Removable golf club grip

A removable grip adapted to be fixed on the existing conventional grip of a golf club is provided with hollows and protuberances enabling the player to adopt automatically a correct position of the hands on the grip.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a removable grip which can be fitted to 
existing golf club grips, according to the preamble of claim 1, and which 
in particular is adapted to the correct position of the fingers of the two 
hands of the player addressing the ball, that is to say when the hands are 
holding a golf club during the preparation and execution of the swing. 
In known manner golf clubs have a heavy end provided with a face for 
striking the ball, a shaft of variable diameter which ends in a handle, 
generally covered with a nonslip material and sometimes marked with a 
reference line extending from the bottom end of the nonslip material to 
the end of the club remote from the heavy end. 
It is known that instructors of this sport use in their equipment a utensil 
which is useful to beginners, but only to beginners, this utensil 
comprising a handle or grip provided with hollows corresponding to the 
optimum positions of the fingers of the two hands and, in a complementary 
arrangement, with protuberances corresponding to the gaps between fingers 
and hereinafter referred to as ribs. 
These utensils are used only during the very early lessons, and the 
instructor quickly passes to so-called practice exercises performed with 
real clubs having a conventional grip consisting of a handle covered with 
a nonslip material, followed by exercises on a real course. 
This entails disadvantages for novice players: 
too brief or incomplete apprenticeship in the correct positioning of the 
fingers, 
the acquirement of bad habits once the first lessons have been forgotten or 
are imperfectly assimilated, 
a consequent deterioration of performance with all clubs having a 
conventional grip consisting of a handle covered with a nonslip material. 
The document U.S. Pat. No. 1,664,257 (McCullough) describes a process for 
converting a golf club having a normal smooth grip into a grip having 
hollows and ribs adapted to the position of the fingers. Nevertheless, 
this process necessitates the sacrificing of a club in order to replace 
the grip definitively, which is a disadvantage. Removable golf club grips 
fitted over a smooth grip, such as that described in the documents U.S. 
Pat. Nos. 4,869,511 or 4,878,667, serve other purposes, such as for 
example increasing the weight of the grip or protecting it, and do not 
contribute towards better positioning of the fingers. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention proposes to obviate these disadvantages by the means 
described in claim 1. 
The adding to a conventional golf club grip of an additional, removable 
grip having hollows and ribs suitable for the automatic assumption of a 
correct position by the player addressing the ball enables the player, 
without any effort of memory, to retain the position learned during the 
first lessons until he finally acquires correct habits for the positioning 
of the hands on the conventional golf club grip, either with or without 
the removable grip forming the subject of the present invention. 
It is clear that the advantage of the invention is, in particular, the 
definitive long-term improvement of the player's performance, and also, 
for the player, a reduction of the cost of lessons and, for the 
instructor, a saving of time and instructional effort. 
The increase of the diameter of the grip resulting from the addition of the 
removable grip forming the subject of the invention has no disadvantage 
from the point of view of the comfort of the player. 
Other forms of construction are described in the claims accompanying the 
present application. 
Various models for the shape of the removable grip may be provided, each 
adapted to the size, sex, laterality and, more generally, to the 
physiological parameters of the player which affect the shape of the hands 
and their position on the grip. 
Provision may be made for the use of a semirigid plastic material for the 
removable grip forming the subject of the invention, so that it can be 
suitably applied over the conventional grip if the latter has a variable 
diameter; for this purpose the inside diameter of the removable grip may 
be slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the existing conventional 
grip. 
The removable grip according to the invention may preferably be made in two 
forms: 
in a single piece, provided with a longitudinal slit along the reference 
line and able to be opened sufficiently to be clipped onto the part of the 
club where the shaft has the smallest diameter, thereupon, with the slit 
still held open, being brought by sliding to the position intended for the 
removable grip on the existing conventional grip; 
in two parts constituting two half-shells, optionally joined together at 
their ends by a flexible or pivoting joint, or otherwise provided with 
studs to ensure correct positioning of each half-shell in relation to the 
other and optionally in relation to the existing conventional grip. In 
this embodiment of the invention the removable grip is placed in position 
directly on the existing conventional grip without it being necessary to 
fit it onto the part of the club shaft which has the smallest diameter. 
In both embodiments of the invention the removable grip is secured to the 
existing conventional grip, in such a manner as to prevent any relative 
movement in relation to said existing conventional grip, by fastening 
means known per se. 
Such fastening means may in particular be a system in which a VELCRO 
(synthetic materials which adhere when pressed together) band, fixed at 
one end to the removable grip, for example at the bottom, can be wound 
around the assembly comprising the existing conventional grip and the 
removable grip, once the latter has been placed in position, 
These means may also make use of fastening with the aid of clamps similar 
to those used for ski boot fasteners, of which details will be given 
below. 
This system of fastening by means of clamps consists of a device in which a 
tongue bears against a notch and which, when closed by a simple movement 
of the hand, enables a certain pressure to be applied to the part around 
which this device is fitted. 
This pressure may be variable, as in the case of ski boot fasteners, which 
in known manner permit adjustment of the fastening of the boot with the 
aid of a plurality of notches. 
The pressure may also be invariable where there are only one tongue and one 
notch against which the tongue bears. Another known fastening means making 
use of the same principle with a single fastening position, without 
adjustability, is the mechanism used for closing hermetic containers, such 
as water bottles for travelling or preserve jars, by the compression of an 
elastic washer between a lid and the container. 
In one particular embodiment of the invention the removable grip will be in 
one piece, with a longitudinal slit, together with a single clamp gripping 
its bottom part once it has been placed in position on the handle. 
Among other possible fastening means, mention may be made of hose clips or 
clam type cleats used in sailing boat rigging equipment. 
It will be possible to choose for preference those means which take up 
little space in the fastened position, so as not to form undesirable 
projections on the club or to cause scratches on sensitive surfaces. 
Another fastening means may consist of at least one ring, which optionally 
may be more or less conical and which is fitted over at least one end of 
the removable grip, its dimensions being such that the removable grip is 
gripped sufficiently tightly on the existing conventional grip to prevent 
any relative movement in relation to the existing conventional grip during 
the swing. This ring can be provided with an internal screwthread matching 
an external screwthread on the corresponding part or parts of the existing 
conventional grip, and may also be knurled to enable it to be tightened 
without a tool. This fastening means has the advantage of perfect symmetry 
in relation to the axis of the club, after it has been tightened, thus 
ensuring the absence of projecting parts. 
In a special embodiment of the invention, comprising two half-shells, it 
will be possible to articulate the two half-shells to form a jaw intended 
to be closed over the existing conventional grip. In this way, by 
positioning the end of one of the half-shells against the end of the 
existing conventional grip, said half-shell forming a certain angle with 
the existing conventional grip, it is advantageous to be able to insert 
the end of the second half-shell into that of the first, over the same end 
of the existing conventional grip, and then to close the two half-shells 
on the existing conventional grip, and finally to bring a single clamping 
ring, previously threaded onto the shaft of the club by way of the 
existing conventional grip, into a position gripping the two still free 
ends of the two half-shells, which are thus secured in position against 
the existing conventional grip. It is obvious that the inside diameter of 
this ring must be greater than the maximum diameter of the existing 
conventional grip, which on conventional clubs is located at its end, in 
order to be able to thread it beforehand onto the shaft of the club. 
It will also be possible to provide two rings, one gripping the ends of the 
two half-shells near the end of the existing conventional grip, and the 
other gripping the other two ends, as described above. This last-mentioned 
embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings. 
The advantages of the invention will be better understood by reference to 
the accompanying detailed drawings, in which:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 shows an example of a removable grip 2 made in a single piece and 
provided with hollows or protuberances 3, and also with a slit 4 which 
will lie on the reference line of the existing conventional grip of the 
club. In the preferred embodiment, grip 2 is made of a semirigid plastic 
material. 
At the bottom end of the removable grip 2, corresponding to the bottom end 
of the existing conventional grip, a part 6 is provided which has a 
smaller outside diameter, so as to be able to receive a clamp 13. The top 
end 7 is disposed at the end of the existing conventional grip. 
FIG. 2 shows an example of a removable grip comprising two half-shells 8 
and 9. The top half-shell 8 also has a bottom part 10 of smaller outside 
diameter. This bottom part 10, together with the corresponding part of the 
half-shell 9, receives the ring 5. In this example a top part 11 situated 
at the end of the existing conventional grip is secured on said end by 
means of the ring 12. 
FIG. 3 shows in longitudinal section the removable . grip 2 after mounting 
on the existing conventional grip 1 of the club. The ring 5 prevents any 
relative movement, particularly any rotation, between the detachable grip 
2 and the existing conventional grip 1. 
FIG. 4 shows in cross-section on the line A-A the existing conventional 
grip 1 of the club, on which in the closed position the clamp 13 holds the 
bottom part 6 shown in FIG. 1. The position 14 shows in broken lines the 
opening mechanism of the clamp 13. 
FIG. 5 shows a removable grip made in a single piece and provided at its 
bottom end 6, which has a widened diameter, with a bow 15 through which is 
passed a VELCRO (synthetic materials which adhere when pressed together) 
band 16. One end 17 of said band is beveled to facilitate its insertion 
through a buckle 18 fastened to its other end. The length of the band 16 
is substantially twice the circumference of the end 6, and is divided into 
two parts, the first of which, for example that nearer the buckle, being 
covered with the "vel" face of the VELCRO (synthetic materials which 
adhere when pressed together), consisting of closed loops, and the second, 
for example that on the side at the end 17, being covered with the same 
length of the "cro" face of the VELCRO (synthetic materials which adhere 
when pressed together, which consists of open hooks which will be gripped 
in the loops. In this way, when the removable grip is tightened by pulling 
the end 17 with the buckle 18 acting as purchase point, the entire 
circumference of the end 6 is covered with the "vel" face on which the 
"cro" face will become hooked over a new circumference turn. 
FIG. 6 shows the removable grip secured on an existing conventional grip 
(not shown). 
It is clearly understood that the invention is not restricted to the 
embodiments illustrated in the drawings.