Golf Swing Trainer

Abstract

A golf swing trainer includes a first tube with a first attachment arm that extends therefrom; a second tube at least partially telescoped into the first tube, the second tube having a second attachment arm that extends therefrom; a fourth attachment arm coupled to the first attachment arm for securing the first tube to a shaft of a golf club; a fifth attachment arm coupled to the second attachment arm for securing the second tube to the shaft of the golf club; and a weight movable within the first tube and the second tube. A method for pause drill training includes attaching a golf swing trainer to a shaft of a golf club such that a weight within the golf swing trainer is freely movable within a first tube and a second tube, the second tube at least partially telescoped into the first tube.

Description

The present disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Disclosure Ser. No. 63/217,241 filed Jun. 30, 1921, whose disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into the present disclosure.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a golf swing trainer that facilitates teaching a pause drill.

The pause drill is a popular golf drill taught by many PGA professional certified instructors. The main purpose of a pause is to load weight and power that starts from the beginning of the golf swing. It sets up the perfect storm for gravity to take over on the downswing and maximum speed unleashed into the ball. Those who pause are also known to be strategists on the golf course. They like to pick away at their targets and hit the ball relatively straight with very little curvature. It's also common to see those that pause to have amazing balance throughout their swing.

Most tempo training tools are electronic or only contain noise making devices without any feedback that can be felt in the hands (vibration).

SUMMARY

A golf swing trainer according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first tube with a first attachment arm that extends therefrom; a second tube at least partially telescoped into the first tube, the second tube having a second attachment arm that extends therefrom; a fourth attachment arm coupled to the first attachment arm for securing the first tube to a shaft of a golf club; a fifth attachment arm coupled to the second attachment arm for securing the second tube to the shaft of the golf club; and a weight movable within the first tube and the second tube.

The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in light of the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be appreciated that however the following description and drawings are intended to be exemplary in nature and non-limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the disclosed non-limiting embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 illustrates use of a golf swing trainer for teaching a pause drill according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates another view of using a golf swing trainer for teaching a pause drill.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a golf swing trainer for teaching a pause drill.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a golf swing trainer for teaching a pause drill.

FIG. 5 a schematic view of the golf swing trainer showing operation thereof.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a golf swing trainer for teaching a pause drill according to another disclosed non-limiting embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the golf swing trainer according to another disclosed non-limiting embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a golf swing trainer also referred to herein as a tubular tempo device 100 that teaches a golfer 101 to consistently repeat a pause at a top of a back swing. The tubular tempo device 100 allows the golfer 101 to adjust the configuration thereof to accommodate desired tempo. If the golfer 101 wants to practice a longer pause, he/she simply extends the size of the tube 105.

A weight 303, such as the example elongated steel ball bearing (FIG. 3) on the inside of the tube 105, operates as a physical and audible trigger to begin the downswing, shown in FIG. 2 When the weight hits an end point it causes a vibration that can be felt in the golfer's hands. The longer distance that the weight has to travel will naturally cause a length to the pause.

The tubular tempo device 100 assists a golfer 101 to start a down swing when the weight hits the bottom of the tube 105 near the hands, at the top of the back swing. The tubular tempo device 100 attaches to any standard golf club 102 and can be adjusted. The adjustable length of tubular tempo device 100 is specific to gravity's natural speed of a free falling object, (i.e., 9.8 meters per square second) providing a good range of tempo options.

The tubular tempo device 100 facilitates amateur and professional golfers to dial in the start of the downswing. A good golf swing is very consistent and repeatable; and the tubular tempo device 100 provides unique way to hear and feel a consistent golf swing.

FIG. 3 illustrates components of the tubular tempo device 100. The tubular tempo device 100 generally includes a pair of interlocking tubes 301-302, each of which have a pair of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-n at a closed end of each interlocking tube 301-302, a pair of securing attachment arms 305a-b, and a weight 303.

The second of the two interlocking tubes 302 fits within the first interlocking tube 301 and the position of each tube relative to the other may be adjusted to lengthen and shorten the total length of the combined interlocking tubes 301-302. Each of the interlocking tubes 301-302 may contain a flat alignment slot 304a-b on an outside surface of the interlocking tubes 301-302 to prevent the combined interlocking tubes 301-302 from rotating relative to each other when combined. The weight 303 also may be a sphere in alternate embodiments.

The weight 303 is placed within the combined interlocking tubes 301-302 before they are assembled. When the interlocking tubes 301-302 are assembled, the two pairs of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-b are positioned at opposite ends of the combined interlocking tubes 301-302. When so combined, the tubular tempo device 100 may be attached to a shaft of a golf club 102, preferably adjacent to a user's grip.

To attach the tubular tempo device 100 to the shaft of the golf club 102, the two pairs of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-b are placed adjacent to the club shaft between the pair of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-b at each end of the tubular tempo device 100. Each of the pair of securing attachment arms 305a-b is placed around the club shaft in an orientation that permits this pair of securing attachment arms 305a-b to be coupled to the corresponding pair of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-b. In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 3, the pair of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-b and the pair of securing attachment arms 305a-b are secured using a screw, pin or similar device that passes through the pair of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-b and the pair of securing attachment arms 305a-b when they are together. The pair of attachment arms 311a-b, 312a-b and the pair of securing attachment arms 305a-b, when coupled together, hold the tubular tempo device 100 in a configured location on the club shaft 102.

When the tubular tempo device 100 is so attached to the club shaft 102, the pair of interlocking tubes 301-302 may be telescoped inward/outward to change the total length of the tubular tempo device 100 on the club shaft 102. The total length of the tubular tempo device 100 defines the length of delay the golfer is practicing before beginning a down swing.

FIG. 4 illustrates operation of a golf swing trainer for teaching a pause drill. The tubular tempo device 100 is shown in FIG. 4 with the interlocking telescoping tubes 301-302 connected together and the weight 303 within the pair of tubes. The tubular tempo device 100 is shown in FIG. 4 in its orientation before the golfer 101 begins a back swing. Initially, the tubular tempo device 100 is oriented as shown in FIG. 4 in which gravity has caused the elongated ball bearing 303 to rest at a bottom end of the tubular tempo device 100.

When the golfer 101 begins a back swing, the tubular tempo device 100 follows an essentially circular path 401 upward as the club shaft 102 swings upward. This movement of the club shaft 102, with the tubular tempo device 100 attached as shown in FIG. 3, imposes centrifugal force upon the weight 303 to keep it at its present end of the interlocking tubes 301-302 of the tubular tempo device 100.

FIG. 5 illustrates operation of the tubular tempo device 100 for teaching a pause drill. When the golfer 101 stops the back swing at the top of its swing, the tubular tempo device 100 is now oriented into a position as shown in FIG. 5. The stoppage of the movement of the club shaft 102 and the attached tubular tempo device 100 eliminates the centrifugal force holding the weight 303 in place allowing the weight 303 to fall 501 within the tubular tempo device 100.

The weight 303 begins to fall as the golfer 101 is beginning the pause at the top of the back swing before beginning the down swing. The amount of time required by the weight to reach the opposite end of the tubular tempo device 100 is determined by the current configured length of the tubular tempo device 100. When the weight 303 reaches the opposite end of the tubular tempo device 100, the golfer will detect the impact of the weight 303 against the inner end of the tubular tempo device 100.

The detection of this impact informs the golfer 101 that the pause has lasted the length of time as determined by the tubular tempo device 100 in its current configuration and the golfer may begin the down swing. By repeating this exercise while swinging the golf club 102, the golfer 101 can train in waiting a desired and consistent length of time between the end of the back swing and the beginning of the down swing that results in consistent swings of the golf club 102 and better play.

In some embodiments, the weight 303 may be changeable. The tubular tempo device 100 may include multiple different elongated steel ball bearings 303 with each having a different weight. When a golfer 101 desires to add resistance, a heavier weight 303 may be placed within the interlocking tubes 301-302 when the tubular tempo device 100 is configured. Similarly, the golfer 101 may decrease the weight of the elongated steel ball bearings 303 by using a lighter weight 303. By adding a heavier weighted weight 303, golfers 101 can increase their swing speeds and their distance by strengthening golf swing muscles.

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of tubular tempo device 100 which utilizes a singular tubular, non-telescoping body 400 that is attached to the golf shaft with attachments 500 that screw into each end of the body 400 (FIG. 7). The tubular tempo device 100 may include an air hole to facilitate movement of the weight 303. The attachments 500 may include two portions that are clamped together by a screw 510 or other fastener to clamp onto the golf club shaft. In one example, the tubular tempo device 100 can be between 3 and 12 inches in length with a weight of a diameter of 0.375″(⅜″).

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the present application, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the invention. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in this application. In other words, any of the features mentioned in this application may be included in this new invention in any combination or combinations to allow the functionality required for the desired operations.

Although the different non-limiting embodiments have specific illustrated components, the embodiments of this invention are not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from any of the non-limiting embodiments in combination with features or components from any of the other non-limiting embodiments.

The foregoing description is exemplary rather than defined by the limitations within. Various non-limiting embodiments are disclosed herein, however, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that various modifications and variations in light of the above teachings will fall within the scope of the appended claims. It is therefore to be appreciated that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced other than as specifically described. For that reason the appended claims should be studied to determine true scope and content.

Claims

1. A golf swing trainer, comprising:

a first tube with a first attachment arm that extends therefrom;

a second tube at least partially telescoped into the first tube, the second tube having a second attachment arm that extends therefrom;

a fourth attachment arm coupled to the first attachment arm for securing the first tube to a shaft of a golf club, the first tube parallel to the shaft;

a fifth attachment arm coupled to the second attachment arm for securing the second tube to the shaft of the golf club; and

a weight movable within the first tube and the second tube.

2. The golf swing trainer as recited in claim 1, wherein the fourth attachment arm is coupled to the first attachment arm via a screw and the fifth attachment arm is coupled to the second attachment arm via a screw.

3. The golf swing trainer as recited in claim 1, wherein the weight is spherical.

4. The golf swing trainer as recited in claim 1, wherein the weight is cylindrical.

5. The golf swing trainer as recited in claim 1, wherein the first attachment arm is adjacent to a closed end of the first tube.

6. The golf swing trainer as recited in claim 1, wherein the second attachment arm is adjacent to a closed end of the second tube.

7. A golf swing trainer, comprising:

a first tube;

a first attachment that is mounted to a first end of the first tube for securing the first tube to a shaft of a golf club, the first tube parallel to the shaft;

a second attachment that is mounted to a second end of the first tube opposite the first end for securing the first tube to the shaft of the golf club; and

a weight movable within the first tube.

8. The golf swing trainer as recited in claim 7, wherein the first attachment and the second attachment are threaded into the first tube.

9. A method for pause drill training, comprising:

attaching a golf swing trainer to a shaft of a golf club such that a weight within the golf swing trainer is freely movable within a first tube as the golf club is swung.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising a second tube that is at least partially telescoped into the first tube to define a desired distance between a closed end of the first tube and a closed end of the second tube.