A tennis serve trainer mechanically encourages and causes the execution of a counter-intuitive hitting-up-on-the-ball service swing. The trainer has a straight shaft and a ball which can slide freely on the shaft between a tennis racquet grip on one end and a cap on the other. The ball is magnetically held against the grip until a threshold swing speed releases the ball. The magnetic force, the distance from the grip to the cap and the weight of the ball are coordinated so that the ball will strike the cap at the apex of the swing. At that moment, the arm is fully extended, the racquet head speed is accelerated to its maximum, the angle of attack is ideal, the ball and the racquet meet at the perfect impact point at the apex of the serve, and a snap in the racquet motion happens automatically at the top of the swing.

A variable stiffness striking implement, such as, for example, a ball bat typically used in baseball, softball, or rubber ball. The striking implement, preferably has a separate barrel and handle and includes a variable stiffness assembly which results in the user being able to adjust stiffness. This is accomplished by the user selecting a stiffness member having a desired hardness and inserting the selected stiffness around the handle and abutting the end of the barrel closest to the handle end and using a cap to hold the stiffness member in place, or, if desired by the user, the striking implement may be used without a stiffness member.

The present application is directed to a Family Combo Game which is played by putting billiard balls into sparkling two sided, numbered, relocatable game traps. The Combo Family Game disclosed herein is a combination of golf, croquet and billiards. The Combo Family Game Club described herein is a combination of a putting club, a pitching or chipping club resembling one or more golf type clubs, and a tapping club resembling a croquet mallet. The game is played on a turf surface of varying heights. The playing surface utilizes an elevated perimeter turf edged boarder to keep the balls in play. The game can be played on grassy area such as a lawn, backyards and in public recreation areas or parks. An optional lighting system is disclosed to light the game traps for playing at night or indoors. Optional game trap decorations and flags are also described herein.

A sports practice tool 1 comprising a grip 20 on a proximal end side of a practice tool main body 10, wherein the practice tool main body 10 comprises a first flexible part 12 and a second flexible part 14 extending in mutually different directions along a first imaginary plane P1, the first flexible part 12 and the second flexible part 14 are connected to each other in a bent manner, the first flexible part 12 is formed such that primary deflective deformation occurs along the first imaginary plane P1, and the second flexible part 14 is formed such that primary deflective deformation occurs along a second imaginary plane P2 that intersects the first imaginary plane P1.

A golf club and golf club shaft includes a tubular member having at least one neck portion with a reduced outer diameter and at least one relatively rigid two-piece sleeve secured to the tubular member in overlying relationship to each neck portion. The two-piece sleeve defines a small central gap filled by a compressible ring to allow the two otherwise longitudinally aligned sleeve pieces to pivot relative to one another under dynamic loading of the tubular member during a golf swing, and then upon reaching a limit point restrict additional deflection or bending of the tubular member.

The invention relates to a sports racquet having a head having a string bed is attached to two throat beams that extend continuously downward to a shaft having a handle. Each throat beam contains a bending zone in which the width of the throat beam parallel to the string bed and the width of the same throat beam perpendicular to the string bed gradually changes in equal, but opposite, dimensions such that the circumference of the throat beam remains substantially constant through at least the length of the bending zone or the length of the entire throat beam. Where the width of the throat beam parallel to the string bed is the widest and the width of the throat beam perpendicular to the string beg is the narrowest defines the flexible cross-section or flex point of the bending zone.