US3229981A

US3229981A - Feet and ball positioning device for golfers

Info

Publication number: US3229981A
Application number: US285695A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert E Taber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-06-05
Filing date: 1963-06-05
Publication date: 1966-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-18

Description

Jan. 18, 1966 R. E. TABER 3,229,981

FEET AND BALL POSITIONING DEVICE FOR GOLFERS Filed June 5, 1963 7 L W II 'm. Win. WTII H 26 I I I3 3 30 /fi //6' t i fii i' ii i ti ifi INVENTORZ 12053122" 5. TABER. BY f '1 MTYK,

United States Patent 3,229,981 FEET AND BALL POSITIONING DEVICE FOR GOLFERS Robert E. Taber, 5121 Hallgate, Toledo 12, Ohio Filed June 5, 1963, Ser. No. 285,695 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-187) This invention relates to golf instruction devices and is particularly directed to a gauging device for determining the stance of a golfer for different types of shots.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device for gauging the stance of a golfer to properly position the [feet and body for square, open and closed stance shots.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable golf stance indicator that is easily and economically produced and constructed so that it may be collapsed or folded together and carried in a golf bag.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stance gauge with a graduated direction bar for determining the spacing between the feet, and an angularly adjustable cord for defining the position of the feet laterally with respect to the direction bar for various shots.

Generally speaking the portable stance gauge of the present invention includes a main channel shaped member or bar to each end of which is pivoted a stance position arm carrying spaced pins or pegs marked for square (S), open (0) and closed (C) stance. A stance cord 3,229,981 Patented Jan. 18, 1966 closed or projected positions.

is stretchable between selected pins and defines the posi' tion of the .golfers feet laterally of the direction bar, and the bar is graduated to determine the space between the feet for the type of shot being played. A ball position arm is pivoted inwardly from one end of the direction bar and when extended perpendicular thereto serves to locate the inside of the left heel of the golfer as well as the position of the ball. By means of the graduations on the direction bar and a simple calculation, the inside of the right foot is determined.

The above mentioned and other features and Objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be understood best by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the stance gauge of the present invention illustrating the posi tion of the ball and its direction of flight and the position of the feet for a closed stance shot by .a right handed player;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gauge device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail view on a line IH-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 showing its folded or collapsed position for carry- FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of a modified connection between the direction bar and ball position arm; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional detail view on a line VIVl of FIG. 5.

With particular reference to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the improved stance gauge is shown as comprising a heel placement and direction bar 10 to one end of which a stance position arm 12 is pivotally connected at 14, and to the other end, a stance position arm 16 is pivoted at 18. A ball position arm 20 is pivotally connected to bar 10 intermediate its ends and preferably closer to one end thereof at 22. Bar 10 and

arms

12, 16 and 20 may be of the same cross-section such as the channel shape shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and may be fabricated The direction bar 10 is graduated in inches from 0" adjacent the ball position arm 20 to facilitate the placement of the feet and particularly the heels of the player. The

stance position arms

12 and 16 are each provided with spaced pins or pegs which may be in the form of screws 28 having heads spaced above the top surface of

arms

12 and 16. A stance cord 30 which may be elastic such as a long helical spring or a long rubber band or elastic cord is selectively connected by loops 32 at opposite ends of the cord 30 to pins 28 on

arms

12 and 16 to adjust the angle of the cord with respect to the bar 10. Inner pin 28 on arm 12 is marked by letters S and C, and the outer pin thereon is marked by the letter 0, while the inner pin on arm 16 is marked by letters S and O and outer pin by letter C. The letter C indicates closed stance, letter 0 open stance, and letter S square stance. In other words, when stance cord 30 connects the letters C and the toes of the golfer touch the cord 39, the feet are positioned in a closed position suitable .for drives and long shots. When pins with letters 0 or letters S are interconnected by cord 30, the angularity of the cord is such that the feet are positioned for (0) open stance, suitable for short or approach shots; or (S) for square stance, suitable for chip shots or putting, respectively. To accommodate the pegs 28 when the device is folded or collapsed into a carrying position, notches 35 are provided in the direction bar 10 adjacent the bottom edge thereof as shown in FIG. 2, which permit

arms

12 and 16 to be aligned with bar 10.

The stance indicator may be collapsed to its folded position so as to be readily carried in a golf bag. From such folded position (see FIG. 4) the device is readied for use by loosening the wing nuts 26 and

arms

12, 16 and 20 swung outwardly into their positions perpendicular to direction bar 10 and nuts 26 again tightened (see FIG. 1). The stance cord is selectively placed on pegs 28 for the type of shot to be played. The device is then placed on the ground with the direction bar 10 aligned with the target. With golf club in hand, the players left foot L is positioned with toe touching stance cord 30 and inside of left heel in line with 0" mark on direction bar 10. With feet close together and toes touching stance cord, weight evenly balanced on both feet, and arms comfortably extended, the player takes a few short swings with the golf club. The ball B is placed at the point where the center of the club head H meets the imaginary continuance line of the ball position arm 20.

For long drives and the longest shots, the cord 30 is connected bet-ween the pegs 28 marked CC and the outside of the heels of the players feet are placed shoulder width apart, which distance is determined by simple calculation and reference to the inch marks on the di' rection bar. For example, if the width of the players shoulders is 20 /2 inches, by actual measurement, subtract 6 /2 inches to determine the distance between inside of heels. The inside of left heel L is then lined up with the 0" mark and the inside of right heel R is aligned with the proper inch mark. In this example, 6 /2 is subtracted from 20 /2 which leaves 14 inches, the distance between inside of heels. Accordingly, the inside of right heel is lined up with the 14 inch mark on the direction bar 10 (see FIG. 1). For shorter drives and long shots, the left foot remains substantially in line with the 0 mark, while the right foot is moved closer to the left foot as the drives or shots get shorter.

For short shots and approaches, the position of the players toes with respect to the direction bar is also varied, that is, the stance cord is connected between the pegs 28 marked O-O for open, with the longest short shot and approach having the inside of the players heels spaced apart 6 /2 inches less than width of his shoulders, and again as the shots'and approaches get shorter, moving the right foot closer to the left; the left always being held with the inside of its heel in alignment with the pointer or ball position arm 20, as shown in FIG. 1.

For chipping and putting, the stance cord 30 is placed between the pegs 28 marked SS for square, and the right foot again is placed relative to the left foot aligned with the position arm 20 according to the distance the ball is to be shot as described above.

It is to be understood that for -a left-handed golfer, the right and left foot positions and the prejection of the

arms

12, 16 and 20 from the bar 10' will all be reversed from those described above and shown in the drawings.

Ordinarily, most right-handed player align the ball with the inside of the left heel for all shots. However, the ball may be moved to the right or to the left by the more experienced player to secure more finesse in certain shots. As a guide for the placement of the ball in these other positions, the ball position arm 20 may be mounted so as to be movable or. adjustable longitudinally of the direction bar 10 as shown in FIGS. and 6. A slot 24 is provided in direction bar 19 for the pivot member 22 so that arm 20 can be moved in either direction from its mid-position within the limits of the slot 24. Slotting the direction bar so as to make the ball position arm movable or adjustable enables the user to position the golf ball at various placements in the stance in center, left of center (LC) and right of center (RC) for the different golf shots made with the various golf clubs, all woods and irons. Slots may be marked to align with the position the pointer arm 20L and 20R shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5, in accordance with the recommendation of a qualified teacher for each golf shot.

While there i described above the principles of this invention is connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf stance indicator comprising:

(1) A collapsible elongated device adapted to be positioned on the ground to indicate the direction of flight of a golf ball, the position of the golf ball, and the position of the golfers feet, said device including (a) a calibrated feet placement and ball direction bar for indicating the spacing between the golfers feet,

(b) a ball position arm pivoted to said bar inwardly from one end thereof and projectable from one side thereof at right angles thereto,

(c) a stance position arm pivoted to each end of said bar and projectable from the other side thereof at right angles thereto,

(d) a plurality of attaching means projecting from each of said stance position arms, said attaching means on each of said stance position arms being spaced at different distances from said bar when said stance position arms, are positioned at a right angle to said bar, and

(e) a stance cord comprising a resilient material which permits the length of such cord to be increased and decreased whereby a fixed length of such stance cord can be used to, form a straight line element when the respective ends of such cord are secured to any of the attaching means on the respective stance position arms, thereby providing means to position the toes of; a golfers feet relative to the direction bar.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said ball position arm includes means for adjusting its position longitudinally of said bar.

3. An indicator according to claim 1 wherein said ball position arm is sufficiently narrow so as to provide a line of sight between the golfers heel and the ball.

4. An indicator according to claim 1 wherein said attaching means are arranged so that said cord for square shots can be connected to said stance arms parallel to said bar, and said cord for open and closed shots can.

be connected to said stance arms at an angle to said bar.

References Cited by the Examiner DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner,

Claims

1. A GOLF STANCE INDICATOR COMPRISING: (1) A COLLAPSIBLE ELONGATED DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED ON THE GROUND TO INDICATE THE DIRECTION OF FLIGHT OF A GOLF BALL, THE POSITION OF THE GOLF BALL, AND THE POSITION OF THE GOLFER''S FEET, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING (A) A CALIBRATED FEET PLACEMENT AND BALL DIRECTION BAR FOR INDICATING THE SPACING BETWEEN THE GOLFER''S FEET, (B) A BALL POSITION ARM PIVOTED TO SAID BAR INWARDLY FROM ONE END THEREOF AND PROJECTABLE FROM ONE SIDE THEREOF AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO, (C) A STANCE POSITION ARM PROVIDED TO EACH END OF SAID BAR AND PROJECTABLE FROM THE OTHER SIDE THEREOF AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO, (D) A PLURALITY OF ATTACHING MEANS PROJECTING FROM EACH OF SAID STANCE POSITION ARMS, SAID ATTACHING MEANS ON EACH OF SAID STANCE POSITION ARMS BEING SPACED AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM SAID BAR WHEN SAID STANCE POSITION ARMS ARE POSITIONED AT A RIGHT ANGLE TO SAID BAR, AND