This invention relates to golf instruction, and more particularly to a golf training aid.
Golf is a sport in which the proper positioning and alignment, including the foot path, alignment to the target, and the swing angle, can make the difference between an expert player and a mediocre player. As an example of the importance that alignment can make, if the club-face is even one degree closed or open to the intended ball to target line at the point of impact, it can result in a miss of 10-15 yards or more, depending on the swing speed. Learning to improve positioning and alignment, therefore, is essential to becoming a better golfer, and there are a number of training aid tools and devices to assist the golfer in practicing good alignment.
In the prior art, training aids intended to improve alignment do not provide a true alignment aid with the intended target. They typically involve a first mechanism for foot path alignment, and a second mechanism for alignment intended to be the intended target line, just outside the golf club head and the ball. However, even though this second alignment aid is intended to be the target line, it is outside the area the golfer is hitting the ball, and so it fails to be the true intended target line and gives the golfer the wrong visual for the golf club to get the optimal alignment with the intended target.
Another type of training aid establishes the proper golf swing plane, but these fail to provide an intended target line apparatus. Therefore, golf swing aids could have a golfer working on his or her swing plane while not properly aligned to the desired target.
Most alignment aids currently on the market are bulky, heavy, cumbersome to use, and difficult to store and transport in a standard size golf bag.
Finally, prior art golf training alignment aids are only geared towards one aspect of the game (for instance, one aid or tool for aligning when hitting balls with a full swing, and another aid or tool for helping with putting alignment). This compounds the previous problem, as to cover all aspects of the game, you would need multiple alignment aids, making them more difficult to store and transport.
What is needed, therefore, is a system that overcomes these problems.
A golf training aid is disclosed for use with alignment sticks. The golf training aid includes an elongate member with a longitudinal axis and a first and second set of holes. The first set of holes is space apart farther than the second set. The elongate ember also has a target alignment hole positioned in between the first and second set of holes. All the holes are constructed to receive and hold an alignment stick. The golf training aid has least two configurations: a wide hitting box configuration and a narrow box configuration. In the wide hitting box configuration, a first and second alignment stick are inserted into the first set of holes, and both the first and second alignment sticks (1) extend from the elongate member predominately in a first direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, and (2) define a wide hitting box planar area. In the narrow hitting box configuration, the first and second alignments sticks are inserted into the second set of holes, and both the first and second alignment sticks extend from the elongate member predominately in the first direction, and (2) define a narrow hitting box planar area, wherein the wide hitting box planar area is larger than the narrow hitting box planar area. In either configuration, a third alignment stick is inserted into the target alignment hole and extends from the elongate member in predominately a direction opposite to the first direction and orthogonal to the longitudinal axis. All the alignment sticks may positioned in the same plane.
The golf training aid may also include an iron swing angle hole constructed to receive an alignment stick. The golf training aid may further include an iron swing configuration wherein the first alignment stick is inserted into one of the first set of holes and the second alignment stick is inserted into the iron swing angle hole, the second alignment stick (1) extends away from the elongate member in a second direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and the first direction and (2) forms an iron swing angle (42) with the longitudinal axis, the iron swing angle is in the range of 50-60 degrees.
The golf training aid may also include a wood swing angle hole constructed to receive an alignment stick. The golf training aid may further include a wood swing configuration wherein the first alignment stick is inserted into one of the first set of holes and the second alignment stick is inserted into the wood swing angle hole, the second alignment stick (1) extends away from the elongate member in a second direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and the first direction and (2) forms a wood swing angle (47) with the longitudinal axis, the wood swing angle is in the range of 40-50 degrees.
The golf training aid may also include a putting hole constructed to allow a golf ball to pass there through, a third set of two holes each constructed to receive an alignment stick and a putting target alignment hole constructed to receive an alignment stick, the putting alignment hole positioned above the putting hole and in between the third set of holes. The golf training aid may further include a putting configuration wherein (1) the first and second alignment sticks are inserted into the third set of holes and both the first and second alignment sticks extend orthogonally from the longitudinal axis and define a putting box plane, and (2) the third alignment sticks is inserted into the putting target alignment hole and extends orthogonally from the longitudinal axis and is elevated from the putting box plane by more than the diameter of the golf ball.
The elongate member of the golf training aid may be a rectangular prism with a major face. When the golf training aid is in the wide hitting box configuration and the narrow hitting box configuration, the first and second alignment sticks may be parallel to the major face. When the golf training aid is in the putting configuration, the first and second alignment sticks may be orthogonal to the major face.
The golf training aid may have a stick storage rack attached to the elongate member, the alignment stick storage rack includes a plurality of storage rack holes constructed to receiver alignment sticks.
Various methods of using the device are also disclosed.
Additional aspects, alternatives and variations as would be apparent to persons of skill in the art are also disclosed herein and are specifically contemplated as included as part of the invention. The invention is set forth only in the claims as allowed by the patent office in this or related applications, and the following summary descriptions of certain examples are not in any way to limit, define or otherwise establish the scope of legal protection.
The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components within the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed on clearly illustrating example aspects of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views and/or embodiments. Furthermore, various features of different disclosed embodiments can be combined to form additional embodiments, which are part of this disclosure. It will be understood that certain components and details may not appear in the figures to assist in more clearly describing the invention.
Reference is made herein to some specific examples of the present invention, including any best modes contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the invention. Examples of these specific embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying figures. While the invention is described in conjunction with these specific embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the described or illustrated embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Particular example embodiments of the present invention may be implemented without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, process operations well known to persons of skill in the art have not been described in detail in order not to obscure unnecessarily the present invention. Various techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will sometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it should be noted that some embodiments include multiple iterations of a technique or multiple mechanisms, unless noted otherwise. Similarly, various steps of the methods shown and described herein are not necessarily performed in the order indicated, or performed at all, in certain embodiments. Accordingly, some implementations of the methods discussed herein may include more or fewer steps than those shown or described. Further, the techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will sometimes describe a connection, relationship or communication between two or more entities. It should be noted that a connection or relationship between entities does not necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety of other entities or processes may reside or occur between any two entities. Consequently, an indicated, connection does not necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, unless otherwise noted.
The following list of example features corresponds to the attached figures and is provided for ease of reference, where like reference numerals designate corresponding features throughout the specification and figures:
The present invention presents many embodiments and many aspects that may be used independently or in conjunction.
As illustrated in
The golf training aid 5 as illustrated in
The golf training aid 5 comprises at least two configurations: a wide hitting box configuration 68 and a narrow hitting box configuration 82. In the wide hitting box configuration 68, a first alignment stick 60-1 and a second alignment stick 60-2 are inserted into the first set of holes 10, and both the first and second alignment sticks 60-1, 60-2 (1) extend from the elongate member 7 predominately in a first direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 8, and (2) define a wide hitting box planar area 70. This wide hitting box configuration 68 can be seen in
The putting hitting box holes 25, putting ball pass through 30, putting target alignment hole 35, iron swing angle hole 40, and wood swing angle hole 45 instead run from the front of the major face 9 to the back of the elongate member 7 (shown in
In either the iron swing configuration 41 or the wood swing configuration 46, if the golfer places a club shaft on the alignment stick that is placed in the angled hole 40 or 45 the golf training aid 5 will guide the alignment of the sweet spot of the club-face while providing a visual for the true target line with the target alignment hole 20, so that the golfer can both hit the ball with the sweet spot of the club-face, and do so while in a true alignment with the intended target, which is a big advantage over prior art, which requires use of separate independent aids for swing alignment and for target alignment.
In another aspect, the golf training aid 5 comprises also a putting configuration 97 wherein (1) the first and second alignment sticks (60-1, 60-2 in
When the elongate member 7 of the golf training aid 5 is a rectangular prism, as shown in
As illustrated in
The wide hitting box configuration 68 is meant for hitting the golf ball 75 either with a golf tee 80 (
The narrow hitting box configuration 82 illustrated in
What is now disclosed is a method for golf training, comprising the following steps: (a) providing a golf training aid 5 with an elongate member 7 with a longitudinal axis 8, the elongate member 7 itself comprising: (1) a first set of two holes 10, each constructed to receive an alignment stick (60-1, 60-2), the first set of holes spaced apart from each other; and (2) a target alignment hole 20 constructed to receive an alignment stick 60-3, the target alignment hole 20 being positioned in between the first set of holes 10; (b) inserting a first and second alignment sticks (60-1, 60-2) into the first set of holes 10 such that the first and second alignment sticks (60-1, 60-2) extend orthogonally from the longitudinal axis 8 and define a hitting box 70; (c) inserting a third alignment stick 60-3 into the target alignment hole 20 such that the third alignment stick 60-3 extends orthogonally from the longitudinal axis 8; (d) aligning the third alignment stick 60-3 with the target 100; (e) positioning a golf ball 75 within the hitting box 70; and (f) swinging a golf club to strike the golf ball 75 such that the golf ball 75 travels of the third alignment stick 60-3. Additionally, the method may further comprise, wherein the golf training aid 5 comprises a swing angle hole (40 or 50) constructed to receive an alignment stick 60-4: (g) before swinging the golf club, inserting a fourth alignment stick 60-4 into the swing angle hole (40 or 50) such that the fourth alignment stick 60-4 (1) extends away from the elongate member 7 in a direction that is orthogonal to the first alignment stick 60-1 and (2) defines a swing plane (43 or 48) that is at a swing angle (42 or 47) with the longitudinal axis 8, wherein the swing angle (42 or 47) is in the range of 40-60 degrees; and (h) maintaining the golf club parallel to the swing plane (either 43 or 48) for at least a portion of the swing. The portion of the swing where the golf club should be maintained parallel to the swing plane can be prior to the ball strike, or can be after the front swing.
Another golf training method may comprise these following steps: (a) providing a golf training aid 5 with an elongate member 7 with a longitudinal axis 8, the elongate member 7 comprising: (1) a putting hole 30 constructed to allow a golf ball 75 to pass there through; (2) a set of two holes 25 each constructed to receive an alignment stick 60-1, 60-2; and (3) a putting target alignment hole 35 constructed to receive an alignment stick 60-3, the putting target alignment hole 35 positioned above the putting hole 30 and in between the set of holes 25; (b) inserting a first and second alignment sticks 60-1, 60-2 into the first set of holes 25 such that the first and second alignment sticks 60-1, 60-2 extend orthogonally from the longitudinal axis 8, defining a putting box 95; (c) inserting a third alignment stick 60-3 into the putting target alignment hole 35 such that the third alignment stick 60-3 extends orthogonally from the longitudinal axis 8; (d) aligning the third alignment stick 60-3 with the target 100; (e) positioning the golf ball 75 within the putting box 95; and (f) striking the golf ball 75 such that it travels under the third alignment stick 60-3 and through the putting hole 30. For this training method, the golf ball 75 can be stuck with a putter having a putter head, and during the ball strike, the putter head can also travel under the third alignment stick 60-3.
Although the term wood has been used in this disclosure, it would be understood that the only difference between a wood swing setup and a driver swing setup is the golf tee used with the driver setup, with the driver swing plane and the wood swing plane essentially one and the same and the driver swing angle and wood swing angle substantially the same. Therefore, the same configuration of the golf training aid disclosed herein for the wood swing also aids the driver swing, and one may consider the terms wood swing and driver swing to be interchangeable in the context of the configuration and use of the golf training aid of the present invention.
The invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments that illustrate examples of the invention but do not limit its scope. Various example systems have been shown and described having various aspects and elements. Unless indicated otherwise, any feature, aspect or element of any of these systems may be removed from, added to, combined with or modified by any other feature, aspect or element of any of the systems. As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, modifications and adaptations to the above-described systems and methods can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined only by the following claims. Moreover, the applicant expressly does not intend that the following claims “and the embodiments in the specification to be strictly coextensive.” Phillips v. AHW Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc).
This application claims priority to provisional application U.S. 63/177,337, filed on Apr. 20, 2021, titled “Multi-function Golf Target Alignment Aid” and as a continuation of application U.S. Ser. No. 29/806,833, filed on Sep. 7, 2021, titled “Golf Target Alignment Aid”. Both of these applications are incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20220331679 A1 | Oct 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63177337 | Apr 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 29806833 | Sep 2021 | US |
Child | 17486303 | US |