WEIGHTED GOLF GRIP

Abstract

A golf grip having a weighted rear, longitudinal underside section providing a high Moment of Inertia to increase resistance to twisting and turning when the grip is connected to a golf club during the execution of a golf shot.

Claims

1. A golf grip for attachment to an upper section of a shaft of a golf club, said grip having a gripping area for a golfer's hands including a front topside, sides and a rear underside section; said grip further having an upper butt end and a lower end, and an interior bore structured to receive said shaft through an opening at said lower end of said grip; where the improvement comprises: a grip body formed of a first light weight material; a longitudinal channel formed in said grip body at a rear, underside section thereof and extending linearly from proximate said upper butt end to said lower end; a unitary, continuous, longitudinal weight member sized to match said channel; said weight permanently attached within said channel; said weight member being formed of a second material heavier than said first lighter weight material whereby said weight member is at least equal to the weight of the remainder of the grip to provide an increased MOI to resist twisting and torque to maintain a striking face of the putter square to an intended target line during the execution of a putting stroke.

2. The golf grip of claim 1 further defined by said weight member being made of metal and having an outer edge surface that conforms to an outer shape of said rear, underside section of the grip body.

3. The golf grip of claim 1 further including an outermost wrap surrounding interior portions of the grip.

4. The golf grip of claim 1 wherein said first material and said second material have different weight for a given volume of material.

5. The golf grip of claim 1 wherein said weight member extends the majority of the distance between said upper butt end to said lower end.

6. The golf grip of claim 1 wherein said first light weight material is made of foam.

7. The golf grip of claim 2 wherein the weight member has a weight in a range between 50 and 170 grams.

8. The golf grip of claim 7 wherein the grip body is approximately 40 grams.

9. The golf grip of claim 1 wherein the weight of a given volume of said weight member is at least 50 times greater than the weight of a same volume of material of said grip body.

10. A golf grip for attachment to an upper section of a shaft of a golf club, said grip having a gripping area for a golfer's hands including a front topside, sides and a rear underside section; said grip further having an upper butt end and a lower end, and an interior opening structured to receive said shaft through said lower end of said grip; where the improvement comprises: a grip body formed of a first light weight material; a longitudinal channel formed in said grip body at a rear, underside section thereof and extending linearly from proximate said upper butt end to said lower end; a unitary, continuous, longitudinal weight member sized to match said channel; said weight member permanently attached within said channel and located directly below said interior opening; said weight member being formed of a second material at least fifty times heavier than said first lighter weight material whereby said weight member is at least equal to the overall weight of the remainder of the grip to provide an increased MOI to resist twisting and torque to maintain a striking face of the putter square to an intended target line during the execution of a putting stroke.

11. The golf grip of claim 10 wherein said weight member is located approximately 15 mm from said interior opening.

12. The golf grip of claim 10 further defined by a line extending between a center of said interior opening and a center of said weight member that is parallel to a face angle of a putter when said grip is properly aligned on a shaft of the putter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates an assembled golf grip of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the golf grip of FIG. 1.

[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom view of the golf grip of FIG. 1 with an outer wrap removed.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

[0031] FIG. 5 is a view of the grip assembled on a putter type golf club.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0032] The drawings FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate a first embodiment of a putter type golf grip 100 in accordance with the present invention. As seen in the exploded view of FIG. 2, the golf grip is formed with a light weight, grip body 102, end cap 104 and an outer, over layer wrap 106. The grip 100 includes an upper section 108 that faces a golf ball when gripped by a golfer in a normal position prior to and during the execution of a putting stroke, sides 110 and a rear underside 112 that forms a rearward part of the grip 110 that is furthest away from the golf ball when a putter is properly aligned just prior to the execution of a putting stroke. The grip body 102 includes an elongated bore 114 that serves as a shaft encasing, grip opening when the grip 100 is mounted on the shaft of a golf club. The elongated bore 114 is open at a distal end 116 of the grip 100 opposite the end cap 104 to receive the golf club shaft when the grip 100 is connected to a golf club shaft. The grip body 102 is formed of with a channel 118 at the rear underside 112 of the grip body 102.

[0033] The outer wrap 106 that forms the outermost layer of the grip 100 may include various gripping patterns and/or distinguishing material such as logos and trademarks. It will be appreciated that the outer layer wrap 106 may be eliminated, for example as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, whereby the outer layers of the grip body 102 form the outermost areas of the grip 100.

[0034] Typically, the grip body 102 is a unitary member including the end cap 104 and the outer wrap 106 that is attached after the grip body 102 is formed by adhesive or a similar connecting means. The outer wrap 106 has a preferable weight of 15 grams.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the grip body 102 is made of a low density, light material such as light weight foam material or synthetic polymer compound such as EVA foam. A typical, normal sized grip body will weigh approximately 40 grams.

[0036] A weight member 120, such as a metal rod made of a material having a significantly heavier density, such as lead, steel or other heavy material, is sized to fit into the opening formed by the channel 118 formed into the rear underside 112 of the grip.

[0037] The weight member 120 will weigh between 45 and 65 grams; preferably at least 65 grams. Thus, the weight member 120 represents at least one half and preferably slightly more than the total weight of the remaining parts of the grip 100 while covering an area of only approximately 10% of the total area of the grip 100. It follows a great portion of the entire weight of the grip 100 is concentrated at the rear bottom location of the grip 100 such that the underside section 112 tends to gravitate downwardly due to the force of gravity when the grip 100 is permitted to freely assume a rest position without manipulation by a golfer's hands.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the weight member 120, in the form of a heavy rod, extends from just under the closed upper butt end 114 at least 80% of the entire distance between the end cap 104 and the lower distal end 116 of the grip 100.

[0039] Typically, the grip 100 is made in a tapered configuration, becoming smaller toward the distal end 116. At an upper end of the grip adjacent the end cap 104, the grip 100 has a thickness of approximately 1.25 inches between the front 108 and the lower rear 112. As the grip 100 tapers toward the distal end 116 the thickness approaches 1.00 inch. In the preferred embodiment described above, the weight member 120 is located approximately 0.5 inches from a golf club shaft when the grip 100 is assembled on a golf club. This distance defines a moment arm that in combination with the weight member 120 creates a MOI value that is significant to overcome any natural tendency of the golf club to turn or twist as it is moved during a putting stroke.

[0040] It will be appreciated that the size and material of the weight member 120 will vary the MOI of the golf grip 100. For example, if the thickness of grip is greater, a lesser weight is necessary to achieve the same MOI. It follows that using a same weight member 120 will create a greater MOI when located at an outer location of a larger or thicker grip. Increasing the weight of the weight member 120 either by making it larger or using more dense material also increases the MOI of the grip.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 5, a golf grip 100 in accordance with the present invention is shown assembled on a putter 200 having a shaft 202 and a putter head 204 including a striking face 206 that engages a golf ball during the execution of a putting stroke.

[0042] The elongated bore 114 of the grip 100 that serves as a shaft opening and a weight member 120 are shown in phantom. A line drawn directly through the center of the elongated bore 114 and the weight member 120 is parallel to the striking face 206 of the putter 200 when the grip 100 is properly aligned and installed on the putter shaft 202. The increased MOI of the grip 100 aids the golfer to maintain the putter striking face 206 at a square position perpendicular to an intended target direction.

[0043] Various modifications may be made to the above described invention in keeping with the following claims.