Patent Application
20110105239
The present invention relates generally to a golf club that is used with only a single arm, and more particularly relates to a golf club with a spiral attachment on an upper portion for securing the golfer's arm and a grip portion along the club's mid-section for securely gripping the club with the golfer's hand.
The game of golf is a highly popular source of exercise and recreation and is enjoyed by persons of all ages and levels of skill. To become proficient in the golf, it is necessary for the golfer to develop a precision swing so that he or she can accurately strike the ball in order to propel the ball in the desired direction, speed, and line of flight toward the hole. Much has been written over the years on developing a good golf swing. Many professional teachers spend their careers teaching persons to develop a proper golf swing. Numerous video lessons are also available and are directed to teaching a golfer how to develop a precise golf swing.
One of the main reasons a golf swing is difficult to develop is because there are so many fulcrum points on the human body when gripping a club with both hands. These fulcrum points must all work in conjunction with each other, which creates a very complex mechanical model.
Several one-arm golf clubs have been made that allow the golfer to grip the shaft of the club with a hand while providing measures for bracing the club against a second portion of the golfer's arm. Because only one arm is used, these clubs remove several of the above-identified fulcrum points, thereby simplifying the mechanics of the swing. In addition, swinging with only a single arm allows the golfer to directly face the hole and swing with an arm movement that more resembles a natural bowling-type motion. However, none of the prior-art designs provides a one-arm club with a solid coupling between the club and the golfer's arm.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.
Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, disclosed is a golf club having a grip portion with a distal end and a proximal end opposite the distal end a club head mechanically coupled to the distal end of the grip portion and an arm-securing portion mechanically coupled to the proximal end of the grip portion and having a substantially spiral-shape with a spiral direction away from the grip portion.
In accordance with another feature, an embodiment of the present invention includes a shaft connecting the grip portion to the arm-securing portion.
In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the shaft has a longitudinal axis and the arm-securing portion comprises a proximal end, a distal end opposite the proximal end and adjacent the grip portion, and a generally increasing width running from the distal end to the proximal end, the generally increasing width measured in a dimension parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
In accordance with yet another feature of the present invention, the arm-securing portion is removably attached to the shaft.
In accordance with an additional feature of the present invention, the arm-securing portion includes an outwardly spiraling shape with a generally increasing spiral diameter
In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, he grip portion is shaped as a negative mold of a hand.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the shaft has a longitudinal axis and the arm-securing portion includes a proximal end, a distal end opposite the proximal end and adjacent the grip portion, and a generally increasing width running from the distal end to the proximal end, the generally increasing width measured in a dimension parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
In accordance with yet another embodiment, the present invention includes a golf club with a shaft that has an extent, a distal end, and a proximal end separated from the distal end by the extent. A hand grip is disposed along the extent, an arm-securing attachment is coupled to the proximal end and has a substantially spiral-shape with a spiral direction extending away from the proximal end, and a club face coupled to the distal end.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a single-arm golf club, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandable description of the invention. While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward. The figures of the drawings are not drawn to scale.
Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.
As used herein, the term “about” or “approximately” applies to all numeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These terms generally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the same function or result). In many instances these terms may include numbers that are rounded to the nearest significant figure. In this document, the term “longitudinal” should be understood to mean in a direction corresponding to an elongated direction of the club's shaft.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages all in accordance with the present invention.
The present invention provides an ergonomic golf club that can be accurately used with a single arm, thereby reducing many points of potential error present during a traditional two-arm golf swing. As is described below, the invention can be provided in many embodiments, each forming a solid bond between the golfer's arm and the inventive golf club.
Referring now to
At the proximal end 208 of the shaft 202 is an arm-securing attachment 216. The arm-securing attachment 216 has a substantially spiral-shape 218, which, in the particular embodiment shown, is in a spiral direction 220 generally away from the proximal end 208 of the shaft 202. The term “generally away from,” as used here, refers to a longitudinal direction as shown by the arrow 220 and not a radially outward direction, although, as shown in
As an additional feature, the grip 210 and the arm-securing attachment 216, according to embodiments of the present invention, can be coated in or formed from a soft coating that provides adequate gripping and comfort against the golfer's skin to adhere the grip to his arm 300. Known materials that can be used include foam rubber, grip paper, leather, silicon based materials, latex, or any other similar material.
In one embodiment, the arm-securing attachment 216 is of a material that can be custom formed around the golfer's arm. For example, at the first use, the user can apply heat to the arm-securing attachment 216, the heat placing it in a flexible state. Once sufficiently heated, the golfer can wrap it around his or her arm to provide the proper fit. Once properly sized, the golfer can allow the arm-securing attachment 216 to cool and harden. In another embodiment, the arm-securing attachment 216 can be made of a material that remains pliable regardless of temperature and can be molded by simply applying adequate pressure. There are many known materials that have this property.
In a further embodiment, as shown in
In yet another embodiment, shown in
A single-arm golf club has been disclosed that greatly simplifies the mechanics of a golf swing by removing a great number of fulcrum points from the golfer's swing. In addition, swinging with a single arm allows the golfer to open his stance and face the hole, thereby providing a better view of the target to which the ball is being hit. The inventive club is securely attached to the golfer's arm, feeling to the golfer as though his or her arm has been naturally extended. The club can be used as a putter or any other club, such as a lob wedge, sand wedge, pitching wedge, gap wedge, ultra lob wedge, utility club, hybrid club, chipper, approach wedge, last wedge, and any other use which may be contemplated now or in the future which will aid the golfer in the betterment of the game.
