EP1119396A1

EP1119396A1 - Outfit for facilitating learning movement and control of a golf club

Info

Publication number: EP1119396A1
Application number: EP99970031A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Benoit Willemart; Patrick Balloffet; Alain Balloffet
Original assignee: Benoit Willemart; Patrick Balloffet; Alain Balloffet
Current assignee: VICTORY SWING
Priority date: 1998-10-07
Filing date: 1999-10-04
Publication date: 2001-08-01
Also published as: FR2784301A1; WO2000020078A1; FR2784301B1; AU5989999A

Abstract

The invention concerns an outfit for facilitating learning movement and control of a golf club, comprising a garment with sleeves (10) including coloured strips or lines (16) above the forearms, gloves (12) for the right hand and the left hand including coloured strips above the forefinger and the middle finger and on the back of the hand, and a golf club (14) whereof the handle comprises coloured strips extending longitudinally on the club handle on either side of a centre line, enabling the player to visualise the positions and orientation of his hands, his arms and the club for address and when moving the club and compare them with the ideal positions and orientation.

Description

Equipment intended to facilitate the learning of the gesture and the control of a golf club

The invention relates to equipment intended to facilitate the learning of the gesture and the control of a golf club.

The basic concepts of golf, which are the holding of the club in the hands (grip), the position at the address and the movement of the club on a good trajectory, are very difficult to assimilate by the beginners players who have not no direct information on their position and their movement and who are forced to trust muscular sensations which they are not used to and which they misinterpret.

These players being unable to "visualize" their attitude and their movement, cannot identify their faults and correct them. To do this, they must be informed by a third party (another player or preferably a golf teacher) who reports their errors and tells them what to do.

Confirmed players and very good players can also face this kind of problem, especially when they are tired or subjected to a significant nervous tension which can disrupt their movement. They are also used to constantly monitoring their position, their movements and the orientation of their club. To help players and more particularly beginners, French patent application No. 97-11305 by the same applicant has already been proposed with a garment with sleeves for the upper body, having markers on the shoulders and forearms. colored linear which allow a player to check the position of his arms relative to his body at the address and during movement, especially when performing half strokes at the rise of the club and at the crossing of the ball. However, the use of this clothing does not provide the player with information on the orientation and movement of the club.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective solution to this problem and, in particular, a solution that a player, even a beginner, can implement himself and without a third party necessarily having to intervene to inform him and tell him how to do it.

The invention proposes, for this purpose, equipment intended to facilitate the learning of the gesture and the control of the club, comprising a garment with sleeves for the upper body, comprising along the forearms visual cues intended to inform the player on the position of his arms at the address and during the movement of the club, characterized in that it also comprises at least one glove and a golf club on which other visual cues are formed corresponding to those of the sleeves of the clothing and allowing the player to visualize the positions and orientations of his hand covered with the glove and the club he is holding in this hand and to compare them with ideal positions and orientations, at the address, during the crossing of the ball and during the ascent and descent of the club during the preparation or execution of a golf stroke.

Advantageously, these markers are arranged so as to be fully visible to the player when the positions and orientations of his hands, his arms and the club are ideal and to be hidden from his view, in whole or in part, in the others. case. Thus, at the address and during the movement of the club, the player can at a glance check his position, his gesture and the orientation of the club and correct them if necessary. According to another characteristic of the invention, the marks formed on the glove and on the club are linear marks intended to be found substantially in the extension of the marks on the sleeves of the garment, at least at the address and during certain phases of the rise and fall of the club.

It is thus easier for the player to visualize his position and the orientation of his club and to compare them with an ideal position and orientation. Advantageously, the equipment according to the invention comprises a left hand glove and a right hand glove, comprising on their external parts intended to cover the back of the hand, aforementioned visual cues indicating the orientation of the hands on the handle of the club at address.

These glove marks can be formed by colored bands which extend over part of the top of the index and middle fingers and which extend over the back of the hand. They are visible entirely by the player when the positions of his hands on the club handle are ideal.

Each glove can also include, on its internal part covering the palm of the hand, a visual mark in the form of a band indicating the position of the club handle in the hand. This facilitates the grip of the club in the hand and prevents the player from having unintentionally too weak or too strong a grip.

Colored bands or lines are formed along the club handle, on either side of a center line extending over the top of the club handle. direction of the club head and, preferably, colored bands or lines are also formed on the club head, on its front face and if possible on its rear face, and are intended to be oriented perpendicular to the line going from the ball at the intended target, to indicate the position "square" of the club at the address.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the visual marks formed on the left sleeve of the garment, on the top of the left glove and on the left side (at the address) of the club consist of a strip or a line of a first color, the visual cues formed on the right sleeve of the garment, the right glove and on the right side (at the address) of the club consist of a strip or a line of a second color, and these colored bands or lines formed on the club are separated by a central band or line of a third color. This embodiment has the advantage of informing the player about what he is doing, thanks to a very simple correspondence between the colors, his position and the orientation of the club head: the position is ideal as is the orientation of the club head, when the player can see the three colors at the address or during the different phases of his movement. When the player can only see two colors, the colors partially or entirely hidden from his view allow him to identify his defect (s) (insufficient pivot, grip of the club too strong or too weak, face of the club badly oriented, trajectory plan too vertical or too horizontal, rotation of the wrists, etc.) and to correct them immediately, or to characterize his position, his gesture and the orientation of the club in function of the stroke to be played or the effect to be given to the ball.

The colored bands which constitute the visual cues of the equipment according to the invention can be fixed permanently to the sleeves of the garment, the gloves and the club, or else can be removable

(for example of the sticker type), which makes it possible to remove them from the equipment outside of the training periods and also to modify or adjust their position on the equipment to adapt it if necessary to the morphology of 'a player.

The invention will be better understood and other characteristics, details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly on reading the description which follows, given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a player at the address, wearing equipment according to the invention; - Figure 2 is a schematic front view of the garment with sleeves;

- Figures 3 and 4 show the internal faces of two gloves according to the invention;

- Figures 5 and 6 show the outer faces of these two gloves; and

- Figure 7 schematically shows a golf club carrying visual cues 1 according to the invention.

In the position shown in Figure 1 (position called "at the address"), which is the starting position for a golf shot, the player is leaning forward, his knees are slightly bent and his left arm is substantially in the extension of the club sleeve (in the case of a right-handed player), his right arm being slightly bent at the elbow, his right hand and his left hand holding the end of the club handle so that the base of the thumb of his right hand comes to cover his left thumb, etc., all the characteristics of this position being well known to competent persons. As indicated above, a beginner player is generally unable to take this position correctly and he is just as incapable of correcting his errors himself, since he cannot visualize his position and compare it to a correct position. It is even more difficult for the beginner player to visualize, no longer a static position, but a whole movement during which he must move the head of the club at high speed on a long trajectory to come and strike a small ball with precision. .

For an ideal strike of the ball, the player must take into account five mechanical parameters relating to the club which are:

- club speed, which determines the length of the stroke,

- the point of impact on the club, which determines the touch and also has an effect on the length of the stroke,

- the angle of attack of the ball, which determines the effect of rotation forwards or backwards of the ball, and the height of the trajectory of the ball (high or low), - the orientation club head, which determines the side effects of the ball at high speed, and its first direction at low speed, the path or trajectory of the club, which determines the first direction of the ball at high speed. In addition, the gesture of the player (movements of the hands, wrists, arms, rotation of the shoulders, coordination of the arms and the body, inclination of the plane of the trajectory of the club, etc.) can vary a lot and can modify very many ways all or part of the above five parameters.

There are currently no means allowing a player, beginner or confirmed, to be informed at a glance on all the factors likely to influence or determine the trajectory of a ball that he will strike.

The present invention provides a solution to this problem by means of golf equipment comprising a long-sleeved garment 10 of the polo shirt type or the like, at least one and preferably two golf gloves 12 and a club 14 which bear marks or benchmarks allowing the player to visualize his position at a glance and compare it to an ideal position, at the address and during the different phases of the club's movement for striking the ball.

The garment 10, also shown in Figure 2, includes on the sleeves, along the forearms, bands or colored lines 16 which extend approximately from the bleeding from the elbow to the wrist, substantially in the extension of the hand index.

Corresponding colored bands or lines 18 can also be formed on the shoulders of the garment 10 and on the start of the arms, so as to be visible to the player after a rotation of the shoulders by approximately 90 degrees or a little less.

The left hand and right hand gloves 12 which are represented in FIGS. 3 to 6, include marks formed by colored lines or bands on their inner side and on their outer side. More specifically, the inner face of the left glove 12 comprises (FIG. 3) a band 20 extending diagonally from the palm, from the first phalanx of the index finger to the eminence hypothenar, this line or colored band 20 corresponding the position of the club handle in the palm of the left hand for a "neutral" grip or grip.

Similarly, the internal face of the right glove comprises (FIG. 4) a colored band or line 22 formed across the first phalanges of the fingers except the thumb, to indicate the position of the club handle in the right hand, and possibly a colored zone 24 at the base of the thumb, delimiting the part of the palm that the player must apply to the thumb of his left hand.

The external faces of the left and right gloves comprise (FIGS. 5 and 6) colored bands or lines 26 which extend over the top of the first phalanges of the index and middle fingers and which extend over the back of the hand, substantially to the wrist. In addition, the top of the thumb of the left glove may include a colored band or line 28 extending along the phalanxes of the thumb and intended to be covered by the colored zone 24 of the internal face of the right glove.

The club 14 also comprises (FIG. 7) colored bands 30 which extend along the handle 32 between the handle 34 and the head 36 of the club on either side of a longitudinal center line 38 which is located on the above the handle when the player holds the club at the address as shown in Figure 1.

The head 36 of the club can also be formed with colored lines or bands corresponding to the lines or bands 30 and 38 above of the handle, at the lower part of its front face 40, on its rear face 42 (when the latter is visible to the player at the address), and on the highest part 44 of club head, these colored lines or bands formed on the club head to be oriented perpendicular to the player's line of sight

(i.e. the line from the ball to the intended target). For better visibility, the front and back of the club head can be fully colored, in different colors, and the top of the club head can have a strip of a third color. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the strip 16 formed on the left forearm of the garment 10, the colored strip 26 formed on the top of the left glove and the colored strip 32 extending on the left side of the sleeve of the club (at the address) and on the front face of the club head, are of the same color (for example blue), the strip 16 of the right forearm of the garment 10, the colored strip 26 of the above the right glove 12, the colored band 30 extending on the right side of the club sleeve (at the address) and that which is formed on the rear face 42 of the club head are in the same other color (by example red), while the colored band 38 formed in the middle of the handle between the two other colored bands 30 and on the top of the club head is of a third color (for example white).

When the player is at the address, as shown in Figure 1 and his position is ideal, the colored bands 16 on his left forearm, 26 on top of his left glove and 30 on the left side of the club sleeve are substantially aligned and then define a line of the same color, for example blue, the colored band 16 of his right forearm, the colored band 26 of his right glove and the colored band 30 on the right side of the sleeve of the club also define a line of the same color, for example red, and these blue and red lines are visible to the player, as well as of course the white center line 38 formed on the top of the handle and of the head of the club.

During the preparation of a stroke and during training, the player can move his club and stop several times during the ascent and the descent, for example when the club is substantially horizontal, and when crossing the ball , and he can check at a glance if he sees the three colors blue, white and red on the handle of his club. If so, this means that the club has gone up or down in an ideal manner. Otherwise, when the player sees only two colors, for example blue and white or white and red, this informs him about the orientation of the club, as well as the plane of the trajectory of the club which can be too vertical or too horizontal. Similarly, the colors he sees on the top of his gloves or which are hidden from his view inform him about the position of his hands on the club and the orientation of the club, about a possible rotation of his hands, etc. .

These color combinations on the sleeves, gloves and club also allow the player to practice golf shots of a particular type. For example, to successfully exit a bunker (hollow filled with sand) close to the hole, the player must see mainly blue on his sleeves, his gloves and his club throughout the movement of the club. To play a stroke in "dra" (rectilinear trajectory of the ball at the beginning, then slight deviation to the left), the player must see mainly white and red on his club, at the address and the striking of the ball , and either the three colors blue, white and red on his gloves (hands in neutral position on the club handle), or essentially blue and white

(hands in strong position on the club handle). In general, the colors visible on the club inform the player about the five mechanical parameters mentioned above (speed, orientation, angle of attack, point of impact and path of the club) and the colors visible on the gloves and sleeves of the garment inform him about his gesture and his style, the set providing the player with very complete information on how to hit a golf ball.

This information can be used immediately by the player himself, beginner or confirmed, who thus obtains visual certainty on his position and his gesture and gains confidence in the execution of his stroke which can then be performed with a certain spontaneity, essential for a good result. This complete information on the technique and the style of the player can also be obtained when the player wearing the equipment according to the invention is filmed with a video camera, the colored markings on the sleeves, gloves and the club making it possible to see better at home. screen the characteristics of the position and the gesture of the player and the orientation of his club.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown and it includes all the technical equivalents. It also applies immediately to humans of the profession, to other sports such as tennis, football or baseball for example where equipment according to the invention facilitates the learning of a gesture and the control of the trajectory and the effect of a ball .

Claims

1 - Equipment intended to facilitate the learning of the gesture and the control of a golf club, comprising a garment (10) with sleeves for the upper body, comprising along the forearms visual cues (16) intended for inform the player about the position of his arms at the address and during the movement of the club, characterized in that it also comprises at least one glove (12) and a golf club (14) on which others are trained visual cues (26, 30) corresponding to those of the sleeves of the garment and allowing the player to visualize the positions and orientations of his hand covered with the glove and of the club he is holding in this hand and to compare them with ideal positions and orientations , at the address, during the crossing of the ball and during the ascent and the descent of the club during the preparation or the execution of a golf stroke.

2 - Equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the marks (26, 30) formed on the glove and on the club are linear marks intended to be located substantially in the extension of the marks (16) of the sleeves of the garment, at less to the address and in certain phases of the club's movement.

3 - Equipment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a glove (12) of the left hand and a glove (12) of the right hand comprising, on their external parts intended to cover the back of the hand, aforementioned visual marks (26) indicating the orientation of the hands on the club handle at the address. 4 - Equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that the aforementioned visual cues (26) of the gloves include colored bands extending over part of the index and middle fingers and extending over the back of the hand.

5 - Equipment according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the or each glove (12) also comprises on its internal part covering the palm of the hand a visual reference (20, 22) in the form of a band indicating the position of the club handle in the hand.

6 - Equipment according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that bands or colored lines (30) are formed along the club handle, on either side of a center line (38) extending on the top of the handle towards the club head (36).

7 - Equipment according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that bands or colored lines are formed on the front face (40) and the top and / or if possible on the rear face (42) of the club head .

8 - Equipment according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the visual cues (16, 26, 30) formed on the left sleeve of the garment, on the top of the left glove and on the left side (at the address) of the club sleeve consist of a strip or line of a first color, the visual cues (16, 26, 30) formed on the right sleeve of the garment (10), the right glove (12) and on the right side (at the address) of the club handle consist of a strip or line of a second color, and the aforementioned stripes or lines of color (30) formed on the club handle are separated by a central strip or line (38) of a third color.