WEIGHTED GOLF GRIP

Abstract: A golf club (10) is described, the golf club having a grip (20) with a weighted element integrally attached to the distal end. The weighted element is fixedly secured within the grip and is shaped in the form of an inverted cup, with flanges (53) depending from a central spherical portion. The grip itself is of a resilient material and completely encloses the weighted element, including both sides of the flanges. When the grip is secured on the shaft of a golf club, this completely symmetrical weighted grip provides a leverage and balance that permits greater control and tempo in a golfer's swing.

Description: The present invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly relates to the weight distribution of a golf club about its fulcrum point. In the past, efforts have been made to improve the swings of clubs in the hands of amateur golfers, always searching for better control of the club, for greater distance and a straighter ball flight. In general, such efforts have been directed principally to the addition of weight to the club head for the redistribution of balance of the club as a whole. Other efforts placed increased weight at various points within the club shaft, some even decreasing the head weight itself, a completely opposite approach. The present application is based upon the discovery that relocating the fulcrum point of a golf club between the shaft end and the club head by moving it towards the grip will materially improve the control and feel of the golf club and dramatically increase the distance and control of the ball's flight. The present invention redistributes the weight of the club, by weighting the club behind the hands and in the grip itself, so that the club itself will tend to bring the hands into considerably better control both during the back swing and the consequent follow through. In a preferred example of the present invention, the golf club is provided with added weight integrally moulded into a portion of the hand grip of the club in contrast to devices of the prior art, which have fitted golf clubs with external removable, weighted attachments behind the grip. Other prior art devices have plugged the centre of the hollow club shafts with weights, such as steel shot, encasing them in a soft plastics material so that they become fixedly mounted within the shaft to prevent movement and noise that might distract a golfer. As prior art there may be mentioned US-A-3 606 327 and US-A-4 461 479 each of which discloses a golf club having the pre-characterising features of claim 1. According to the present invention there is provided a golf club comprising: a shaft; a club head at one end of said shaft; and a grip on the distal end of said shaft opposite said club head, said grip including a weight assembly on said distal end of said shaft, said weight assembly displacing the weight distribution on said shaft to a point closer to said distal end, characterised in that: said weight assembly comprises at least two opposed longitudinal, portions located symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the shaft about said distal end of said shaft in spaced relationship to one another, each of said longitudinal portions having an upper portion positioned entirely behind said shaft and the combined mass of said upper portions being disposed substantially equally about said distal end of said shaft; said longitudinal portions are spaced from one another by a gap filled with resilient material; each of said longitudinal portions has a flange depending from the respective upper portion, said flanges substantially surrounding said shaft at said distal end thereof; and said weight assembly is encompassed by resilient material of said grip and said grip is adhesively secured to said shaft, to substantially maintain the relative immobility of said weight assembly and substantially prevent movement of said weight assembly relative to said shaft. The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club according to an example of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the golf club of Fig. 1 taken along the lines 2-2; Fig. 3 is a side view of a weight assembly of a grip of the club; and Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2 showing the upper surface of the weight assembly of Fig. 2. Referring now to Fig. 1, there is shown a golf club 10 having a head 15, a shaft 25 and a grip 20 of regulation size. The grip 20 is generally formed of rubber, plastics or other resilient material for increasing the gripping capabilities of the golfer when swinging the club. The shaft 25 is generally formed of stainless steel, though graphite and fibre-glass shafts have been used to decrease the shaft weight and increase flexibility for a longer drive on the ball. The head 15 of the club is used for engaging and striking a golf ball. The head of the club extends from a toe at the front to a heel at the back. The head typically includes a neck or socket 14 that is in line with the heel. The shaft 25 is secured to the neck of the head. One end of the shaft is secured to the head, and the other end terminates at an outer or distal end. The shaft is generally straight and hollow, although it may be tapered, and defines a passageway or opening 26 (see Fig. 2) which also may be tapered. The grip 20 is relatively light-weight and partially covers the shaft and permits easier retention of the latter by the hands of a player. The grip encloses an opening 35 (see Fig. 2) defined by the shaft at its outer end with a small opening 29 to facilitate assembly as will be described. The grip includes an annular gripping area 30 that covers the outer end of the shaft, extending from the outer end of the shaft towards the head, typically extending for about one-third of the length of the shaft. The golf club has a certain centre of gravity, or fulcrum point, when positioned generally horizontally. The fulcrum point is easily located by balancing the golf club on a narrow object, such as one's finger. Since most of the weight in a golf club is in the head 15, the fulcrum point is generally located on the shaft 25 at a position closer to the head 15 than the outer end of the shaft. By the present invention, the balance of the club is brought closer to a more even distribution of weight of the club as a whole, by moving the fulcrum point rearwardly. This more even balance is accomplished through the use of a counterbalance weight assembly in the grip 20, the weight assembly being encased in the grip material at the furthest point on the shaft opposite the head. The weight assembly is a multi-portion weight assembly and comprises two or more longitudinal portions which when in place on the outer or distal end of the shaft, are evenly spaced from one another. The weight assembly is formed of a heavy material, preferably metal, such as steel. In the example (see Figs. 2 and 3) the weight assembly is designated by reference numeral 50 and is formed of two longitudinal portions 55 and 57. Each of portions 55 and 57 has an upper portion 51, the combined mass of the portions 51 when assembled on the shaft being equally distributed about central opening 29. A respective flange 53 depends from the outer periphery of each of the upper portions 51. The weight assembly 50 is of a size in both outside diameter and length so as to permit use of a standard, regulation size grip for assembly as all other golf grips, as will be described. The weight of the assembly 50 may be between 50 and 150 grams, though the optimum weight lies between 75 and 100 grams. The grip, including the weight assembly, is formed in a complete one piece unitary construction and requires no additional parts in assembly on the golf club. The longitudinal portions 55 and 57 are located on the shaft 25 in spaced relationship to one another. Within a gap or spacing 59 between the longitudinal portions 55 and 57 is grip material, such as the rubber, plastics or other resilient material referred to above. By forming the weight assembly in two or more separate longitudinal portions, the weight assembly may be easily assembled on a die, where it is held in place prior to moulding by retainer rings 49 in grooves 48 with the spacing present. For additional assurance that the weight assembly will not move during use, a plurality of pins 61 may be driven into the upper face 60 of the weight assembly, leaving only the pin heads exposed (see Fig. 4). When the grip is moulded (preferably by injection moulding), the rubber, plastics or other resilient material used in moulding fills in the spacing 59 between the longitudinal portions 55 and 57, covers the exposed pin heads of pins 61, and fills in a spacing which, in use of the grip, is between the flanges 53 and shaft 25 to form an inner peripheral element 32. In use of the grip, the element 32 creates a cushion between the flanges 53 and the shaft 25, as well as a means for immobilizing the entire weight assembly. Since the weight assembly 50 is contained completely within a regulation grip with no change in size, there is no discomfort to a player's hands nor can the grip be an impediment to the player's game. Therefore, all the instruction and habits that have been acquired by the player as to the proper hand grip and fundamentals of the game are not disturbed. The location of the weight assembly as taught herein, i.e. as far back from the head as possible, allows the least addition of weight to the club to achieve the maximum possible effect. When a ball is struck with the club, it is imperative that the weight assembly does not move or vibrate in any manner, since this will create a noise or sensation in the club that can distract a player. As stated, to maintain immobility of the weight an inside peripheral element 32 is located between the shaft and the weight assembly in a close fitting relationship. The inside peripheral element 32 comprises a thin section of resilient material which prevents metal to metal contact and the associated noise and/or vibrations which may distract a golfer. The inside peripheral element 32 properly positions the weight assembly in a precise concentric position on the shaft 25 as well as longitudinally during moulding. In addition, this same inside peripheral element permits proper assembly when the grip is glued to the shaft, while forming the weight assembly of two or more longitudinal portions facilitates easy moulding. In preparing the grip, the inside diameter of the flanges 53 must allow for provision of the inside peripheral element 32 therein. This segment of the grip must be of a size that will allow a sufficient gap for an adhesive means, such as double faced tape, generally 0.13mm (.005") thick, to be wrapped around the golf club shaft 25, to accommodate normal golf club manufacturing assembly practices. Thus there should be a 0.25mm (.010") difference between the inside diameter of the peripheral element 32 and the outside diameter of the shaft 25 at the distal end of the shaft 25. Further, there should preferably be a gap or spacing of approximately 0.25mm (.010") between the longitudinal portions of the weight assembly to facilitate removal of the moulded grip assembly from the die, as well as assembly on the club shaft. When solvent is applied to the exterior face of such tape and the grip is stretched, by virtue of the resilient material filled spacing 59, over into position on the shaft, the precise tolerances of the inside peripheral element of the grip results in a close fitting relationship which ultimately, upon evaporation of the solvent, yields a completely immobile, solid grip assembly. Opening 29 permits air to be exhausted on pulling the grip on to the shaft. With the weighted golf grip as set forth above, an effective counterbalance is provided for the improvement of a golfer's swing, affording him a greater control over the club than previously possible. Such control is achieved by moving the fulcrum point of the club closer to the hand grip. As discussed, this is done by placing the weight behind the hands so that a minimal weight can achieve a maximum movement in the fulcrum point. Further, the golf grip may be manufactured and assembled by standard methods. Because the weight is integrally moulded within the grip, and the exterior grip dimensions remain within standard grip size tolerance, the grip can be used in tournament play. Because the weight is secured on the outside of the shaft, yet cushioned by the interior resilient element, no noise or vibration will distract a golfer on hitting the ball. The end result creates a swing which is consistent and has a tempo best suited for a proper golf swing.

Claims: A golf club comprising: a shaft (25); a club head (15) at one end of said shaft; and a grip (20) on the distal end of said shaft opposite said club head, said grip including a weight assembly (50) on said distal end of said shaft, said weight assembly displacing the weight distribution on said shaft to a point closer to said distal end, characterised in that: said weight assembly comprises at least two opposed longitudinal, portions (55,57) located symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the shaft about said distal end of said shaft in spaced relationship to one another, each of said longitudinal portions having an upper portion (51) positioned entirely behind said shaft and the combined mass of said upper portions being disposed substantially equally about said distal end of said shaft; said longitudinal portions are spaced from one another by a gap (59) filled with resilient material; each of said longitudinal portions has a flange (53) depending from the respective upper portion, said flanges substantially surrounding said shaft at said distal end thereof; and said weight assembly is encompassed by resilient material of said grip and said grip is adhesively secured to said shaft, to substantially maintain the relative immobility of said weight assembly and substantially prevent movement of said weight assembly relative to said shaft. A golf club according to Claim 1, characterised in that adhesive means is disposed directly adjacent said shaft (25) along said grip (20) A golf club according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said resilient material of said grip (20) covers both interior and exterior surfaces of said flanges (53) of said weight assembly (50), to substantially prevent direct contact with said shaft (25). A golf club according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said weight assembly (50) has a mass distributed equally about a central axis, said axis corresponding to the longitudinal axis of said shaft (25). A golf club according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said weight assembly (50) has the heads of a plurality of pins (61) extending from upper faces of said upper portions (51), said pin heads being covered by said resilient material of said grip (20). A golf club according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said upper portions (51) define an opening (29) between them, the combined mass of said upper portions being disposed substantially equally about said opening.

Inventors: REISNER, ROBERT J.
Applicants: PARA-TECH INDUSTRIES, INC.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A63B53
IPC codes: A63B49, A63B53