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

Golf swing apparatus and method

Golf swing apparatus and method description/claims

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for improving a golfer's swing and more particularly to an apparatus and method for controlling the motion and point of release of a golf club.

Golf, once considered as a pastime of the rich, has become a national sport for all levels of society. Methods and books for improving golf swings are notoriously present in the art. Although swings have been extensively analyzed and documented, as yet there is little agreement on an apparatus or method for optimizing a golf swing.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,971,328; 5,221,088; 5,249,967; 6,261,189; and 7,097,459 are exemplary of the types of apparatus which exist in the art for improving a golfer's swing.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,328 discloses a golf swing apparatus for comparing a light beam emitted from a golf club head during a golfer's swing with a guide strip on the ground. U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,088 discloses a golf swing apparatus wherein foot and grip sensors emit audible signals, via a pair of earphones which are indicative of the weight applied by the feet and the pressure applied to the hand grip. The signals are compared with a specified range of signals. U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,967 discloses a video golf swing training apparatus for comparing live images of a golfer's wing with self generating templates. U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,189 discloses a golf swing apparatus in which club shaft and body movements are monitored with infra red rays and sensors. If the rays fall out of an optimized area, an audible signal is generated. U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,459 discloses a golf swing apparatus wherein colored reference points are placed on a golf club shaft and golfer's head and the like. A moving image is taken of the golfer's swing, converted into a plurality of still images which are stored in a computer. Items to be checked are expressed by numeric values which are compared with judging data imputed into the computer.

Golf swing fall into three categories, namely putts, short chips and full swings. Putts and chips are ideally played without much body movement, however most other shots are variants of the full swing. Two major areas which distinguish golfers are the consistent results and effectiveness of the full golf swing.

A full golf swing is a complex rotation of the body for aiming and accelerating a golf club head to a great speed. The transfer of momentum from a golf club to a golf ball determines the travel of the golf ball. Professional golfers can achieve a club head speed of more than 100 M.P.H. at the bottom of a swing. Some champion golfers have attained speeds above 100 M.P.H. For a right-handed golfer, a swing consists of a back swing to the right, a downswing to the left in which a golf ball is struck with a driver club and a follow through. At the initial point in time, referred to a “the address,” a player 20 stands with his left hip and shoulder pointing in the intended direction of ball flight, with the ball between his feet.

The club is held with both hands with the golf head resting on the ground behind the ball, hips and knees somewhat flexed and the arms hanging from the shoulders. As shown in FIG. 1, the back swing 21 is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player's body to the right, a turning of the pelvis and the shoulders, a lifting of arms and flexing of elbows and wrists. At the end of the back swing, the hands are above the right shoulder, with the club pointing more or less in the direction of ball flight.

During the downswing 22, the club head is accelerated downwardly, increasing in momentum until it strikes the ball. The follow-through stage after the ball is struck with the head face, consists of a continued rotation to the left. The golfer's weight has shifted almost entirely to his left foot, his body is fully turned to the left and his hands are above the left shoulder and the club hangs down over his back

A backspin is imparted to the ball during almost every shot because of the golf club's loft. The spinning ball experiences an upwards force which makes it fly higher and farther than a ball without spin. The spinning also affects the behavior of the ball when it strikes the ground, usually preventing the ball from rolling at all, perhaps even backwards. Sidespin occurs when the club face is not perpendicular with the plane of the swing when the ball is struck, causing the ball to curve to the left, for right-handed players referred to as a “draw” or to the right, referred to as a fade. Accomplished golfers will sometimes use sidespin to steer the ball around obstacles, but it is difficult to control or to predict the amount of spin.

It has been recognized that the rotation of a golfer's wrist and the orientation of a golfer's wrist during a golf swing influence on the outcome of the golf swing. It has also been recognized that two aspects of a swing substantially affect the outcome of the full swing. One aspect is the beginning of the rotation of the golfer's wrists, often referred to as “the release,” which occurs near the end of the downswing. As used herein, the terms “release”, “point of release”, “release of a golf club head” and “release of a golf club” refer to the rotation of a golfer's wrists at an end portion of a downward swing. Tests have shown that for optimum results, a release should occur shortly before a ball is struck. An early release negatively affects the velocity of the club head when impact occurs and hence the distance the ball travels. Early releases, called “casting,” can also significantly affect the outcome of a swing, causing a loss of power.

A second aspect is the orientation of the club face with respect to the plane of club head travel (swing). Unless the golfer intends to use sidespin, the club head face should be parallel to the plane of travel of the club head. Although a great deal of attention has been given to the posture of a golfer during the “presentation” and swing. Heretofore. an effective apparatus and method have been unavailable for controlling the motion of a golf club head and informing a golfer of the point of release.

The two bell weathers of this invention are consistency and effectiveness, aspects which all professional golfers work to improve. Results have shown that the invention can significantly improve a golfer's game. One object of the invention is to improve the consistency and effectiveness of a golfer's swing. Another object of the invention is to extend the driving range of a golfer's swing. Another object is to improve the accuracy of a golfer's swing. Another object is to provide a training aid for improving a golfer's swing. With these objects in mind, an apparatus and method are provided for controlling motion of a driver golf club and informing a golfer of the point of release of a golf club head. The invention resides in the application of a gyroscope to a golf club swing. The law of conservation of angular momentum requires a rapidly spinning rotor to maintain its plane of rotation unless acted upon by an external torque. If acted upon by an external torque, a reaction torque will occur which is sensed by a golfer.

In a first aspect of the invention a gyroscope and a small electric motor are mounted inside of a driver golf club head. The small electric motor is connected to the gyroscope's rotor and driven by batteries mounted in a grip (handle) of the golf club. An “on/off” switch in an outer end portion of the grip actuates the motor and hence the rotation of the rotor. The motor is connected to the batteries by a pair of wires which are routed inside of a tubular golf club shaft.

The rotation of the gyroscope rotor is actuated before the swing is initiated, During a downswing of the driver golf club, the angular momentum of the rapidly spinning rotor tends to maintain the club head face parallel to the plane of the swing. When the head is released to rotate the head face into a plane which is perpendicular to the plane of the swing, and back to parallel on the follow through, a reaction torque is produced which is sensed by the golfer. A reaction torque, at a lesser level is also sensed if the parallel relationship of the head face to the plane of the golf swing is not maintained.

In a second aspect, the invention is intended to be used as a golf swing training aid. The gyroscope is mounted at the end of the golf club shaft. A pair of dry cell batteries and an “on/off” switch are mounted in the grip at the opposite end of the shaft.

In employing the teaching of the present invention, a plurality of alternate constructions can be provided to achieve the desired results and capabilities. In this disclosure, only a single embodiment is presented for the purpose of disclosing my invention. However, this embodiment is intended as an example only and should not be considered as limiting the scope of my invention.

The foregoing features, benefits, objects and best mode of practicing the invention and additional benefits and objects will become apparent from the ensuing detailed description of a preferred embodiment and the subject matter in which exclusive property rights are claimed is set forth in the numbered claims which are appended to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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