GOLF GRIP

Abstract

A golf grip with tread design and slanted indicia design.

Description

This application claims the benefit of provisional U.S. 61/710,260 filed Oct. 5, 2012.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to golf grips.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are various golf grips in the marketplace. The classic Vardon grip resulted in a V-line on a golf club grip. For many years players used this V line as a visual aid for proper placement of one's hands on the golf grip and remains the standard today.

While this has been a successful grip over the years, there remains a need to improve the grip. Accordingly, the instant invention represents such improvement and aid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object to improve a golf club grip.

It is another object to improve the method of gripping a golf club.

If is still another object to improve grip surface of a golf grip.

Accordingly, the instant invention is directed to a novel golf grip as shown and described in the drawings. The grip includes a plurality of ring-like structures which are axially spaced along the grip. The ring-like structures are of varying diameter and include a plurality of notched surfaces.

There is provided on the upper part of the handle a slanted dot (indicia) design which serves a dual function of an aesthetic design as well as a functional feature on the grip which enables repeatable placement his/her uppermost finger (pinky) in a desired position every time for a particular shot, such as a fade, straight shot or draw. The slanted dot design does not provide the user to solely by feel and without actually looking at the grip to assume a position which would be deemed “molded for the hands” and against the rules of golf. The invention is thus contrasted with an extreme example of a grip which would be ruled “molded for the hands” and is the type of “training grip” often used to help beginners.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the invention.

FIG. 5A is a cross section view of the invention.

FIG. 5B is a blown up portion of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 is a blown up portion of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a blown up portion of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is an end view.

FIG. 9 is a blown up of a portion of FIG. 4.

FIG. 10A is a front open end view.

FIG. 10B is a back butt end view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, the golf grip of the instant invention is generally designated by the numeral 10. The golf grip 10 as shown and described in the drawings includes a plurality of ring-like structures 12 which are axially spaced along the grip 10 and extend between front open end 11 and back butt end 13. The ring-like structures 12 are axially separated from one another to form a small gap therebetween as seen in FIG. 5B and 9, for example.

The ring-like structures 12 are of varying diameter moving from larger diameter structures 12 to narrower structures 12 from end 13 to end 11, respectively. These ring-like structures 12 include a plurality of notched surfaces 14 which can preferably be in staggered offset relation as best seen in FIG. 6 or 9, although it is contemplated these could be in axial alignment. These structures 12 serve to aid in the grip texture providing an ability to prevent the club grip from spinning in one's hand, especially when the grip 10 becomes wet from rain or sweat, for example. While the ring-like structures 12 are shown separate, it is contemplated within the invention that these can take a continuous spiral design.

An outer edge of one or more ring-like structure 12 can be tapered from larger to smaller diameter to follow the overall taper design of the grip 10. This is illustrated in FIG. 9 in viewing with edge 15 being tapered or chamfered to provide a descending angled edge. The tread design is believed to aid in better feel and grip to the user.

The top view is seen in FIG. 3, there can be provided an area 20 for a trademark logo shown here as Shot Dot® which is a registered trademark of G4 golf LLC. A logo can also be applied to end 13, shown here as Grip4orce® which is a registered trademark of G4 golf LLC. In addition, there are provided alignment markings 21 and 23 which serve to enable proper application of the grip 10 onto a club shaft. Preferably the alignment markings 21 and 23 are positioned axially in alignment in parallel with a leading edge of a club head attached to the shaft.

There are provided on upper side parts of the grip 10 a slanted dot (indicia) design 16 which serves a dual function of aesthetic as well as a certain functional feature on the grip 10. The slanted indicia design 16 enables a player's placement of his/her uppermost finger (pinky) in a desired position every time for a particular shot, e.g. fade, straight or draw shot. The slanted dot design (indicia) 16 can include one or more dots 18 or indicia. The slanted dot design 16 does not provide the user to solely by feel and without actually looking at the grip to assume a position which would be deemed “molded for the hands.” However, the slanted indicia 16 provide the user a unique and novel way to locate the position of his/her upper hand through positioning his/her pinky finger tip adjacent one of the dots 18 (or similarly formed indicia) which determines one's hand position on the grip 10 and in turn club face position for the desired shot. Specifically, the indicia 16 are formed on a slant. As seen in FIG. 4, the right side view relative to the top side of the grip 10 in FIG. 3, shows the indicia 16 slanted from higher (nearer butt end 13) to lower (nearer open end 11) for right handed players. Note, the left side view relative to the top in FIG. 3 of the grip 10 shows the indicia 16 slanted from higher (nearer end 13) to lower (nearer end 11) for left handed players. The dots 18 can preferably be color coded for a particular shot, such as red (fade), green (straight) and yellow (draw), for example.

The preferred embodiment is intended for illustrating only and is not intended for limiting the claims. As such, modifications, derivations and improvements are to be covered by the appended claims hereto. It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact details of operation or structure shown and described, as obvious modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A golf grip, which includes:

a plurality of ring-like structures of varying diameter to provide a tapered design and where said ring-like structures are axially spaced along said grip and extend between a front end and a back end of said grip.

2. The golf grip of claim 1, wherein said ring-like structures are axially separated from one another to form a small gap therebetween.

3. The golf grip of claim 1, wherein said ring-like structures include a plurality of notched surfaces.

4. The golf grip of claim 3, wherein one notched surface of a first ring-like structure is in off-set staggered relation to a notched surface of a second ring-like structure.

5. The golf grip of claim 3, wherein one notched surface of a first ring-like structure is axial alignment relation to a notched surface of a second ring-like structure.

6. The golf grip of claim 1, wherein an outer edge of at least one ring-like structure includes is tapered from a larger to a smaller diameter to follow said taper design of said grip.

7. The golf grip of claim 1, which further includes a slanted indicia design on an upper side part of said grip, wherein said slanted indicia when viewed from a side relative to a top side of said grip shows said indicia slanted from higher nearer a butt end of said grip to lower nearer an open end of said grip which enables one to locate position of one's upper hand through positioning one's pinky finger tip adjacent part of said slanted indicia which determines one's hand position on said grip and wherein said slanted indicia design does not provide the user to solely by feel and without actually looking at said grip to assume a position on said grip which would be deemed “molded for the hands” and against the rules of golf.

8. The golf grip of claim 7, wherein said indicia serves a dual function of an aesthetic design as well as a functional feature on said grip.

9. The golf grip of claim 8, wherein said indicia includes a plurality of dots.

10. The golf grip of claim 9, wherein said dots are color coded.

11. The golf grip of claim 8, wherein said indicia is characterized to include color coded indicia.

12. A golf grip, which includes:

includes a slanted indicia design on an upper side part of said grip, wherein said slanted indicia when viewed from a side relative to a top side of said grip shows said indicia slanted from higher nearer a butt end of said grip to lower nearer an open end of said grip which enables one to locate position of one's upper hand through positioning one's pinky finger tip adjacent part of said slanted indicia which determines one's hand position on said grip and wherein said slanted indicia design does not provide the user to solely by feel and without actually looking at said grip to assume a position on said grip which would be deemed “molded for the hands” and against the rules of golf.

13. The golf grip of claim 12, wherein said indicia serves a dual function of an aesthetic design as well as a functional feature on said grip.

14. The golf grip of claim 13, wherein said indicia includes a plurality of dots.

15. The golf grip of claim 14, wherein said dots are color coded.

16. The golf grip of claim 13, wherein said indicia is characterized to include color coded indicia.