US2388463A

US2388463A - Practice golf club

Info

Publication number: US2388463A
Application number: US472276A
Authority: US
Inventors: Louis A Benecke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1943-01-13
Filing date: 1943-01-13
Publication date: 1945-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 1962-11-06

Description

' Nov.6, 1945. LA. BENECKE 2,388,463

PRACTICE GOLF CLUB Filed Jan. 13, 1945 FIGJ.

! 6 INVENTOR.

(D mum msmmm BYQUMAI ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 6, 1945 j UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRACTICE GOLF CLUB Louis A. Benecke, St. Louis, Mo. Application January 13, 1943, Serial No. 472,276 4 Claims (01. 273-35) This invention relates topractice golf clubs of the type wherein movable weights are employed to produce shocks and sounds, and more particularly to a novel practice club wherein special advantages are derived from a movable weight at the lower end portion of the club.

Prior to this invention, the shafts of practice golf clubs have been loaded with movable weights designed to move and produce audible sounds and shocks in response to proper strokes of the clubs. These old theories arise from a fundamental idea of producing an audible noise to indicate a proper stroke, at the same time displacing an abnormal load in the club.

However, in actual use of a golf club, objections appear in a displacement of the weight of any part of the club. Any noiseoccurring during the stroke of a club is .a very disturbing factor, and if such noise is accompanied by a shock due to a hammer blow in the practice club, the

novice will be faced with highly disturbing conditions quite remote from his normal futureuse of a regular golf club.

In using an ordinary golf club, an expert player will carefully consider details involved in the weight at various parts of his club, and assuming that there will be no disturbance of the weight, and no noise, or no shocks at his hands, the expert will carefully prepare for his predetermined stroke. Any disturbance of the expected weight, or any noise, orlany shock at the hands of the player, will interfere with his predetermined stroke.

Bearing in mindthat the object ofany practice golf is to educate the novice for actual conditions he will find in using a regular golf club, it appears that the old practice clubs involving a deliberate disturbance in the weight of the club, as well as audible sounds and shocks at the hands of the player, for the purpose of indicating proper strokes, are highly disturbing factors, quite remote from the conditions in normal use of a golf club. Obviously, practice wherein these disturbing conditions are intended to indicate a proper swing of the club, is extremely remote from conditions to be found in actual use of a regular golf club'.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to produce a practice golf club which overcomes one or all of these undesirable conditions.

More specifically stated, an object is to overcome objections due shifting weights, audible sounds, or shocks at the hands of the player when proper swings are made with a practice golf club. Such conditions do not teach the user how to make proper strokes in the normal use of a regular golf club, wherein each of said conditions would be an unexpected disturbing factor. In other words, these old practice golf clubs educate the pupil for conditions radically different from the conditions he will find in actual use of regular clubs, and my object is to overcome defects in these old teachings.

Study of this very old problem has led to a development of the present invention wherein the improved practice golf club has an educational value deliberately created to immediately prepare the user for conditions he will find in actual use of regular clubs.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention comprises the novel construction and arrangement of details herein shown and described to illustrate one form of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the patent extends to variations and modifications within the scope of the terms employed in claims hereunto appended.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a practice golf club embodying features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 in Fig. 1, drawn to a larger scale, and showing a head slidable on the lower end portion of the shaft.

Fig. 3 is a bottom View of the head and shaft shown in Fig. 2.

To illustrate one form of the invention, I have shown a practice golf club having a shaft 4 provided with a handle 5 at its upper end, and a head 6 at its lower end; The head 6 is slidable on the lower end portion of the shaft, and while said head may be of any desired shape, it is preferably in the form of a ball or roller, free to rotate around the axis of the shaft 4.

Without limiting the invention to specific details shown in the drawing, I will refer to Figures 2 and 3 wherein the head 6 is in the form of a ball having a bore 1 slidably fitted to the shaft t, and a larger bore 8 to receive a sleeve 9. This sleeve is slidable on the lower end of shaft 4, and it may be secured to the head 6 in any suitable manner. For example, connecting screws I0 may be interposed between said sleeve and head, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

In this form of the invention, a stop collar H is fixed to the shaft 4, so as to limit displacement of the head 6 relative to the shaft 4. The collar II is confined between a stop shoulder I2 at the upper end of the bore 8 and a similar shoulder I3 at the upper end of the sleeve 9. This stop collar H is shorter than the distance between the stop shoulders l2 and I3, so as to permit limited sliding displacement of the head 6 on the straight shaft 4 when the practice club is in service. Such displacement will result in audible clicking sounds when the stop shoulders i2 or l3 strike the stop collar ll.

Briefly stated, the head 6 is slidable on the lower end of the shaft 4 and free to rotate about the axis of said shaft. The sidin movements may be due to gravity, or to centrifugal force.

Rotary '=head" for preliminary strokes This formof the'invention"'includes a head slidable on the lower extremity of the shaft, and free to rotate in contact with the ground during" initial movements of the clutch. Free rotationla of the head is a desirable condition, which prevents disturbance in the short backand forth preliminary strokes usually :madeto determinee the direction of the swing.

The baclcswing As a result of' centrifugal .forceand gravity, the slidablehead"isfmovableflimited' distances-at the extremity of the'shaft; andsuchmovements will result "in annoying clicksin'addition' to shocks "at' 25 thefhands of the'usei'; l-I'oWeVerfinthe pref erred form ':of. the invention, a proper 'ba'ckswing' will causethehe'adto remain at the extremity of the shaft, so there will be no disturbing noise or shock during"a'proper-backswiifg." On'the other 30,

hand-"lithe bac'liswin'gi's'too'slow,the head will slide toward the handle, thereby producing" a sound and'a 'shdckto advise furthrpra'ctice for this part of'the'swirig'. It will "be? observed that these disturbing conditions donotbccurnuring 35,

a pio eribaekswmg.

The-r downswing The slidable" head lLis preferably 5 designed to remain inits"ext1'emeposition at'the end of the" 40 shaftduring'a proper downswing; thereby avoidin'g any objectionable "noisefor'shock' when this part of the swing. is properly made."

The-=follow.-through 4 lt is usnally veryfdifli cult to-teach a person to fOl'IoiN tI'lrQiIgIWWitIF a rapid full swing: The novice-is likelytdassum ethat the stroke should end wherr'tlie'headhits'th ballfandone-of the outstanding old problems appear's in teaching him'gto deliberatelycontinue the movement at a highwelocityk" The new device is-preferably de sightedto produce a disturbing click and shockwhen the pupil fails to continue at thevelocity required-for a full swing The centrifugal force- 55 of thedesirdvelocity will retain the" shoulder-l2 in contact withthecollar'i l', but a lower'velocity will allow the head Wtd'drop by gravity until it's""sh0ulder' l3 strikes"th"collar"l I. Again we assties find that the noise and shock are deliberately eniployed to advise the pupil of his mistakes. Further practice will induce him to acquire a follow through velocity great enough to avoid. the disturbing factors, and a swing of this kind, lacking the noise and shock, will conform approximately to the conditions expected in actual use of a regular golf club.

I claim:

, 1. In. a practice golf club wherein, audible clicks indicate-improper practice strokes;-a shaft provided With'a handle at bneend; a head freelylslidable on the opposite end of said shaft, said freely slidable head being movable toward said handle in' response to an improper upward swing of the practice golf club, and stop elements carried by'said shaft and slidable head to limit the sliding: movements,-- said stop elements includ- 20 2 ing a stop member carried by the head separated fronfbut arranged to strike a stop member on said-shaft so-as-to limit'the sliding -:movement of saidh-hea'dwhenthe -practice club' 'is in :service.

2.:Aq3ractice golf clubhaving-a straight shaft pnovided withva handle atone'end, a head rotatablearound-.thempposite end ,of said straight shaft, said rotatabie headbeing in-the form of a bali'freely slidableion thewshaft and movable toward itheahandle; in response, to an. improperup-v warduswing ofi themractice; golf club, and sepsis. ratedzstop l-elements carried by. said shaft and head to: limit thel sliding; movements.

3. -A practice, golf; club having a straight shaft provided with -a handle-at; oneend, a 'head' slidable on the opposite end of saidshaft, andstop. elementsi-carriedaby' said head, ,to' limit its sliding movements; msaid 'ist'op elements being located withih the heady and 1 the 1 shaft being provided with-a stop-eollarlooatedibetween and adapted to audiblyrengagasaid' stop lelements, said I stop collar beingnshorten lthan =the distance between said stopt elements'. s0 ias-a to permit limited sliding displacement: of itheuheaddwhen ethe xClllb is in service. .i

4.' An educationalsgolf':club:havingia shaftprovided with a handle ataonenendp and: a 7 pair of stop elein'entsl fixed its :oppositenend portiony;

saidifixed' stop flelementsarbeings separatedw from:

each othe'mima directioimcparaliel i-With :the naxis 1 I of"=sai'd shaft; addo's'e. signallingddevice confinedbysaid fixed'stop elementsgzsaidiiooselyleonfinedsignalling de'vice having zan axisi approximately', parallel witli' 'said-shalft' and bein'g rfreelymovable; in response to the influence of centrifugalforces: and gravity from 'one pf said iixed' stop :elements to -the otheia soas td produce anlaudibleisignali in response td animproper upwardzswingyofathe; educational-=clubl LOU-ISTIAJEBENECKEJ;