Abstract:
A visual aid device to provide a reference line for a golfer. The device has an elongated linear member held by opposing clips adapted for securement to the bill of a golf cap. The elongated member may be a stretchable elastic member or a rigid member to provide a reference line for a putter or wedge, for example, as the golfer addresses and strikes the golf ball. Spaced markings may further be utilized to provide additional visual aids to a golfer and advertising or logos may be applied to the clip members.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/456,943, filed Nov. 15, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a visual aid for golfing. Particularly, the present invention relates to a visual aid device to align a golf club with a golf ball for putting and chipping. More particularly, the invention relates to a visual aid adapted for securement to headwear, such as to a visor or bill of a golf cap, for example. The visual aid provides a reference line for aligning a putter or an iron to the golf ball to aid a golfer from club back swing to club follow through. 
     Golfers have long sought practice and teaching aids in the game of golf, particularly, in the short distances to the green and in putting. Although the importance of keeping the eye on the ball and maintaining a still body and head when striking a golf ball are well known, the actual practice of repeatedly doing so is difficult. 
     The visual aid of the present invention provides an easy to use, versatile and economical means for a golfer to properly position the body, to address the ball and to pull back, strike the ball and to follow through with the club movement. The visual aid may be used by left and right handed golfers and may be adapted to be easily connected to the bill of a golf cap. 
     The device may be used in connection with any headwear of a golfer, such as a cap, hat, visor or headband having an outwardly extending member such as a bill, brim, or visor, for example. The device may also be incorporated into a headgear assembly to provide a unitary structure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A visual aid device for attachment to the bill of a golf cap to provide a reference line between the eyes of the golfer and the golf ball position in front of the golfer&#39;s feet. 
     The visual aid device is comprised of an elongated member having a specified length and which may have any desired color to provide contrast or aesthetics. Clip members are provided for connecting the elongated member to the headgear of the golfer. A cover may be provided to envelop the connection point between the clip and the elongated member. The clip members, such as alligator clips, are adapted to be secured to the bill or visor of a golf cap, for example, so as to position the elongated member downwardly from and below the bill and in alignment with the eyes of the golfer. 
     The elongated member may be an adjustable rigid member or a stretchable elastic member. The rigid elongated member may be adjustably held by loops extending from the clip members whereas the elastic member may be directly connected to the respective clip members. The elongated member may have spaced markings to provide distance references to further aid the golfer with proper club drawback. The visual aid device may also utilize an extension member which may be secured to the elastic member so as to provide a longer reference line for club drawback, ball striking and club follow through. The visual aid device of the invention may also have logos or printed matter thereon to identify a golf course, a golfing related product, a sponsor, a specified golfing event, or any other mark of an advertiser. 
     The visual aid device of the invention may have structure as discussed above, to be attached to and removed from headwear, such as a golf cap, for example, or the visual aid may be incorporated into a headgear assembly. 
     A benefit of the present invention is to provide a visual aid device or assembly for golfers, which is economical, easy to use and effective for aligning a golf club to a golf ball. Another benefit of the present invention is to provide a reference line spatially from and in alignment across the eyes of a golfer. It is yet another benefit of the present invention to provide a visual aid device having an elongated member which is easily adjustable for use to accommodate right and left handed golfers. 
     These and other benefits of this invention will become clear from the following description by reference to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top plan view showing the visual aid device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a frontal view of a golf cap and showing the visual aid device of  FIG. 1  attached to the bill of the golf cap; 
         FIG. 3  is a close-up view showing the attachment of the clip member of the visual aid device attached to the bill of the golf cap; 
         FIG. 4  is a frontal view of a golfer showing the reference line formed by the visual aid device with respect to the golfer&#39;s eyes; 
         FIG. 5  is a top view showing the reference line formed by the visual aid device with respect to a golf ball and the head of a putter; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the golf ball and putter of  FIG. 5  as seen by a golfer and further showing distance markings on the stretched elastic member of the visual aid device; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a golfer utilizing the visual aid device of the invention and further showing an extension member protruding from and in alignment with the stretched elastic member of the visual aid device; 
         FIG. 8  is a close-up view showing the extension member of  FIG. 7  and further showing a logo on a cover member of the visual aid device; 
         FIG. 9  is a close-up view of the extension member showing means to connect the extension member to the stretched elastic member of the visual aid device; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the visual aid device mounted to the bill of a golf cap; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the visual aid device stored in or to the bill of a golf cap; 
         FIG. 12  is a top view of another embodiment of the visual aid device of the invention; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view showing one end portion of the visual aid device of  FIG. 12 , and 
         FIG. 14  is another perspective view of the clip member of  FIG. 13 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention shown in the drawings disclose visual aid devices and assemblies for use by golfers to align a golf club to a golf ball. The visual aids utilize an elongated member which may be rigid or elastic for attachment to headgear of the golfer to thereby provide a reference line between the eyes of the golfer and the golf ball and golf club. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the visual aid device  10  of the present invention is shown having an elongated elastic member  11  with clips  12  and  13  attached at the opposing terminal ends of the elastic member  11 . The terminal end connections  14  and  15  are shown being covered by tubular covers  16  and  17 . The terminal connections may be made by a crimping portion of the clips or by a similar connection. 
     In  FIG. 2 , the visual aid device  10  is shown attached to the bill or visor  21  of a golf cap  20 . As shown, the elastic member  11  is in a stretched configuration so as to form a straight line positioned downwardly from bill  21  due to the positioning of clips  12  and  13 . In  FIG. 3 , clip  12  is shown to be an alligator clip having teeth  18  engaging the edge of bill  21 . The end portion of clip  12  may be provided with a logo  27  or other identifying marking. Elastic member  11  is shown spaced downwardly from bill  21 , for example, by 1-3 inches, so that the reference line provided by elastic member  11  is properly aligned with a golfer&#39;s eyes. 
     The tubular members  16 ,  17  which may be rigid or semi-rigid members cover the terminal connections of elastic member  11  to the respective clips  12 ,  13  and may also provide for the appropriate spacing of the elastic member  11  from the cap bill. 
     In  FIG. 4 , the stretched elastic member  11  is shown providing a straight line spatially across and with respect to the eyes of golfer  25 . Clips  12  are shown positioning stretched elastic member  11  downwardly from bill  21  so that elastic member  11  is aligned with respect to the eyes of a golfer  25 . In  FIGS. 5 and 6  a golf ball  22  and a putter head  23  are shown positioned in alignment with the stretched elastic member  11 . To provide a reference for a back swing for putter head  23 , markings  26  may be provided on member  11 , i.e., circumferential lines about the periphery of member  11  to designate a distance of 5 feet or 10 feet, for example, thereby providing the golfer with a distance for pulling back the putter head for example. The visual aid device  10  or Putting Line™ aid allows the golfer to pull back a putter using the reference line as a guide to set the golf ball in generally the middle of the line, keep the head still and follow through the line to the hole. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , an extension member  30  is shown attached to elastic member  11 . The extension member  30  may extend outwardly from the reference line provided by the stretched elastic member  11  so as to provide a longer reference line for club follow through, for example. As shown a ball  29 , such as a small, foam golf ball may be mounted to the end of the extension member  30  so as to provide a reference point for putting the golf ball into the hole. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , the extension member  30  may be a tubular structure having a slit  32  which extends from the end of the tubular member  30  to an aperture or cutout portion  31 . The latter configuration allowing the tubular member to be mounted to the stretched elastic member  11  and wherein the cutout  31  provides for the entry of the elastic member  11  at the connection between the clip and member  11 . The extension member  30  may be constructed of a plastic tubular member constructed to allow separation and spring back at slit  31 . It is within the purview of the invention to utilize other known means to attach the extension member to the elongated linear member or the elastic member  11  of the visual aid device  10 . 
     In  FIGS. 3 and 8 , logos  27  and  28  are shown positioned on clip  12  and which may be provided to designate a specific golf course, a golf club, event sponsor, golfing event or the logo of any desired advertiser. 
     The elastic member  11  may be formed of polymeric material having elastic properties such as a bungee-type cord structure, nylon, a rubber composition or the like. A covering for the stretchable elastic member permits easy coloring for the visual aid device. 
     The visual aid device  10  shown in the drawings and discussed above is one embodiment of the invention for providing a reference line for a golfer utilizing headwear such as a golf cap, for example. Other embodiments utilizing the device and incorporating it into a golf cap to provide specialized head gear, are also within the purview of the invention. For example, as shown in  FIG. 10  the device  10  without clips  12 ,  13  may be attached at points  35  and  36  and incorporated in a stretched configuration to the bill edge of a cap  33 . When desired, the elastic member  34  may be removed from the bill edge so as to align across the bottom of the bill and in alignment with the eyes of the golfer as shown by line  37 . 
     As further shown in  FIG. 11 , the elastic member  40  may be attached at one end onto the bottom of a cap bill of cap  38  and connectable to the opposite side of the bill at point  41 . For example, a length of stretchable, elastic material  40  may be stored within the bill at storage position  39  and accessible for stretching across and for attachment to the opposite side of the cap bill at  41 . The rigid members  15 ,  16  may be provided to hold elastic member  40  or other elongated linear member downwardly from the cap bill. Although the headgear shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11  utilize a cap, other headwear, such as a visor, for example, may also be utilized. The thrust of the present invention is to provide a visual aid for golfing comprising a reference line spatially from and in alignment across the eyes of a golfer. 
     Another embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 12-14  wherein the visual aid device  42  comprises a pair of clips  12 ,  13  each having a loop of elastic material  44  attached to the attachment portion  19  (i.e., via crimping) of the clip members  12 ,  13 . The loop member  44  may be an elastic member having a length of approximately one inch. The connection is shown covered by cover sleeves  16 ,  17 . An elongated member  43  is shown slidably held by the loops  44  thereby allowing the elongated member  43  to be moved left or right depending upon the preference of the golfer, i.e., right or left handed golfer for example. The elongated member  43  may be approximately 12 inches in length, 3/32 inches in diameter and constructed of a rigid material such as a light weight tubular metal or plastic, for example. The elongated member  43  is shown having enlarged terminal portions  47 ,  48  which are small rounded portions having a diameter of approximately ¼ inches, for example. The enlarged terminal portions  47 ,  48  allow the elongated member  43  to be easily slid from left to right between loops  44  of clips  12 ,  13  without dislodgment of the elongated member  43  and so as to provide the desired extension beyond either clip  12  or  13  depending upon the golfer&#39;s preference, i.e., whether left or right handed. When fully extended in either direction the elongated terminal portions abut the loops  44 . Each clip  12 ,  13  is shown having a rounded member  45  which may have advertising or a logo  49 . The rounded member  45  may be a removable ball marker held to the clip either by pin  46  in an aperture of the clip or magnetically to the clip. For example, the golf ball marker  45  may be constructed of a metallic structure or other material having a metallic or magnetic characteristic. Alternatively a magnetic member may be coupled to the clip member  12 ,  13 . 
     In summary, the elongated elastic member  11  allows the device  10  to be utilized on a variety of sized caps and cap bills. The elongated linear member may be elastic or rigid and formed of compositions known in the art. The elongated member is preferably thin such as having a diameter of approximately 1/16 or 3/32 inch, for example. The clip member  12 ,  13  discussed above, provides an easy and effective means to attach and remove the device  10  or  42  from the outward projection of the golfer&#39;s headwear. The clip members provide a dual function for the device, namely, device attachment and providing the downward spacing of the elongated linear member from the cap bill, for example. Other means of attachment and spacing elements may be utilized within the purview of the invention. An alligator clip, for example, have a length of approximately 2 inches, which when attached may provide a 1.5-1.25 inch spacing from the cap bill peripheral edge. 
     As many changes are possible to the visual aid for golfing embodiments of this invention utilizing the teachings thereof, the descriptions above, and the accompanying drawing should be interpreted in the illustrative and not in the limited sense.