Patent Abstract:
A pair of golf gloves each having loop and pile interfaces at specific locations that fasten together as a golfer grasps a golf club, and they aid the golfer to properly grasp, hold and maintain a preferred neutral hold on a golf club during back swing and forward swing to achieve a good golf shot.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to training devices used for practicing golf skills and more specifically to a pair of golf gloves worn playing golf that will aid a golfer in achieving and maintaining a preferred grip on a golf club. 
     PRIOR ART 
     Achieving and maintaining the consistency and feel of the preferred grip position on a golf club is somewhat difficult to learn, especially for beginner and intermediate golfers. A faulty grip position, whether too strong or too weak, directly affects the position of the club face at impact leading to shots that end up well right or well left of the target. In addition, many of these golfers, upon addressing a ball, tend to fidget around with their grip position and may inadvertently shift their hands on a golf club during their back swing and forward swing, adversely affecting their golf shot. 
     Most golf instructors tell their students that in order to execute a well coordinated, smooth flowing, swing of a golf club, the fundamentals of a neutral grip position must first be learned and repeatedly practiced. Many amateur golfers tend to grasp a golf club without careful consideration of their hand position on the club. They may also use one or two golf gloves. Such gloves do enhance the golfers grip on the club, but none have been produced that direct and secure a golfer&#39;s hands in the preferred neutral grip position. 
     Thus, there is a need in the art for an aid to help a golfer achieve and maintain a preferred neutral grip position on the golf club during the entire swing to realize a golf shot. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The foregoing need in the prior art is satisfied by the present invention. The present invention provides a pair of interlocking golf gloves which help a golfer achieve, secure and maintain the preferred neutral grip position on a golf club during the entire swing process and to achieve a good golf shot. These golf gloves are properly sized, easily worn and are not cumbersome on the golf course. 
     The golf gloves of the preferred embodiment of the invention utilize hook and pile fasteners of the type available commercially under the trademark VELCRO®. Segments of such hook and pile fasteners are permanently attached to each of the gloves. A golfer wearing a pair of these golf gloves is aided in how to properly grip a golf club in a preferred neutral grip so as not to have: (a) too weak a grip where the golf club handle slides into the lifeline of the golfer&#39;s upper hand instead of resting in the heel pad of the hand and results in slicing a golf shot; or (b) too strong a grip where there is pressure in the upper hand wrist socket and the outside of the lower arm forearm tighten up and results in a hook shot. With the preferred neutral grip a golfer will achieve and maintain the preferred grip on a golf club during an entire swing to achieve a good golf shot. 
     For a right handed golfer their upper hand is their left hand and their lower hand is their right hand. Conversely, for a left handed golfer their upper hand is their right hand and their lower hand is their left hand. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The invention will be better understood upon reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a palm up view of the left hand glove with the thumb extended; 
     FIG. 2 is a palm up view of the left hand glove with the thumb folded in; 
     FIG. 3 is a palm up view of the right hand glove with the thumb extended; and 
     FIG. 4 shows a top view of a golfer holding a golf club in a preferred manner using the golf gloves. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The pair of golf gloves described herein are for a right handed person. Therefore, the left hand glove  10  shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are for the upper hand (furthest from the ground), and the right hand glove  9  shown in FIG. 3 is for the lower hand (closest to the ground). For a pair of golf gloves for a left handed person the position of the hook and pile fasteners on the left hand glove  10  and right hand glove  9  are reversed. For a left handed person the right hand is the upper hand and the hook and pile fasteners shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 would instead be oil the right hand glove  9  in a mirror image orientation. Similarly, for the left handed person the left hand is the lower hand and the hook and pile fasteners shown in FIG. 3 would instead be on the left hand glove  10  in a mirror image orientation. 
     In FIGS. 1 and 2, left hand glove  10  has fastener elements  11  and  13  that are hook type material and fastener element  12  that is a pile type material. On the right hand glove  9  shown in FIG. 3 fastener elements  27  and  29  are pile type material and fastener element  28  is hook type material. As is well-known in the fastener art, pile type material will not fasten to other pile type material, hook type material will not fastened to other hook type material, but hook type material will fasten firmly to pile type material. The orientation of hook type and pile type fastener material on the left hand glove  10  and right hand glove  9  is such that a golfer cannot inadvertently hold a golf club in a wrong matter and fasten the left hand glove  10  to the right hand glove  9  in an improper orientation. 
     Left golf glove  10 , shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a glove thumb  14 , index glove finger  15 , middle glove finger  16 , ring glove finger  17 , little glove finger  18 , and palm area  19 . Attached to glove finger  14  are three pieces of fastener material. An elongated piece of hook type fastener material  11  is attached to the side of glove thumb  14  on the side furthest from glove index finger  15 . A piece of pile type fastener material  12  is attached to the back side of glove thumb  14  adjacent to tip end of glove thumb  14  and adjacent to fastener material  11  as shown. A piece of hook type fastener material  13  is attached to the side of glove thumb  14  on the side nearest to glove index finger  15 , adjacent to the tip of glove thumb  14 , and adjacent to fastener material  12  as shown. 
     Fastener material  11 ,  12  and  13  fasten to and cooperate with other faster elements attached to right hand glove  11 , shown in FIG. 3, and these other faster elements are described further in this Detailed Description with reference to FIG.  3 . 
     In FIG. 3, right golf glove  9  has a glove thumb  20 , index glove finger  21 , middle glove finger  22 , ring glove finger  23 , little glove finger  24 , and palm area  25 . Attached to right golf glove  9  are fastener elements  14 ,  15  and  29 . Fasteners  14  and  29  are pile type material, and fastener  28  is hook type material. 
     Fastener  27  is elongated, is the same length as fastener  11  on left glove  10 , and is attached to the palm of the lower hand right glove  9  near, but spaced from, the base of glove thumb  20 . Fastener  28  is attached to the base of the glove thumb  20 . Fastener  29  is attached to the tip of glove ring finger  23  on the palm side of glove  11 . 
     When gloves  9  and  10  are worn by a golfer who is holding a golf club (not shown) to swing same, and the hook and loop fastener elements on both gloves  9  and  10  are all properly fastened to each other, they are fastened together as follows. Hook fastener  11  on left golf glove  10  is parallel to and fastened to loop fastener  27  on right golf glove  9 . Loop fastener  12  on left golf glove  10  is fastened to hook fastener  28  on right golf glove  9 . Loop fastener  29  on right golf glove  9  is fastened to hook fastener  13  on left golf glove  10 . 
     Across the base of fingers  16 ,  17  and  18  of left golf glove  10 , and on the palm side of the glove, is a colored stripe  26  that guides the correct placement of a golf club (not shown) in the left hand of the golfer. Any color may be used. After laying the club head on the ground in one of the well known open, closed or squared positions, as selected by the golfer, the golfer wearing gloves  9  and  10  places the handle of the golf club (not shown) along the colored stripe  26  across the palm side of left golf glove  10  and closes the left hand over the club handle. Left golf glove  10  fingers  16 ,  17  and  18  are firmly but softly closed around the golf club handle. Glove thumb  14  is placed parallel to and along the shaft of the golf club pointing toward the head of the club. Left glove  10  index finger  15  is not closed around the shaft of the golf club, but is curved slightly and lightly touches the handle of the golf club. 
     The golfer then places right golf glove  9  around the shaft of the golf club using fasteners  11  and  12  on left golf glove  10  as a guide to fasten its fastener  27  to fastener  11  on left golf glove  10 , and its fastener  28  to fastener  12  on left golf glove  10 . Fasteners  11  and  27  are elongated and are positioned parallel to and directly on top of each other when they are brought into contact to fasten them together. Right glove glove  9  thumb  20  is placed parallel to and along the shaft of the golf club (see FIG. 4) pointing toward the head of the club. Right golf glove  9  thumb  20  is then rolled leftward to fasten its fastener  28  to fastener  12  on left golf glove  10 . Right golf glove  9  fingers  22 ,  23  and  24  are then firmly but softly closed around the golf club handle. As this is done fastener  29  on the tip of right golf glove  9  ring finger  23  is pushed into and fastens to fastener  13  on the end of left golf glove  10  thumb  14 . Right glove index finger  21  is not fully closed around the shaft of the golf club, but is curved and touches the shaft of the club in a well known manner. Gloves  9  and  10  are now fastened together in a preferred neutral hold around the golf club (see FIG. 4) and remain in that hold during a back swing and forward swing to hit a golf ball. 
     In FIG. 4 is shown a top view of a golfer holding a golf club in the preferred neutral manner described in the previous paragraph using gloves  10  and  11 . 
     While what has been described above is the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, fastener means other than loop and pile fasteners may be utilized, or no fasteners at all need be utilized. 
     For more experienced golfers the previously described fasteners may be replaced with colored areas or interface elements, similar to colored stripe  26 , to direct the placement of the golfer&#39;s hands. Fasteners  11  and  27  would be replaced by colored interface elements of a first color that may or may not have the same shape and size as the fasteners, fasteners  12  and  28  would be replaced by colored interface elements of a second color that may or may not have the same shape and size as the fasteners, and fasteners  13  and  29  would be replaced by colored interface elements of a third color that may or may not have the same shape and size as the fasteners. A golfer wearing such gloves would align the like colored interfaces on each of the gloves, as described above for the fasteners, to achieve the preferred neutral grip on the golf club.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0