GOLF GRIP

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE SYSTEM

Hand placement in golf is a crucial aspect of the game, significantly affecting a player's ability to control the club and execute consistent, accurate shots, while learning the game more quickly and reducing injury. Proper hand placement, commonly referred to as the grip, is the foundation of a good golf swing. It directly influences the clubface's position at impact, which in turn determines the direction and flight of the ball. A proper grip helps ensure that the clubface returns square to the target line, promoting straighter shots and reducing the chances of curving the golf ball too much to the left or right.

A correct grip also plays a vital role in maintaining the proper wrist hinge throughout the swing. The wrist hinge is essential for generating clubhead speed and power. With the right hand placement, golfers can achieve a more natural and efficient wrist action, leading to better distance control and more powerful shots. Conversely, an incorrect grip can lead to tension in the hands and forearms, restricting the fluidity of the swing, forcing the golfer to subconsciously compensate which frequently results in poor ball contact and a golf ball that does not perform straight.

Furthermore, proper hand placement helps achieve a balanced and repeatable swing. Golf is a game of precision and consistency, and a proper grip allows golfers to develop a reliable swing pattern while minimizing the need to manipulate an out of position club face. This consistency is key to building confidence on the course. When a golfer knows their grip is correct, they can focus more on other aspects of their game, such as alignment, tempo, and scoring without worrying about that major fundamental starting point of their swing.

However, one of the hardest things to do is to have the golf club in the proper position and orientation when you strike the ball. Because every golfer is different, and every golfer's swing is different, it may be difficult for the golfer to determine how best to hold the golf club to get consistent and desired results.

Although the game of golf does not work well with a one size fits all model, many guides and instructors attempt to teach all golfers the same way. The advantages to the one size fits all model is that it is more easily understandable and matches up to a “perfection” ideology. The downside to that is that there are no perfect humans and it's much more important to understand balancing match ups from an application and performance standpoint with the game of golf. That means digging deeper and/or pushing back on the current accepted cultural normal, which leads to deeper, personal problem solving. An improper grip is the first place to look at, to impact and improve many faulty techniques.

For many golfers, they do not have their hands on the tool/golf club in the matching/balancing characteristics of how their body is designed, whether that be measured through varying levels of flexibility and strength, or due to an unforeseen injury. Due to these concepts, These golfers also may not be physically capable of implementing the culturally accepted, perfection standard techniques of golf, and may not have the correct impactful technical thought to positively change their game.

During the swing motion, a golfer may need to apply different forces to the club with their hands during the swing in an effort to correct a club face that will not return to straight at impact. If a golfer knows the kind of force that occurs during their own swing, it may be possible to balance that movement by gripping the club in a different location prior to the swing, so that when the golf club strikes the ball, the golf club head will be in the right, square position.

SUMMARY

The present apparatus is a golf grip for use on a golf club. The golf grip includes markings on the top and bottom of the grip that help a golfer properly align their hands on the club in a consistent manner. In one embodiment, the markings comprise a clock face with 12 numbered locations and tic marks between the numbers. In one embodiment the numbers and lines from 12 to 6 are of one color and the numbers and lines from 6 to 12 are of a second color. The grip in one embodiment includes grooves along the length of the grip, where each groove extends from one of the clock numbers. In one embodiment the grooves are of the same color as the numbers from which they extend. In one embodiment, the groove from twelve o'clock is a third color.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the grip in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cap of the grip in an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cap and grooves in an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the shaft of the grip in an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM

An embodiment of a golf grip is illustrated in the perspective view of FIG. 1. The grip 100 of a golf club is generally cylindrical, frusto-conical shaped tube 102 that is hollow with a slightly tapered profile. The grip is thicker at the top end of the shaft and gradually becomes thinner towards the bottom end of the shaft. This tapering helps golfers achieve a comfortable and secure grip. Golf grips are typically made from rubber or synthetic materials. Rubber grips provide a tacky feel that many golfers prefer, while synthetic grips can offer durability and weather resistance. Golf grips come in various sizes and thicknesses to accommodate different hand sizes and preferences.

The grip 100 of the present apparatus comprises an end cap 101 and shaft 102. The shaft 102 includes grooves, such as groove 103, that extend nearly the entire length of the grip 100. In an embodiment, the end cap 101 includes a series of markings used to help orient the golfers hands on the grip 100. As shown in FIG. 1, there may also be a series of markings 104 at the bottom of the shaft 102.

A plan view of the end cap 101 is illustrated in FIG. 2. The end cap in one embodiment includes numerical markings, similar to a clock face or watch dial. In the embodiment shown, the numerals are roman numerals, in the standard clock orientation, with XII at the top and VI at the bottom. The numerals can be presented in Arabic numbers as well. In one embodiment, only the numbers at 12, 3, 6 and 9 are shown, with larger tic marks at the unseen numerals.

In one embodiment, there are tic marks between each numeral. In one embodiment, there are three tic marks between every hour, representing a quarter hour, half hour and three quarter hour marking.

The marking are used to orient the golfers hands on the grip in a consistent manner each time the golf uses the club. In one embodiment, the markings are color coded for left side of the grip (blue tic marks 201) and right side of the grip (red tic marks 202).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the grip 100. In this embodiment, there is a groove associated with each of the numerals of the dial. The grooves have a color that is the same as the color of the tic mark for that numeral. For example, groove 301 is red, and extends from numeral I on the dial 101. Groove 302 is blue, and extends from the numeral XI on the dial 101. In one embodiment, the groove 303 associated with the numeral VI and XII has its own color, in this embodiment it is white.

All of the markings are designed to intuitively indicate to the golfer the orientation of the grip, and therefore, the orientation of the club itself. In one embodiment, the grip is placed on the club so that the line between numeral XII and numeral VI is substantially aligned with the leading edge of the golf club head.

FIG. 4 illustrates the shaft 102 in an embodiment. The shaft 102 includes additional markings 104 around the circumference of the bottom of the shaft (the end closest to the club head). These markings correspond to the markings on the dial of the end cap 101. For example, the numeral XII is at the other end of the white line 303 from the corresponding number XII on the end cap. This provides additional ease of use for a golfer to see how to position their hands prior to their swing.

In operation, a golfer will grip the golf club and note where the hands are positioned relative to the markings on the end cap 101 and grooves on the shaft 102. The golfer will then take a few natural instinctive swings. The ball flight is observed and, based on the flight, it can be determined how the grip might need to change to make sure the club head is square to the ball at impact.

After this first step, the golfer can use the red or blue lines, as appropriate, to change how they hold the club to improve results. In one embodiment, the user does an impact exercise for the left hand only (for right handed golfers) to determine the optimal position for the left hand. Once the golfer is successfully completing the impact exercise, the hand position can be recorded and the golfer will place the left hand at that position when preparing to swing.

After the left hand is positioned at an optimal location, the golfer can then position the right hand on the grip and different locations to make the ball curve to the left or right as desired (or to hit straight).

In one embodiment, the golfer performs the grip adjustment for each club that the golfer uses. Although one measurement might be acceptable for all of the clubs, if the golfer finds that the ball flight is unacceptable for a particular club or clubs, the golfer can perform the exercises to find the optimal grip location for those clubs.

In one embodiment, a golfer may determine their preferred or optimal grip through a series of exercises. An advantage of the apparatus is that it allows the golfer to use their “instinctive” swing. A golfer will have a way of swinging the club that feels natural and easy to the golfer. This is their instinctive swing. The present apparatus allows the golfer to adjust their grip position so that the golfer can make consistent and desired impact with the golf ball using their instinctive swing.

One initial exercise comprises recording an instinctive practice swing in slow motion to see where the club face is, as it is about to strike the ball. The golfer begins this exercise by having the club head at the 12 o'clock position relative to their hands. After recording the instinctive practice swing just before the point of impact, the golfer can see if the club face has returned to a square faced position, or if the club face is more open or more closed. The golfer can then determine what kind of change and how much change is needed in the grip to correct the club face orientation.

A second exercise builds on the knowledge gained from the initial exercise to adjust the grip position for the golfer. If the club face was too open after the initial exercise, the golfer will rotate the club in their hands to a new position. For example, the golfer may rotate the club from 12 o'clock to 11 o'clock. If the club face was too closed, the golfer might rotate to 1 o'clock. The golfer continues to make slow motion swings to determine if the new grip position results in the club face being in the desired position at impact.

Other exercises can help the golfer find a natural grip position to match their instinctive swing. For example, one exercise focuses on the target hand (e.g. left hand for a right handed golfer, right hand for a left handed golfer). The golfer holds the club with just the target hand, places the club face at the ball location and moves their body in the normal manner as if completing the swing (e.g. shifts their weight forward, moves target hand (and club shaft) in front of the ball and notes the position of the club face. If it is open or closed, the golfer repositions the target had at a new clock position until the club is in the desired orientation. This allows the golfer to properly place the target hand on the club.

Another exercise helps position the trail hand (e.g. right hand for right handed golfer, left hand for left handed golfer). In this exercise, the golfer will place their right hand at different positions, take multiple swings at each trail hand position (with trail hand only) and determine which trail hand position feels the best. The golfer can then combine left and right hand positions and determine if the calibrated grips is providing desired results.