Athletic handle grip

Abstract

An athletic grip glove having a sheet-like palm portion and a thumb and fingers. The lower surface of the thumb is concavely curved along its longitudinal axis so as to be adapted to conform to an athletic shaft handle. An index finger stall which is open at its outer end is provided on its upper surface with a pinky pocket opening outwardly to receive the pinky of the user's opposite hand. Finger stalls have at least the outermost portion of the lower surfaces thereof concavely curved transversely of their longitudinal axis so as to be adapted to firmly grip an athletic shaft handle when grasped by the user.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a combination golf handle grip and glove useful for improving a golfer's swing by increasing the control and sureness of the golfer's grasp of the golf club shaft. The effective strength of the golfer's grasp is increased, variances in the grasp due to human factors are minimized, unnecessary covering of portions of the handle with consequent discomfort is avoided, and facile means for assisting in interlocking the two hands of the golfer are provided.

2. Prior Art

Many diverse types of golf club grips and/or golf gloves have been designed in the everlasting quest to improve one's golf game through grips which guide the placement of the hands and fingers on the club handle and in relation to each other as well as assisting in preventing of slipping of the handle from the player's grasp and also to increase the player's comfort.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,379,430 Frost et al. discloses a golf glove of pliable material in which the top surface of the index finger portion is provided with a small pocket structure for receiving the pinky of the opposite hand when the player grips the club handle. No thumb section is provided.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,782,422 Bencriscutto also discloses a soft pliable golf glove including a thumb and is provided with an additional thumb socket or portion on the inner surface of the glove adjacent the first thumb for receiving the thumb of the opposite hand when the player grips the handle.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,280 Osborne discloses a pair of pliable golf gloves which in use are detachably interlocked to each other and to the golf club handle by means of matching Velcro pile fastener strips.

The prior art fails to suggest a golf grip-glove in which the grip portion is comprised of a molded glove structure which is biased to a shape in contour which firmly encircles the handle with three fingers and in which the thumb stall is contoured so as to lie firmly against the shaft when the player assumes the normal golf grip. In addition, the prior art fails to disclose such a golf grip in which the index finger stall is provided with a pocket for interlocking with the index finger of the player's opposite hand. Such a glove would permit a player to assume a firm interlocking grasp of the golf handle in which the placement of the hand is firmly guided by the structure of the glove and intimate contact is assured by the molded structure of the glove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a greatly improved athletic grip-glove which is particularly useful in facilitating a player obtaining an excellent interlocking grip on the handle shaft of an athletic handle or club such as a golf club. The invention is particularly suitable for utilization as a golf grip-glove wherein it is highly desirable that the player use a grip wherein the hands of the player are interlocked to assure a firm grasp of the club. The golf grip-glove of the present invention insures a good grasp of the golf club handle by providing a glove wherein the first three stalls of the glove are molded with an elastic type of material, the inner surfaces of the stalls being shaped and biased to form a curvature around the golf club which may be easily tightened with the player's grasp. The thumb stall is also provided with a curved inner surface which runs longitudinally of the axis of the golf club. An abbreviated index finger stall is provided on its top surface with a pocket for receiving the index finger of the player's other hand when placed on the handle in the usual interlocking golf grip.

The golf glove of the present invention is molded of material so as to be firm enough to guide the player's fingers into a proper grasp of the club and yet flexible enough so that the grip is easily released. The smaller finger stalls are formed with a generally rectangular cross section to facilitate proper alignment when the club is grasped.

The foregoing and many other features will be apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of the specification:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the golf grip-glove according to the present invention, showing it being worn by the player who is grasping the shaft of the golf club with his right hand.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the golf grip-glove of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the finger sections of the glove.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the finger portion of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the finger portion of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI--VI of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII--VII of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII--VIII of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a portion of the thumb section of the golf grip-glove of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line X--X of FIG. 9, and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the index finger portion of the grip taken along line XI--XI of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention may be more fully understood by the following description of a specific embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawing, the glove-grip of the present invention is shown generally by reference numeral 2 in FIG. 1. The grip 2 is shown being worn by the player in grasping the shaft 4 of a golf club which is not in itself illustrated. In the illustration shown in the drawing, the glove is being worn on the right hand of a player who normally uses a left-handed swing.

The grip-glove is provided with molded finger stalls 6, 8 and 10 which tightly embrace the shaft 4, the outer portions of the finger stalls 6, 8 and 10 being molded on their inner surface to generally conform to the curvature of a golf club shaft. The glove also comprises a thumb stall 12, the lower surface of which is also shaped to conform as shown to the general curvature of a golf club shaft. The index finger stall 14 does not cover the full index finger but only the portion of the index finger in the vicinity of the knuckle joint. The top of the index finger stall 14 of the glove is provided with a molded thumb pocket or socket 16 which is angled as shown in FIGS. 2 and 11 to receive the pinky of the opposite hand of the player when the handle is grasped with the conventional interlocking grip used in golf.

The grip-glove as shown in FIG. 2 lying flat comprises a base section 20 to which are attached the various finger and thumb stalls and strap 18 provided with buckle 19 which serve to secure the glove to the hand. The finger stalls 6, 8 and 10 of the glove are molded with a generally rectangular cross section to help guide the fingers in a properly aligned grip around the golf club. Each finger stall is provided with an end socket or recess 22, 24 and 26, respectively, in which the fingers are placed. The lower portions of the sides of the finger stalls have a recess 40 formed therein having slanted walls 42 to facilitate the curvature of the finger around the golf club shaft. The lower surface 46 of the outer portion of each finger stall is curved as shown to conform to the approximate curvature of the golf club shaft. As indicated, the finger and thumb stalls are molded of an elastic type material such as polyurethane, rubber and the like which material is relatively firm but flexible enough to allow the fingers to curl around the shaft within the grasp of the player. Slots 28 and 30 are provided in the side walls of the finger stalls to also facilitate closing of the grasp. The tops of the finger stalls are generally opened to provide a more comfortable glove and to decrease the amount of heat on the hand and generally enhance the comfort of the wearer. Straps 32 and 34 are provided across the top of the fingers at intermediate portions to aid in holding the grip-glove on the player's hand.

As indicated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the thumb stall of the grip has the lower surface 36 curved so that the thumb stall, when oriented longitudinally on the golf shaft in the normal grip, conforms to the curvature of the shaft.

The palm portion 20 of the grip according to this invention may be made of fabric or a sheet-like plastic material and molded integrally with the flexible finger and thumb portions.

While the invention has been explained by a detailed description of certain specific embodiments, it is understood that various modifications and substitutions can be made in any of them within the scope of the appended claims which are intended also to include equivalents of such embodiments.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An athletic grip glove comprising a sheet-like palm portion, a thumb stall, the lower surface of said thumb stall being concavely curved along its longitudinal axis so as to be adapted to conform to an athletic shaft handle, an index finger stall open at its outer end, said index finger stall having on its upper surface a pinky pocket opening outwardly at its outer end and adapted to receive the pinky of the user's opposite hand, and finger stalls having at least the outermost portions of the lower surfaces thereof concavely curved transversely of their longitudinal axis so as to be adapted to firmly grip an athletic shaft handle when grasped by the user, said thumb stall and finger stalls each having side walls including upper portions thereof defining tops of said stalls.

2. A glove as claimed in claim 1 wherein said finger stalls are each of a rectangular cross-sectional shape.

3. A glove as claimed in claim 2 wherein the side walls of said finger stalls have vertical slots in at least the upper portions thereof to facilitate curving said finger stalls inwardly.

4. A glove as claimed in claim 1 wherein said thumb and finger stalls are molded of a polyurethane plastic.

5. A glove as claimed in claim 1 wherein said thumb and finger stalls are molded of rubber.

6. A glove as claimed in claim 1 wherein the tops of said finger stalls and said thumb stall are generally open.

7. A glove as claimed in claim 6 wherein said tops are provided with at least one securing strap connecting the upper portions of the respective side walls.