Patent ID: 8142302

Claim:
A system for automatically tracking a golf club swung by a golfer, the system comprising: a golf club comprising a shaft and a golf club head, the golf club having a an accelerometer in electrical communication with an active RFID transponder, the accelerometer temporarily closing a switch during impact with a golf ball to provide power from a power source to the RFID transponder for transmission of a signal, the signal containing data for the specific golf club, wherein the accelerometer, the active RFID transponder, the switch and the power source are located within the shaft of the golf club; a receiver for receiving the signal from the RFID transponder, the receiver having a second antenna; wherein the system captures a swing speed and swing motion of the golf club swung by golfer and wherein the interactions of characteristic three dimensional amplitude variations in the antennas allow for the measurement of relative positions of the golf club over the time of the swing.