Patent Publication Number: US-2013231199-A1

Title: Golf putting training device and method

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to golfing training devices and methods and, in particular, concerns a method and device for teaching a more effective way of putting a golf ball. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Golfing is one of the most popular sports in the developed world. Golfing generally has several components to the game including longer drives shots on the fairway and putting shots on the green. Putting is a particularly challenging aspect of the game of golf as the golf ball has to be hit in a much more precise manner to have the ball go into the hole. Thus, many golfers spend a tremendous amount of time trying to perfect their putting technique. 
     One difficulty that many golfers have when putting is ensuring that the putter will strike the golf ball to induce the ball to travel in the desired direction. When golfers look directly at the ball when performing their putting stroke to ensure that the club hits the ball in the desired position and orientation of the club, they are not looking in the desired direction of travel which means that the golfer may inadvertently adjust their putting stroke so that the club hits the ball in an undesired direction. 
     Alternatively, if the golfer is looking at the actual target when performing a putting stroke, the golfer may inadvertently mis-hit the ball. This can occur by the golfer hitting the ball with the club head slightly askew or hitting the ball not on the desired location of the club head. It is a particular problem that many golfers have that they look up towards the hole as they are putting which causes golfers to misadjust their swing resulting in the putted ball not travelling in the direction desired by the golfer. 
     To assist golfers in perfecting their putting swing so that the competing objectives of precisely hitting the ball with the desired part of the club while maintaining the club swing so that the golf ball travels in a desired direction, a number of golf training devices have been developed. One such device is shown in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080102970 A1 to Park entitled Indoor Golf Putting Training Apparatus. In this apparatus, the golfer looks at collimation points that are located substantially in front of the golf ball position. Park endeavors to try to prevent the golfer from looking even further away from the golf ball by looking at the hole. However, in Park, the collimating point is located 20 to 30 cm or almost 8 to 12 inches in front of the ball placement. Thus, the golfer is focusing so far in front of the ball, that the golfer does not really have the golf club head in his or her peripheral vision when the golf club head is approaching the stationary ball. Thus, the golfer will still have the difficulty of not being able to precisely see the golf club head as it approaches the ball to strike the ball and the golfer cannot make last minute adjustments to his or her swing. Consequently, even though Park is attempting to address the issue of golfers looking away at the target, Park is doing so in a manner that still introduces sources of error in the golf swing. 
     From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that there is a need for a golf club training device and method that allows the user to focus their attention on putting a golf ball in a desired direction while still maintaining the golf club head and the golf ball in their peripheral vision as the golfer performs his or her swing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforementioned needs are satisfied by a golf club training device of the present invention which, in one implementation, comprises a flat strip having a golf ball receiving location formed in a first location adjacent a first end of the strip and a target reference point located in the direction of travel of the golf ball and spaced from the golf ball receiving location a distance selected to retain the golf ball in the peripheral vision of the golfer as the golfer conducts his or her golf swing. In one specific implementation, the target reference point is located a distance of only 1 to 2 inches in front of the golf ball receiving location. 
     In one specific embodiment, the strip defines a straight line that coincides with the direction of travel of the golf ball so that the golfer can putt the golf ball along the strip and determine if the putt was successful by observing whether the golf ball travelled in a straight line the length of the strip. In one specific embodiment, the strip is approximately 18 inches long. In one specific embodiment, the end of the strip opposite the golf ball receiving area comprises a T-section. The T-section defines a target through which the golfer can putt the ball and also has securing holes that allows the golfer to secure the training device to the ground in a desired orientation. The securing holes can be secured with golf tees which provide an easy securing assembly with conveniently available tees and the tees can provide a vertically extending target for the golfer to easily see to putt the ball through. 
     In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a method of training a golfer to putt a golf ball. In this method, the golfer positions a golf ball on a training strip having a golf ball receiving location. The golfer then looks at a target reference spaced in the desired direction of travel and located so as that when the golfer is looking at the target reference the golf ball remains in the golfer&#39;s peripheral field of vision. In one implementation, the target reference is located approximately 1 to 2 inches in front of the ball receiving area. 
     These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of one embodiment of a putting training device and method of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the putting training device of the  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a putting training device  100  is illustrated. In one implementation, the putting training device  100  has an elongate section  102  having a first and a second end  104   a ,  104   b . The putting training device  100  also includes a cross section  106  that is attached to the second end  104   b  of the first elongate section  102 . A ball receiving area  110  comprising, for example, a hole or recess that is sized to stably receive a golf ball  120  is formed adjacent the first end  104   a  of the elongate section  102 . 
     In one implementation, the hole or recess forming the ball receiving area  110  is a hole that is drilled to a diameter of 0.085 cm (or 0.033 inches) that will allow the ball to be retained on the elongate section  102  but not significantly recessed in the hole or opening such that the ball would be impeded from leaving the hole or recess as a result of a putting stroke. The exact dimensions can, of course, vary without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     The ball receiving area  110  is preferably located at the center of the elongate member  102 . The elongate member  102  is preferably sized to be slightly wider than a golf ball to permit the golf ball to travel down the elongate member  102  in response to a correctly applied putting stroke. In one implementation, the elongate member  102  is sized so as to be approximately 1¼ inches wide (or approximately 3.175 cm wide) and approximately 17 inches long (or approximately 43.18 cm long). A cross section  106  is attached to the second end  104   b  of the elongate member  102  and is sized, in this exemplary implementation, to be approximately 1 inch (approximately 2.54 cm) thick in the direction of the elongate member  102  and extend in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the elongate member  102  approximately 3.5 inches (approximately 8.89 cm). Again, the dimensions of the elongate member  102 , the cross member  106  and various other components illustrated here can vary without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The cross member  106  includes a plurality of securing holes  114  that can be used to secure the training device  100  to the ground through the use of securing devices  116  such as golf tees as is shown in  FIG. 1 . As will be described in greater detail below, the securing devices  116  extend upwards from the upper surface of the cross member  106  so as to provide a visual target for the golfer to try to putt a golf ball  120  through. 
     In one implementation, the elongate member  102  and the cross member  106  are formed as a single integrated unit however they can also be separate pieces that are interconnected without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The device  100  can also be formed of material such as acrylic or Plexiglas having thicknesses on the order of approximately ⅛ of an inch (approximately 0.0049 cm) but can be formed of any suitable material of a desired thickness without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
     As is also shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the elongate section  102  also includes a visual target reference or aim point  122  that is placed immediately in front of the ball  120 . The visual target reference preferably is approximately sized to be ⅜ of an inch in diameter. As will be described in greater detail below, the visual target reference is spaced a distance from the golf ball that is selected to force the golfer to not focus on the ball  120  but to focus on a spot in the desired direction of travel of the ball  120 . Moreover, the visual target reference  122  is still positioned close enough to the ball  120  such that the golfer, even when focusing on the visual target reference  122 , still sees the ball  120  and the head  124  of the putter  126  as the golfer  130  swings through a putting stroke and contacts the ball  120 . By being able to see the head  124  of the putter  126  as it approaches the ball  120  in his or her peripheral vision, the golfer is better able to ensure that the head  124  of the putter  126  is striking the ball  120  in the desired orientation and location to ensure that the ball travels in the precise desired direction. Further, the visual target reference  122  should be smaller than the diameter of the ball  120  but should not be so small that the user has to focus on the reference  122  to accurately see it. In this way, the reference  122  is not a distraction for the golfer but is still large enough that the golfer can easily see the reference  122 . 
     In one specific implementation, the visual target reference  122  is located approximately 1 to 3 inches (approximately 2.54 cm to 7.62 cm), or more specifically approximately 1 to 2 inches (approximately 2.54 cm to 5.08 cm), in front of the golf ball receiving area  110 . In one specific embodiment, the visual target reference  122  is a circular reference and the center point of the circle is located approximately 1.81 inches (approximately 4.6 cm) in front of the center of the ball receiving area  110 . At these distances, when the golfer is swinging the putter  126  towards the ball  120 , the orientation of the head  124  of the putter  126  and the location where the head  124  of the putter  126  will hit the ball  120  can be seen in the golfer&#39;s peripheral vision thereby allowing the golfer to observe the club head hitting the ball but without requiring the golfer to focus on the ball. 
     Further, the visual target reference  122  is positioned in the desired direction of travel of the ball  120 . Thus, the golfer can simultaneously focus attention on the desired direction of travel of the golf ball  120 , thereby improving the aim of the ball, while also being able to observe the relationship between the club head  124  of the putter  126  and the ball  120  during the swing of the club  126  and contact with the ball  120 . By being able to accomplish both tasks, the golfer can practice his or her putting stroke more accurately and then utilize this method of putting for greater accuracy. 
     More specifically, when the golfer is golfing even not using the device  100 , the golfer can be trained by the device  100  to select a spot on the green located about the same distance in front of the ball receiving area  110  as the visual target reference  122 . The selected spot on the green should be selected to be in the direct desired line of travel of the ball  120  towards the hole or elsewhere. The golfer then focuses on this spot while putting thereby allowing the golfer to both be looking at a spot along the desired direction of travel and also simultaneously observing the orientation of the head  124  of the putter  126  as it approaches and contacts the ball  120 . Consequently, the device  100  can lead to a putting method that results in greater accuracy for the golfer. 
     As discussed above, a further benefit of the device  100  as training device results from the use of the securing devices  116  on the cross piece member  106 . The securing devices define vertical obstacles that are positioned on either side of the desired direction of travel of the ball  120 . If the golfer is successfully able to putt the ball  120  in a straight line down the elongate section and through the vertical obstacles, then the golfer knows that he or she has hit the ball  120  in the desired direction of travel. If the ball  120  rolls off the elongate member  102  or hits the securing devices  116 , then the golfer is provided feedback that the head  124  of the putter  126  hit the ball  120  in the wrong location or that the swing of the putter was not extending in a direction that is parallel to the long axis of the elongate member  102  which coincides with the desired direction of travel of the ball  120 . 
     A further advantage of the device  100  over existing devices is that the device  100  is small, lightweight and easy to use. As discussed above, it can even be secured to the ground for practice on a practice green and the like using golf tees which most golfers will have in their bag. Thus, the device provides an inexpensive training device that can be carried in a golfer&#39;s golf bag and used in an easy and convenient fashion. 
     While the foregoing description has shown, illustrated and described various novel features and uses of the present invention, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various changes, modifications and substitutions to the form of the apparatus and methods can be made without departing from the spirit, teachings and scope of the present invention. Hence, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the foregoing discussion but should be defined by the appended claims.