Abstract:
A golfer body attached brace assembly for restricting motion of a long putter end to a fixed axis path with respect to the golfer&#39;s body including a base fixed to a frontal portion of the golfer&#39;s body with a pivotal joint on the base attached to the butt end of the putter restricting motion of the putter end to the axis of the joint. The base is held against the body using, as an example, the golfer&#39;s head to rotate the base toward the body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Considerable controversy has recently heightened over professional golfers&#39; use of long putters anchored to the body by either impaling the butt end of the putter shaft into the golfer&#39;s abdomen (belly putter) or holding the butt end with one of the golfer&#39;s hands on the shaft butt end resting firmly against the central thoracic area of the golfer. These uses have been informally termed unfair advantages by golfing regulatory bodies (USGA and R&amp;A) and may be ruled illegal for professional golfers at the time of the next rule changes, probably 2016. 
     Such rulings, however, have little influence over disabled golfers and amateurs in general. Amateur golfers around the world, particularly those over 30 years of age, usually develop what is called the “yips” in their putting strokes, an involuntary jerking motion, that sends the ball off line, short, or long the target—the hole. 
     Thus, a system that aids in the elimination of this problem will have substantial benefits for many millions of golfers around the world that value good play over technical and emotionally intrusive rules that apply only to the several hundred golfers playing upper level professional golf. 
     The following patents and patent publications have been found in a preliminary patent search: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Inventor 
                 Pat. No. 
                 Issue Date 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Candow 
                 5,024,438 
                 Jun. 18, 1991 
               
               
                   
                 Beil 
                 5,125,657 
                 Jun. 30, 1992 
               
               
                   
                 Voyer 
                 5,209,474 
                 May 11, 1993 
               
               
                   
                 Diley 
                 5,342,055 
                 Aug. 30, 1994 
               
               
                   
                 Martinez 
                 5,904,624 
                 May 18, 1999 
               
               
                   
                 Schuster 
                 6,491,591 
                 Dec. 10, 2002 
               
               
                   
                 D&#39;Angelo, et al. 
                 6,533,676 
                 Mar. 18, 2003 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     U.S. Patent Publications 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Inventor 
                 Pub. No. 
                 Pub. Date 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Hakas, et al. 
                 2003/0195057 
                 Oct. 16, 2003 
               
               
                   
                 Keating 
                 2005/0054460 
                 Mar. 10, 2005 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The Hakas, et al., U.S. Patent Pub. 2003/0195057, entitled “Golf Putter and Method of Putting” shows a long dual grip putter wherein the upper grip rests against the side of the golfer&#39;s neck. 
     The Keating, U.S. Patent Pub. 2005/0054460, entitled “Golf Putter and Training Apparatus and Method” shows another long putter pivoted against the forward side of the golfer&#39;s neck. 
     The Diley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,055, entitled “Golf Putting Training Device” shows a stabilizing hook 12 separate from the golf shaft. 
     The Voyer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,474 entitled “Elongated Golf Putter and Putting Method” shows an arm pivoted putter shaft. 
     The D&#39;Angelo, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,676 entitled “Golf Putting Aid and Brace Member Therefor” shows an upper lever attached to the butt end of the putter 12. 
     The Schuster, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,591, entitled “Putter Stabilizing Brace for Putt Training” shows a mid shaft separate brace 2. 
     The Martinez, U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,624, entitled “Golf Putter Trainer” shows a club shaft brace that fits between the golfer&#39;s forearms. 
     The Beil, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,657 entitled “Putter with Pendulum Action”, and the Candow, U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,438, entitled “Detachable Golf Putter Extension, both show extensions attached to the butt end of the putter shaft. 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems noted above in restricting a golfer&#39;s movement of the putter to rotate about an axis fixed with respect to the golfer&#39;s body. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, a golfer mounted brace assembly is provided for restricting motion of a long putter end to a fixed axis path with respect to the golfer&#39;s body including a base fixed to a frontal portion of the golfer&#39;s body with a pivotal joint on the base attached to the butt end of the putter restricting motion of the putter end to the axis of the joint. The base is held against the body using, as an example, the golfer&#39;s head to rotate the base toward the body. Other body movement could also be used to rotate the base toward the body such as arm movement, thoracic movement and other body movements, or devices such as straps. But straps are not the preferred method. 
     The brace includes a “U” shaped collar that guides the brace assembly around the golfer&#39;s neck as he or she prepares to putt. 
     The pivotal joint is a universal ball and socket connection that limits pivotal movement of the putter to the center of the ball and socket. 
     The base is held against the body by a jaw actuated cradle that is fixedly attached to the base so that as the golfer bends his head downwardly, the cradle rotates the base against the golfer&#39;s thorax, holding it in a fixed position relative to the body during the putting stroke. That function also assists in maintaining the golfer&#39;s head still during the putter stroke, which is extremely important. 
     Others objects and advantages will appear more clearly from the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a left front perspective of the present long putter brace assembly attached to the butt end of a long putter; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the present long putter brace assembly with the universal joint assembly shown partly in section; 
         FIG. 3  is a right front perspective of the present long putter brace assembly; 
         FIG. 4  is a right side view of the present long putter brace assembly; 
         FIG. 5  is a right side view, partly in section, of the universal joint assembly; 
         FIG. 6  is a side inside view of the jaw lever adjustment assembly taken generally along line  6 - 6 —of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of a golfer at the address position with the present long putter brace assembly fitted into his torso, and; 
         FIG. 8  is a right side view of a golfer at the address position with the present long putter brace assembly fitted into his torso. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings and particularly  FIGS. 1 to 5 , the present long putter brace assembly is generally designated by the reference numeral  10  and in  FIG. 1  is illustrated attached to the butt end of a long putter assembly  11  that consists of a tapered shaft  11 , a mallet styled head  12 , and a wrapped shaft grip  13 . The grip  13  may be either round or irregular in cross-section and has a long length of about 23 inches to enable the golfer to place both hands on the grip as seen in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , without the golfer&#39;s upper hand acting as an anchor for the butt end of the shaft in a fashion conventional in present day long putters anchored in the upper thoracic region of the golfer&#39;s chest. 
     The present long putter brace assembly includes a collar assembly  16  that fits around the golfer&#39;s neck area that is locked in position by the golfer&#39;s head and jaw acting vertically downwardly and a universal joint assembly  18  that is forced to a fixed position against the golfer&#39;s upper thorax by the collar assembly  16 . 
     The collar assembly  16  has a base assembly  20  that consists of a U-shaped frame  21  that wraps around the front of the golfer&#39;s neck having arm portions  23  and  24  connected by an integral bite portion  25 . 
     A U-shaped jaw lever  28  is pivotally mounted to base arm plate  40  at  29  so the jaw lever may be adjusted upwardly and downwardly by jaw lever adjustment mechanisms  36   a  and  36   b  shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  6 . 
     The purpose of the jaw lever adjustment mechanism is to accommodate the individual putting posture of different golfers. More upright golfers will desire a larger angle between the jaw level  28  and the collar assembly  16 , while golfers that bend over more while putting will desire a smaller angle between the jaw lever  28  and the collar assembly  16 . 
     There is one adjustment mechanism  36   a  and  36   b  on each side of the collar assembly  16  so the jaw lever may be positioned in a variety of yaw angles about a horizontal axis extending throughout the golfer&#39;s neck perpendicular to the target line. This enables the jaw lever to conform to the tilt of many golfers heads at putting address, such as the great Jack Nicklaus. 
     Each adjustment mechanism  36   a  and  36   b  shown enlarged in  FIG. 6 , includes a curved arm plate  40  that has forward lobe  41  and rearward narrow lobe  42  pivoted at  30  to collar base arms  23  and  24 . Arm plate  40  is pivoted to jaw lever  28  at  29  as plate  40  rotates up and down about pivot  30  the jaw level  28  rotates upwardly and downwardly. 
     The arm plates  40  are each pivoted by rack and pinion assemblies  46   a  and  46   b . They are mirror images of one another and each is mounted for operation on the collar base arms  23  and  24 . 
     Viewing  FIG. 6 , each rack and pinion assembly  46  includes an arcuate rack slide  52  with rack teeth  53  slidable in an outer sleeve  56  fixed to the outer sides of the collar arms  23  and  24 . The slides  52  slide back and forth in the sleeves  56  by pinion gears  50  mounted on shafts  51 , pivoted at  60  and  61 . Slides  52  drive pins  58  in slots  59  to pivot plates  40  and each side of the jaw lever  28  up and down independently. 
     The butt end of the putter shaft is pivotally mounted to the long putter brace assembly by the universal joint assembly  18  enlarged in  FIG. 5 . This restricts rotational motion of the butt end of the shaft to motion about a single point, rather than single or multiple planes. 
     The universal joint assembly  18  is fixedly mounted to thoracic plate  76  fixed into the collar base assembly  16  and rotated against the golfer&#39;s chest by the collar assembly  16 . 
     The universal joint assembly  18  includes a base plate  66  fixed to the collar base plate  76 , formed with an integral ball  67  upon which are mounted a nylon or teflon spheroidal bearing  68  and a spheroidal ball joint  69 . Ball joint  69  is Titanium or Aluminum formed integrally with tubular sleeve  73  by a neck portion  72 . Sleeve  73  has axial slot  75  to lock sleeve  80  rotationally while permitting sliding motion along grooves and slots  75  and  81 . Sleeve  80 , epoxied to shaft butt end  87 , is axially locked to sleeve  73  by snap connectors  83 ,  86  and  74 , known in the art. 
     Shaft butt  87  is epoxied into sleeve  80  and the snap connection to sleeve  73  permits the putter assembly to be removed from and reattached to the universal joint assembly either during or between golf rounds. 
     It should be understood that in some of the drawing views that comfort pads cover the appearance of some of the underlying parts, such as pads  90 ,  91  and  92  in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show the long putter brace assembly  10  attached to the golfer&#39;s body and locking, without restriction of movement, the butt end of the golfer&#39;s putter shaft to pivotal movement about a single point  100 . The golfer may remove the entire assembly  10  and the putter assembly as a unit from the golfer&#39;s bag or cart or may assemble the two after removal using the snap connector of the universal joint  18 . 
     In either event, the golfer wraps the collar assembly  16  about the neck (and the collar is radially adjustable to fit different size necks and thorax), and addresses the ball on the green, or in a practice position, positions the head and jaw in an approximate midline central portion as shown in  FIG. 7 . The jaw lever angle shown in  FIG. 8  should be pre-positioned prior to the round of golf to accommodate the golfer&#39;s posture and head tilt. 
     The golfer&#39;s jaw and head are then rotated downwardly, rotating the universal joint  18  located adjacent the golfer&#39;s chest downwardly to prevent movement of the axis point  100  of the universal joint  18  relative to the golfer&#39;s body. The universal joint  18  does not restrict the lie angle, offset angle or set up of the shaft rotation of the putting head. 
     The golfer places the forward hand  101  on the grip  13  and also places trailing hand  102  on the same grip, using a standard or reverse grip. Also, the lower axis hand  102  may be either standard or claw grip. 
     The important aspect of the present invention is that the upper hand on the shaft does not form the pivotal axis for the butt end of the butt end of the shaft as presently known. 
     Instead, the upper shaft hand is freed by the present design to be positioned at a lower controlling point on the putter shaft depending upon the individual golfer&#39;s preferences. 
     The benefits of the present invention cannot be honestly overstated here, they can be utilized by the millions of golfers who have experienced this miraculous transformation of the putting stroke for all those who have gone before with putting strokes hampered by physical disabilities of the legs, arms, spinal stenosis, crippling jerking movements, shaking hands and bodies, those all who love golf but for some malady or unintended imperfections, or even mental fear—cannot strike the putter head on a straight smooth path. This may not fix all, but to those who say nay, what do you say to the millions of amateur golfers vastly improved by this simple little putting helper.