SPORTS TRAINING AID

Abstract: A golf training aid comprises a mat (1) and a parallel linkage (2) securable thereto, for example using press studs (3). The parallel linkage (2) includes a target line bar (4) carrying a target line indicator (5). The mat (1) is marked with sets of lines (6) emanating from a parallel linkage pivot point (7) to correspond with different relative alignments of the parallel linkage. The lines are indexed by numbers or letters so that a given orientation of the parallel linkage (1) can be recorded for later replication. The mat (1) is provided with at least one predetermined location (8) for the placement of a golf ball, and a club alignment marking (9) normal to the target line (4, 5) behind the golf ball placement location (8). The parallel linkage (2) includes a stance bar (10) movable parallel with itself and with the target line (4, 5) for varying the distance between the stance bar and the predetermined golf ball location (8). The stance bar is provided with markers (11) or markings for indicating positions of the player's feet. The stance bar (10) itself may carry markings, for example in inches or centimetres, or it may be marked with sequential bands of different colours. Markers (11) may be slidable along the stance bar, for example engaging with a groove thereon, or the stance bar (10) may incorporate a strip of steel and magnetic markers may be used. Such a steel strip may be encapsulated in a plastics material for weather protection.

Description: SPORTS TRAINING AID The present invention relates to a sports training aid, and has particular reference to such a training aid as may be used by a golfer to improve his stance when addressing a ball, and to improve the consistency of his stance. The invention was especially developed for use in golf training and practice, and it will be particularly described in that context, but it will be appreciated that the training aid may also be used in other sports in which the positioning, alignment and spacing of the feet is of importance. In the game of golf it is well known that the position and alignment of a golfer's stance when addressing the ball and the alignment of the club head are of very considerable importance in achieving an accurate line, and in order to achieve consistently low scores it is important to ensure that these factors themselves remain consistent during play. The prior art is replete with devices of various sorts which are intended to address one or more of these aspects of the game, but none appears to attempt to address them all. It is an object of this invention to provide a golf training aid which will be of use to a golfer in practising the achievement of a correct and consistent position and alignment of stance and of the club head when addressing the ball. According to this invention, there is provided a golf training aid which comprises a mat and a parallel linkage securable thereto and including a target line indicator, wherein the mat is marked and indexed to correspond with different relative alignments of the parallel linkage and is provided with at least one predetermined location for the placement of a golf ball, and a club alignment marking normal to the target line behind the golf ball placement location, the parallel linkage including a stance bar movable parallel with the target line for varying the distance between the stance bar and the predetermined golf ball location, and the stance bar being provided with markers or markings for indicating positions of the player's feet. A golf training aid in accordance with the invention enables a golfer to practice maintaining a correct stance alignment, by placing the feet against the stance bar. After alignment of the target line indicator with the required target line, the toes of the golfer will then be aligned along a line parallel to the target line. Appropriate adjustment of the linkage enables the golfer to stand the correct distance away from the predetermined ball location on the mat in accordance with height and club length. This linkage setting may be recorded by noting the index of the marking against which the linkage is aligned. The stance bar marker or markings may likewise be recorded for appropriate and consistent foot spacing. The golfer may address the ball and, maintaining a correct grip, turn a club so that the club face is parallel with the club alignment marking. All this is of assistance in hitting a ball in a true direction towards a desired target. The optimum positions of the stance bar and of the foot positions along the stance bar may be settled for a particular golfer for various clubs from driver to putter in the course of a lesson from a professional. These positions may be recorded and the golfer can then practice alone in order to set a consistent and accurate stance and address. It will be appreciated that while wood and iron shots generally can be practised with a ball, it may be that putts can only be practised "dry" if a properly struck ball would run against parts of the training aid. The parallel linkage may take the form of a deformable parallelogram, and it is suitably formed of a plastics material which may be fibre- reinforced, or it may incorporate a steel strip which may be plastics coated for weather resistance. The stance bar may be of the same material; if the stance bar incorporates a steel strip, this will allow for the use of magnetic markers for foot positions . The mat is suitably formed from a flexible synthetic polymeric material. It is desirable that the mat should be of a transparent material so that the club alignment markings and the linkage orientation markings can be on its underside so that they are protected from scuffing either by the feet or by a mis-aimed club stroke. Such markings may be overcoated by a coating of ink or paint which may serve to protect them and to provide a background, e.g. a uniform background, against which they are clearly visible. A coating of a lacquer may be provided as an alternative to the ink or paint coating layer, or in addition thereto in order to provide additional protection. The mat itself is suitably of a well plasticised polyvinylchloride so that it may be rolled up when not in use. Silicone rubber and polyurethane mats could also be used. Advantageously, the mat is adapted to be pegged down at least at its rear end. This prevents the mat shifting should it be struck by a club as a result of a less than well executed stroke. The mat preferably includes a series of predetermined locations for the placement of a golf ball and a club alignment marking normal to the target line behind each such golf ball placement location. This facilitates the use of the training aid by golfers of different heights. For example, a tall golfer may make use of a forward ball location with the stance bar well spaced from it. Operation of the parallel linkage to bring the stance bar closer in may be such as to move the space bar rearwardly with respect to the mat, and it would then be appropriate for a shorter golfer, for example a junior, to use a rearward ball location. Foot positions for both golfers could then be marked on the stance bar without the need for it to be excessively long for convenience in storage and transport. In some preferred embodiments of the invention, the or at least one such predetermined golf ball location takes the form of a hole through the mat for the passage of a driving range type rubber tee. Alternatively or in addition, it is preferred that the or at least one such predetermined golf ball location takes the form of a hole through the mat for the passage of a conventional tee. As a further alternative, or in addition, the or at least one such predetermined golf ball location takes the form of a hole in the mat in which a golf ball may rest: this may be a conventional tee hole. It is desirable to provide appropriate holes so that a golfer may practise tee strokes and ground strokes using the same training aid. Advantageously, the or each club alignment line is spaced behind its associated predetermined golf ball location by a distance such that when viewed from above, such line is substantially tangent to a golf ball placed at such predetermined location. This has been found to assist in proper alignment of the club head Preferably, said parallel linkage includes a target line bar and a stance bar and means for maintaining the target bar and the stance bar parallel. This arrangement is suitable for practising normal golf strokes. In some preferred embodiments of the invention the orientation of the stance bar is also selectively variable with respect to the target line. A golfer may then butt his feet against the stance bar for practising fade or draw strokes. Particularly preferred embodiments of golf training aid according to the invention have a mat which is substantially symmetrical about a longitudinal axis parallel to the target line. This allows the same mat to be used with equal advantage by left and right handed golfers . Advantageously also, the parallel linkage is securable to the mat by connectors on a target line bar of the linkage which connectors are symmetrically spaced along the target line bar with respect to linkage members leading to the stance bar, and the stance bar is rotatable through 180° with respect to said linkage. This allows the same linkage to be connected to the mat in such orientations that the training aid may be used by left and right handed golfers. In some preferred embodiments of the invention, said stance bar is provided with markers selectively movable therealong: alternatively, or in addition, the stance bar may be provided with markings along its length. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, which is a plan view of the training aid. In the drawing, a golf training aid comprises a mat 1 and a parallel linkage 2 securable thereto, for example using press studs 3. The parallel linkage 2 includes a target line bar 4 carrying a target line indicator 5. The mat 1 is marked with sets of lines 6 emanating from a parallel linkage pivot point 7 to correspond with different relative alignments of the parallel linkage. These lines are in fact tangential to a circle at that pivot point which has a diameter equal to the width of a linkage member leading from that pivot point to a stance bar 10, and they are indexed by numbers or letters so that a given orientation of the parallel linkage 1 can be recorded for later replication. The mat 1 is provided with at least one predetermined location 8 for the placement of a golf ball, and a club alignment marking 9 normal to the target line 4, 5 behind the golf ball placement location 8. The parallel linkage 2 includes a stance bar 10 movable parallel with itself and with the target line 4, 5 for varying the distance between the stance bar and the predetermined golf ball location 8. The stance bar is provided with markers 11 or markings for indicating positions of the player's feet. The stance bar 10 itself may carry markings, for example in inches or centimetres, or it may be marked with sequential bands of different colours. Markers 11 may be slidable along the stance bar, for example engaging with a groove thereon, or the stance bar 10 may incorporate a strip of steel and magnetic markers may be used. Such a steel strip may be nickel-plated or encapsulated in a plastics material for protection. After alignment of the target line indicator 5 with the required target line, the golf training aid enables a golfer to practice maintaining a correct stance alignment by placing the feet against the stance bar 10; the toes of the golfer will then be aligned along a line parallel to the target line. Appropriate adjustment of the linkage enables the golfer to stand the correct distance away from the predetermined ball location 8 on the mat 1 in accordance with the golfer's height and the length of a chosen club. This linkage setting may be recorded by noting the index of the marking 6 against which the linkage 2 is aligned. The stance bar marker 11 or markings may likewise be recorded for appropriate and consistent foot spacing. The golfer may address the ball and, maintaining a correct grip, turn a club so that the club face is parallel with the club alignment marking 9. The optimum positions of the stance bar 10 and of the foot position markers 11 along the stance bar may be settled for a particular golfer for various clubs from driver to putter in the course of one or more lessons from a professional. These positions may be recorded and the golfer can then practice alone in order to set a consistent and accurate stance and address. The parallel linkage 2 is suitably formed of strips of a plastics material which may be fibre-reinforced. The stance bar 10 may be of the same material, or it may incorporate a strip of steel in order to allow for the use of magnetic markers for foot positions. The mat is suitably formed from a flexible plastics material, such as a well plasticised polyvinylchloride so that it may be rolled up when not in use for transport or storage. It is desirable that the mat should be of a transparent plastics material so that the club alignment markings and the linkage orientation markings can be on its underside so that they are protected from scuffing either by the feet or by a mis-aimed club stroke. Such markings are overcoated with a coating of paint which serves to protect them and to provide a uniform background against which they are clearly visible. A hole protected by an elongated eyelet 12 is provided towards the rear of the mat 1 so that it may be pegged down to prevent the mat shifting should it be struck by a club as a result of a less than well executed stroke. The use of an elongated eyelet in turn allows the use of a broad peg which promotes a strong anchorage of the mat 1. The eyelet 12 is preferably located at least 60cm behind the rearmost golf ball location 8 in order not to serve as a visual distraction to the golfer, and to reduce any risk that the golfer will hit an anchoring peg during the course of a swing. For similar reasons, the rear end of target line bar 4 of the linkage 2 is at least 12 cm in front of the foremost ball location. The mat includes a series of predetermined locations 8 for the placement of a golf ball and a club alignment marking 9 normal to the target line behind and associated with each such golf ball placement location. This facilitates the use of the training aid by golfers of different heights. For example, a tall golfer may make use of a forward ball location 8 with the stance bar 10 well spaced from it to practice a correct stance for driving off a tee. Operation of the parallel linkage 2 to bring the stance bar 10 closer in towards the mat 1 will, in the illustrated embodiment, be such as to move the space bar rearwardly with respect to the mat, and it would be appropriate for a tall golfer with a shorter club, or a shorter golfer, for example a junior, to use a rearward ball location. Foot positions 11 for both golfers could then be marked on the stance bar 10 without the need for it to be to long for convenience in storage and transport. In the embodiment shown, some of the predetermined golf ball locations take the form of a hole 8a through the mat 1 for the passage of a driving range type rubber tee. Other predetermined golf ball locations take the form of a hole 8b through the mat for the passage of a conventional tee. Those conventional tee holes 8b also serve as holes in the mat 1 in which a golf ball may rest: thus a golfer may practise tee strokes and ground strokes using the same training aid. As shown, the or each club alignment line 9 is spaced behind its associated predetermined golf ball location by a distance such that when viewed from above, such line is substantially tangent to a golf ball 13 placed at such predetermined location. This has been found to assist in proper alignment of the club head. The parallel linkage 2 includes a target line bar 4 and a stance bar 10 and interconnecting links 14 for maintaining the target bar and the stance bar parallel. This arrangement is suitable for practising normal golf strokes. In the illustrated embodiment, the orientation of the stance bar is also selectively variable with respect to the target line. A golfer may then butt his feet against the stance bar for practising fade or draw strokes. This variability is achieved by connecting the stance bar to the linkage by a pivot axis 15. A hole 16 is provided in the stance bar 4 and a cooperating peg 17 is provided on the linkage 2 for holding the stance bar parallel with the target line, but the stance bar may be lifted off the peg 17 and reoriented for practising fade and draw shots. A peg hole 18 is provided towards one end of the stance bar for anchoring it to the ground. The golf training aid has a mat 1 which is substantially symmetrical about a longitudinal axis parallel to the target line 4, 5 so that it may be used by left and right handed golfers, and the parallel linkage 2 is secured to the mat by connectors 3 such as press studs on the target line bar 4 of the linkage which connectors 3 are symmetrically spaced along the target line bar 4 with respect to linkage members 14 leading to the stance bar 10. The stance bar 10 is rotatable about pivot 15 through 180° with respect to the linkage 2 and its locating hole 16 may engage with a second peg 17 on the linkage to hold it in that position. Remounting the same linkage to the mat in an opposite orientation allows the training aid to be used by left handed as well as right handed golfers. Target line indicator 5 may also be pivotally mounted to the target line bar 4. Holes may be provided in the parallel linkage struts 14 and/or the stance bar in order to peg those down to the ground, or staple-type pegs may be provided. For storage or transport, the mat 1 may be rolled up, and the linkage 2 may be collapsed for fitting into a tubular container, for example an angler's rod tube.

Claims: CLAIMS 1 A golf training aid which comprises a mat and a parallel linkage securable thereto and including a target line indicator, wherein the mat is marked and indexed to correspond with different relative alignments of the parallel linkage and is provided with at least one predetermined location for the placement of a golf ball and a club alignment marking normal to the target line behind the golf ball placement location, the parallel linkage including a stance bar movable parallel with itself and with the target line for varying the distance between the stance bar and the predetermined golf ball location, and the stance bar being provided with markers or markings for indicating positions of the player's feet. 2 A golf training aid according to claim 1 , wherein the mat is adapted to be pegged down at least at its rear end. 3 A golf training aid according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mat includes a series of predetermined locations for the placement of a golf ball and a club alignment marking normal to the target line behind each such golf ball placement location. 4 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the or at least one such predetermined golf ball location takes the form of a hole through the mat for the passage of a driving range type tee. 5 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the or at least one such predetermined golf ball location takes the form of a hole through the mat for the passage of a conventional tee. 6 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the or at least one such predetermined golf ball location takes the form of a hole in the mat in which a golf ball may rest. 7 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each club alignment line is spaced behind its associated predetermined golf ball location by a distance such that when viewed from above, such line is substantially tangent to a golf ball placed at such predetermined location. 8 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim having a mat which is substantially symmetrical about a longitudinal axis parallel to the target line. 9 A golf training aid according to claim, wherein said parallel linkage includes a target line bar and a stance bar and means for maintaining the target bar and the stance bar parallel. 10 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the orientation of the stance bar is selectively variable with respect to the target line. 11 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the parallel linkage is securable to the mat by connectors on a target line bar of the linkage which are symmetrically spaced along the target line bar with respect to linkage members leading to the stance bar, and wherein the stance bar is rotatable through 180° with respect to said linkage. 12 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein said stance bar is provided with markers selectively movable therealong. 13 A golf training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein said stance bar is provided with markings along its length. 14 Use of a training aid in accordance with any preceding claim for golf training purposes.

Inventors: CENEY STANLEY, GRIFFETT ROBERT ALFRED, CENEY, STANLEY, GRIFFETT, ROBERT, ALFRED
Applicants: CENEY STANLEY, GRIFFETT ROBERT ALFRED, CENEY, STANLEY, GRIFFETT, ROBERT, ALFRED
Application year: 2001
Main classification: A63B
IPC codes: A63B69