Golf Practice Device

Abstract

A golf practice device includes adjustable, extensible members for engaging and controlling the movement of a golfer's head and hips without interfering with motion of arms and shoulders during a swing, and includes adjustable, flexible guide members which define a correct path of swing, and provide an indication of error when the correct path of swing is not followed. The head movement control members comprise a pair of resiliently mounted padded guides which engage the golfer's cheeks and permit limited but yieldingly restrained turning movement of the golfer's head. The hip movement control members comprise a pair of curved hip guides which extend through less than a half circle and terminate at the golfer's hip joints. The golf club swing guide members are carried by brackets which are adjustably mounted on horizontal bars supported by vertical rods. The various components may be used with a platform which is adapted to tilt very slightly to give the golfer an indication of the instant when his weight shifts from one foot to the other.

Description

This invention relates to golf practice devices adapted to aid a golfer to groove his swing.

One of the important lessons which must be learned by a golfer is how to groove his swing from the time he addresses the ball until he has completed his swing. Ability to consistently groove a swing is important to a golfer, but this ability can only be acquired by long and tedious practice. Many factors are involved in achieving a properly grooved swing such as proper foot position, proper head position, and proper coordination of movement of arms, legs, hips and shoulders at all times during the back swing, down swing and follow through after the ball has been struck. Usually a novice golfer requires instruction from a professional teacher to acquire a good swing, but even experienced golfers frequently require instruction and practice to cure a faulty swing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide adjustable, extensible means for engaging and controlling the movement of a golfer's head and hips without interfering with motion of arms and shoulders during a swing.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means which define a correct path of swing when the golfer's head and hips are properly controlled, and which gives to the golfer an indication of error if his swing departs from the correct path without, however, interfering with the freedom of his swing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

A preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a platform to which the apparatus of the invention may be attached.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, showing the detail of the attachment of the apparatus to the platform.

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5--5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6--6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a head control member.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section on the line 8--8 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of a modified form of head control member.

FIG. 10 is a front elevation.

FIG. 11 is a side elevation.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged section on the line 12--12 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a section on the line 13--13 of FIG. 12.

The apparatus for controlling the movement of the golfer's head and hips is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 1 to 9 of the drawings, while the guide members which define the correct path of swing are illustrated in detail in FIGS. 10 to 13. For the sake of clarity, however, the details of the latter are omitted from FIGS. 1 to 9 and the details of FIGS. 1 to 9 are omitted from FIGS. 10 to 13. It will be understood, however, that the best training and practice results will be obtained only by the conjoint use of both, for even though the golfer achieves correct control of head movement and hip movement, his swing may still be faulty unless it is properly grooved.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus to be described may be mounted on any suitable support, but I prefer to use a platform 1 such as more particularly shown in my copending application Ser. No. 92,563, filed of even date herewith, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,923. Such platform, as described therein, comprises a rectangular frame 2 formed of angle irons which support two platform sections 3 and 4, the section 3 which supports the ball is stationary, while the section 4 is permitted to tilt very slightly to give the golfer an indication of the instant when his weight shifts from one foot to the other.

According to the present invention, the head and hip control means comprises an upwardly extending column which is supported on the frame of the platform 1 by a ball and socket joint 6 which permits universal movement of the tubular member 7. Such movement may be restrained by friction in the joint or by tightening the wing screw 8. A rod 9 is telescoped into the tubular member 7 and is adjustable therein, spaced holes 10 being provided in the rod for insertion of a pin 11 which holds the rod in any desired position of adjustment.

At the upper end of the rod 9 is a collar 12 which is secured to the rod as by welding. A tubular extension 14 projects horizontally from the collar 12 and has a rod 15 telescoped therein which may be held in desired position of adjustment by wing screw 16. Rod 15 carries a cross bar 17 which, in turn carries a pair of hip guides 18. The said hip guides comprise curved guides which are padded as at 19 and threaded studs 20 which extend through horizontal slots 21 in the member 17. The slots permit lateral adjustment of the hip guides to fit the golfer and the guides are held in fixed position of adjustment by tightening the wing nuts 22.

It will be noted that by making the necessary adjustments, the position and spacing of the hip guides may be adjusted to fit any golfer with the ends of the guides 18 substantially aligned with and terminating at the golfer's hip joints. It will also be noted that due to the fact that the curved guides extend through less than a half circle, i.e., less than 180.degree., and are open at the front and do not encircle the hips or waist, movement of the hips is restrained only against sidewise and rearward movement. Forward movement and twisting movement are not restrained.

The head control means is carried on adjustable members which are carried by and extend upwardly from the collar 12. It is important that such members do not interfere with the swinging movement of the golfer's shoulders either during the backswing or during the downswing and follow through. Accordingly, such members should be of such nature as to arch upwardly and forwardly above the highest position reached by the golfer's shoulders during swinging movement, with the head control member depending therefrom.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 8, a swivel joint 25 terminates in a short rod 26 which projects into the upper end of collar 12. It is rotatably adjustable therein and may be held in any desired position of adjustment by tightening the wing screw 27. The tubular member 28 extends upwardly from the swivel joint and can be held in desired position of adjustment by wing screw 29. A rod 30 telescopes into the tubular member 28 and is adjustable therein, spaced holes 31 being provided in the rod for insertion of a pin 32 which holds the rod in any desired position of adjustment.

A strip 33 is connected to the rod 30 by a swivel joint 34 and can be held in any desired position of adjustment by tightening the wing screw 35. The strip 33 is provided with a series of holes 36 and the head control member may be connected thereto in any desired position of adjustment by the swivel joint 37 which may be tightened by the wing screw 38.

Connected to the joint 37 is a cross bar 39 which in turn carries a pair of head guide members, each of which comprises a laterally and forwardly extending cheek guide 40 and an upwardly extending head guide 41, each of said guides being provided with pads 42.

The head guide members are connected to the cross bar 39 by studs 43 which pass through slots 44 in the cross bar which permit lateral adjustment to fit the golfer. The head guide members are spaced from the cross bar and springs 45 are interposed therebetween which permit limited, but restrained, movement of the head guide members. Wing nuts 46 on the studs 43 are provided to adjust the compression of the springs to increase or decrease the restraint on head movement. If tightened sufficiently the head guide members may be locked to prevent any head movement.

In the modification shown in FIG. 9, the head control means is connected to the collar 12 by a flexible, spirally wound cable 48, the cross bar 39 being connected thereto by a clamp 49.

It will be noted that as shown in FIG. 2, the members which support the head control means, including members 28, 30 and 33 and their respective connecting joints arch up and over the golfer's shoulders to permit free unrestricted swinging movement of the shoulders. Likewise, in FIG. 9 the length of the cable is such that it extends up and over the golfer's shoulders. The cable, of course, can be bent to the desired contour. However, while it can be bent, it holds its shape sufficiently to provide the necessary head control, particularly for golfers who have passed beyond the initial stages of training and practice.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 to 13 the guide members which define a correct path of swing comprise relatively thin strips 51 of metal or plastic materials which are arranged in a plurality of pairs with each pair being spaced apart and adjustably mounted on a carrier member 52, with each carrier member carried by and adjustable on frames so that the succession of spaces between the strips of each pair defines the correct path of swing of the club head. The adjustments of the carrier members may be made after the golfer's proper posture has been established by adjustment of the head and hip controlling means so that the succession of spaces between the strips of each pair lie in a common plane which is inclined to the plane of the platform.

Thus, after all adjustments have been properly made, if the path of the club head departs from the correct path, the club head will strike one or more of the strips which provides a warning that the swing is not correctly grooved.

The upper ends of the strips 51 are formed with beaded edges 53 which fit into and slide in grooves 54 of the carrier members, so that the strips may be adjusted laterally to narrow or widen the space therebetween, as desired. The carriers 52 are hinged to plates 55 which in turn are pivotally mounted on brackets 56 which are slidably mounted on horizontal rods 57. Rods 57 are connected to brackets 58 which are adjustable on vertical rods 59 to constitute a frame which is mounted on the platform 1. In the embodiment shown, a pair of vertical rods is mounted on each side of the platform, and each pair of vertical rods carries an upper and lower horizontal rod, and each horizontal rod carries one pair of guide strips. By proper adjustment of the horizontal rods 57 on the vertical rods 59, and adjustment of the brackets 56 on the horizontal rods 57, and adjustment of the carriers 52 on brackets 56, the correct path of the club head between the pairs of strips may be established.

It will be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subjoined claims.

Claims

I claim as my invention:

1. A golf practice device comprising a platform, an upwardly extending column supported on said platform behind the place where the golfer stands, said column being of a length and including adjustable joints permitting said column to arch upwardly and forwardly above the highest position reached by the golfer's shoulders during swinging movement, and a head control member adjustably connected to the end of said column and depending therefrom, said head control member comprising a pair of spaced head guide members each comprising a laterally and forwardly extending member positioned to engage the golfer's cheek, each of said head guides being resiliently mounted on said head control member to permit limited but yieldingly restrained turning movement of the head.

2. A golf practice device as claimed in claim 1 in which said head control member includes a cross bar pivotally connected to said column, and in which said pair of head guide members is connected to said cross bar by studs extending through slots therein, said head guide members being laterally adjustable thereon and having springs on said studs interposed between said members and said cross bar.

3. A golf practice device as claimed in claim 1 including a hip control member adjustably mounted on said column and projecting forwardly therefrom, said member comprising a pair of curved hip guides which extend through less than a half circle and terminate at the golfer's hip joints.

4. A golf practice device as claimed in claim 3 in which said hip control member comprises a cross bar, said curved hip guides being mounted for lateral adjustment on said cross bar.

5. A golf practice device as claimed in claim 1, including means comprising flexible strips suspended above said platform in position to define a correct path of swing.

6. A golf practice device as claimed in claim 1 including a frame comprising vertical rods and horizontal rods adjustably mounted thereon, brackets adjustably mounted on said horizontal rods, and pairs of flexible strips carried by said brackets in spaced relation, the space between the strips of each pair defining a correct path of swing.

7. A golf practice device as claimed in claim 6 in which said flexible strips are mounted on carriers and are laterally adjustable thereon to increase or decrease the space therebetween, and in which said carriers are pivotally mounted on said brackets, and in which said brackets are adjustable on said horizontal rods.