Patent Application
20160074722
The invention is in the field of golf. More particularly, the invention relates to a golf grip that has a built-in stand for resting the handle of a golf club off the ground.
Golfers often find themselves playing in the early mornings and in the rain. When they align shots, many put their golf club on the ground where it picks up moisture. A moistened golf grip can be slippery; most grips are made of a non-absorbent, elastomeric material. The golfer using a slippery grip can lose the club while swinging so he or she must remember to wipe the golf grip down to make sure it is dry before taking the shot. Golfers also often find themselves playing in sand traps. A sandy golf grip can be slippery too.
The following patents relate to golf putters with grips that have stroke and putting assistance implements built into the putter grip. U.S. Pat. No. 8,231,479 issued to McIntosh discloses a putter grip and blade assembly for a golf putter including a grip having a distal end and a proximal end with the grip having an opening at the proximal end for a shaft of a putter and additionally a recess in the length of the grip for a blade in which the blade is rotatable for the blade to extend from the recess of the grip. In order for the blade assembly to fit within the grip, the grip must be oblong shaped in cross section. This means that the putter has a different feel in the golfer's hands than the rest of the clubs.
Most golf club supports of the type useful for keeping the golf club grip off the turf to prevent it from becoming wet are stand alone items that the golfer carries in his or her pocket or the golf bag. U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,137 issued to Jones et al. is exemplary. Disclosed is a combination ball mark repair tool, golf club support and cigar cutter. At one end of the pocket sized tool, a turf prier is pivotally mounted in a handle. The opposite end of the handle has a concave recess, so that when the prier end is stuck vertically in the turf, the golfer may put the golf club shaft on the recess to keep the grip end of the club off the turf. Other exemplary U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,813,414; 5,182,704; 7,041,001; 6,497,327 and 5,730,404, are similar in their stand alone functionality.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,977 issued to MacNearly discloses a golf green repair tool that is mounted within the shaft of the golf club and enables the golfer to repair the turf without having to bend over. Both U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,911 issued to Ferlazzo et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,103 issued to Vache disclose golf club supports that are mounted within the end of the golf club shaft end opposite the head end. With these types of supports, balance and stability in use can present problems as the portion of the stand that sits on the ground is a circular, flat stand head or support pad, the stand itself is at the very end of the club, and the golfer must make sure that the stand head is in proper alignment with the club face for the stand to work correctly.
It would be advantageous to have a support stand that is integral with the golf grip rather than located at club end. A support stand distal to the club head would provide better balance and stability and assist in keeping the grip dry. Automatically positioned in the proper alignment with the face of the club head, it would eliminate the balance and stability issues of the aforementioned devices that are mounted within the shaft. It would also be advantageous if the integral stand could be mounted in a circumferentially symmetrical grip to maintain the feel and balance golfers are traditionally used to. So if the golfer uses a support stand for only one club, the putter for example, the grip for the putter has the same feel and balance as the rest of the golfer's clubs.
The advantages mentioned above are provided in the golf grip and integral stand assembly of the invention. The assembly is composed of a grip for mounting on the handle end of a golf club. The grip is preferably symmetrical in cross section so that the golf feels no difference between the grip of the invention and the golfer's other grips. The grip has a distal end and a proximal end in relation to the club's face, and the grip has an opening at the proximal end formed to receive the shaft of the golf club. The distal end forms the end of the club, as it does with traditional golf grips. A longitudinal recess is formed and arranged in the length of the grip and a club stand is hingeably mounted to the grip at one end of the recess.
The club stand has an interior surface and an exterior surface and it is positioned in the recess such its exterior surface is flush with the grip surface when the stand is in its closed position. By means of the hinge mounted between the wall of the grip recess and one end of the stand, the stand is able to rotatably extend from the recess of the grip from a closed position flush with the exterior surface of the grip to an open position wherein the interior surface of the stand is exposed. Hinge stop means may be provided to prevent the stand from pivoting more than 90 degrees from its closed position.
The golf grip additionally includes a stand cover that is mounted on the exterior surface of the stand and is formed of the same material as the remainder of the grip. When the stand is in its closed position, the grip portion containing the stand will thus have the same feel to the golfer as the remainder of the grip.
Optionally, the golf grip assembly may include means for releasably retaining the stand in its closed position. In one aspect, the retaining means may take the form of a magnet mounted on the interior surface of the club stand near the unhinged end of the stand. The magnet may be recessed into the interior surface of the club stand. The magnet will be attracted to the metal of the golf shaft and hold the stand in place in its closed position when not in use. In another aspect the retaining means may take the form of a clip, pin, or clasp, mounted on the interior surface of the stand in mating arrangement with a holder to maintain the stand in place in its closed position. Alternatively, the retaining means may be a spring loaded button affixed to the golf club shaft and disposed near the unhinged end of the club stand.
The stand cover of the golf grip assembly may be the same size as the stand or it may extend beyond the length of the stand or the width of the stand at its unhinged end to form a shelf end for grasping by the golfer in order to rotate the stand to its open position.
The club stand portion of the assembly may be composed of a variety of materials including, polymers, plastics, graphite polymers, metals, alloys, ceramic, synthetic and natural materials and combinations thereof. Plastics are preferred in order not to affect the balance of the club once the grip assembly is mounted on it. The grip portion of the assembly may be composed of a grippable material, without, or typically with, a texturized surface. Grip materials that can be used are well known in the art. Exemplary materials that may be used include rubber composites and elastomers such as Elastom ETM and ethylene propylene diene Monomer (EPDM). The specific shape of the stand can be varied. Rectangular is preferred because when longitudinally mounted in the grip, it provides an appropriate height to maintain the club grip off the turf, is easy to manufacture, and causes less impact in terms of the feel of the club in the golfer's hands. Tapered rectangles with pointed or blunt ends and T shapes could also be used. The golf grip assembly of the invention may be used with any golf club once it is mounted on the club with the club stand parallel to the club face. The assembly may be used with newly manufactured clubs and can be retrofit on clubs to replace old grips.
In operation, when the golfer wants to use his or her club line up a shot, or just support the club while he or she surveys a shot, the golfer opens the club stand, places the head of the club on the ground and the unhinged end of the club stand on the ground. The grip assembly of the assembly can be used on all of a golfers club or only on one club. For example, if the grip assembly is mounted on the putter and the golfer approaches the green with a few clubs in hand because his or her shot is undetermined, the putter can be employed as a stand for the other clubs.
Referring now to
A close-up of the assembly in its closed position is provided in
The actual placement of where the assembly will be formed within the grip may vary. As illustrated, it is near but not at the top of the club, 5. It can vary up to about 3 inches in its positioning. Once the grip is mounted on a club, the club stand should be arranged to be parallel to the club face for the most stable resting and because this location will work for both left and right handed golfers.
