DE29705857U1 - Golf clubs - Google Patents

Description

Yeong-Chang Chuang * 14*987*

Taiwan 01.04.97

Golf clubs

The present invention relates to a golf club which is designed in particular as a practice club for beginners in golf.

In recent years, the number of golfers worldwide has increased significantly, with not only new golf courses for experienced players, but also practice courses for beginners. Beginners tend to spend a considerable amount of time on practice courses before playing on golf courses. They usually start by hitting the ball towards the hole with a single shot, often adding three to five more shots to finally get the ball into the hole after it has come to rest near the hole. The more shots the golfer needs, the more frustration he gets.

Since there are not enough practice areas available, a so-called artificial green has already been created, as shown schematically in Figure 2, to make it easier for golf beginners to practice.

The following disadvantages are still associated with such artificial greenery:

l) A beginner golfer chooses the angle and direction of the golf club based on his own feeling; an incorrect or deviating position during the shot can only be corrected if the golfer acquires sufficient practice;

2)The space available to the golfer is severely limited by the artificial green compared to the space available on a normal golf course;

3) On the other hand, the artificial greenery must be so large that it is stationary and cannot be transported;

4) Incorrect positions for golf beginners when executing the shot are difficult to correct.

Beginners usually use only one golf club (putter) from the set of fourteen clubs available to a trained golfer, so the incentive for golf club manufacturers to bring improved clubs to market is also low.

The object of the present invention is to create a practice club that is particularly suitable for beginners in golf; this object is achieved with the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1; an advantageous embodiment is described in the subclaim.

The practice golf club according to the invention thus has a shaft with a grip section at the upper end of the shaft and a club head at the lower end of the shaft, the club head having an upwardly directed wing which is arranged at a predetermined location and extends to a predetermined height. A guide laser in the form of a diode laser is arranged at the upper edge of the wing. A cable extends through the shaft of the club to connect the diode laser to a power supply which is arranged at the upper end of the shaft. When a switch is operated, the club head emits a laser beam to indicate the correct ball path to the golfer so that he hits the golf ball in the right direction.

This has the advantage that the only estimated visual targeting of the correct ball path can be avoided.

Preferably, a signal receiver can be provided at a distance from the golf club, which emits an acoustic signal, for example, when it receives the reflected laser beam, which indicates that the club has been moved at a correct angle and in the correct direction.

In the meantime, the golfer can change and adjust his hitting position. This is even possible if no golf ball is hit, as the laser beam is reflected, for example, by a mirror positioned at the golf hole.

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The present invention accelerates the training of a beginner to an experienced golfer on an actual playing field, especially in hitting the golf ball. This increases the enjoyment of the game and significantly reduces the practice time otherwise required.

The following are numerous advantages of the invention:

l)With the help of the diode laser located on the top of the club head, beginners can clearly see the path the ball should take and take the appropriate position before teeing off. With increasing experience, golfers will be able to recognize the correct path for the ball.

2)With the help of the laser provided according to the invention, the beginner golfer can immediately see whether he is holding his club at the correct angle and moving it in the right direction. As experience increases, it becomes easier for the golfer to maintain the correct angle and hit the ball in the right direction.

3)If a signal receiver is used in addition to the guidance laser, the golfer can make golf shots without a golf ball and can tell, for example, that his club guidance was correct when an acoustic signal is triggered after the reflected laser beam is emitted.

4)The guide laser in the form of a diode laser is attached directly to the upper edge of the club head, so that no separate support structure is required.

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The space requirements and production costs of a racket equipped in this way are only slightly higher than for rackets without lasers, so there are great market opportunities.

5)The present invention is suitable for any racket, regardless of the manufacturer and type of racket.

6)With the inventive club, the player can recognize the correct ball path before the actual tee shot, thereby increasing his player qualification.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with reference to the drawing;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a racket according to the invention, partially cut open

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a practice area suitable for use with the racket according to the invention;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the club head of the inventive club;

Figure 4 is an enlarged partial view of the club head of Figure 3 in relation to the golf ball to be struck;

Figure 5 shows the racket according to the invention in use;

Figure 6 is an enlarged partial view of the club head shown in Figure 3 with its position in relation to the golf ball to be hit; and

Figure 7 shows another view of a racket according to the invention in use.

Figure 1 shows a golf club 1 which is provided with a guide laser according to the invention. The club 1 has a shaft and a club head 2. The club head

2 is provided with a wing 3 at a predetermined location, which extends upwards to a predetermined height. A guide laser in the form of a diode laser 4 is attached to the upper edge of the fixed wing

3. A cable 41 extends through the shaft to connect the diode laser 4 to a power supply 51 which is arranged in the handle section, with a switch 52 provided at the upper end of the handle section 5. When the switch 52 is switched on, the diode laser emits, for example, a red laser beam from the club head 2 to indicate the ball path for a golf ball to be hit. With the help of the laser beam, the golfer can hit the ball exactly in the direction of the target. This helps to avoid incorrect shots by the golfer, i.e. deviations from the correct ball path due to incorrect visual estimations, and to turn the beginner into a trained, successful golfer.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, a signal receiver is arranged at a predetermined distance from the club head 2 according to Figure 5.

If the laser beam emitted by the guide laser 4 hits the receiver 6, the latter can emit a signal, e.g. an acoustic signal, to indicate that the club has been held in the correct hitting position and that the club head 2 has assumed the correct angle so that the ball has been moved to the corresponding hole.

From Figures 4 and 6 it can be seen that the guide laser 4 is fixedly arranged on the fixed wing 3, which extends upwards from the upper edge of the club head 2. The guide laser 4 is arranged at a height that is above the top of a golf ball 7, which is located directly in front of the club head 2. As a diode laser 4, it emits a red laser beam in the direction of a point that the golf ball 7 should reach. Alternatively, the red laser beam emitted by the diode laser 4 can also be used to generate a signal together with a signal receiver 6, which is arranged at a corresponding distance from the club. This e.g. acoustic signal from the receiver 6 indicates that the club 1 was guided at a correct angle and the ball is being moved in the right direction.

Figure 7 shows that with the help of the laser beam emitted by the laser 4 at the upper edge of the club head, the club 1 can be guided very effectively and precisely in terms of angle and direction of impact. As an example, a short hitting distance L of 50 cm is given, whereby the ground conditions and other factors are not taken into account, whereby it can be said that a

only a small deviation of 3° in the angle of impact "a" already leads to a target deviation L' of 2.6 cm from the target. This shows the great influence of the angle of impact and the direction of impact on the ball's path.

Claims (2)

Yeong-Chang Chuang 14 987 Taiwan 01.04.97 Protection claims 1. Golf club, in particular for practice purposes, with a shaft, with a grip section at the upper end of the shaft and with a club head at the lower end of the shaft, characterized in that the club head has an upwardly directed wing which is arranged at a predetermined location and extends to a predetermined height, and that a guide laser in the form of a diode laser is arranged on the upper edge of the wing, that a power supply is provided in the grip section, which has a switch at the upper end of the grip section and that a cable runs through the shaft which connects the power supply to the diode laser, so that when the switch is switched on, the diode laser emits a laser beam which shows the golfer the correct ball path. 2. Golf club according to claim 1, characterized in that a signal receiver is assigned to it, which upon receipt of the laser beam emitted by the diode laser generates a signal, in particular an acoustic signal, which indicates the correct hitting position and the correct hitting angle of the golf club provided with the laser.