Golf grip system

Abstract

This invention relates to a golf glove and club grip system having a marking or markings on the glove, the club grip or both for registration with the thumb pad of a golfer. Registration of a golfer's thumb pad with the marking(s) assists correct hand positioning on the club grip. Additionally the markings may indicate a particular club grip size or glove size that matches a complimentary glove or club grip size determined by the size of a golfer's hand.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to systems for obtaining a correct hand position about a golf club grip.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Fundamental to the game of golf is obtaining a correct hand position on the golf club grip. Professional golfing tutors provide lessons teaching correct hand positioning. However, when the tutors are not available, for example during normal play, the hand positioning will often deteriorate. To address this problem, golf gloves with markings to assist correct hand positioning have been proposed. For example US Patents U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,686, U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,874 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,065 disclose golf gloves having markings that are said to assist players to reliably produce effective grip of the club. To the inventors' knowledge these gloves are not commercially available and are not part of the common general knowledge.

Further, poor hand positioning is also caused by golf club grip sizes not being matched to the golfer's hand size. This adversely affects control of the golf club.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a golf glove and grip system, a golf glove, a golf grip, a range of club grips, a method to assist a golfer or a method of fitting a golfer with golf clubs to assist the correct gripping of a golf club or to address the above-mentioned difficulties or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

In a first aspect the present invention provides a method to assist a golfer to correctly position their hands on a golf club grip comprising or including the steps of:

• • wearing on the intended top hand a glove having a first marking on the thumb portion;
  • selecting a golf club having a grip with a first indicium adapted for alignment with the first marking of the glove;
  • aligning the first marking with the first indicium and closing the hand to thereby grip the club.

Preferably in use the first marking is contacted with the first indicium.

In second aspect the present invention provides a golf club and grip system to assist correct hand positioning comprising or including:

• • a golf grip having a first indicium thereon;
  • a golf glove having a first marking on the thumb portion of the glove;
  • wherein in use the first indicium and the first marking are aligned with each other to indicate a correct top hand thumb position on the golf club grip.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a golf club grip comprising or including a first indicium that in use is aligned with the thumb pad of a golfer's hand.

In a fourth aspect the present invention provides a golf glove, for use with a golf grip having a first indicium thereon, to assist correct hand positioning on a golf club, said golf glove comprising or including:

• • a first marking on the thumb of the glove, wherein in use the first indicium and the first marking are aligned with each other to indicate a correct top hand thumb position on the golf club grip.

In a further aspect the present invention provides a golf grip for use with a golf glove having a marking on the thumb of the glove, said grip having a complimentary indicium to the marking on the glove,

wherein in use the glove and grip together assist the user's placement and alignment of their top hand thumb on the grip.

Desirably the markings and indicia are contact markings and indicia, such that in use when the user correctly grips the golf club, the marking on the glove substantially contacts the complimentary indicium on the grip.

Desirably a second indicium is a line provided on the grip that in use is aligned with the base of the fingers of the user.

Desirably a third indicium is provided on the grip. The third indicium is shaped for alignment with the crook formed between the thumb and forefinger of the lower hand of a golfer.

Desirably the size of the grip is matched to the size of the golfer's hand(s). The size of the grip is matched to the golfer's hand size by changing the diameter of the grip.

Desirably the first marking on the glove thumb overlies a wearer's thumb pad located on the distal phalanx of the thumb. The first marking provides a reference for alignment with the first indicium on the grip.

Preferably the marking on the thumb of the glove substantially covers the thumb pad of the glove, and the indicia on the grip has a matching outline to the thumb pad of the glove.

Optionally a second marking is provided on the glove and a second indicium is provided on the golf grip. The second marking provides a reference point for alignment with the second indicium on the grip.

Desirably the second marking on the glove comprises a narrow line or a broad corridor or both extending across the base of the fingers on the palm side of the glove. The narrow line is positioned to match against the second indicium of the grip when a user holds the club with a correct grip. The broad corridor provides a reference guide for the path of the club grip across the palm that can be checked without substantially releasing the glove from the club.

Desirably the second marking includes both a narrow line and a broad corridor, and the narrow line is off centre with respect to the corridor.

Desirably the narrow line and/or corridor are angled at between about 20° to about 40° from a horizontal line across the golf glove, more desirably between about 25° and about 35°, most desirably 32°.

Typically for a right handed golfer the golf glove will be adapted for the left hand of the golfer and for a left handed golfer the golf glove will be adapted for the right hand of the golfer. Both a left and right hand glove being may be provided for the golfer.

For a right handed golfer the markings of the glove and grip are configured to position the hand(s) to the right of the centre of the golf club grip. For a left handed golfer the markings of the glove and grip are configured to position the hand(s) to the left of the centre of the golf club grip. Preferably the markings are configured to assist a user to maintain any one of the following grips: Overlap or Vardon grip; Interlocking grip; or Baseball or Ten Finger grip.

Desirably the markings will be on the palm side of the glove, so that in use they form a contact alignment with the indicia on the club grip. Alternatively the markings could be on the non-palm side of the glove, so that in use they form a visual alignment with the complimentary indicia on the club grip.

Desirably the size and shape of the markings and indicia are matched to the size of the golfer's hands.

In another aspect the present invention provides a range of club grips with different external diameters comprising or including indicia on the club grips, and a complimentary range of sized golf gloves provided with markings that match with indicia on a suitably sized grip, wherein in use the indicia assist a golfer to select a club grip matched to their hand size.

In a further aspect the present invention provides a glove comprising a marking representing the size of the glove, wherein in use gripping a club the marking is aligned with an indicium on a club grip, said indicium also representing the diameter of the grip.

In yet a further aspect the present invention provides a method of fitting a golfer with golf clubs comprising the steps of:

• • fitting a golfer with a glove or gloves from a range of gloves having different markings depending on the size of the glove; and
  • selecting grips or clubs with grips from a range of grips or clubs with grips having different indicia depending on the external diameter of the grip, wherein said selected grips or clubs with grips have indicia matched to the markings on the fitted glove or gloves.

Other aspects of the invention may become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As used herein the term “and/or” means “and” or “or”, or both.

As used herein “(s)” following a noun means the plural and/or singular forms of the noun.

The term “comprising” as used in this specification and claims means “consisting at least in part of”. When interpreting statements in this specification and claims which include that term, the features, prefaced by that term in each statement, all need to be present but other features can also be present. Related terms such as “comprise” and “comprised” are to be interpreted in the same manner.

It is intended that reference to a range of numbers disclosed herein (for example, 1 to 10) also incorporates reference to all rational numbers within that range (for example, 1, 1.1, 2, 3, 3.9, 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 8, 9 and 10) and also any range of rational numbers within that range (for example, 2 to 8, 1.5 to 5.5 and 3.1 to 4.7).

In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1a is a top view of a grip of the present invention.

FIG. 1b is an end view of a grip of the present invention.

FIG. 1c is a view of the first indicium on a grip of the present invention.

FIG. 2a is a diagram of a men's glove of the present invention.

FIG. 2b is a view of a ladies' glove of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view of several glove palms of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view of several club grips of the present invention.

FIGS. 5a to 5g show the use of the glove and grip of the present invention are used to assist a golfer obtaining correct hand positioning.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Both the singular and plural terms ‘indicium’ and ‘marking’ as used in this specification refer to visual references provided on the grip and glove respectively and may be formed using varying colours, textures, shapes and materials to identify a particular line, point or area.

The figures and following description refer to gloves for a right handed golf player. The scope of the invention also includes club grips and gloves adapted for use by left handed players.

FIG. 1a is a top view of a grip of the present invention. A first indicium 116 provides a thumb reference. The thumb reference is intended to be contacted by the thumb of a golfer. Preferably the thumb reference is shaped to match against the thumb print of the user and will typically have an oval shape. The thumb reference is desirably offset from the centreline of the club by a distance 121 of about 0.13 inches.

FIG. 1c shows a thumb reference in more detail. Typically the thumb reference has a length of about 1.12 inches and a width of about 0.75 inches.

A second indicium 114 is a line reference that is intended to match against a line on the palm of the preferred complementary glove. Preferably the line reference is offset by an angle 129 between about 40° to about 70° from the centreline of the club 112. More preferably for a men's grip the line reference is about 50° offset from to the centreline of the club and for a ladies grip the line reference is offset by about 40° offset from to the centreline of the club.

The third indicium 118 is shaped to in use align with the crook formed between the forefinger and the thumb on the lower hand of the golfer when the club is gripped. While the shape of the third indicium 118 is illustrated as a ‘V’ in FIG. 1a, it will be appreciated that other shapes such as a single line or a dot or a coloured area may also be used. Preferably angle 123 is about 60° and angle 125 is about 50°.

The length 126 of third indicium 118, the distance 128 between the first and third indicia, and the length 120 of the second indicium 114 all vary according to the size of the golfer's hand. The length of the grip may also vary according to the club type, among other things.

FIG. 1b is an end view of a club grip of the present invention. An angle of between about 40° to about 70°, preferably about 50° for a men's grip and about 40° for a women's gripis provided between the centreline of the club grip 112 and the second indicium 114. The core diameter 110 of the grip is varied according to the size of the golfer's hand.

An additional marking (not shown) is provided on the grip to assist the correct fitting of the grip to the club using known in the art techniques. The grip must be accurately aligned to ensure the correct positioning of the indicia 114, 116 and 118 relative to the club shaft and club head.

FIGS. 2a and 2b are illustrations of a men's and women's golf glove 208 and 209 of the present invention. The following description relates to the men's golf glove as illustrated in FIG. 2a. A first marking 210 is provided on the thumb of the glove. The marking 210 will align with the first indicium 116 on the club grip. The marking is preferably a patch that is oval in shape and corresponds to the thumb print of the user. Preferably the marking is on the palm side of the glove.

A second marking 212 is provided across the base of the fingers and may comprise a corridor 212b and/or a line 212a. In FIG. 2 both a corridor 212b and a line 212a are provided. Preferably the second marking 212 is provided at an angle 218 of 32° from a horizontal line extending across the palm of the glove.

In use the corridor 212b will align with a golf grip to confirm a correct hand position. The width 214 of the corridor 212b will typically be commensurate with the width 110 of the grip. Both the width of the corridor 212b and the grip will vary according to the user's hand size.

In use the line 212a will align with a corresponding reference line 114 on a grip to confirm a correct hand position. Typically when both the corridor 212b and line 212a are present the line will be within the corridor. Preferably the line will be off-center within the corridor. Typically the line will be spaced a distance 216 of about 0.157 inches (4 mm) from the lower edge of the corridor FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a range of colour coded gloves and grips of the present invention.

Each glove and grip size has a unique colour to assist a golfer to select a glove and grip matched to the golfer's hand size. Table 1 below sets out the reference numerals applied to the glove and grip sizes illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

	TABLE 1
	Ladies S	Ladies M	Ladies L	Mens S	Mens M	Mens ML	Mens L	Mens XL
Glove Ref.	311	312	313	314	315	316	317	318
Grip Ref.	411	412	413	414	415	416	417	418
Colour	Pink	Light	Gold	Light	Orange	Red	Green	Dark
		Blue		Yellow				Blue
Key:
S Small
M Medium
ML Medium Large
L Large
XL Extra Large

Table 2 below contains data showing how the indicia and markings on the preferred golf grip and glove vary according to the user's hand size. The data provided refers to the dimensions set out in FIGS. 1b, 2a and 2b and explained above.

	TABLE 2
	Grip	Glove
		120	128	126	110	214	216	218
Size	Colour	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(degrees)
Mens S	Light	5.545	1.515	1.0	0.935	1.187	0.157	32
	Yellow
Mens M	Orange	5.625	1.675	1.0	0.950	1.187	0.157	32
Mens	Red	5.705	1.835	1.0	0.965	1.187	0.157	32
ML
Mens L	Green	5.785	1.995	1.0	0.980	1.187	0.157	32
Mens	Dark Blue	5.865	2.155	1.0	0.995	1.187	0.157	32
XL
	Grip	Glove
		120	128	126	110	224	226	228
Size	Colour	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(inches)	(degrees)
Ladies S	Pink	5.545	1.035	1.0	0.900	1.0	0.157	32
Ladies M	Light Blue	5.625	1.195	1.0	0.915	1.0	0.157	32
Ladies L	Gold	5.705	1.355	1.0	0.930	1.0	0.157	32
Key:
S Small
M Medium
ML Medium Large
L Large
XL Extra Large

FIGS. 5a to 5g show how the golf glove and grip of the present invention are used to assist a right handed golfer obtain a correct hand position. A left handed golfer follows the same steps with the left and right hand instructions reversed.

In FIG. 5a the golfer places the head of a golf club having the grip of the present invention on the ground. The face of the club is aimed towards the target area for a golf ball. In this orientation the indicia on the grip will be facing upward and away from the golfer.

In FIG. 5b the golfer places the first marking of the glove (the ‘thumb pad’) onto the first indicia of the grip (the ‘thumb pad reference’).

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 5c, the golfer closes his/her fingers about the grip. FIG. 5d shows that the left hand of the golfer is now correctly position on the golf club. The line formed between the thumb and the forefinger on the left hand points towards the right shoulder.

FIG. 5e illustrates how a second mark on the glove (the ‘palm line’) and second indicium on the grip (the ‘line reference’) can be used to check if hand positioning is correct. The golfer opens their left hand to check if the palm line and line reference are aligned. The palm line may include a broad corridor and a narrow line. The broad corridor should align with the width of the grip and assists checking alignment while minimizing the extent to which the golfer must open their left hand. This reduces the risk of the club grip moving relative to the glove and spoiling alignment. The narrow line indicates precise alignment of the glove and grip, but requires the user to roll their hand open to check correct contact alignment.

In FIG. 5f the right hand is placed on the grip so the grip runs across the base of the fingers with a small gap to the forefinger.

The golfer then wraps their right hand on top of their left hand and aligns their right forefinger and right thumb with a third indicium on the grip as illustrated by FIG. 5g.

The golfer's right thumb pad sits atop the left thumb and the line formed between the right forefinger and right thumb is parallel to the line formed between the left thumb and left forefinger.

The golf club grips can have a range of different external diameters and can include indicia of varying geometry and size matched to the hand size of a golfer. A complimentary range of sized golf gloves with markings of varying geometry and size matched to a suitable grip may also be provided.

In use a golfer will select a suitable glove(s) matched to their hand size from the range of gloves. A grip or a club with a grip is selected that matches the glove and the hand size of the golfer such that in use the markings on the glove and grip will align when the golfer's hand(s) are correctly positioned about the grip.

The golf glove may be made from leather, knotted acrylic material, cotton, wool, transversely isotropic material or any other suitable material. The glove markings may be printed on the glove, or stained or otherwise made noticeable on the background glove material.

Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to elements or integers having known equivalents, then such equivalents are included as if they were individually set forth.

The foregoing describes the invention and a preferred form(s) thereof. Alterations and modifications as will be obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be incorporated within the scope hereof. For example: the golf club grip can be configured for direct registration with the thumb pad of the golfer without a glove.

Claims

1. A golf glove and grip system to assist correct hand positioning comprising or including:

a golf grip having a first indicium thereon; and

a golf glove having a first marking on the thumb portion of the glove;

wherein in use the first indicium and the first marking are aligned with each other to indicate a correct top hand thumb position on the golf club grip.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the diameter of the golf grip is matched to the size of a golfer's hands.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein a second marking is provided on the glove and a second indicium is provided on the golf grip, said second marking and said second indicium configured such that in use the second marking provides a reference point for alignment with the second indicium on the grip.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3 wherein the second marking on the glove comprises at least one of a narrow line and a broad corridor extending across the base of the fingers on the palm side of the glove.

5. A system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second marking on the glove comprises at least one of:

a narrow line positioned to in use match against the second indicium of the grip when a user holds the club with a correct grip; and

a broad corridor configured to in use provide a reference guide for the path of the club grip across the palm that can be checked without substantially releasing the glove from the club.

6. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second marking includes both a narrow line and a broad corridor, and the narrow line is off centre with respect to the corridor.

7. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the narrow line and/or corridor are angled at between about 20° to about 40° from a horizontal line across the golf glove.

8. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the narrow line and/or corridor are angled at about 32° from a horizontal line across the golf glove.

9. A system as claimed in claim 1, said system configured for a right handed golfer, wherein the markings of the glove and the indicia of the grip are configured to position the hand(s) of the golfer to the right of the centre of the golf club grip.

10. A system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the glove is adapted for the left hand of the golfer.

11. A system as claimed in claim 1, said system configured for a left handed golfer, wherein the markings of the glove and the indicia of the grip are configured to position the hand(s) of the golfer to the left of the centre of the golf club grip.

12. A system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the glove is adapted for the right hand of the golfer.

13. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the markings are on the palm side of the glove, so that in use they form a contact alignment with the indicia on the club grip.

14. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the markings are on the non-palm side of the glove, so that in use they form a visual alignment with the complimentary indicia on the club grip.

15. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the size, shape, and position of the markings and indicia are matched to the size of a golfer's hands.

16. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first indicium is a thumb dot on the grip.

17. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first marking is a thumb dot on the thumb pad of the glove.

18. A system as claimed in claim 16 wherein the thumb dot is ovally shaped have a length of between about 20 mm to about 50 mm and a width of between about 10 mm to about 40 mm.

19. A golf glove, for use with a golf grip having a first indicium thereon, to assist correct hand positioning on a golf club, said golf glove comprising or including:

a first marking on the thumb of the glove,

wherein in use the first indicium and the first marking are aligned with each other to indicate a correct top hand thumb position on the golf club grip.

20. A golf glove as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first marking on the glove thumb overlies a wearer's thumb pad located on the distal phalanx of the thumb.

21. A golf glove as claimed in claim 19, wherein the marking on the thumb of the glove substantially covers the thumb pad of the glove, and the indicia on the grip has a matching outline to the thumb pad of the glove.

22. A golf glove as claimed in claim 19, wherein at least one of the markings and indicia are contact markings or indicia, such that in use when the user correctly grips the golf club, a marking on the glove substantially contacts the complimentary indicium on the grip.

23. A golf club grip including a first indicium on the golf club grip that in use is aligned with the thumb pad of a golfer's hand.

24. A golf club grip as claimed in claim 23 wherein said indicium comprises a thumb dot that in use is aligned with the distal phalanx pad of a golfer's thumb.

25. A golf club grip as claimed in claim 23 wherein said indicium substantially overlies the centreline of the grip.

26. A golf club grip as claimed in claim 23, wherein the thumb dot is ovally shaped have a length of between about 20 mm to about 50 mm and a width of between about 10 mm to about 40 mm.

27. A golf club grip as claimed in claim 23 for use with a golf glove having a marking on the thumb of the glove, said grip having a complimentary indicium to the marking on the glove,

wherein in use the glove and grip together assist the user's placement and alignment of their top hand thumb on the grip.

28. A golf grip as claimed in claim 27, wherein a second indicium is provided on the grip, said second indicium comprising a line that in use is aligned with the base of the fingers of the user.

29. A golf grip as claimed in claim 27, wherein a third indicium is provided on the grip, said third indicium being shaped for, in use, alignment with the crook formed between the thumb and forefinger of the lower hand of a golfer.

30. A golf grip as claimed in claim 27, wherein at least one of the markings and indicia are contact markings or indicia, such that in use when the user correctly grips the golf club, a marking on the glove substantially contacts the complimentary indicium on the grip.

31. A golf grip as claimed in claim 27, wherein at least one of the diameter of the grip and the length of the grip is matched to the size of the golfer's hand(s).

32. A method to assist a golfer to correctly position their hands on a golf club grip comprising or including the steps of:

wearing on the intended top hand a glove having a first marking on the thumb portion;

selecting a golf club having a grip with a first indicium adapted for alignment with the first marking of the glove; and

aligning the first marking with the first indicium and closing the hand to thereby grip the club.

33. A method as claimed in claim 32 wherein in use the first marking is contacted with the first indicium.

34. A range of club grips with different external diameters comprising or including indicia on the club grips, and a complimentary range of sized golf gloves provided with markings that match with indicia on a suitably sized grip, wherein in use the indicia assist a golfer to select a club grip matched to their hand size.

35. A range of club grips as claimed in claim 34, wherein the diameter of the grip is matched to the size of a golfer's hands.

36. A range of club grips as claimed in claim 34, wherein the size, position or both of the indicia is matched to the size of a golfer's hands.

37. A glove comprising a marking representing the size of the glove, wherein in use gripping a club the marking is aligned with an indicium on a club grip, said indicium also representing the diameter of the grip.

38. A glove according to claim 37 wherein the glove has a predetermined size and the marking comprises at least one of a shape, colour and pattern that matches at least one of a shape, colour and pattern on a grip having the same predetermined size.

39. A method of fitting a golfer with golf clubs comprising the steps of:

fitting a golfer with a glove or gloves from a range of gloves having different markings depending on the size of the glove; and

selecting grips or clubs with grips from a range of grips or clubs with grips having different indicia depending on the external diameter of the grip, wherein said selected grips or clubs with grips have indicia matched to the markings on the fitted glove or gloves.

40. A method according to claim 38 wherein the markings on the glove or gloves comprises at least one of a shape, colour and pattern that matches at least one of a shape, colour and pattern on the selected grip.