Abstract:
An apparatus and method for a hinged golf swing training club that provides the kinesthetic feeling of the three most important mechanical aspects of the golf swing: the backswing, the transition and the release. It is composed of an upper portion, lower portion, hinge assembly, and a removable elastic means that can be attached to the upper portion and lower portions of the shaft.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    I hereby claim foreign priority benefits under 35 USC 119 of PCT patent Application, Ser. No. PCT/US2010/002172, Filed 5 Aug., 2010; which in turn claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61,273,874 filed 10 Aug. 2009. 
       FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    This invention relates to golf training aids, specifically to a golf swing training club. Moreover, this invention relates to a hinged practice golf club with a removable elastic apparatus that allows the golfer to experience and feel what had heretofore been the most difficult parts of the golf swing to master, namely, the backswing, the transition and the release. 
         [0005]    In addition, this swing training club enables the golfer to practice their swings anywhere and any time. And, when the removable elastic member is taken off, it can be used to hit balls in practice or on the course. 
         [0006]    2. Description of Prior Art 
         [0007]    Through the years there have been many swing aids incorporating a hinged design as one of their features. In most of these designs, the hinge is of a fork type deign; one hinge member has a pair of arms forming a fork, the other hinge member has a single arm (or tongue) which is received within the fork, and a pivot pin passes transversely through all three arms. These were easily constructed because the only stress vectors at the 90 degree angle were on the pivot pin and not on the forked sides. 
         [0008]    All of these forked hinge designs would fail if they were turned to a 0 degree angle relative to the reference plane of the 0 degree clubhead because there is no reinforcement at the bottom of the fork. In other words, when the golfer would swing and impact a ball or the earth at clubhead speeds in the neighborhood of 100 mph, the leverage exerted upon the inner sides of the fork member by the tongue member would cause the forked members to bend or fail. This failure would present a hazard to the user and any onlookers, as the lower part of the club could become separated from the shaft and fly through the air. 
         [0009]    Lyford U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,035 was obviously aware of this forked hinge limitation and has marketed his invention with the club face coated with a rubber coating so that you could not hit balls with it. 
         [0010]    Tiller U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,340 was the exception as his fork design was set at a reference angle of 0 degrees. Obviously the drawings in Tiller U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,340 precludes hitting balls with the instrument, as the forked hinge design shown would not hold up to the constant pounding of balls and earth that it alludes to. Also, if the hinge is to mirror the positions that the hands, wrists and forearms assume, then the hinged portion should not move both upwardly and downwardly as the wrists never deviate downwardly from the position of address as taken in the full golf swing. What is desirable in such a hinge is that it only hinge upwardly. Also there is no evidence that Tiller U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,340 ever was commercialized. 
         [0011]    Unfortunately, to be correct, the angle for the hinge must be 0 degree angle relative to the reference plane of the 0 degree clubhead, if it is to mirror and give exact, user understandable feedback as to the correct action of the hand, wrists and forearms in the golf swing. If the hinge is to exactly mirror the wrists in the full swing, then it must also only hinge upwardly, as that is how the wrists work. It also must be at this angle if you are to give exact, unmistakable three-dimensional feedback as to where the shaft is to be throughout the swing in order to effect the correct swing plane. 
         [0012]    Whitney U.S. Pat. No. 2,159,579 discloses a training club in which the action of a spring is diametrically opposed to that of the invention disclosed herein. The purpose of Whitney&#39;s spring is to alert the user that at the top of their backswing that they have made too fast of a move to the top of the swing or too fast or jerky of a movement too start the downswing. The resultant momentum will cause the hinge to break downward. When viewing Whitney&#39;s  FIG. 2 , we can see that the lower part of the shaft would break to the left when such supposed mistakes were made. The springs main purpose is too keep the shaft straight, and to give feedback to the user when the shaft breaks or unhinges. That&#39;s why he has provided a stop element  12  to assist the spring in keeping the shaft normally straight. In Whitney&#39;s description he states, ‘thus, if the backswing be decelerated too quickly or the early portion of the down swing be accelerated too quickly the shaft flexes thereby warning the player of the fault.’ 
         [0013]    The drawings on U.S. Pat. No. 2,159,579 show that it would not be possible to have the hinge function like ours, as the shaft could perhaps only break at an angle of five to ten degrees. The purpose of the elastic member on our club is too cause the hinge to break to its full 90 degree angle and too keep the shaft hinged at this angle, only allowing the shaft to straighten at impact, which signifies the correct movement. Also, Whitney&#39;s spring is not meant to be disconnected from the club at any time, whereas, our club&#39;s elastic member is removable so that one can hit balls with the club. So, again we can see that the structure and operation of the club disclosed herein is the opposite of Whitney&#39;s club. 
         [0014]    Because of the earlier mentioned limitations of the hinged training clubs, I developed U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,267, which did give you the aforementioned benefits, of course, without the elastic member. By accident, I happened to revisit this invention after having some initial success with it with my students. I had some of these clubs lying around against the wall one day when a magnetic scrap picker upper that I had ordered arrived at my house. I was planning to use it to pick up scrap parts of shafts that I had cut for my various inventions. I was reading the specifications and it said that it had a 40 lb pull. I just happened to be by my practice clubs when I decided to see if it would pull the short end of U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,267 up. I picked up the club, put the magnetic end down by short portion of the club, and it immediately pulled the hinge into a ninety-degree angle. Upon experiencing this, it suddenly occurred to me that if I had the means to hold the angle to ninety degrees and then release it that it might be beneficial to my students to be able to experience and feel various important aspects of a true golf swing. It also occurred to me that if you had the means to also let the club shafts become a straight line at impact from the ninety-degree angle and make the resistance variable to fit any type of golfer, and then you might have something really valuable. 
         [0015]    The simplest and easiest way to accomplish the goals above was to provide rubber bands of varying resistance that could be selectively removed from the training club. Bands of this type can be purchased from Alliance Rubber Company in Arkansas. Of course, other options would be combinations of gears, springs, bungee cords, exercise tubing, sheeting or pneumatic apparatus or pulleys and wires or electro magnets, variable resistance linear position sensors and switches or electrical apparatus or any combinations of those so that they hold the hinge in a backwardly angle then smoothly releases at impact with correct hinging of wrists and forearms thru the swing and provide variable resistance for the user. I chose the rubber bands because of the relative simplicity and safety and they gave me exactly the feel I was looking for. 
         [0016]    After trying this device with golfers, I determined that it gave an entirely different feeling than anything that either they or I have ever experienced from a training aid. And the immediate results that I got from my students convinced me that I was right. It immediately helped them with the major mistakes that all amateurs make, namely, the takeaway, the transition and the release. And we found that once they got the feeling of those three things, just about everything else in the swing worked itself out. Most students take the club away too slow and do not swing it. This corrects that fault by making you swing the club back and you know you&#39;re doing it right when the hinge straightens causing the shaft to straighten out and then rehinges to its ninety degree angle at the top of the backswing. The feedback it gives you with the transition is that when one gets to the top of the backswing, the elastic member causes it to snap to its ninety degree orientation. This snapping accentuates the feel of the movement and makes a sound when it happens. Once the student senses this action, that is their cue to return the club to impact with the ball. It also accentuated the feeling of when the release of the clubhead should occur in the downswing. We found that all they had to do to learn the previously arcane mechanical aspects of the swing was to swing the club back, hinge it and then swing it so that it straightened out at what would be impact with the ball and then rehinge it. This makes learning the mechanics of the golf swing incredibly simple in comparison to the contradictory, body position driven teaching of conventional golf instruction. 
         [0017]    One student was a 13 yr old who was scoring in the 90&#39;s. After using the device for less than 10 minutes, he went out and shot a 73 in a tournament. It immediately helped him with the major mistakes that all amateurs make, namely, the takeaway, the transition and the release. They also were able to avoid all the thinking that ruins golf shots by concentrating on the feel that the device provided for them. When they get this right, everything else works out correctly. My other students achieved similar results with the device. 
         [0018]    Other manifestations of the device could include these elements of the invention: When hitting golf balls, for safety, it would be advantageous to use the hinge described by my patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,267 or some similarly safe hinge, but not absolutely necessary for other forms of the invention. You just need a hinge of some sort that hinges ninety degrees, and for basic training, any simple apparatus will do if not hitting golf balls. The upper shaft element-lower shaft elements could be as simple as dowels or the like with a hinge and elastic member releasably fastened to the shaft portions—a clubhead would be optional—training, iron or wood—because you could make the lower shaft element heavier. A grip, also would not be absolutely necessary. 
         [0019]    Another advantage of the current invention is that we have noticed a distinctive sound made by the rubber bands when the shafts straighten out at impact. So it would be advantageous to incorporate some sort of sound producing device that would increase the sound that occurs when the shafts is straightened. 
         [0020]    Another option would be to incorporate a light signaling device such as an LED that would signal the user that the shafts had gotten into a straightened position. 
         [0021]    Another option would be to incorporate a vibrational device such as the buzzer on a cellphone that would signal the user that the shafts had gotten into a straightened position. It might also be advantageous to include all three of the sound and light and vibrational feedback to the user when the shafts go into a straightened mode. 
         [0022]    So there have been no hinged golf training clubs that provided an detachable elastic member that held the lower part of the shaft at a ninety degree angle from the upper part of the shaft that pivoted at a 0 degree angle relative to the reference plane of the 0 degree clubhead, and with a safe construction that one could actually hit balls without presenting a safety hazard to the user and onlookers, and further, that looked exactly like and acted exactly like a conventional golf club in every way except for the elastic action of the hinge. Also there have been no hinged golf training clubs that would give unmistakable positive feelings to the user, allowing them to correct the three major mistakes that all amateurs make, namely, the takeaway, the transition and the release, and that have as a part of their construction an elastic member that gives a heightened sense of awareness of how the release works in the swing in order to help the user effect the correct swing. 
         [0023]    The present application also helps the user transfer the feel of what they have been practicing to the golf course by having the elastic member be removable so that they could have the additional feedback of the actual ball flight as you performed the correct motion. 
         [0024]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a training club that can be used anywhere with or without a golf ball and that can actually be taken out on the course or range and be used for playing shots if desired. 
         [0025]    The preferred embodiment of the invention described and illustrated in this application comprises a conventional golf clubhead, shafts and hinges and elastic members that allow the golfer to take off the elastic member and actually hit balls. This allows them to transfer the feel of the hinging and unhinging with the elastic element on the club to the range and the golf course. So this method of training makes it easy to accomplish one of the hardest parts of golf, transferring the feel of practice to the course. 
         [0026]    Further aspects of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the drawings and the ensuing description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. A person skilled in the art will realize that other embodiments of the invention are possible and that the details of the invention can be modified in a number of respects, all without departing from the concept. Thus, the following drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. 
         [0027]    Other objects will become apparent as the specification proceeds. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]    The features of the invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. In the drawings: 
           [0029]      FIG. 1  is a view from the back of an iron head type golf training club, illustrating enough of the shafts to show the main features of the Golf Release Training device. 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  shows how centrifugal force elongates the elastic member and the shaft straightens out where impact would be with a ball. 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  shows how the hinge without the elastic member attached would straighten out at impact if hitting an actual ball. 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  shows the golfer at address preparing to practice his swing with the training club with elastic member attached. 
           [0033]      FIG. 5  is a fractional view of  FIG. 4  taken from the target side showing how the elastic member when attached holds the upper and lower shafts at a ninety degree angle. 
           [0034]      FIG. 6  shows the how the club operates during a correct backswing, centrifugal force causing the shafts to become straight. 
           [0035]      FIG. 7  shows the top of the backswing, and how the elastic member has pulled the upper and lower parts of the shaft to their preferred ninety degree angle. 
           [0036]      FIG. 8  is a view showing the swing back to where a ball would lie from  FIG. 7 , where, if the swing plane is maintained, the pivoted portion of the lower club goes back to the straight position where impact with a ball would occur. 
           [0037]      FIG. 9 . is a view showing how the elastic member will help the golfer feel how to rehinge the pivotal portion of the golf club to its ninety degree angle. 
           [0038]      FIG. 10  is a view of the completed finish where the pivotal portion of the golf club has returned to its original ninety degree orientation when at address. 
           [0039]      FIG. 11  shows the golfer at address hitting a ball with the training club with elastic member detached, the shaft in a a normal straight orientation. 
           [0040]      FIG. 12  shows the golfer at the top of the backswing being alerted by feel and sound that the club has hinged to its ninety degree orientation. 
           [0041]      FIG. 13  shows the golfer just before impact with a ball, the shaft now straightened. 
           [0042]      FIG. 14  shows the golfer at the finish with club rehinged. 
           [0043]      FIG. 15  is a view showing the simplest manifestation of the device and how it would be straightened by centrifugal force at impact, the bottom of the swing. 
           [0044]      FIG. 16  is a view showing the simplest manifestation of the device with the elastic member causing the hinge to be engaged at ninety degrees, when at address, for example. 
       
    
    
     REFERENCED NUMERALS IN DRAWING 
       [0045]      20  Golf Release Training Club 
         [0046]      22  Elongated longer upper portion of shaft 
         [0047]      24  Elongated shorter lower portion of shaft 
         [0048]      26  Grip 
         [0049]      28  Hinge assembly 
         [0050]      30  Elastic member 
         [0051]      32  Clubhead 
         [0052]      34  Means to attach elastic member to clubhead 
         [0053]      36  Means to attach elastic member to upper shaft portion 
         [0054]      38  Target line 
         [0055]      40  Protective sleeve for elastic member 
         [0056]      42  Elongated longer upper member for simplest manifestation 
         [0057]      44  Elongated shorter lower member for simplest manifestation 
         [0058]      46  Hinge for simplest manifestation 
         [0059]      48  Elastic member for simplest manifestation 
         [0060]      50  Means to attach elastic member to elongated longer upper member 
         [0061]      52  Means to attach elastic member to elongated shorter lower member 
         [0062]      54  Simplest manifestation of invention 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0063]    Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-3 ,  FIG. 1  shows the present invention, a Golf Release Training Club  20  encompassing the above elements with an elastic member  30  encased in a protective sleeve  40  attached to the elongated upper shaft portion  22  by a means to attach elastic member  36  to upper shaft portion  22  and such elastic member  30  attached to the clubhead  32  by an attachment means  34 . 
         [0064]      FIG. 2  shows how the centrifugal force of a true swinging motion straightens out the elastic member  30  and allows the hinge assembly  28  to straighten causing the upper shaft  22  and lower shaft  24  to assume what would be a normally straight golf club shaft at impact. 
         [0065]      FIG. 3  shows the same straightening effect in  FIG. 2 , except, without the elastic member  30  attached. 
         [0066]    A golfer is shown at the golfing address position ready to practice in  FIG. 4  with the present invention. It has both elongated longer, upper  22  and shorter, lower  24  shaft sections, connecting at their confronting ends by a hinge assembly  28  having a distinct hinge axes. At the end of the longer upper end  22  thereof, a grip  26  is provided. Notice that when the elastic member  30  is attached it holds the shorter lower portion of shaft  24  and the clubhead  32  so that they are angled ninety degrees from the elongated upper shaft portion  22 . 
         [0067]    Practice with the training club  20  of the present invention with the elastic member  30  attached is illustrated by the sequence of views of  FIGS. 4-10 . With conventional golf instruction, to get to the top of the backswing in  FIG. 7 , normally the golfer would have to think about keeping his left arm straight and pronated, the right arm supinated and in flexion, with both wrists in radial flexion, the left wrist in palmar extension and the right wrist in extension. Instead of thinking about all of that, all the golfer has to do is swing the training club  20  back and up shown by  FIG. 6  so that the hinge assembly  28  assumes a straight line positioning as shown in  FIG. 6 . This straightening shows that he has swung the training club  20  back instead of just taking it back. As he is doing this, the elastic member  30  is pulling the upper portion of the shaft  22  and the lower portion of the shaft  24  into its normal ninety degree orientation shown on the line of  12  in  FIG. 7 . Once he has felt this realignment at  FIG. 7 , it is his cue to return the training club  20  to impact,  FIG. 8 , where the upper shaft  22  and lower shaft  24  will be straightened by centrifugal force. This makes the swing an athletic, reactive event instead of a thinking, static exercise. Instead of having to think of all the old time conventional thoughts about the transition of the golf swing, such as what part of the body starts his downswing, is it the hips, the hands, the left foot, etc., all the golfer has to do once he has felt the realignment caused by the elastic member  30  acting on the upper  22  and lower shaft  24  portions is to return the training club  20  to what would normally be impact as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0068]    As the golfer continues his motion from  FIG. 8  thru  FIG. 9 , the slowing of the training club  22  causes the elastic member  30  to pull the upper shaft portion  22  and lower shaft portion  24  back into their ninety degree orientation along line  14 . This allows the golfer to feel how the release works in the golf swing as he continues to  FIG. 10 , the finish of the swing. In  FIG. 10 , we can see that the training club  22  has returned to its hinged orientation, the same as it was in  FIG. 1 . Previous to our training club  20 , this was one of the hardest parts of the swing to learn. And the best way to learn it is thru the feeling that you get by swinging our club. 
         [0069]    Practice with the training club  20  of the present invention with the elastic member  30  removed and hitting a golf ball is illustrated by the sequence of views of  FIGS. 11-14 .  FIG. 11  shows the golfer at address with the training club  20  hinge assembly  28  straightened out by gravity so that the upper portion of the shaft  22  and the elongated shorter lower portion of shaft  24  are in a straight line, just like a normal golf club. 
         [0070]    When the golfer swings the club back to the top of the backswing as shown in  FIG. 12 , he will be alerted to return the club to impact by the feel and sound of the rehinging to the ninety degree angle. Here again, from  FIG. 12 , he just uses the feeling that he learned with the elastic member  30  attached to straighten the shafts, and rehinge the training club as shown in  FIG. 14 . The reason that it is so simple to use is that there should be no thoughts involved in practicing with the training club  20 , the golfer only need to recreate the feelings that the they get when using it. 
         [0071]    We can see further that this training club  20  allows the golfer to feel the correct release of the golf training club  20  through the ball with the additional feedback of being able to observe ball flight after the swing when the elastic member  30  is taken off of the training club  20 . This will allow both inexperienced and scratch golfers to improve their ball striking abilities. 
         [0072]    Obviously this invention could be adapted to other sports that involved a hitting stick and object, such as tennis, baseball, cricket, etc. 
         [0073]    Although some embodiments are shown to include certain features, the applicant(s) specifically contemplate that any feature disclosed herein may be used together or in combination with any other feature on any embodiment of the invention. It is also contemplated that any feature may be specifically excluded from any embodiment of the invention. 
         [0074]    As used herein, the following terms and variations thereof have the meanings given below, unless a different meaning is clearly intended by the context in which such term is used. 
         [0075]    “A,” “an” and “the” and similar referents used herein are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural unless their usage in context indicates otherwise. 
         [0076]    “About” means within two percent of a recited parameter or measurement, and preferably within two percent of such parameter or measurement. 
         [0077]    “Comprise” and variations of the term, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. “Exemplary,” “illustrative,” and “preferred” mean “another.”