Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Golf club grip

Golf club grip description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/929,959, filed Jul. 19, 2007.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to golf equipment, and particularly to a golf club grip for providing a golfer with a better grip on the golf club.

2. Description of the Related Art

Golf clubs have a shaft with a golf club grip mounted on the upper end and a golf club head mounted on the lower end. The golf club grip is provided for increased comfort and for frictional engagement with the user's hands during use. Golf club grips may be formed from rubber, leather or other non-slip materials that also provide cushioning for the user's hands.

Conventional golf club grips are generally tubular, with an open shaft end that slides onto the shaft and an end cap at the opposite end that fits over the butt end of the shaft. The grips are made of rubber, either natural or synthetic, or leather, usually imitation, although natural is sometimes used. Leather grips often are wrapped around a rubber sleeve.

The rules of authoritative golf organizations, such as the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R&A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) often include regulations governing acceptable golf clubs, including the grip. For example, Appendix II, Section 3 of the USGA rules provides that the grip of clubs other than putters must be circular in cross section, “except that a continuous, straight, slightly raised rib may be incorporated along the full length of the grip.” Exemplary raised ribs are shown in FIGS. 4-6 of International Patent WO 2005/082469, published Sep. 9, 2005, and in FIG. 4 of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0228929, published Dec. 11, 2003, the above-cited Figures being incorporated herein by reference. Conventional grips may also continuously taper in diameter from one end of the grip to the other.

USGA rules Appendix II, Section 3, also provides that putters may have a grip with a non-circular cross section. An example is illustrated in FIG. VII of the Appendix, with appears to show a grip with a generally horseshoe shape and a single flat face along the base of the horseshoe when viewed from the end of the grip.

Grips may also vary in size, i.e., in diameter, with typical sizes including regular, mid-size or jumbo, depending upon the size of the hand. Grips may also very in texturing, including cording, wrapping, helical or spiral grooves, perforations, etc. Nevertheless, the conventional, substantially cylindrical grip can be difficult to grasp firmly enough to avoid slippage during the swing, reducing power and altering the angle at which the head strikes the ball.

Thus, a golf club grip therefor solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

The present invention extends to a golf club grip and to a golf club having the grip mounted thereon. The golf club includes a shaft the grip mounted at one end and a golf club head mounted on the opposite end, and may be a wood, an iron, a putter, or any type of golf club. The golf club grip, which may be formed from rubber (natural or synthetic), leather (real or imitation) or the like, includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion has a forward-facing aspect and a rearward-facing aspect, with the forward-facing aspect preferably having a substantially arcuate contour. The forward-facing aspect is adapted to support the user's thumb during use. Preferably, the forward-facing aspect has a constant radius of curvature; i.e., it forms an arc of a circle.

The rearward-facing aspect includes first and second side surfaces joined to form a vertex, with the first and second surfaces being acutely angled with respect to one another. The vertex is preferably rounded. The first and second surfaces are adapted for gripping by the user's fingers, and each preferably has a substantially planar contour.

The lower portion of the golf club grip is tubular, and the golf club grip is further preferably symmetric about a plane of symmetry extending between the vertex and a central point of the forward end. The tubular lower portion receives the upper end of the golf club shaft. The golf club head extends along a direction substantially parallel to the plane of symmetry of the golf club grip in order to properly align the user's shot.

In the preferred embodiment, the upper portion of the golf club grip has a greater peripheral circumference than the lower portion, thus creating a notch or recess for further receiving at least one of the user's fingers. The lower portion preferably is substantially circular in cross section.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws