Golf club stand for remembering clubs

Abstract

A golf club stand to prevent the forgetting of spare clubs by standing them upright in a noticeable position when they are brought to a shot but not used. The device generally comprises a shaft with a grip-handle similar to that of a golf club, and a sharp point at the distal end of the shaft to allow the club to be inserted into the ground. A pivot arm is secured to the upper end of the shaft for supporting the handle(s) of one or more golf clubs. The pivot arm may be pivoted into a transverse position relative to the shaft. When the shaft is inserted vertically into the ground and the pivot arm is horizontally disposed, a plurality of clubs may be supported by the club stand, the head of each club resting on the ground and the handle of all clubs supported by the transverse arm.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application derives priority from U.S. provisional application No. 60/729,975 filed 25 Oct. 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to golf accessories, and more precisely, to a club stand to prevent the forgetting of spare clubs by standing them upright in a noticeable position when they are brought to a shot but not used.

2. Description of the Background

Golf clubs inevitably maintain well-stocked lost and found services for clubs that have been left behind. This is because it is exceedingly easy to forget clubs while golfing. Due to golf cart restrictions, golfers must typically take a range of different clubs to each shot. They use one of the clubs to execute the shot, but leave the rest lying nearby on the green or in the rough. Since golf clubs lie flat, the clubs provide almost no visual reminder to the golfer to retrieve the spare clubs. This is especially true when the clubs are obscured by thick grass. To execute the immediate shot, it is commonplace for the golfer to put the spare clubs out of his/her mind. The shot is typically followed by some measure of excitement or disappointment, and the golfer inevitably forgets the spare clubs completely. They move on to the next hole, and the clubs either wind up in the lost and found, or lost forever. Indeed, most all golfers have experienced the frustration of leaving a club on the previous green or fairway. What is needed to prevent this is a device to provide better visual cues after the shot, thereby providing a reminder and avoiding lost clubs. It would be greatly advantageous to provide a device that keeps the clubs off the ground, more visible and, consequently, harder to overlook because they are standing upright in plain view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a gold club stand for maintaining spare clubs in one place, erect and easily accessible, thereby helping to avoid lost clubs.

It is another object to provide a golf club stand for spare clubs that provides better visual cues after a shot, thereby avoiding lost clubs.

It is still another object to provide a golf club stand for spare clubs that is easily manipulated, and which has a profile similar to a golf club so that it can be stored like a club in the golfer's bag.

According to the present invention, the above-described and other objects are accomplished by providing a club stand to prevent the forgetting of spare clubs by standing them upright in a noticeable position when they are carried to a shot but are not used. The device generally comprises a shaft with a grip-handle similar to that of a golf club, and a sharp point at the distal end of the shaft to allow the club to be inserted into the ground. In addition, a pivot arm is secured to the upper end of the shaft for supporting the handle(s) of one or more golf clubs. The pivot arm may be pivoted into a transverse position relative to the shaft. When the shaft is inserted vertically into the ground and the pivot arm is horizontally disposed, a plurality of clubs may be supported by the club stand, the head of each club resting on the ground and the handle of all clubs supported by the transverse arm. This keeps the clubs off the ground and more visible. When they are standing upright in plain view they are harder to overlook and forget. The club stand is very easy to use and collapses for easy carrying in any golf bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and certain modifications thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a club stand 2 to encourage remembering of spare clubs 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention (illustrating how a conventional golf club 1 is supported).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a club stand 10 according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows the club stand 2 of the present invention and illustrates how three conventional golf clubs 1 are supported.

The club stand 2 comprises an elongate shaft 12 with a grip-handle 15 that may be a conventional aluminum or graphite golf club shaft with conventional golf grip pre-installed. The shaft 12 is equipped with a dull point 16 at the distal end to facilitate insertion into the ground. The point 16 may be a ground spike that is friction fit into the hollow shaft 12. A pivoting support arm 3 is attached to the neck of the shaft 12 just below the grip 15, the support arm 3 being equipped with hooked distal ends to retain the clubs. The support arm 3 pivots from a vertical position (parallel and flush with shaft 15) to horizontal (transverse to shaft 15). When support arm 3 is in the flush position, the club stand 2 can be more easily stowed and carried in the manner of all other clubs in the golfer's bag. When support arm 3 is in the transverse position, it supports as many as three clubs 1 in a vertical position, the head of each club 1 resting on the ground and the handle of the clubs 1 being cradled in the support arm 3.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a club stand 10 according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention. In an alternate embodiment, the support arm 11 of the club stand 10 can comprise first 13 and second 14 arms which are connected to the neck of the shaft 15 with hinges 17. The hinges 17 allow the first 13 and second 14 arms to expand to the horizontal position (transverse to the shaft 15) or close into the vertical position (parallel and flush with the shaft 15), thereby allowing the club stand 10 to be easily stowed. The club stand 10 may also include a clip 18 attached to the support arm 11. The clip 18 can hold cigars or cigarettes or any other item that a golfer would typically leave on the ground and possibly forget there. The support arm 11 of the alternate embodiment is preferably comprised of wood or metal. The hinges 17 are conventional metal hinges. The clip 18 is preferably plastic or metal and can be attached to a metal support arm with a magnet. One skilled in the art will understand that the any suitable materials may be used in the construction of the present invention.

In use, club stand 2, 10 is carried in the golfer's bag in the same manner as all other clubs 1. Whenever the golfer must take a variety of different clubs to a shot, they also remove the club stand 2, 10 and take it with them. When they use one of the clubs 1 to execute the shot, rather than leaving the other clubs 1 lying nearby on the green or in the rough, they are propped upright on the club stand 2, 10. The club stand 2, 10 is spiked into the ground so that it remains upright, and the support arm 3 is pivoted (or in the alternate embodiment, the support arm 11 is hingedly opened up) into the transverse position, and the spare clubs 1 are propped against it upright. Since now the golf clubs 1 are upright in plain view, they provide an unmistakable visual reminder to the golfer to retrieve the spare clubs 1.

One to three clubs 1 may be supported by the club stand 2, 10. Once attached, the club stand 2, 10 maintains the club(s) 1 in one place, erect and easily accessible, and it allows single-handed carrying and repositioning of the club stand 2, 10 and clubs 1 together simply by gripping the handle, pulling and reinserting.

Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiments and certain modifications of the concept underlying the present invention, it is to be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A golf club stand comprising:

a shaft having a top end and a distal end having a dull point for ground-insertion;

a grip-handle applied to said top end of said shaft; and

a support arm secured to neck of said shaft for supporting handles of one or more golf clubs, said support arm being moveable into a transverse position relative to said shaft.

2. A golf club stand according to claim 1 wherein said dull point comprises a ground-insertion spike.

3. A golf club stand according to claim 1, wherein said support arm comprises hooked distal ends for retaining golf clubs.

4. A golf club stand according to claim 1, wherein said support arm comprises a pivot arm secured to neck of said shaft for supporting handles of one or more golf clubs, said pivot arm being pivotable into a transverse position relative to said shaft.

5. A golf club stand according to claim 1, wherein said support arm comprises first and second arms hingedly connected to said neck of said shaft, said first and second arms being moveable into a transverse position relative to said shaft.

6. A golf club stand according to claim 1, further comprising a clip attached to said support arm for holding small items including cigars and cigarettes.

7. A golf club stand according to claim 6, further comprising a clip magnetically attached to said support arm for holding small items including cigars and cigarettes.

8. A golf club stand according to claim 1, wherein said elongate shaft is aluminum or graphite.