Abstract:
A golf training apparatus comprising a base pad with indicia for locating a golfer&#39;s feet for different golf swings, and a pair of footpads, one of which rocks on a fulcrum and the other is disposed in a non-rocking position for teaching a golfer a proper weight shift during his swing.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a training device for teaching a golfer the proper way to shift his lower body during a golf swing, depending upon the club that he is using. A successful golf swing depends upon several factors including the proper location of the golfer&#39;s feet with respect to the location of the ball. This, in turn, depends upon the head of the practice club. Different clubs require that the golfer position his feet in different locations with respect to the ball. Typically the leading foot of the golfer is disposed in a position that depends upon the location of the pin, and the trailing foot position is dictated by the club configuration. 
     Some prior art references pertaining to practicing a proper weight shift include U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,027 issued Nov. 2, 1999 to John Kachmar for “Golf Swing Stance Stabilizer”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,673 issued Sep. 22, 1998 to David M. Castleberry for “Golf Swing Improvement Device”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,863 issued Nov. 23, 1993 to Nicholas J. Stefani et al. for “Weight Shift Trainer for Golfers”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,902 issued Sep. 29, 1992 to Doyle J. Heisler for “Golfer Weight Distribution Measurement System”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,847 issued Jul. 26, 1977, to Walter R. Lorang for “Golf Swing Training Apparatus”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,189,613 issued Feb. 6, 1940 to Guy D. Paulsen for “Golf Practicing Apparatus”. 
     In general such prior fails to fully train a proper weight shift with a selected golf club. 
     The broad purpose of the present invention is to provide a golf weight shift training apparatus comprising a flat base pad having indicia marking the location of the user&#39;s leading foot and his trailing foot for a proper golf swing. The user places his feet on a pair of footpads. The leading footpad is elongated and has a fulcrum structure on its lower surface so that the leading foot can rock from side-to-side during a swing. 
     The trailing footpad has a bottom rib adjacent a lower side edge of the pad so that the upper surface of the footpad is inclined toward the leading footpad, in a non-rocking position. The trailing footpad also has a rotatable toe pad located in the region of the ball of the user&#39;s foot. Initially, the user places his weight on the inside of his trailing foot. During a swing, he then rocks his leading foot from an inside position toward an outside position. Upon completion of his swing, the user then shifts his weight to the ball of the trailing foot while rotating the toe pad. 
     A pylon mounted on the trailing footpad indicates an undesirable lateral back swing of the golfer&#39;s hips during the back swing. 
     Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, upon reference to the following detailed description. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The description refers to the drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the preferred footpads mounted on a base pad; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the trailing footpad; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the leading footpad; 
     FIG. 4 is a rear view of the leading footpad showing the user&#39;s leading foot; 
     FIG. 5 is a view showing the user&#39;s trailing foot; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing the rotatable toe pad; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective bottom view of the trailing footpad; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective bottom view of the leading footpad; 
     FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the invention in which a pylon is mounted on the trailing footpad; 
     FIG. 10 illustrates the distance between the pylon and the golfer&#39;s hips when performing a proper back swing; and 
     FIG. 11 illustrates the golfer touching the pylon during an undesirable back swing. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a flexible base pad  10  which may be rolled up for storage, a leading footpad  12 , and a trailing footpad  14 . For illustrative purposes, footpad  12  is referred to as the “leading” footpad because it is closer to the target toward which the golfer is practicing his swing, while footpad  14  is further from the target and may be referred to as the “trailing” footpad. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, leading footpad  12  includes a panel  16  formed of any suitable stiff material of plastic or the like, having a width of 5″ and a length of 12″. A foot-shaped stabilizer pad  18  comprising any of the commonly known materials simulating artificial grass, is adhesively attached to panel  16  and has the form of the user&#39;s shoe. Pad  18  provides a friction-producing material for engaging the user&#39;s shoe and clearly indicates where the user should place his shoe. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 8, panel  16  has a rigid fulcrum structure  20  which extends the full length of panel  16 . Fulcrum structure  20  has a width of about 1½″, and a depth of ⅜″ and, for illustrative purposes, has three elongated parallel ridges. 
     Fulcrum structure  20  is located along the midsection of panel  16  such that when the user places his shoe  22  on pad  18 , as illustrated in FIG. 4, he can rock the footpad by swinging either side edge  24  or side edge  26  toward base pad  10 . 
     Although footpad  12  is described as the leading footpad, for a left handed golfer, the apparatus can be formed such that the right footpad is the leading footpad when the right leg is closer to the target. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 7, trailing footpad  14  comprises a panel  28  having the same width, length and thickness as panel  16  of the leading footpad. A foot-shaped stabilizer pad  30 , formed of a simulated grass material in the shape of the user&#39;s right shoe, is adhesively attached to panel  14 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, an elongated tilt strip  32  is attached to the bottom surface of panel  28 , adjacent side edge  34 , in such a manner than when panel  28  is mounted on base pad  10 , panel  28  will rest on bit strip  32  and left edge  36  of the panel. Preferably the tilt strip is formed of a suitable rigid plastic and is ⅜″ in thickness and about 1½″ in width. Strip  32  extends the full length of panel  28 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 6, stabilizer pad  30  has a circular cut out opening  34 . A metal disk or washer  36  is fastened to the top surface of panel  28  by threaded fastener means  38 . Threaded fastener means  38  includes a lock nut  40  disposed within a bottom recess  42  of panel  28 . A second, similarly-shaped metal disk  44  is adhesively attached to a circular toe pad  46  of a grass simulating material so that disk  44  is slidably mounted on disk  36  and rotatable about the axis of fastener means  38 . 
     Toe pad  46  has the same thickness as pad  30 , however, it sits about ⅛″ higher than pad  30 . This permits the user, upon completing his swing, to raise the heel of his shoe and shift his weight to the ball of his foot with respect to the footpad. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, footpad  14  has three indicia labeled respectively  48 ,  50  and  52  which designate together with appropriate arrows “numbers  1 ,  2  and  3 .” Similarly footpad  12  has indicia  54  and  56  which together with the accompanying arrows designate the “numbers  1  and  2 ”. The purpose of these numbers is to assist the user in following the instructions pertaining to a practice swing. 
     1. During the back swing, the golfer enjoys an assist in the shifting of weight to the inside of the forward foot. Note: The forward foot pad is rocked backward off its&#39; center placed fulcrum. 
     2. At the start of, and during the downswing, the golfer enjoys an assist in the shifting of weight to the outside of the forward foot. Note: The forward footpad is rocked forward off it&#39;s&#39; center placed fulcrum. 
     3. During the follow through, the golfer enjoys and assists in the spinning of the toe of the rear foot. Note: The rear foot pad facilitates the desired spinning action with the rotation of its&#39;disk insert. 
     * The golfer&#39;s forward is toward, and backward is away from the desired direction of the ball flight. 
     In use, the user lays base pad  10  in a suitable location and places his leading footpad  12  over the indicia on base pad  10  and his trailing footpad  14  in a position illustrated in FIG. 1, which depends upon the nature of the club he is swinging. He then can practice his swing. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9-11, a modification of the right footpad illustrates a block  58  located on the rear right corner of the trailing footpad for a right-hand golfer. Block  58  has an opening for receiving the lower end of a pylon  60 . Pylon  60  is disposed in an upright position and extends waist high to the golfer. The purpose of pylon  60  is to assist the golfer in recognizing that he has an undesirable swing of his hips during a club swing. FIG. 10 illustrates how a proper opening must be kept between the pylon and the user&#39;s hips  64  for a proper golf swing. If the user has a tendency to slide his hips as illustrated in FIG. 11, contacting the pylon will remind the golfer that his hips are not in a proper motion. 
     The pylon extends about 40″ above the footpad and is formed of a hollow plastic tube about ⅝″ in diameter. It has a slight resiliency so that a user  62  will have his hips located closely adjacent but not touching the pylon. FIG. 10 shows a preferred practice swing in which his hips  64  are located a distance from the pylon. During an incorrect swing illustrated in FIG. 11, the user will shift his hips so that it contacts the pylon.