Games using tangible projectile – Golf – Practice swingable implement or indicator associated with...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-21
2003-11-11
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Golf
Practice swingable implement or indicator associated with...
C473S228000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06645084
ABSTRACT:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
Not Applicable
1. Background—Field of Invention
This invention relates to golf swing training devices, specifically to modified or augmented golf clubs intended to facilitate and accelerate the learning of the golf swing.
2. Background—Description of Prior Art
The invention described herein is a training device intended to facilitate and accelerate the learning of the golf swing, by replacing the complex and difficult-to-master sequence of human-body movements with a simpler, more intuitive action. Metaphorically speaking, this invention will assist the user in learning a functional and effective golf swing motion in virtually the same way that training-wheels attached to a bicycle assist a person in learning how to ride. Golf is arguably the greatest game ever conceived, yet the time and effort required to learn how to play well prevents many people—perhaps most—from enjoying the full dimension of the sport. Numerous gadgets and so-called “secrets” exist in the marketplace which claim to shorten the learning curve and promise to “take strokes off your game,” but the most experienced golfers know that nothing substitutes for tenacity and pure practice, preferably with the aid of lessons from a qualified teaching professional. The cost of such an endeavor—to become proficient at golf—can usually be measured in the thousands of dollars, and the requisite time can almost certainly be measured in years. My device is not a substitute for practice or lessons, but rather a novel and useful enhancement for the same, which is attached (and can be made detachable in a related embodiment) to any standard golf club conforming to USGA or British R&A specifications, or practically any conventional golf club.
As will be explained, it is this inventor's contention (and many other students of the game) that the main problem in learning the golf swing lies NOT in the difficulty of performing the physical motion necessary to properly strike a golf ball, but in the understanding of the motion itself—the ability to fathom the spatial and dynamic relationships between oneself, the club, and the very ground the ball rests upon. Ben Hogan, a golfer of legendary ability, in his book
Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf,
wrote:
“Try to visualize your proper plane and to keep your arms traveling on that plane as you swing the club back. Quite a few of my friends have told me that once they got the idea of the plane into their heads, it worked wonders for them . . . I can believe it. I really never felt that my own backswing was satisfactorily grooved or could be satisfactorily grooved, until I began to base my backswing on this concept of the plane.”
Clearly, this passage is strong evidence suggesting that the primary challenge of learning the golf swing is largely mental or conceptual in nature. In fact, many of golf's most successful instructors make extensive use of metaphors and analogies when imparting to students the intricacies of the golf swing. “Swing a bucket of water”, “Turn in a barrel”, or “Shake hands on the backswing” are a few popular images which can be routinely found in golf publications. Tom Watson, a golfing legend in his own right, in his book
Getting Back to Basics,
echoes Hogan's sentiments:
“When I have played my best, all I thought about was keeping the club on the right path. Visualizing that path becomes simpler if you think of the swing as a tilted circle around your body.”David Leadbetter, currently one of the top golf teachers in the world, and a huge advocate of swing images and drills, provides direct confirmation in his book
Faults and Fixes:
“Fault No. 11: Poor mental picture of the swing . . . their problem is that they work on their swing piecemeal, without ever really having a clear mental picture of what the finished product should actually look like . . . focusing on ‘bits’ can make it difficult to link the many component parts into one continuous flowing motion. So the simpler the image the better.”
If a device could be invented which conceptually integrated and simplified the “piecemeal” complexities of the golf swing, in addition to providing intrinsic visual, auditory, and kinesthetic feedback regarding clubface position, body alignment, direction of the swing path, as well as clubhead speed, clearly it would be of value to many prospective golfers. Justification for the golf club-wheel assembly described in this document is founded upon this very proposition; namely, that asking someone, yea anyone, to vigorously roll a wheel on the end of a stick, tangentially across the ground in the direction of the intended target, is inherently easier to imagine and perform than asking him or her to execute a correct golf swing motion. Furthermore, it is my belief that the two motions are essentially equivalent, and most importantly, similar to training wheels on a bicycle, the device described in the specification and drawings to follow provides a natural and intuitive transition to a functional, consistent golf swing, because it is detachably mounted to the actual golf club itself.
The prior art under the subject of wheels or rollers as they apply to golf clubs (Class 473—Games Using Tangible Projectile, Subclass 230—Wheel) contains several ingenious and interesting patents. Insofar as I am aware, none of these devices were designed for the purpose stated above, and therefore the practical form of these instances of attached wheels or rollers is substantially different than my invention shown in the subsequent accompanying drawings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,799 to Johnson (1987) and U.S. Pat. No. 2,255,332 to Russell (1941) show rollers attached to wood-type clubs used for striking tee shots, with the expressed purposes, respectively, of “ . . . vertically positioning and stabilizing or controlling the height of a golf club above the ground at the moment of impact with the golf ball” and “ . . . enabling the player to make a more powerful and natural stroke without marring the turf.” No application of these devices to iron-type clubs is claimed or illustrated (and the utility would be questionable given that an iron club, by definition, makes tangible contact with the ground, often resulting in a divot of turf being taken), and the small size and unobtrusive position of the rollers would make each of them ineffective as a conceptual tool having the utility described in this document. The invention described here has large and easily discernible visual alignment references, as well as auditory and kinesthetic feedback based on wheel rotational speed. Johnson's and Russell's inventions are spacer or shim-type remedies specifically designed for alleviating errors in the height of the clubhead as it impacts the ball—to prevent the “fat shot” where the clubhead digs excessively into the ground. Johnson's and Russell's roller attachments are both examples of an “improved golf club,” and both were not intended to address the issue of learning or training the golf swing, conceptually or otherwise.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,043 (1942), Carney embeds a small roller having rachet-type noisemaking capability into the soleplate of a wood-type club, to “keep the golfer conscious that he is dragging his club along the ground during the back stroke of his drive.” Carney's device is a novel, auditory feedback type tool, but he limits it to “woods” and to only the backswing action itself. The fact that the roller is tiny and hidden beneath the clubhead negates any utility for visible alignment purposes and, in my opinion, would make it ineffective as a visual metaphor for the full golf swing; indeed, Carney makes no such claims.
Although the invention involves no wheel or roller attachment, U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,377 to Glockner (1997) describes a detachable “guide surface” which “ . . . acts like the runner of a sled and causes the head of the club to slide on the ground without damaging the ground.” Glockner's stated aim is to prevent damage to the turf and injuries to the golfer, and makes no mention of th
Legesse Nini F.
Sewell Paul T.
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