AU618518B2 - Golf club guide means - Google Patents

Description

SyTN'Oi A.ngl i L~ i -I I: i r 37 I- 'No, 0 1 -0 i:: r-- PCr INTERNATIONAL APPLICA1 AU-AI-8 1 7 51/ 8 7 WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION International Bureau TION PUBLISHED R E1THRAT5 COPE 8 ION TREATY (PCT) (51) International Patent Classification 4 International Publication Number: WO 88/ 03042 A63B 69/36 Al (43) International Publication Date: 5 May 1988 (05.05.88) (21) International Application Number: PCT/AU87/00363 GA (OAPI patent), GB, GB (European patent), HU, IT (European patent), JP, KP, KR, LK, LU, LU (Eu- (22) International Filing Date: 27 October 1987 (27.10.87) ropean patent), MC, MG, ML (OAPI patent), MR (OAPI patent), MW, NL, NL (European patent), NO, RO, SD, SE, SE (European patent), SN (OAPI pa- (31) Priority Application Number: PH 8710 tent), SU, TD (OAPI patent), TG (OAPI patent), US.

(32) Priority Date: 27 October 1986 (27.10.86) Published (33) Priority Country: AU With international search report.

(71X72) Applicant and Inventor: COX, Robert, William [AU/ AU]; 33 Chapel Hill Road, Chapel Hill, QLD 4069

(AU).

(74) Agent: PIZZEY, John, Pizzey Company, G.P.O.

Box 1374, Brisbane, QLD 4001 (AU).

(81) Designated States: AT, AT (European patent), AU, BB, .O p. 2 3 J U R BE (European patent), BG, BJ (OAPI patent), BR, CF (OAPI patent), CG (OAPI patent), CH, CH (European patent), CM (OAPI patent), DE, DE (European AUSTRALIAN patent), DK, FI, FR (European patent), 2 5 MAY 1988 PATENT OFFICE (54) Title: GOLF CLUB GUIDE MEANS (57) Abstract Golf club guide means (10) which attaches to the club shaft The guide means (10) provides an abutment (16) engageable with the user's trailing forearm to maintain operative alignment between the club (14) and the user's arms as the user's wrists pivot between the backswing and follow through positions.

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i; :i a:i ~v I__L.lln;a=r l :r i- 'I ii ilurru~~- j i i: 1 "GOLF CLUB GUIDE MEANS" This invention relates to a golf club guide means.

In the past many devices have been provided for practising golf strokes. The general aim of such devices is Lo enable a player Lo perfecL the stance for addressing the ball and the swing. IL is generally considered thaL the correcL swing is performed in a single pltine, called Lhe "swing plane" and to date all sorts of rules for stance and body alignment have been formulated to enable a golfer to achieve the correct swing. For example those players who have become successful golfers have attempted Lo define arbitrary rules by reference to their own body positions and feelings.

During a game of golf many differenL strokes are 5 perfored. These may be performed under less than ideal d conditions and of course the greater the number of variables I in a player's swing, the less the chance a player has of performing consistenLly. IL follows Lhat if a constant S* swing can be mastered and used for all strokes, the number of variables will be greatly reduced and more consistent results can be obtained. Once a constant swing hes been mastered, different strokes may be played according to the situation by selection of ball position relative to the player, to be hit upon the downstroke, at the bottom of the swing or on the upstLroke, the correct club and the correct angle of the striking face of the club relaLive to the swing plane. This angle may be selectively varied to produce inswingers or outswingers.

C Teaching aids are available for Leaching players a 2 correcL swing such as Lhe device illusLraLed in InriLeria Lional pa Len L applicaLioni number PCT/AU84/00138.

While such aids are effec Live, f or Leaching Lhe correoL swing, one problem which recurs is Lhe lack of correoL pivoL uonLrol of Lhe wris L sou as L o mainiLain Lhe club int a prede Lermjined rela Lioniship rela Live Lo Lhe players Lrailing f orearm. In Lhe backswinig posiLioni Lhis resulLs in Lhe head of Lhe club ei Lher "laying off" or "crossing Lhe line", i *e.

moving Lo elLher side of Lhe desired swing planie. Players wiLli Lhese faulLs hbve Lo Lake correcAive acLion oni Lhe down **sLroke prior Lo Lhe club correcLly sLrikinig Lhe ball. This invariably resulLs iri iriconsisLenL play Such swing ::inaccuracies are also appareniL in miany players who have no L received swing Lraining.

Bo Lh US PaLeniL Nos 4,145,054 anid 3,918,721 disclose golf c;lub swing Lraining aids which involve Lhe provision of a guide which makes con LaucL w i Lh Lhe user's arm oni Lhe occurrence of faulL.

:*BoLh devices are capablle of providing only coarse or gross conLrol because a faulL in Lechnique will begin and become exaggeraLed before Lhe guide meanis firially comes iniLo con Lac L wi1Lh Lhe armi. Thus sigificanL faulLs may occur which are nioL deLecLed by Lhe apparaLus. Fui-Lhermore Lhe p r ior a rL guides are so shaped LhaL Lhere cani be no conLauL wi Lh Lhe user's forearm during Lhe cri Lical por Lion of Lhe swing approaching and aL anid near Lhe poinL of conLacL.

WiLh Lhese prior arL devices, errors aL this criLical sLage cani go unideLecLed.

I IL is ani objeuL of Lhe preseriL inveniLion Lo provide an i 11 :10 improved guide bar assembly.

According to Lhe presenL invention Lhere is provided a guide bar assembly including a guide bar having mounting means at one end Lhereof whereby the guide bar assembly may be rigidly anrid releasably aLLached to Lhe shaft of a golf olub, said guide bar having a forearmn contact guide portion which in use slides over and is maintained in contacL wiLh Lhe user's trailing forearm throughouL a golf s troke and including conLact at Lhe backswing position and contacL at Lhe ball-sLriking position to provide an iridication of the alignment of the gold club head relative to the user's Lrailing forearm, said forearn conLact guide portion extending from a firsL posiLion spaced from Lhe golf club handle whereby the user's trailing forearm will coritact the forearm conLacL guide portion at said first position when Lhe golf club is held in Lhe backswing posiLion, to a second posiLion adjacenL Lhe upper end of Lhe golf handle whereby the user's trailing forearm will contact Lhe forearm contact guide porLion at said second posiLion when the golf club is held in the ball-striking position.

Golf club guide means embodying Lhe present inventiLion will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammaLic drawings in which: FIGS 1 to 4 illustrate a series of swing positions with one form of guide meeans secured to the club shaft; FIG 5 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention; and FIG 6 illustrates a golf club assembly according to U another embodiment of this invention.

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Referring Lo Fig 1 iL will be seen LhaL Lhe guide means includes an arcuaLe guide bar 11 conniecLed aL iLs lower end 12 Lo a releasable clamp 13 adapLed Lu be fixedly secured La Lhe club shafL 14. The guide bar 11 is parL circular anid is adapLed Lo be suppurLed on Lhe club shafL 14 so LhaL iLs axis 15 is subsLaniLially coincideriL wi ll Lhe lower wrisL as illusLraLed. The radius R of Lhe arcuaLe purLion 16 is such LhaL IL miay engage the inner purLion uf Lhe user's Lrailing foruearmn 17.

As illus LraLed, durinjg a s Lroke, Lhe wr is L i s subs LaniLiallY sLraighL aL Lhe boLLoxu of Lhe s~roke buL is beniL aL Lhe back swing arid Lhe follow Lhrough posi Lions.

The guide means 10 enables Lhis pivoLing of Lhe wrIsL Lo be conLrolled by miainiLaining Lhe porLion 16 in coriLacL wiLh Lhe Lrailing forearm 17.

As can be seen in Fig 1 Lhe guide meanis 10 miay be engaged wi Lh Lhe inside of Lhe Lrailing forearm 17 so as Lo guide Lhe club shafL 14 for pivoLal miovemuenL in Lhe direcLion indicaLed by Lhe arrows D abouL Lhe wrisL whe-reby Lhe club shafL miay be main Lamned in a fixed planar relaLioriship wi Lii Lhe golfer' s forearm 17. This is par Licularly impor Lan L in Lhe backtswing posi Lion, since unconiLrolled pivo Ling of Lhe wris L will move Lhe club head 18 ouL of Lhe desired swing plane. This undesirable inovemeniL of Lhe club head 18 is generally known as Lhe faulLs "laying off" or "crossing Lhe line".

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2/ WO 88/03042 PCT/AU87/00363 When the club head is held in either of these incorrect positions the player must correct the pivotal attitude of the club during the downstroke so that the ball is struck by thf head 18 with the latter in the correct striking position, which is fixed in relation to the trailing forearm 17.

In use, a player may attach the guide means 10 to the shaft 14 and adjust it so that the plane containing the guide bar 11 is substantially parallel to a further plane which is parallel to the club shaft 14. The player may then. practice strokes while maintaining the guide bar 11 engaged with the inner portiop of the trailing forearm 17 so as to maintain the club shaft 14 and head 18 in a desired swing plane.

During practice the arcuate bar portion 16 will slide across the forearm 17 as the player swings from the back swing position through the stroke and follow through positions. By utilizing the device in this manner the player will be trained to maintain correct pivotal movement of their wrist. Incorrect movement of the wrist will be indicated by separation of the arcuate portion 16 from the forearm or by increased pressure applied by the bar 11 to the forearm 17.

The arcuate bar portion 16 is rigidly affixed to the releasable clamp 13 which may be provided with a wing nut operated clamp to enable the bar 11 to be rigidly but releasably secured to the shaft 14. For this purpose the inside face of the clamp may be provided with a friction material to prevent rotation of the clamp about the shaft 14.

The guide assembly 20 illustrated in FIG 5 includes a guide bar 21 curved in a substantially semi-circular configuration. The guide bar 21 is provided with a releasable clamp assembly 22 at one and whereby it may be rigidly secured to the top end 23 of the club handle 24. The clamp assembly 22 includes a split mounting ring 25 integral with the guide bar 21 and a wing nut 26 which may be

Claims (8)

1. 2. A guide bar assembly according Lo Claim 1, wherein said mounLing Ieans includes clamping means adapLed Lo clamp abouL Lhe golf club shafL or handle.
2. 3. A guide bar assembly according Lo Claim 1, wherein said mounLing means includes a iale or female member engageable with a complemenLary female or miale member on Lhe golf club handle.
3. 4. A guide bar assembly according Lo any one of Claims 1 Lo 3, wherein said guide bar is provided with a spring clip at Lhe end opposiLe said one end. 7 E b.P oi 0 ~cCK 4 r 8 A guide bar assembly according Lo any one of Claims 1 Lo 4, wherein said mounLing means is engageable with the outer end of the golf club handle.
4. 6. A guide bar assembly according to any one of Claims 1 Lo 5, wherein said guide bar is subs Lanl,. illy semicircular.
5. 7. A guide bar assembly according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein said guide bar lies subs antially in a plane which when said bar is niounted on a golf club extends parallel Lo a plane containing the lower forward edge of the sLriking face of the golf club head.
6. 8. A golf club assembly including a golf club and a guide "bar assembly as defined in any one of Claims 1 Lo 7.
7. 9. A golf club assembly including a golf club and a guide bar assembly as defined in Claim 3, wherein said golf club includes said complementary female or male member.
8. 10. A guide bar assembly subs Lantially as hereinbefore I described with reference Lo the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF JULY 1991 ROBERT WILLIAM COX PIZZEY COMPANY PATENT ATTORNEYS