Golf Club Swing Training Device

Abstract

A tear drop shaped body containing a pair of differently oriented and pitched whistles is attached to the shaft of a golf stick to indicate slices and hooks when the golf stick is swung. When the golf stick is properly swung, neither whistle will produce a sound.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The present invention relates to the game of golf and, more particularly, to an accessory for attachment to a golf club, by which hooks and slices may be indicated to a golfer.

To a great many golfers, the unconscious development of a slice or a hook is a problem of major proportions. Much time and expense has been spent in trying to find the cure. The causes of slicing and hooking are well known to the initiated but mere practice in swinging, even with an expert watching and coaching, usually proves useless. Reliably judging when a fast moving club is hitting an imaginary ball correctly is difficult for the human eye. On the other hand, repeated practice in hitting balls on golf courses or driving ranges requires an expenditure of time that a player often is reluctant to make. He usually prefers to try to correct his problem during actual play, with unsuccessful results. Thus, there exists a need for a device that can cure slices and hooks for use anywhere, at any time and without cost. The problem of hooks and slices is one of club path at contact. It is recognized that unless a golf club meets the ball absolutely perpendicularly to the intended line of flight, the ball will either hook off to one side of the fairway or slice off to the other.

A "slice" is caused by movement of the face of the clubhead in toward the golfer across the intended direction of the ball. The result is forward movement of the ball but with a spin that causes it to curve or fade to the right into the rough. A "hook" is caused by movement of the face of the clubhead out from the golfer across the intended direction of the ball. The result is forward movement of the ball but with a spin that causes it to curve or fade to the left into the rough. The problem, therefore, is an undesired vector of inward or outward motion of the clubhead at contact when there should be only a vector at right angles to the clubhead face.

The present invention is based on a recognition that slicing and hooking develops from the golfer's swing alone. While swing arises from stance and grip, the results of any correctional efforts are manifested in the swing. Thus a testing device capable of indicating when the swing leaves its proper path inwardly or outwardly across the face of an imaginary ball can provide a foolproof method of testing swing. Practice swinging and testing in an effort to cure slicing and hooking can occur any where and any time there is room to swing a golf club.

The object of the present invention is the attachment to a golf club shaft of a tear shaped bulb, having a streamlined shape that does not affect the feel of a golf club, which presents a pair of differently oriented and pitched whistles, neither of which sound when the swing of the golf club is perpendicular to the club face, one of which sounds when there is a slice and the other of which sounds when there is a hook.

Other objects of the present invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the product, together with its components and features, which are exemplified in the present disclosure, the scope of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a golf club in combination with an attachment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the attachment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the attachment as shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are schematic views of the attachment as shown in FIG. 3, illustrating certain principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view through the attachment halfway along its axis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, FIG. 1 shows a golf club in the form of a driver 10 having a handle 12, a shaft 14 and a head 16, and an attachment 18, affixed to shaft 14 by any suitable clamp (FIG. 5). As shown, the face 20 of club 16 lies in a plane that is developed along X,Y axes 22, 24 and attachment 18 presents a tear shaped surface of revolution that is developed about Z axis 26. Z axis 26 is perpendicular to the plane of X,Y axes 22, 24. Preferably attachment 18 is a lightweight, hollow bulb that is composed of plastic. Each cross section of bulb 18, with respect to Z axis 26 is shown as being circular although it is to be understood that in other embodiments each cross section, with respect to Z axis 26, is an ellipse other than a circle, the major or minor axis of which extends along X axis 22 or Y axis 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper and lower halves 28, 30 of bulb 18 are divided from each other by a plane 32 which is parallel to X,Y plane 22, 24 and which includes Z axis 26. A shown in FIG. 4A, the horizontal cross section of bulb 18 in plane 32 has a profile with an enlarged curved forward portion 34, rearwardly and inwardly tapering side portions 36, 38 and a reduced curved rearward portion 40. In upper portion 28, extending diagonally from the right edge portion to the left edge portion and from a point at and just behind the maximum cross-sectional dimension of body 18 to a point adjacent to rearward portion 40, is a channel 42 within which is disposed a whistle 44. In lower portion 30, extending diagonally from the left edge portion to the right edge portion and from a point at and just behind the maximum cross-sectional dimension of body 18 to a point adjacent to rearward portion 40, is a channel 46 within which is disposed a whistle 48.

In the form shown, tear drop shaped bulb is about four inches long and 2 inches in maximum diameter. The bulb is hollow except for channels 42, 46 which extend through the bulb cavity, being integrally composed of the same plastic as the bulb. The bulb is attached to the shaft of the club just above the head with the axis of tear drop parallel to the body of the player. The attachment to the shaft is by any conventional clamp that permits easy rapid attachment and removal while securely holding the unit in place during use. With respect to axis 26, one channel opening is about "10 o'clock" running thru to the other side at "4 o'clock". Within the channel at the end is a high pitched whistle to be actuated by the movement of air through the channel after entering at "10 o'clock". Similarly, the other channel, starts at "2 o'clock" and ends at "8 o'clock." Within the channel at the end is a low pitched whistle to be actuated by the movement of air through the channel after entering at "2 o'clock."

In operation, attachment 18, which is shown in cross section in FIG. 5, is clamped to shaft 14 by a split ring 52 having a pair of opposed ring portions 54, 56 and a pair of oppositely extending extensions 58, 58 and 60, 60. One of the extensions is embedded in the body. The extensions are connected by nuts and bolts 62, 64. It will be observed that the axis of clamp 52 coincides with the axis of shaft 14, which is perpendicular to Z axis 26. The channels constitute two wind chambers so angled as to trap no air as in FIG. 4A when the club travels straight ahead perpendicularly to the intended line of flight. But when the club head is being drawn diagonally across the ball, inwardly as in FIG. 4B or outwardly as in FIG. 4C, the air rushes through the wind chamber on the frontally exposed side and the respective whistle instantly indicates that a hook or slice has resulted. The player then can make necessary adjustments and immediately try further swings, repeating the process until he assumes a position at which the whistles stop sounding. From that position, he can try additional swings for the silence that tells him he has corrected his fault.

Since certain changes may be made in the above embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An attachment for the shaft of a golf club, said attachment comprising a tear shaped body having an outer surface developed about an axis, said body having upper and lower surfaces and opposite side surfaces, a first channel extending from one side surface to the other side surface, a second channel extending from said other side surface to said one side surface, said channels being separated from and oblique to one another, a relatively low pitched whistle in one channel and a relatively high pitched whistle in the other channel, the entrances of the channels being so positioned with respect to the forward portion of said body, that motion of said body along said axis causes no sound of said whistles but motion of said body along a line oblique with respect to said axis causes one of the two whistles to sound.

2. The attachment of claim 1 wherein the entrances of said channels are positioned at the maximum cross-sectional dimensions of said body.

3. The attachment of claim 1 wherein the exits of said channels are positioned at the said rearward portion of said body.

4. The attachment of claim 1 wherein said body and said channels are integrally composed of plastic.

5. The attachment of claim 1 wherein the axis of said body is perpendicular to the plane of the head of the golf club to which said body is attached.