US20160346660A1

US20160346660A1 - Alignment training mat for golf

Info

Publication number: US20160346660A1
Application number: US15/170,213
Authority: US
Inventors: William F. Johnson
Original assignee: Alignmint LLC
Current assignee: Alignmint LLC
Priority date: 2015-06-01
Filing date: 2016-06-01
Publication date: 2016-12-01
Also published as: WO2016196607A1; USD820372S1

Abstract

An alignment training mat for golf has a permanent target line oriented through the ball placement location and perpendicular to the target line at or offset from the ball placement location and one or more sets of primary and secondary foot placement outlines or footprints for various golf shots. The practice mat enables a golfer to place a ball on the ball placement location and then look along the target line to the shot target. The golfer then decides which golf shot will be required to reach the target from the ball placement location and then stands on the appropriate primary foot placement outline. If required, the golfer then moves one or both feet to secondary foot placement outlines and adjusts their weight distribution on the secondary foot placement outlines. The golfer is then able to look at the target from a properly oriented and balanced perspective and then make the required swing at the ball on the ball placement location.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/169,324 filed Jun. 1, 2015.

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS

The inventions described below relate to the field of training aids for golf.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS

For both new and experienced golfers, orienting the golfers body relative to a target line to the shot target is one of the greatest challenges. Small variations in orientation cause shot misalignment which new and experienced golfers may misattribute to swing dynamics or other issues.

SUMMARY

The devices and methods described below provide for an alignment training mat for golf with a permanent target line through the ball placement location. Parallel to the target line and offset from the ball placement location are one or more sets of primary and secondary foot placement indicia, outlines or footprints for various golf shots. The practice mat enables a golfer to place a ball on the ball placement location and then look along the target line to the shot target. The golfer then decides which golf shot will be required to reach the target from the ball placement location and then stands on the appropriate primary foot placement outline. If required, the golfer then moves one or both feet to secondary foot placement outlines and adjusts their weight distribution as illustrated on the secondary foot placement outlines. The golfer is then able to look at the target from a properly oriented and balanced perspective and then make the required swing at the ball on the ball placement location.
Regular use of the alignment training mat results in a consistent pre-shot routine which has been shown to improve golf performance. The alignment training mat may also include holes, grommets or other attachment components on the corners of the mat to enable the mat to be secured to the turf during use. Golf tees may be pushed through each of the grommets, holes or other components to secure the golf mat to the turf prior to a shot.
The alignment training mats described herein for golf are sized in proportion to the height of the golfer to use it. Young children will have smaller mats with proportionally smaller primary and secondary foot outlines oriented to accommodate the physical size of the user. For children age and gender may be used to estimate the proper size mat to be used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a youth aligned on an alignment training mat for golf.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the alignment training mat for golf from FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONS

Golfer 1 of FIG. 1 is illustrated standing on mid-iron foot placement indicia, footprints 14, on alignment training mat 10 preparing to strike golf ball 11 in ball placement location or spot 12. Alignment training mat 10 is configured for a right-handed golfer and may be configured for a left-handed golfer as a mirror image of training mat 10.
Alignment training mat 10 of FIG. 2 is formed on a golf practice mat 13 which includes an illustrated target line 16 passing through ball placement spot 12. Perpendicular to target line 16 and offset from ball placement spot 12 is golfer alignment line 17. The ball placement spot is offset from golfer alignment line 17 by offset distance 15. At least one set of foot placement indicia or outlines such as short iron and putting foot placement outlines 18 are parallel to target line 16 and located perpendicular to the golfer alignment line with the left and right foot indicia on the left and right side of golfer alignment line 17 respectively. Short iron and putting foot placement outlines 18 include primary foot placement outlines 18L and 18R which are used for putting. Secondary foot placement outline 19 corresponds to primary foot placement outline 18R and they are both used for chipping. Mid-iron foot placement outlines 21 include primary foot placement outlines 21L and 21R which are used to align the golfer's body for golf shots with mid-iron clubs. Secondary foot placement outlines 22L and 22R correspond to primary foot placement outlines 21L and 21R and are used for making golf shots with mid-iron clubs. A set of primary and secondary foot placement indicia are oriented parallel to target line 16 and perpendicular to the golfer alignment line 17. Driver foot placement outlines 23 includes primary foot placement outlines 23L and 23R which are used to align the golfer's body prior to final foot placement for golf shots with long golf clubs such as woods and long iron clubs for example, the driver or 3 iron. Secondary foot placement outline 24 and primary foot placement outline 23L are used for hitting a tee shot with a driver. Primary and secondary foot placement indicia may also include one or more additional indicia for different size feet to accommodate a greater range of user sizes.
Alignment training mat 10 may be sized based on the height of each golfer. Short iron and putter distance 30 is measured from target line 16 to the closest tip 18T of short iron and putting foot placement outlines 18. Mid-iron distance 32 is measured from target line 16 to the closest tip 21T of mid-iron foot placement outlines 21. Driver distance 34, used for woods and long irons, is measured from target line 16 to the closest tip 23T of driver foot placement outlines 23. Alignment training mat 10 may include one or more sets of primary foot placement indicia or outlines and the primary foot placement outlines may be selected for any club or subset of clubs selected by the golfer. For example, primary foot placement outlines 18 are oriented for a putter, primary foot placement outlines 21 are oriented for a 7 iron and primary foot placement outlines 23 are oriented for a driver. Any suitable club or selection of clubs may be used for an alignment training mat and the distances from the target line to the tips of the foot placement outlines will change accordingly. Foot placement outlines may be permanently formed on mat 13 or they may be removably attached to mat 13 to enable a single alignment training mat such as alignment training mat 10 to be configured for different sized golfers.
Ball strike zone 35 may be permanently outlined on alignment training mat 10 or it may be removable and replaceable. This permits a worn ball strike zone to be replaced without replacing the entire alignment training mat which will make the use of these training mats economical for golf training programs and practice facilities. Removal of ball strike zone 35 may also facilitate use of the alignment training mat 10 on any suitable grass surface such as a driving range or a golf course to facilitate the development of an optimal golf shot routine and to optimize body alignment for golf shots on any grass surface.
Use of the alignment training mat may be further optimized by the inclusion of optional holes, grommets or other attachment components in the mat to enable the training mat to be secured to turf for practice. A golf tee or other suitable attachment device may be pushed through one or more of the grommets such as grommets 26 to secure alignment training mat 10 to any suitable turf or other practice surface.
Primary foot placement indicia or outlines such as foot placement outlines 18L and 18R may be colored differently or include any suitable textual or graphical symbol to differentiate them from secondary foot placement outlines such as secondary foot placement outline 19. Primary foot placement outlines such as foot placement outlines 18L and 18R may be colored differently or include any suitable textual or graphical symbol to differentiate them from other primary foot placement outlines such as primary foot placement outlines 21L and 21R or primary foot placement outlines 23L and 23R or to designate the club or clubs for which the foot placement outlines are appropriate.
Secondary foot placement indicia or outlines 22L and 22R may be colored differently from primary foot placement outlines or any other secondary foot placement outlines or include any suitable textual or graphical symbol to indicate the type of golf shot for which the foot placement outline is appropriate and or for indicating weight distribution, such as a numerical percentage, between the secondary foot placement outlines. For example secondary foot placement outlines 22L and 22R are optimized for mid-iron golf shots and require that the golfers weight be equally distributed between foot placement outlines 22L and 22R and a 50% indicia may be included on each foot placement outline. Secondary foot placement outline 19 is optimized for chipping and may include some indication that when chipping, the majority of the golfers weight should be oriented on foot placement outline 19 and very little weight should be placed on primary foot placement outline 18R. An 80% indicia may be included on foot placement outline 19 and a 20% indicia may be included on foot placement outline 18R. Alternatively, secondary foot placement outline 24 is optimized for hitting a tee shot with a driver and may include some indication that when hitting a golf shot with a wood, long iron or driver, the majority of the golfers weight should be initially oriented on foot placement outline 24 and as the swing is accomplished the golfer shifts his or her weight from secondary foot placement outline 24 to primary foot placement outline 23L.
In use, a golfer places a golf ball on ball placement location 12 and orients himself or herself to look along target line 16 to any suitable target as shown in FIG. 2 target view position 36. Once the golfer has viewed the target along target line 16 the golfer decides what shot and accordingly which club is appropriate to hit the golf ball to the target. The golfer then selects the appropriate grip for the selected shot and club. Then the golfer places his or her feet on the appropriate primary foot placement outlines for the shot and club selected. Additionally, the golfer aims the clubface and positions their body and arms to the ball and adjusts their grip pressure. Then the golfer places his or her feet on the appropriate secondary foot placement outlines for the shot and club selected and orients the golfer's weight on the appropriate foot or feet as shown on the alignment training mat. The golfer then looks again at the target to confirm their orientation to the target line, then rehearses the golf swing motion mentally and then looks at the ball and then swings the golf club at the ball.
While the preferred embodiments of the devices and methods have been described in reference to the environment in which they were developed, they are merely illustrative of the principles of the inventions. The elements of the various embodiments may be incorporated into each of the other species to obtain the benefits of those elements in combination with such other species, and the various beneficial features may be employed in embodiments alone or in combination with each other. Other embodiments and configurations may be devised without departing from the spirit of the inventions and the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A device for training a golfer comprising:

a mat having a target line and a golfer alignment line perpendicular to the target line;

a ball placement spot on the target line;

a plurality of primary foot placement indicia;

a plurality of secondary foot placement indicia corresponding to the plurality of primary foot placement indicia; and

wherein the plurality of primary and secondary foot placement indicia are oriented parallel to the target line and perpendicular to the golfer alignment line.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the ball placement spot is offset from the golfer alignment line.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of primary foot placement indicia comprise:

a plurality of sets of primary foot placement indicia.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein each set of the plurality of primary foot placement indicia has at least one secondary foot placement indicia corresponding the set of primary foot placement indicia.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein each set of the plurality of primary foot placement indicia has at least one primary foot placement indicia on the left side of the golfer alignment line and at least one primary foot placement indicia on the right side of the golfer alignment line.

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

a ball strike zone encompassing the ball placement spot and a portion of the target line.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the ball strike zone is removable.

8. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of attachment components for securing the device on turf.