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No-head-turn putting and swing teaching aid

No-head-turn putting and swing teaching aid description/claims

Portions of the disclosure of this patent document may contain material which is subject to copyright and/or mask work protection. The copyright and/or mask work owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and/or mask work rights whatsoever.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to golfing systems and more particularly to a no-head-turn putting and swing teaching aid associated with headgear indicating to the golfer whether or not his head is remaining motionless during the golf swing.

2. Description of the Related Art

The game of golf is well-known in the art and has presented challenges to many generations of players.

While there are certain times when the game of golfing appears to be easy in that success is achieved with generally little effort, it is more often the case that players have tendencies to mis-hit the ball or to engage in improper form. This often happens with the golf swing as the golf swing determines the shot of the ball and a variety of factors affect good golf swings.

One of the classical elements to a good golf swing is holding one's head still. Without stationary head position, golfers may often mis-hit the ball as they may be focusing on the results of the shot instead of the shot itself.

Generally, when a person moves their head during the golf shot, it can affect the motion of the arms and the resulting ultimate position of the golf ball. By keeping one's head still, it is generally found that golfers are able to achieve better golf shots and to impose more control over their resulting golf shots.

Of particular interest are those golf shots where accuracy and control are most important. Of these, the putt may be of significant importance simply because the room for error is much smaller. As opposed to a drive off of the tee or an iron shot from a fairway, putting on the green near the hole can require intense concentration and achieving natural control of the golf swing in order to achieve predictable shots can be a challenge.

It is relatively difficult for the individuals to self judge whether or not they are keeping is their head still when swinging a golf club. It is too burdensome and difficult to have a natural constraint that would force a person to keep their head motionless. Consequently, there is a need in the art for means by which the golfer can determine whether or not he or she is moving his or her head during the golf swing. Furthermore, such an indicator or device would conveniently used and generally unobtrusive and camouflaged when not in use.

As can be seen, above, there is a need in the art for readily and conveniently deployed devices that indicate to a golfer whether or not the golfer's head is moving during the golf swing. The present invention provides a new system for indicating to the golfer whether or not he (the masculine pronoun used herein is meant to indicate either masculine and feminine golfers or other persons) is moving his head during the golf shot. The no-head-turn putting and swing teaching aid of the present invention is conveniently deployed, incorporatable into a hat or headgear, and can be used (in another embodiment) in conjunction with any headgear having a bill, brim, or visor.

The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide the golfer with means by which he can self-judge whether or not his head is turning during a golf shot. The instant no-head-turn putting and swing teaching aid and method of use thereof has many of the advantages of such aids possibly developed in the past as well as many novel features that result in new golf swing aid devices which are not anticipated or rendered obvious, suggested, taught, or even implied by any of the prior art head motion indicating systems, either alone or in any combination thereof. The present invention may be attachable to a bill, brim, or visor of a hat, such as a baseball cap, and generally has a downwardly projecting flap or extension that is positioned in front of the golfer's eyes.

In conjunction with the golf ball to be hit, the golfer positions his head in alignment with both the golf ball and a downwardly extending extension. Once the golfer has achieved his final stance and begins his golf swing, any change in the alignment between the golfer's eyes, the downwardly projecting extension, and the golf ball is readily perceived. Throughout the golf swing, the golfer's eyes should be focused on the golf ball. The downwardly extending flap indicates to the golfer whether or not any deviation has been made from the goal of holding still one's head during the golf shot.

In one embodiment, a brim or visor for a hat provides visual indication of head turning or lack thereof for a wearer wearing the brim has a panel and a hinge hingedly attaches or coupling the panel to the brim. The panel is positioned generally adjacent and along the brim when in a folded or closed position and the panel projects downwardly and away from the brim when deployed and in an unfolded or open position. The panel is sized and positioned such that when it is deployed, it is generally before the eyes of the wearer such that head turning of the wearer is more easily noticed by the wearer in comparing a first position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer and a second position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a brim or visor for a hat provides visual indication of head turning or lack thereof for a wearer wearing the brim has a panel and a hinge hingedly attaches or coupling the panel to the brim. The hinge has cam and/or spring action to hold the panel in at least one position and to at least resiliently holding the panel in the folded position. The panel is positioned generally adjacent and along the brim when in a folded or closed position, but projects downwardly and away from the brim when deployed and in an unfolded or open position. The panel has a free end substantially opposite the hinge. The free end has a shape selected from the group consisting of a substantially straight line, a point, a gore, a prong, a pair of adjacent and substantially parallel prongs defining a space therebetween, a pair of spaced-apart and substantially parallel posts, and combinations thereof. The panel is sized and positioned such that when the panel is deployed it is before the eyes of the wearer such that head turning of the wearer is more easily noticed by the wearer in comparing a first position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer and a second position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer. The surroundings of the wearer may include a golf ball that the wearer is attempting to strike with a club. The panel's first and second relative positions with respect to the golf ball generally indicate to the wearer whether or not the wearer's head is turning when the wearer strikes the golf ball.

Another alternative embodiment of the present invention includes a detachable indicator detachably attachable to a brim or visor for a hat. The detachable indicator provides visual indication of head turning or lack thereof for a wearer wearing the brim and includes a clip adapted to be detachably attachable to a brim or visor for a hat and a panel. A hinge hingedly attaches the panel to the clip. The panel is positioned in alignment with the brim when in an undeployed position and projects downwardly and away from the brim when in a deployed position. The panel is sized and positionable so that when it is deployed, it is before the eyes of the wearer such that head turning of the wearer is more easily noticed by the wearer in comparing a first position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer and a second position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer

Another alternative embodiment of the present invention has a detachable indicator detachably attachable to a brim or visor for a hat. The detachable indicator provides visual indication of head turning or lack thereof for a wearer wearing the brim and includes a clip adapted to be detachably attachable to a brim or visor for a hat. The clip has an upper clip panel flexibly coupled to a lower clip panel such that the upper and lower clip panels define a brim slot therebetween. Generally, the brim slot is curved to match a curved surface of the brim, particularly to forward most free edge thereof. A hinge hingedly attaches the panel to the clip. The panel has a free end substantially opposite the hinge. The free end has a shape selected from the group including a substantially straight line, a point, a gore, a prong, a pair of adjacent and substantially parallel prongs defining a space therebetween, a pair of spaced-apart and substantially parallel posts, and combinations thereof. The hinge has cam or spring action to hold the panel in at least one position including resiliently holding the panel in an undeployed or folded position with the panel preferably positioned in alignment with the brim when in the undeployed position. The panel projects downwardly and away from the brim when in a deployed position and the panel is sized and positional to be before eyes of the wearer when deployed. The panel's deployment is such that head turning of the wearer is more easily noticed by the wearer in comparing a first position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer and a second position of the panel with respect to surroundings of the wearer. Such surroundings may include a golf ball that the wearer is attempting to strike with a club. The panel's first and second relative positions with respect to the golf ball may indicate to the wearer whether or not the wearer's head is turning when the wearer strikes the golf ball.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes headgear for putting that includes a brim or bill with a pointed forward end thereof selected from a group of structures including: a single point or gore, a pair of points or gores defining a throughspace therebetween, and combinations thereof

Other embodiments of the present invention are set forth in more detail, below, and the embodiments set forth above and generally herein are made for purposes of example only and not of limitation.

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