Golf grip training aid

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/006,176, filed Dec. 28, 2007.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to golf training aids. Particularly, the golf grip training device is removably held against, and receives, the grip of a golf club, and is adapted to be grasped in the leading hand of the user, between the thumb and index finger of the leading hand. More particularly, the golf grip training device allows the user to better sense the motion and position of the golf club during a swing, and to better feel and gauge the pressure exerted on the user\'s hand during the swing in order to train the user in the proper motion for a golf club swing.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the game of golf, in order to hit the golf ball, the golf club is swung at the motionless ball, wherever it has come to rest, from a side stance. Many golf shots make the ball travel through the air (known as “carrying”) and roll out for additional distance (commonly referred to as “rolling”).

Each shot in golf is a compromise between length and precision, and long shots are often less precise than short shots. A longer shot may result in a better score if it helps to reduce the total number of strokes for a given hole, but the benefit may be more than outweighed by additional strokes or penalties if a ball is lost, out of bounds, or comes to rest on difficult ground. Therefore, a skilled golfer must assess the quality of his or her shots in a particular situation in order to judge whether the possible benefits of aggressive play are worth the risks.

Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. The full golf swing itself is used in tee and fairway shots.

A full swing is a complex rotation of the body aimed at accelerating the club head to a great speed. For a right-handed golfer, the swing consists of a backswing to the right, a downswing to the left (during which the ball is hit), and a follow through.

The full golf swing is a complex motion which is difficult to learn. It is common for beginners to spend several months practicing the basics of the swing before playing their first ball on a golf course. Even highly skilled golfers may continue to take golf lessons for years.

A golf ball acquires spin when it is hit. Backspin is imparted for almost every shot due to the golf club\'s “loft” (i.e., the angle between the clubface and a vertical plane). A spinning ball deforms the flow of air around it similar to an airplane wing; a back-spinning ball therefore experiences an upward force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin. However, too much backspin can negatively impact distance travelled; the increased lift wastes the ball\'s momentum in gaining altitude rather than in traveling along its flight path. The amount of backspin also influences the behavior of a ball when it impacts the ground. A ball with little backspin will usually roll out for a few meters or yards while a ball with more backspin may not roll at all, or may even roll backwards.

Sidespin occurs when the clubface is not aligned perpendicularly to the plane of swing. Sidespin makes the ball curve left or right, and can be used intentionally or occur unintentionally. For a right-handed player, a subtle curve to the left is referred to as a “draw”. A severe curve to the left and downward is known as a “hook”. A subtle curve to the right is referred to as a “fade”, while a severe curve away and upward is known as a “slice”. Draws and fades are caused by slight misalignments between the clubface and swing plane because of a slightly “open” or “closed” clubface at contact; a skilled player can control the amount of draw or fade to make the ball curve along the path of the fairway. Slices and hooks, however, indicate a severe misalignment, mistiming or other flaw in the player\'s swing, such as a swing not parallel to the desired line of travel, the club contacting the ball early or late in the swing, etc. These are generally undesirable as they reduce carry distance, are difficult to predict and therefore difficult to adjust for, and cause the ball to veer sharply off of the fairway and into hazards, trees and/or out-of-bounds.

The success of a golf swing requires positioning the player\'s hands in the correct position and exerting effective, balanced pressure on the grip of the golf club throughout the swing of the club. The hands must function in unison to position the club behind the ball, initiate the back swing, begin the downswing, make contact with the ball and complete the follow through. If the hands do not maintain sound, effective control of the club then the accuracy, direction of flight, and shot distance are negatively affected, which influences the resulting score of the game.

For many golfers, there is a tremendous tendency for the thumb and index finger of the golfer\'s dominant hand (right or left) to exert excessive clenching force during the grip to excessively control the club, which ultimately negatively impacts the golfer\'s swing. Excessive control by these two fingers can cause the club face angle to be too far open or closed at the point of impact, with the ball causing a push or fade of the shot.

Such clenching of the grip may also cause the wrists to stay open too long or roll over prematurely, resulting in slicing or hooking of the ball. If these two fingers and the related muscle groups of the corresponding side of the body excessively dominate the swing, then the golfer will make inconsistent, unpredictable contact with the ball, resulting in erratic, undesirable performance.

Thus, a golf grip training device solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

The golf grip training device is held against, and removably receives, the grip of a golf club, and is adapted to be grasped in the leading hand of the user, between the thumb and index finger of the leading hand. The golf grip training device allows the user to better sense the motion and position of the golf club during a swing, and to better feel and gauge the pressure exerted on the user\'s hand during the swing, in order to train the user in the proper motion for a golf club swing.

The golf grip training device is a gripping member having an upper wall and a lower wall, with the upper wall having a substantially arcuate contour and a substantially constant radius of curvature. Preferably, the upper wall has a textured surface, allowing for a gripping surface for the user\'s hand. The texturing may be in the form of a plurality of dimples, thus allowing the upper surface to be simulative of a golf ball\'s outer surface.

The upper wall extends from the lower wall along a longitudinal axis, with the lower wall extending along a lateral axis and a transverse axis. The lateral, longitudinal and transverse axes are mutually orthogonal. The lower wall has a channel centrally formed therethrough, extending along the transverse axis. Preferably, the channel is tapered in contour, allowing for insertion of a tapered golf club grip therein.