the user from swinging the club in the proper manner. A comfortable and normal grip is provided on the shaft, which permits the user to correctly swing the club, when the user grips the shaft with the uppermost hand with sufficient force to compress the spring and to move the generally semi-cylindrical pivoted member against the complementary semi-cylindrical fixed portion of the grip. The construction is such that the compression spring 47 can easily be changed to increase or decrease the pressure required to close the grip, thereby making the exercising and training golf club extremely versatile in its usage.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. A golf club having an exercising and training grip portion at the outer end of the shaft of the club adapted to be grasped only by the uppermost hand of the user, said grip portion being split and comprising: a fixed member rigid with the outer end of the shaft; and elongated member lying along one side of said fixed member and forming therewith said grip portion; means pivotally connecting one end of said elongated member to said fixed member, said elongated member being pivotally movable between a first position with a surface thereof substantially co-extensive with and contiguous to an opposed surface of said fixed member and a second position with the free outer end of said elongated member spaced outwardly from said fixed member; and resilient means disposed between said elongated member and spaced from the pivotal connection, biasing the free end of said elongated member away from said fixed member.

2. A golf club according to claim 1 including stop means for limiting the outward movement of the free end of said elongated member.

3. A golf club according to claim 2 in which the pivotal connection is spaced from the outer end of the fixed member and the free end of said elongated member is disposed adjacent the outer end of said fixed member.

4. A golf club according to claim 3 in which the elongated member is disposed on the upper side of the fixed member when the club is in the position for contacting a golf ball.

5. A golf club according to claim 4 in which the opposed surfaces of the fixed member and the elongated member are planar.

6. A golf club according to claim 5 in which said resilient means is a calibrated compression spring and a pair of opposed recesses are formed in said opposed planar surfaces, and the ends of said spring are seated in said opposed recesses.

7. A golf club according to claim 1 in which the elongated member comprises a body portion of generally semi-cylindrical configuration and the adjacent portion of the fixed member is of generally semi-cylindrical configuration and said grip portion is substantially cylindrical when said elongated member is pivoted to said first position.