GB2267833A - Protective device - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a protective device for use with a golf club to prevent scratching or scuffing of the club shaft. The device includes an elongate annulus of protective, elastically deformable material (16) formed with a slit (17) along its length and having an internal diameter of a size substantially corresponding to the maximum diameter of the part of the club shaft (14) and less than the dimension of the club handle/grip (15) and an external dimension not greater than the dimension of the handle-grip (15). The device is preferably formed from a closed cell foam material. <IMAGE>

Description

PROTECTIVE DEVICE This invention relates to a protective device for or in combination with a golf club.

Golf clubs, particularly modern clubs with graphite shafts, are expensive items and the owners wish to preserve them in good condition. A set of clubs is normally transported in a golf bag with the handle ends down and the heads protruding and as individual clubs are pulled out and inserted in the bag or the bag is transported the clubs tend to rub against each other. Additionally the club shafts rub against the top edge of the bag or the edges of dividers adjacent the top of the bag and this causes repetitive wear at particular positions along the lengths of the clubs.

The present invention provides a protective device for or in combination with a golf club comprising an elongate annulus of protective material having a slit along its length, the annulus having an internal diameter of a size substantially corresponding to the maximum diameter part of the club shaft which it is designed to cover and less than the dimension of the club handle/grip and an external dimension not greater than the dimension of the handle/grip.

Such protective devices are cheap to manufacture and can be easily slipped on to and off the shafts by opening out the slit and elastically deforming the foamed material. They provide good protection against rubbing or scratching of the shaft. Because the dimensions are carefully chosen they will not slip off over the handle and will not unduly restrict the space in the bag or hamper insertion of a club into the bag.

In a preferred form the protective device has an internal diameter of about 15mm and an external diameter of about 25mm.

One embodiment of protective device, in accordance with the invention, will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings of which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic section through a golf club and, Figure 2 is an end view on an enlarged scale of the protective device.

A golf club 12 has a head 13, a tapered shaft 14 and a handle/grip 15. A protective device in the form of an elongate annulus 16 of foamed material formed with a slit 17 along its length is located on the shaft 14 and protects that shaft against scratching and scuffing or other damage.

The standard golf club has a shaft tapering from 9 1/2mm at its lower head end to 14-15mm at its upper end adjacent the grip and the grip has a diameter of about 25mm.

The internal diameter of the annulus corresponds to the widest part of the shaft which it is desired to cover and is less than the diameter of the grip. The external diameter preferably corresponds substantially with the external diameter of the handle, it may be slightly less but is preferably not greater than this handle. In the preferred form the annulus 16 extends substantially the full length of the shaft and has an internal diameter of 15mm and a thickness of 5mm so that its external diameter is 25mm.

The protective annulus is preferably extruded from closed cell foamed material of a kind well known as an existing packaging material and can be printed with a company logo or other advertising material. It need not extend the full shaft length.

Claims (6)

1. A protective device for use with a golf club comprising an elongate annulus of protective, elastically deformable material having a slit along its length, the annulus having an internal diameter of a size substantially corresponding to the maximum diameter part of the club shaft which it is designed to cover and less than the dimension of the club handle/grip and an external dimension not greater than the dimension of the handle/grip.

2. A device according to Claim 1 formed from foamed material.

3. A device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the device has an internal diameter of substantially 15 millimetres and an external diameter of substantially 25 millimetres.

4. A device according to any of Claims 1 to Claim 3 having a thickness of substantially 5 millimetres.

5. A protective device substantially as described herein with reference to or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

6. A protective device according to any of Claims 1 to 5 in combination with a golf club, the device being located around the shaft of the club.