Grip for a golf club putter shaft

Abstract

An improved golf grip, for a putter golf club wherein the front surface of the grip is curved upward at the butt, and tip ends of the grip from the axis of the club shaft. The grip is formed around two intersecting longitudinal axes wherein said axes run through the axis of the shaft. The upward curved front surface of the grip allows a golfer to hold the grip of the putter with his or her hands in a natural position at address, (the position that a golfer takes in preparation for making a putt), reducing unwanted tension/stress in the hands thus enabling the golfer to produce a straight backward and forward putting stroke and keep the putter face square to the intended target line further resulting in more accurate and consistent putts.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application takes priority from provisional application Ser. No. 60/702,828 filed on Jul. 27, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of golf clubs and more particularly to a newly designed golf club putter grip that makes it easier to hit straighter and more accurate putts.

2. Background Art

Throughout golf history putter grips have been designed with a shape to promote a straight backward and forward putting stroke and help keep the putter face square to the intended target throughout the stroke. Many of these designs promote stress build-up of the hands due to a shape of the grip that forces the hands to hold the putter grip in an unnatural position in relation to the shaft axis and putter club head lie.

By holding the grip of the putter with the hands in a natural position the golfer is more inclined to produce a putting stroke that is smooth and in line with the intended target due to a reduction of unwanted tension produced by an unnatural hand position while holding the grip. The tension can cause an erratic putting stroke thereby causing the struck golf ball to roll in a different direction from the intended target line.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

An improved golf grip, for a putter golf club wherein the front surface of the grip is curved upward at the butt, and tip ends of the grip from the axis of the club shaft. The grip is formed around two intersecting longitudinal axes wherein said axes run through the axis of the shaft. The upward curved front surface of the grip allows a golfer to hold the grip of the putter with his or her hands in a natural position at address, (the position that a golfer takes in preparation for making a putt), reducing unwanted tension/stress in the hands thus enabling the golfer to produce a straight backward and forward putting stroke and keep the putter face square to the intended target line further resulting in more accurate and consistent putts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments, features and advances of the present invention will be understood more completely hereinafter as a result of a detailed description thereof in which reference will be made to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a golfer's hands holding the improved putting grip;

FIG. 2 shows a golfer's hands holding a “conventional” putting grip;

FIG. 3 depicts how the hands in conjunction with the wrists hold the “improved putting grip” in a natural comfortable position during setup;

FIG. 4 depicts how the hands in conjunction with the wrists hold the conventional grip;

FIG. 5 depicts a golfer that is in the natural setup putting position and prepared to execute the putting stroke;

FIG. 6 depicts a golfer that is in the conventional setup putting position and prepared to execute the putting stroke; and

FIG. 7 shows an open hand with two illustrated putting grips running lengthwise across the valley of the hand, the conventional grip shown in dotted line and the inventive grip shown in solid line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a golfer's hands holding the improved putting grip. The hands illustrate how the grip is held while the golfer is in a natural setup position using the Vardon reverse overlap grip. (The Vardon reverse overlap grip is the preferred method of holding the putter grip). The grip shown in the illustration is defined by the outlined shape, two broken lines defined as a “grip axis” and a “shaft axis” which intersect to form a single axis at approximately the middle of the grip. In the natural setup position the grip axis follows the grip cross-section and curves upward from the shaft axis toward the top of the grip. The upward curving grip allows the grip axis and the top of the grip to closely contour the “valley of the hand”, as defined by the crease in the hand which runs from the center of the wrist curving diagonally to the area between the thumb and the index finger, and run more in line with the golfer's forearm. This promotes an extension of a golfer's forearm enabling the golfer to setup comfortably with less stress and tension in order to execute a smoother, straighter stress-free putting stroke resulting in more consistent putts that travel toward the intended target.

FIG. 2 shows a golfer's hands holding a “conventional” putting grip. The hands illustrate how the grip is held while the golfer is in a conventional setup position using a Vardon reverse overlap grip. The grip shown in the illustration is defined by the outlined shape, two broken lines defined as a “grip axis” and a “shaft” axis” which intersect to form a single axis at approximately the middle of said grip. In the conventional setup position the grip axis follows the grip cross section, curves downward from the shaft axis toward the bottom of the grip. The downward curving grip travels counter to the “valley of the hand” causing the golfer to cock his or her wrists upward in order to properly orient the putter at setup thus creating unwanted stress and tension in the grip and setup position. The stress and tension promote an inconsistent putting stroke resulting in putts that travel away from the intended target.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a golfer's hands holding the “improved putting grip” and conventional putting grip, respectively. Also shown are the golfer's wrists and two sets of broken lines defined as “shaft axis” and “wrist angle” in order to depict the difference in the amount of wrist cock between FIGS. 3 and 4. The “shaft axis” runs the length of the shaft. The “wrist axis” travels from the center of the wrist, down through the palm of the hand and intersects with the “shaft axis”. FIG. 3 depicts how the hands in conjunction with the wrists hold the “improved putting grip” in a natural comfortable position during setup. FIG. 4 depicts how the hands in conjunction with the wrists hold the conventional grip. The “wrist angle” in FIG. 4 is bent upward at a greater angle than the “wrist angle” shown in FIG. 3. The increased upward cocking of the wrist angle is caused by the conventional putting grip that curves downward at the butt of the grip. To compensate for this design the golfer must cock his or her wrists upward to achieve a proper setup. Cocking the wrists upward in this manner produces stress and tension in the putting grip and setup which could result in a putting stroke that can be erratic and produce putts that travel away from the intended target.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the difference in the setup of a golfer using the improved putting grip, (FIG. 5) and the conventional putting grip, (FIG. 6). FIG. 5 depicts a golfer that is in the natural setup putting position and prepared to execute the putting stroke. The golfer's eyes are positioned over the golf ball, the arms are relaxed with the golfer's left forearm axis relatively in alignment with the putter shaft axis. The natural setup is free of stress and tension thus allowing the golfer to execute a putting stroke that will cause the ball to roll toward its intended target.

FIG. 6 depicts a golfer that is in the conventional setup putting position and prepared to execute the putting stroke. The golfer's eyes are positioned over the golf ball. The forearms and wrists are cocked upward introducing stress and tension into the setup position and putting stroke which can lead to an erratic putting stroke, further leading to the stroked golf ball traveling off the intended target line.

FIG. 7 shows an open hand with two illustrated putting grips running lengthwise across the valley of the hand. The improved putting grip is defined by the solid outline. The conventional putting grip is defined by the broken outline. The valley of the hand is defined by the curved lines that extend from the area between the index finger and the thumb to the bottom of the palm. The curved lines depict the creases which are common in any person.

FIG. 7 clearly illustrates how the top of the improved putter grip, defined by the solid outline, follows the curved creases in the valley of the hand. The conventional putter grip, defined by the broken outline, runs counter, in the opposite direction, to the curved creases in the valley of the hand and said improved putter grip.

FIG. 7 illustrates how the improved putter grip fits the natural curves and contour of a golfer's hand promoting a natural comfortable grip, free of stress and tension.

The drawing further illustrates how the conventional putter grip curves in the opposite direction of the natural creases in one's hand promoting stress and tension.

It will now be understood that the present invention provides an improved putter grip having upwardly curved or convex portions near the butt and tip ends of the grip of the front surface thereof that mates with the golfer's palms to permit a more relaxed and natural hand contour that promotes more accurate putts. The scope hereof is to be limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A grip for a golf club putter shaft, the grip having a butt end and a tip end, a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface facing the golfer's palms when the grip is held in a golfer's hands for striking a golf ball, the grip comprising:

a front surface that is curved convexly near the butt and tip ends to reduce a golfer's wrist bend angle in gripping the putting for striking a golf ball.

2. A grip for a golf club putter shaft, the grip having a butt end and a tip end, a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface facing the golfer's palms when the grip is held in a golfer's hands for striking a golf ball, the grip comprising:

a front surface that is curved upwardly adjacent the butt and tip ends to reduce the golfer's wrist bend angle in gripping the putter for striking a golf ball.

3. A grip for a golf club putter shaft, the grip having a butt end and a tip end, a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface facing the golfer's palms when the grip is held in a golfer's hands for striking a golf ball, the grip comprising:

a front surface that is shaped to be more convex near at least one of the butt end and tip end to reduce the golfer's wrist bend angle in gripping the putter for striking a golf ball.