Patent Publication Number: US-2006015983-A1

Title: Golf glove

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to a golf glove with which a golfer&#39;s swings are corrected and, more particularly, to a structurally improved golf glove capable of accelerating a club head as much as possible when swings are made, and maintaining good directivity, by maintaining correct swing form and/or correcting incorrect swing form when practicing or playing golf, and allowing the club head to impact a golf ball exactly perpendicularly, thereby being innovative in increasing the flying distance of the golf ball.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      As well known to those skilled in the art, there is a variety of methods and forms for hitting a golf ball, holding a golf club, and making a swing. It is therefore a temporal and economic burden for golf beginners to learn the various methods and forms in a short period of time.  
      Especially for beginners, since even the forms for holding a golf club are so various, it is not easy to learn the correct forms at an early stage while they begin to practice golf. Further, once even a skilled golfer has learned incorrect postures and has become accustomed to them, it is not easy to correct the incorrect postures.  
      As everyone is different in shape and posture, directions or postures for holding the grip of a golf club are various. A person may become proficient within a short period of time by easily finding and learning correct postures best suitable for his or her body shape, but another person may need to practice for a longer period of time to learn them. Even for a skilled golfer, bad or incorrect postures will result in inefficiency or slow progress; since he or she is also unable to maintain consistent posture but changes it from time to time, the golfer would not play golf successfully.  
      When playing golf, the form of a golfer&#39;s swing is very important. The swing greatly influences the golf ball driving precision and the golf ball flying distance when driving a golf ball. Especially, the flying distance of a golf ball is determined depending upon the degree of backswing and the swing speed of the club head. That is, when the degree of backswing is large and the swing speed of the club head is fast at the instant when the golf ball is hit, the ball will fly further if the ball is correctly struck with the sweet spot of the club head.  
      To drive the golf ball farther and exactly to the target place as desired by the golfer, a backswing, as the first step to hit the golf ball, is of the most significance. To a right-handed golfer, an ideal backswing form is not to bend the back of the golfer&#39;s left hand toward the back or the palm of the hand but to be in a straight line with the left arm. At the same time, the golf club must be parallel with a target line.  
      When cocking the golfer&#39;s wrist to increase the flying distance, the wrist should be normally bent such that the back of the left hand is in a straight line with the left arm. However, if the wrist is bent toward the back or the palm of the hand, the cocking effect is degraded, and also no correct impact is made, which is a cause of missed shots.  
      At the final step of the backswing, the golf club should be in a straight line with the target line, but most beginners and even skilled golfers bend their left arms from the elbows at the peak point of the backswing, whereby the golf club excessively passes over the parallel line, thereby frequently causing over-swings. This excessive over-swing causes incorrect impact, thereby resulting in missed shot and reduction in the flying distance of a golf ball.  
      Generally, a conventional golf glove  100  comprises a glove body  110  into which a golfer&#39;s fingers are inserted and which encloses the golfer&#39;s hand, with a tightening means  120  provided on the back of the hand of the glove body  110 , as illustrated in  FIG. 10A . The tightening means  120  is made of an elastic material, having a structure that holds the glove body  110  tightly on the golfer&#39;s hand when the golfer wears it.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 10B , another conventional golf glove  100  is formed with a cut part  130  on one side of the glove body  110 . On the inner part of a cover  132  provided on one side of the cut part  130  and the back of the hand of the glove  100  are attached the opposing pieces of a fastening means  140  which are the hook piece and pile piece of a Velcro fastener. With the opposing pieces of the Velcro fastener  140 , the golf glove  100  can be held tightly on the golfer&#39;s hand when the cover  132  is pulled by the golfer so as to tighten the wrist of the glove  100 .  
      In order for a golfer to play golf with correct posture and efficiently while wearing this conventional golf glove  100 , the grip of the golf club is to be correctly held by the golfer&#39;s left hand inserted into the golf glove  100 . Since the golfer feels close contact between the left hand and the golf club, the golfer makes correct backswings and downswings, thereby making no erroneous swings but directing the hit ball as desired. However, the conventional golf glove  100  has no function such that the golfer may easily feel the close contact with the grip of the golf club, and it is not so useful in making stable swings. Because of this, irregular and unstable swings have customarily been repeated, whereby the golfer is unable to control the flying distance of a golf ball as he or she wishes.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a structurally improved golf glove capable of accelerating a club head as much as possible when swings are made, and maintaining good directivity, by maintaining correct swing form and/or correcting incorrect swing form when practicing or playing golf, and allowing the club head to impact exactly perpendicularly with a golf ball, thereby being innovative in increasing the flying distance of the golf ball.  
      In order to accomplish the above object and other objects, the present invention provides a golf glove to be worn by a golfer while practicing or playing golf, comprising: a glove body for maintaining and correcting golf swing posture, into which a golfer&#39;s fingers are inserted and which encloses a golfer&#39;s hand; a tightening means provided inside the glove body, providing elasticity, with which the glove body is brought into close contact with the golfer&#39;s hand; and a loop means having a looped strip shape, wherein the loop means has at least one end which is detachable from the glove body, the other end being fastened to the back of the hand of the glove body by at least one fastening means, and it is used by being looped around the rear end of the grip of the golf club. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the outer appearance of a golf glove according to the present invention;  
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  are views illustrating a golfer&#39;s hand inserted into the golf glove according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 3A  is a perspective view illustrating the outer appearance of the golf glove according to a modified embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3B  is a perspective view illustrating the internal structure of the golf glove shown in  FIG. 3A ;  
       FIG. 3C  is a view illustrating the use of the golf glove shown in  FIG. 3A ;  
       FIG. 4A  is a perspective view illustrating the outer appearance of a golf glove according to another modified embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4B  is a view illustrating the loop means shown in  FIG. 4A  in a fastened state;  
       FIG. 5A  is a perspective view illustrating the outer appearance of the golf glove from which the loop means is detached according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 5B  is a view illustrating the use of the loop means shown in  FIG. 5A ;  
       FIG. 6A  is a view illustrating the golf glove from which the loop means is detached according to another embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 6B  is a view illustrating the use of the loop means shown in  FIG. 6A ;  
       FIG. 7  is a view illustrating a golfer&#39;s backswing when using the golf glove according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a view illustrating a peak point of the golfer&#39;s backswing when using the golf glove according to the present invention;  
       FIGS. 9A  to  9 D are views sequentially illustrating the golfer&#39;s downswing when using the golf glove according to the present invention; and  
       FIG. 10A and 10B  is a view illustrating the construction of the conventional golf glove. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components.  
      Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a golf glove  1  according to the present invention is used when practicing or playing golf. The golf glove  1  comprises a glove body  110  into which a golfer&#39;s fingers are inserted and which encloses the golfer&#39;s hand. The glove body  110  may be made of common materials for gloves, such as leather, cloth or synthetic leather.  
      The glove body  110  is provided with a tightening means  120  to elastically tighten the glove  1  to the golfer&#39;s hand when the golfer wears the grove  1  on his or her hand. The tightening means  120  is made of a rubber band which is internally sewn onto the glove body  110 . If the golfer puts on the glove  1 , the rubber band of the tightening means  120  is a little stretched but the glove body  110  closely contacts the golfer&#39;s hand owing to the elastic restoration force of the rubber band, thereby improving the sensation of wearing and the sense of close contact.  
      The golf glove  1  further comprises a loop means  10  having a looped strip shape and provided on one side of the glove body  110 . The loop means  10  is looped around the rear end of the grip of the golf club  15  after the golfer has lined up a golf ball with the golf club, and then the golfer swings.  
      The loop means  10  comprises a strip which is shaped as a round loop, thus having a closed loop shape. Both ends of the loop means  10  are mounted by being sewn onto one side of the glove body  110 , preferably to the back of the hand, thereby forming a round loop on one side of the glove body  110 .  
      As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the golfer puts the golf glove  1  according to the present invention on his or her hand and loops the loop means  10  around the back grip of the golf club  15 , thus tensioning the loop means  10 , and then lines up a golf ball with the golf club  15 , normally squarely.  
      Since the loop means  10  is shaped with a strip of elastic material having predetermined elasticity, the glove  1  worn by the golfer and the grip of the golf club  15  are coupled together in a substantially tensioned state by the loop means  10 , and thus, the golfer may feel that his or her left hand is brought into more close contact with the grip of the golf club  15  after lining up the golf ball.  
      In this process, the golfer correctly set up a shot while holding the grip of the golf club at the correct grip position. As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , if the loop means  10  is looped around the end of the grip and the golfer holds the grip comfortably, the golfer&#39;s left hand is situated at the correct position on the grip.  
      If the length (or size) of the loop means  10  is tailored in advance to match the golfer&#39;s hand, the position at which the grip is held will always be constant thanks to the loop means  10 , and a shot will correctly set up at the position.  
      As illustrated in  FIGS. 3A through 3C , a cut part  130  is provided on one side of the glove body  110 , the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener are attached to the outer portion of the cover  132  provided on one side of the cut part  130  and on the inner surface of the back of the hand of the glove body  110 , respectively, and the back of the hand of the glove body  110  is pulled towards the upper part of the cover  132 , whereby the golf glove  1  closely contacts the golfer&#39;s hand while the glove  1  tightens the glove&#39;s wrist.  
      Both ends of the loop means  10  are secured to the back of the hand of the glove body  110 .  
      As described above, the golfer can easily put on the golf glove  1  using the cut part  130 . At the same time, due to the hook and pile pieces of the Velcro fastener  30 , the back of the hand of the glove body  110  can be pulled and fastened to the upper part of the cover  132 , thereby tightening the wrist. As illustrated in  FIG. 3C , the loop means  10  is looped around the rear end of the grip of the golf club  15  until the loop means  10  is substantially tensioned, and then the golfer squarely lines up a golf ball while holding the golf club  15  normally.  
      With this structure, since the hook and pile pieces of the Velcro fastener  30  are attached to the outer part of the cover  132  provided in the cut part  130  and to the back of the hand of the glove body  110 , most golfers can easily put on the glove  1 , regardless of whether their hands are large or small.  
      The golf glove  1  can be tightened by pulling the back of the hand of the glove body  110  to the cut part  130 , tightening the glove&#39;s wrist. Since neither the hook piece nor the pile piece of the Velcro fastener  30  is exposed to the outside, the outer appearance of the glove body  110  is simple, and the loop means  10  can be easily looped around the rear end of the grip  20 .  
      The golf glove according to the present invention has a construction such that one or both ends of the loop means  10  are detachable from the glove body  110  of the golf glove  1 , and thus, there is no need to adjust the length of the loop means  10  to match the size of the user&#39;s hand.  
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate another modified golf glove of the present invention, which is available for adjusting the length of the loop means  10 . This glove  1  comprises a glove body  110  into which a golfer&#39;s fingers are inserted, enclosing the golfer&#39;s hand, having a tightening means  120  on the back of the hand of the glove body  110 . On the inner part of the cover  132  provided in one side of the cut part  130  and the back of the hand of the glove are respectively formed the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener, with which the golf glove  1  closely contacts the golfer&#39;s hand when the cut part  130  is pulled to tighten the glove&#39;s wrist.  
      The loop means  10  comprises a strip which is shaped as a round loop. One end of the loop means  10  is secured by being sewn  10   a  onto one side of the glove body  110 , and the other end is designed to be fastened to a fastening means  40  when the golfer wears the glove  1 .  
      The fastening means  40  forms a round loop on one side of the glove body  110  as illustrated in  FIG. 4B , if one piece of the Velcro fastener  30 , which is securely attached to an outer part of the back of the hand of the glove body  110 , and the other piece of the Velcro fastener  30 , securely attached to the loop means  10 , are interlocked together for use by being pressed.  
      In the structure described above, the point at which the loop means  10  is mounted to the glove body  110  may be the upper part or the lower part of the back of the hand, and the point at which the fastening means  40  is mounted may be the upper part or the lower part of the back of the hand in the opposite side thereof.  
      In the above-described embodiments, the fastening means  40  comprises one of the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener  30 , but it may have different modifications. For example, the loop means  10  may be formed with a hole (not shown) and a loop (not shown) may be formed on the glove body  110 , whereby the loop is inserted into the hole for connection. The fastening means  40  may be modified into various forms by those skilled in the art, and the present invention covers all of the modified forms.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , a golfer wears the glove  1  of the present invention and tightens the glove&#39;s wrist by pressing the cover  132  onto the back of the hand using the opposing pieces of the Velcro fastener respectively provided on the inner part of the cover  132  and the back of the hand of the glove  1 . Then, the golfer sets the loop means  10  on the rear end  20  of the grip and pulls an open end towards the glove body  110  to make a connection.  
      Under this structure, the golfer can immediately compensate for any deviation in the length of the loop means  10  due to the size of the golfer&#39;s hand or the size of the glove when he or she wears the glove  1 , thereby creating the sense of integrity by coupling the golfer&#39;s left hand to the rear end  20  of the golf club  15  through the loop means  10 , while maintaining the optimum length of the loop means  10 .  
      According to another embodiment of the present invention, the loop means is detachable from the back of the hand of the glove body  120 .  
       FIG. 5A  is a perspective view illustrating the outer appearance of a golf glove from which a loop means is detached according to the present invention, and  FIG. 5B  is a view illustrating the use of the loop means shown in  FIG. 5A .  
      Referring to these figures, the golf glove  100  according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured such that the loop means  200  can be detached from the glove body  120 . The golf glove  100  has a fastening means  300  on the back of the hand  130  of the glove body  120  so that the loop means  200  can be fastened to the fastening means  300 . The loop means  200  which can be detached from the golf glove  100  corresponds to the fastening means  300  of the glove  100 . In other words, the loop means  200  has a fastening means  210 .  
       FIG. 6A  is a view illustrating the golf glove from which the loop means is detached according to a further embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 6B  is a view illustrating the use of the loop means shown in  FIG. 6A .  
      The golf glove  100  illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  has an opening in the back of the hand  130  of the glove body  120 , in which a cover  150  is provided, the cover  150  fastened to a fastening means oppositely provided in the back of the hand  130 , thereby allowing the glove  100  to contact the user&#39;s hand as closely as possible, regardless of the size thereof. In an embodiment of  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the loop means  200  may be detachable from the back of the hand  130  of the glove body  120 .  
      The present invention has generally been described above with reference to a left-handed user; however, the present invention may be embodied in the same manner for a right-handed user.  
      The golf glove  1  of the present invention having any of the constructions described above has numerous excellent effects on backswings and downswings when the user wears the glove  1  and lines up a golf ball to hit the ball. This will be described with reference to FIGS.  7  to  9 D.  
      1) Since the left hand&#39;s ring finger and little finger are not separated thanks to the loop means  10  when backswinging and following through, the sense of integrity between the golfer&#39;s hand and the golf club, by which the golfer&#39;s left hand feels in close contact with the grip of the golf club  15 , is improved. Thus, the golfer would not forcibly hold the grip, thereby maintaining the flexibility of his or her left hand when backswinging and downswinging.  
      2) As depicted in  FIG. 7  with two-dot chain lines, the end of the grip may be raised at the top of a backswing due to the weight of the club head the golfer&#39;s hand holding the grip of the club, and the club head may be dropped downward, thereby failing to maintain the club perfectly horizontal. However, this problem is solved by the present invention.  
      3) When backswinging, the golfer may feel the sense of integrity between his or her left hand and the grip of the club and maintain the flexibility of the left hand. In the top, a phenomenon by which the rear end of the grip  20  of the golf club  15  is raised upward at the top can be prevented, thereby naturally maintaining the club horizontal and stabilizing the golfer&#39;s posture.  
      As depicted by the dotted line of  FIG. 7 , the golfer does not make excessive over-swings since bending of his or her left hand is prevented when backswinging, and bending of the left hand, whereby the left hand is not in a straight line with the left forearm and the club is not directed toward a target is prevented, thereby maintaining a stable backswing posture and subsequently executing comfortable downswings.  
      4) Excessive force applied to the golfer&#39;s shoulder when backswinging is reduced because the flexibility of the golfer&#39;s wrist is maintained, thereby always maintaining constant backswings owing to maintenance of the flexibility, leading to comfortable downswings.  
      5) Constant peak height of backswings can be maintained since bending of the left hand and cocking of the wrist are prevented, and more stable and clear backswings are ensured.  
      6) One of the most common mistakes that beginners make is to gradually apply force to the grip and excessively pulled the club head to the inside when backswinging. However, this mistake is prevented by the present invention, thereby swings that are too flat are not made. Also, in-to-out swings are prevented, and it serves to maintain correct horizontal planes.  
      7) Since the golfer may feel the sense of integrity between his or her left hand and the grip of the club thanks to the loop means  10 , the closing of a club face when backswinging is prevented owing to the prevention of excessive movement of the wrist, thereby allowing the club face to be more closely square with the ball, and the occurrence of pull shots or hook shots may be prevented.  
      8) Since over-swings are prevented when backswinging due to the flexibility of the golfer&#39;s wrist and the sense of pressure resulting from the loop means pulling the grip, the golfer can reduce force to the golfer&#39;s upper body whereby the shaking of the lower body is minimized, which serves to enable stronger shots.  
      In addition, the present invention serves to instantly correct such problems called early hits or casting hits that afflict many golfers without causing any other problems.  
      Before impact, the outer angle of the right wrist is loosened and the golf club and the left arm are substantially in a straight line. In making an impact, the golfer&#39;s two hands form the shape of a rice scoop (scooping up), that is, the two hands are positioned in the same line with the ball or behind the ball, and the left hand is loosened and the right hand naturally encloses the upper left hand after impact. Through these operations, correct impact is made.  
      Comparatively, most beginners hit the golf ball well with wooden clubs whereas they do not firmly grip iron clubs and make shots that do not dig a divot. If a golfer suffers from this, it may be determined that he or she releases early. Since the ball is swept away by wood shots, the problem of early release would not appear to be serious. However, for making swift and exact iron shots, the left wrist must precede the club head in making impacts.  
      All of these problems can be solved by the present invention. Since releases are delayed further by late hitting, strong impact is possible.  
      9) Since the golfer&#39;s left hand and the grip of the club are coupled together by the loop means, downswings by iron clubs are made with a sense of integrity, and casting (early lease of the wrist) is prevented, thereby increasing power. Also, since strong impacts are made, a clear divot is formed after hitting the ball, and the quality of iron shots having accurate ball trajectory can be improved.  
      10) Excessive movement of the left hand can be prevented since the loop means  10  is still looped around the rear end of the grip even after impacting during the follow through, thereby creating a sense of integrity between the golfer&#39;s left hand and the club. Accordingly, proper wrist form is maintained, always maintaining constant and clean follow through, and preventing the balls from being excessively hooked or sliced.  
      According to the present invention, if the force to the golfer&#39;s upper body is reduced, the golfer&#39;s head and shoulders are flexible, thereby facilitating rotations and allowing the backbone to be easily rotated, which serves to make correct movement of the weight. Thus, owing to the maintenance of flexibility, constant follow through is realized.  
      11) Accurate swings by the left hand, which moves along a stable swing plane from the correct backswing posture, reduce the burden applied to the right hand, thereby maintaining correct form of the right hand and serving to promote a more stable swing.  
      12) Further, since the downswing is made with the sense of integrity between the golfer&#39;s left hand and the golf club when the loop means  10  is still looped around the rear end  20  of the grip and the golfer makes a downswing from a backswing state, downswing using the golfer&#39;s arm is prevented since the golfer&#39;s wrist is fixed. Rotation using the golfer&#39;s body is natural, and natural in-to-out swings are made, thereby remarkably reducing closing of the club face.  
      13) Push or slice hits, that most beginners make, can be prevented. Since the golfer&#39;s left hand and the club are integrally coupled together by the loop means  10  when the golfer drops the club down while doing a downswing, impact is made by reducing excessive force applied to the wrist for the prevention of cocking, and a natural release is made. Owing to this, pushes or slices by which the ball is forced to the right are minimized, thereby serving to drive the ball farther and correctly.  
      14) Since the golfer can play golf having correct postures for backswings, downswings, impacts, follow-throughs and finishes, more accurate hits are possible and the golfer can drive the ball to a target point, thereby increasing the flying distance of the ball.  
      As described above, when a golfer practices or plays golf, the golfer&#39;s left hand and the rear end of the grip of a golf club are coupled together by a loop means, creating the sense of integrity between them. Since this can always be sensed when backswinging or downswinging, the golfer can maintain swing form leading to correct and stable backswings, downswings, impacts and follow-throughs and finishes.  
      Taking correct swing forms and easy correction of forms, the club head can be maximally accelerated during downswings, and correct and square impacts are made between the ball and the club head. Thus, good directivity can be maintained and also driving the ball to the desired target point is easy, thereby being innovative in increasing the driven distance of the golf ball.  
      Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.