Golf ball gripper and golf club including same

Abstract

A golf ball gripper is attachable to a golf club. The golf ball gripper includes a suction cup that is resiliently deformable and is adapted to receive the golf ball and grip it therein. The suction cup is attachable to the golf club. The golf ball gripper may include a golf club grip that extends downwardly from the suction cup and the golf club grip is adapted to be used as the grip of the golf club. Alternatively the suction cup may be screwed onto the top of golf club either with a screw that extends through the suction cup or is integrally attached thereto. Alternatively the suction cup may have a grip portion that extends downwardly therefrom that is adapted to either fit into the top portion of a golf club or fit over the top portion of a golf club.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to golf club accessories and in particular a golf ball gripper and a golf club including a golf ball gripper.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Golf is a game that has gained popularity steadily almost since its inception. It is a game that takes an incredible amount of skill to do well and in which there is always room for improvement. Many golfers spend long hours working on their various swings. Golf has the advantage of being accessible to a wide range of players, ranging from young to old.

[0003] A typical golf club includes a head, a shaft and a grip. The head may be a putter, a wood or an iron head. There are many innovations to improve the performance and the manufacturability of each aspect of the club. However, little has been done to modify or provide accessories to the club itself so as to provide the player with a simple method of picking up the gold ball using the club. Typically a player must bend down to pick up the ball from the hole or use a separate device to pick up the ball from the hole. Accordingly it would be advantageous to provide a device that may be attached to or incorporated into a club that facilitates the player picking up the ball particularly from a hole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention is a golf ball gripper which is attachable to a golf club. The golf ball gripper includes a suction cup that is resiliently deformable and is adapted to receive the golf ball and grip it therein. The suction cup is attachable to the golf club. The golf ball gripper may include a golf club grip that extends downwardly from the suction cup and the golf club grip is adapted to be used as the grip of the golf club. Alternatively the suction cup may be screwed onto the top of a golf club either with a screw that extends through the suction cup or is integrally attached thereto Alternatively the suction cup may have a grip portion that extends downwardly therefrom that is adapted to either fit into the top portion of a golf club or fit over the top portion of a golf club.

[0005] In another aspect of the invention there is a golf club including a head, an elongate shaft, a grip and a golf ball gripper. The golf ball gripper includes a suction cup that is resiliently deformable and is adapted to receive the golf ball and grip it therein. The suction cup is attachable to the golf club. The golf ball gripper may include a golf club grip that extends downwardly from the suction cup and the golf club grip is adapted to be used as the grip of the golf club. Alternatively the suction cup may be screwed onto the top of a golf club either with a screw that extends through the suction cup or is integrally attached thereto. Alternatively the suction cup may have a grip portion that extends downwardly therefrom that is adapted to either fit into the top portion of a golf club or fit over the top portion of a golf club.

[0006] Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a putter according to the invention wherein the golf ball gripper constructed in accordance with the present invention is provided as the top portion of the grip;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention which is similar to FIG. 1, but showing an alternate putter:

[0010] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the invention which is similar to FIG. 1, but showing an iron;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a partial cross sectional view of FIGS. 1 to 3:

[0012] FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 4;

[0013] FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the grip shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, showing a ball gripped by the golf ball gripper;

[0014] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the golf ball gripper of FIG. 1 in use, illustrating the golf ball gripper attaching to the ball;

[0015] FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view similar to that shown in FIG. 7 but illustrating the golf ball gripper picking up the ball;

[0016] FIG. 9 a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the golf ball gripper constructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the gripper is screwed onto to the top of the golf club;

[0017] FIG. 10 is a top view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 9;

[0018] FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 9;

[0019] FIG. 12 a perspective view of a second alternate embodiment of the golf ball gripper constructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the gripper is press fit into the top of the golf club;

[0020] FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 12 showing the golf ball at the mouth of the gripper;

[0021] FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 12 showing the golf ball held by the gripper;

[0022] FIG. 15 is a top view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 12;

[0023] FIG. 16 a perspective view of a third alternate embodiment of the golf ball gripper constructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the gripper is screwed into the top of the club with an screw that is embedded into the gripper;

[0024] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 16 and showing the bottom of the gripper;

[0025] FIG. 18 is a cross sectional view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 16;

[0026] FIG. 19 a perspective view of a fourth alternate embodiment of the golf ball gripper constructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the gripper is press fit onto the top of the golf club;

[0027] FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 19 before it is attached to the golf club; and

[0028] FIG. 21 is a cross sectional view of the golf ball gripper of FIG. 19.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, the golf ball gripper of the present invention is shown generally at 10. The gripper 10 includes a suction cup 12 sized to fit a golf ball which may be retained therein and a means for attaching the suction cup 12 to a golf club 14.

[0030] As is well known a gulf club 14 includes a head 16, an elongate shaft 18 and a grip 20. The golf ball gripper 10 of the present invention may be attached to any type of golf club but it would be more typically attached to a putter as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 or and iron as shown in FIG. 3.

[0031] Golf ball gripper 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 includes a suction cup 12 and a grip 20 integrally attached thereto as best seen in FIG. 6. The suction cup 12 is shaped such that at rest the upper portion 22 has a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of a golf ball 24 and then it tapers downwardly and inwardly. The suction cup 12 is constructed of resiliently deformable material such that when a golf ball 24 is positioned therein the suction cup 12 deforms to the shape of the golf ball 24 as shown in FIG. 6. A grip 20 extends downwardly from the suction cup 12 and is integrally attached thereto as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 6. The grip 20 fits over the elongate shaft 18 of the golf club 14 in a conventional type manner.

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, it can readily be seen that the golf ball gripper 10 of the present invention provides the golfer 26 with a quick and easy method of picking up a golf ball 24 and in particular picking up a golf ball from a hole 28. The golf ball gripper 10 can be used to pick up a golf ball 24 which is placed on the ground or which is rolled into a hole 28. This can be readily done by holding the golf club upside down to insert the golf ball gripper 10 into the hole, and then pressing the golf ball gripper 10 against the ball 24, thereby causing the ball to be inserted into the suction cup 12 of the gripper 10 through tight contact therebetween. During the course of picking up a golfer can hold either the elongate shaft 18 or the head 16.

[0033] By using a golf club 14 with a golf ball gripper 10 attached thereto, the golfer can easily pick up the golf ball 24 without having to bend the waist and knees. Therefore, the present invention provides the advantages of protecting the golfer's waist and knees and reducing fatigue during golfing.

[0034] There are a number of different means of attaching the golf ball gripper to a golf club all of which would be included in the present invention. For example, referring to FIGS. 9 to 11, an alternate golf ball gripper is shown generally at 30. Gripper 30 is attached to the grip 20 of a golf club 14 with a screw 32. Gripper 30 has a suction cup 34 that is similar to suction cup 12 but it has a counter sink portion 36 to receive the screw 32.

[0035] A second alternative golf ball gripper is shown generally at 40 in FIGS. 12 to 15. Gripper 40 has an inner portion 42 and an outer portion 44. Inner portion 42 is resiliently deformable. Outer portion 44 may be more rigid but it is deformable enough so that a grip portion 48 which extends downwardly from the suction cup 49 may be press fit into the top of a golf club 14. As with gripper 10 and 30 the upper portion 46 of the inner portion 42 has a diameter that is slightly smaller than the diameter of a golf ball 24. The inner portion 42 then tapers downwardly and inwardly.

[0036] A third alternate golf ball gripper is shown generally at 50 in FIGS. 16 to 18. Gripper 50 is adapted to be screwed into the top of a golf club 14. A screw 52 is embedded into gripper 50. As with the previous versions gripper 50 includes a suction cup 54 adapted to receive a golf ball.

[0037] A fourth alternate golf ball gripper is shown generally at 60 in FIGS. 19 to 21. Gripper 60 includes a suction cup 62 and grip portion 64. As with the above embodiments suction cup 62 is adapted to receive a golf ball. Grip portion 64 is adapted to be placed over and press fit over the grip 20 of a golf club 14.

[0038] It will be appreciated that the above description related to the invention by way of example only. Many variations on the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and such obvious variations are within the scope of the invention as described herein whether or not expressly described.

Claims

1. A golf ball gripper adapted to be attached to a golf club for gripping a golf ball comprising: a resiliently deformable suction cup adapted to receive the golf ball and grip it therein; and a means for attaching the suction cup to the golf club.

2. A golf ball gripper as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attaching means includes a golf club grip integrally attached to the suction cup and adapted to be positioned over an elongate shaft of the golf club.

3. A golf ball gripper as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attaching means is a screw which is adapted to be attached to the golf club.

4. A golf ball gripper as claimed in claim 3 wherein the screw is integrally attached to the suction cup.

5. A golf ball gripper as claimed in claim 3 wherein the screw extends through the suction cup and is seated in a counter sink portion of the suction cup.

6. A golf ball gripper as claimed in claim 1 wherein attaching means is a grip portion extending downwardly from the suction cup and the grip portion is adapted to be press fit into the top of a golf club.

7. A golf ball gripper as claimed in claim 1 wherein attaching means is a grip portion extending downwardly from the suction CLIP and the grip portion is adapted to be press fit over the outside of a top of the golf club.

8. A golf ball gripper as claimed in claim 1 wherein the suction cup includes resiliently deformable inside portion and a more rigid outside portion.

9. A golf club comprising: a head; a shaft extending upwardly from the head; a grip; and a golf ball gripper having a resiliently deformable suction cup adapted to receive the golf ball and grip it therein and a means for attaching the suction cup to the golf club.

10. A golf club as claimed in claim 9 wherein the attaching means includes a golf club grip integrally attached to the suction cup and adapted to be positioned over an elongate shaft of the golf club.

11. A golf club as claimed in claim 9 wherein the attaching means is a screw which is adapted to be attached to the golf club.

12. A golf club as claimed in claim 11 wherein the screw is integrally attached to the suction cup.

13. A golf club as claimed in claim 11 wherein the screw extends through the suction cup and is seated in a counter sink portion of the suction cup.

14. A golf club as claimed in claim 9 wherein attaching means is a grip portion extending downwardly from the suction cup and the grip portion is adapted to be press fit into the top of a golf club.

15. A golf club as claimed in claim 9 wherein the attaching means is a grip portion extending downwardly from the suction cup and the grip portion is adapted to be press fit onto the outside of the top of a golf club over the grip.

16. A golf club as claimed in claim 9 wherein the suction cup includes a resiliently deformable inside portion and a more rigid outside portion.