Background of the Invention Golf is an old and difficult game. Golfers are continuously practising various aspects of the game in order to improve their scores and their enjoyment of the game. There are a number of fundamental components to the game of golf that golfers may wish to practice, including: club grip, arm position, posture, proper swing plane and path, back swing, transition, down swing, follow through, the finish, putting, chipping, pitching, half swings, three-quarter swings and full swings. All of these fundamentals must be practised with a variety of clubs which are in turn used in very different ways, including putters, irons and drivers. There is therefore a need for training devices that allow golfers to practice a wide variety of golf techniques.

Golf is played by people of all shapes and sizes.

Therefore, if a golf training device is to be useful to a broad segment of the golfing population, it should be easily adaptable to fit different users. At the same time, the movements in golf are often subtle, and the difference between a desired motion and an undesirable motion may be slight. Accordingly, golf training devices may need to be adaptable to relatively fine tolerances to provide optimal assistance to a given golfer. Preferably, a golf training device should therefore address the conflicting needs of flexibility and precision in its design.

Although it may be desirable to practice golf with the assistance of a training device, the game itself is typically played only with an unencumbered golf club and a golf ball. A golfer therefore needs to learn to use golf clubs without the assistance of any additional training devices. A golf training device should therefore provide assistance in learning good technique, without creating dependence on the mechanism of the training device. In this context, preferred training devices should interfere as little as possible with the relationship between the golfer and the club, so that the golfer will easily migrate from use of the training device to use of the club alone.

Golfers often travel to different courses or practice areas to pursue their sport. It is accordingly desirable for golf training devices to be made so that they are easily portable to such locations. Golf training devices are therefore preferably relatively light, compact and portable.

Summary of the Invention In various aspects, the invention provides a golf training apparatus that may be fitted to a variety of golf clubs to help golfers learn and practise swing fundamentals, including grip, arm position, posture, proper swing plane and path, back swing, transition, down swing, follow through, finish, putting, chipping, pitching, half swings, three-quarter swings and full swings, with a variety of clubs including putters, irons and drivers. In preferred embodiments, the trainer is easily adjustable to fit golfers of different sizes and flexibility, and adaptable for use with a variety of common equipment. In preferred embodiments, the trainer may be adaptable for use by left or right-handed players on either the trailing arm, leading arm or in between both arms allowing both partial and full swings. The

trainer attaches to the club and not the golfer, facilitating a more natural golfing experience during indoor or outdoor practise, with or without hitting golf balls. In preferred embodiments, the trainer is foldable and adaptable for storage, for example in a golf bag.

In one aspect, the invention provides a training apparatus adapted for use on a golf club, the apparatus includes rear arms, a forward arm and a forearm band. The apparatus may be coupled to a golf club. Alternatively, a golf club may not be necessary, and, for example, an elongate shaft could take the place of a golf club in an alternative embodiment of the invention.

The rear arms of the apparatus preferably define a space capable of accommodating a user's forearm at a position spaced-apart from the golf club grip. The rear arms are attached (or attachable) to the golf club by a mechanism that provides for pivotable attachment of the rear arms to the grip. The mechanism also advantageously provides for rotation of the rear arms about the longitudinal axis of the golf club.

The forward arm is preferably pivotably attached to the rear arms at a pivot point. At a position spaced apart from the pivot point, the forward arm is attached (or attachable) to the club by a mechanism that provides for slidable, pivotable and rotatable attachment of the forward arm to the shaft of the golf club. The attachment mechanism is preferably slidable on the shaft to adjust the position of the rear arms and the forward arm. As with the rear arms, the attachment of the forward arm preferably provides for rotation of the forward arm about the longitudinal axis of the golf club.

A forearm band is preferably provided that is operably connected to the forward arm and to the rear

arms, so that the forearm band is positionable to engage the user's forearm in the space defined by the rear arms.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is an isometric view of the trainer attached to a golf club shaft and handle, in which the upper portion of the golf club is broken away from the remainder of the club, showing a golfer's grip on the golf club being guided by the trainer with the rotating forearm band set in a first position.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the trainer, with the rotating forearm band set in a second position.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view along section 3- 3 of Fig. 2, showing the grip insert, part of the mechanism that connects the rear arms to the club, with the golf club handle shown in section and partially broken away.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the trainer of Figure 2, showing alternative positions of the rotating forearm band.

Figure 5 is a rear elevational view along section 5- 5 of Figure 2, showing the left and right arms of the trainer, with the front of the trainer broken away.

Figure 6 is a broken away rear elevational view along section 6-6 of Figure 4, showing the slidable clip attachment of the forward arm of the trainer to a golf club shaft.

Figure 7 is a rear elevational view along section 7- 7 of Figure 4, showing a clamp engaging the golf club shaft to help position the trainer on the golf club shaft.

Figure 8 is a broken away front end view of the slidable clamp for attaching the front of the trainer to a golf club shaft.

Detailed Description of the Invention The training apparatus of the invention, shown generally as trainer 10 in the Figures, includes a forward arm 30 that is pivotally attached about pivot 40 to rear arms 32 and to U-shaped forearm band 42. Trainer 10 may be attached to both the grip 16 and to the shaft 14 of a golf club 12 so that golf club 12 remains freely rotatable about its longitudinal axis 22 independently of trainer 10.

Trainer 10 may be slidably attached to shaft 14 of golf club 12 just below grip 16 with a clip 53, which is shown in some detail in Figures 6 and 8. Clip 53 permits rotation of club 12 about the longitudinal axis 22 of club 12. As shown in Figures 6 and 8, clip 53 engages front end 50 of forward arm 30 by means of pins 52 on forward arm lugs 51, pins 52 are accepted in slots 55 of clip 53. Front end 50 of forward arm 30 is pivotal about axis 54 shown in Figure 6. Clip 53 thereby provides means for slidable, pivotable and rotatable attachment of forward arm 30 to shaft 14. A wide range of mechanically similar arrangements may be used to provide such means for attachment.

Clamp 60 may be used to adjust the positioning of trainer 10 by acting as a stop for slidable movement of clip 53 on shaft 14, to adjustably block downward movement of clip 53 on shaft 14. As shown in Figure 7, clamp 60 may be provided with a bore 62 for accepting shaft 14. Left clamp arm 63 and right clamp arm 64 are adapted to adjustably accommodate screw 66 that may be manually adjusted using knob 68 to tighten or loosen the attachment of clamp 60 on golf club shaft 14. The mouth

65 of clamp 60 permits clamp 60 to be placed over shaft 14, while a weakened portion 67 of clamp 60 may usefully facilitate adjustment of clamp 60. Rubber shims (not shown) may be used between clamp 60 and shaft 14, for example to protect graphite or other composite golf club shafts. Recess 69 in clamp 60 may be adapted to accommodate clip flange 59 to help retain the engagement of clip 53 with golf club 12, while permitting rotation of clip flange 59 about club axis 22.

Trainer 10 may be secured to grip 16 of club 12 by means of a grip insert 80 having a rod 82 that is insertable through a hole 26 in the end of grip 16. Such holes are standard on most golf clubs. Trainer 10 may be releasably secured to grip insert 80 by coupling bracket 70. Grip insert 80 and coupling bracket 70 cooperate to provide means for pivotable attachment of rear arms 32 to grip 16, also providing for rotation of rear arms 32 about longitudinal golf club axis 22. A wide range of mechanically similar arrangements may be used to provide such means for attachment.

Trainer 10 may be adapted for ease of attachment and removal from club 12. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, coupling bracket 70 and clip 53 are adapted to snap into place on grip insert 80 and shaft 14 respectively. As shown in Figures 6 and 8, clip 53 may be provided with wings 57 to resiliently snap fit shaft 14 into clip sleeve 56 through clip mouth 58.

As shown in Figure 3, rod 82 may be a resilient bent prong shaped to engage hollow interior 24 of shaft 14.

Rod 82 may have a narrowed portion 86 to receive a resilient portion of grip 16 that defines hole 26. Rod 82 may be shaped to have an inner large end 85 and a narrower distal end 84, to facilitate insertion of rod 82 into hole 26. In alternative embodiments, rod 82 may be

threaded, and may be screwed into hole 26 to retain grip insert 80. Enlarged cylindrical portion 88 of grip insert 80 has a face portion 99 that abuts the distal end 18 of handle 12 when rod 82 is fully inserted. The spacing provided by enlarged cylindrical portion 88 may be useful to facilitate access by the user to the whole of grip 12.

A handle portion 92 of grip insert 80 may be provided to facilitate manual insertion and removal of grip insert 80.

As shown in Figures 2,3 and 5, coupling bracket 70 is provided with bosses 76 that act as retainers against flanges 90 of grip insert 80. Wing arms 74 on coupling bracket 70 are connected by saddle portion 72 to encompass recessed portion 91 of grip insert 80. Pins 78 having enlarged heads engage left rear arm 34 and right rear arm 36 to facilitate pivotal attachment of rear arms 32 to grip insert 80. As shown in Figures 1 and 4, slots 37 near the distal ends 38 of rear arms 32 have recess portions 39 for accepting pins 78 to facilitate adjustment of the position of trainer 10 on club 12.

Forearm band 42 is pivotally supported on pivot pin 40, for pivotal movement about pivot axis 44. Pivot pin 40 may be integrally formed with retaining flanges 41 on the interior of trainer 10 and, on the exterior, the rearward planar ends 29 of forward arm 30. The lateral arms 43 of forearm band 42 may be shaped to form a C- shaped clip 45 for rotatably engaging pivot pin 40. The forward portions of rear arms 32 may similarly be adapted to rotatably engage pivot pin 40. Alternative means of pivotally connecting rear arms 32, forward arm 30 and forearm band 42 may be used to provide similar flexibility of configuration. Alternatively, a unitary structure could be made which is tailored to a specific utility or user.

As shown in Figures 1,4 and 5, forearm band 42 has an inner face 46 and an outer face 48. In a first position as shown in Figure 1, and shown as 42B in Figure 4, a portion 47A of a user's forearm 47 abuts inner face 46 of forearm band 42. In this position, the user's wrist 49 is trained to make an angle 49A that reflects a particular positioning of golf club 12 in the plane of movement shown by arrow 49B. Forearm band 42 may be moved to alternative positions, such as the position shown in Figures 2,4 and 5. Pivotal movement of forearm band 42 between positions is shown by arrow 42A in Figure 4. In some positions outer face 48 of forearm band 42 may be used to abut or guide a user's forearm. In further alternative uses, trainer 10 may be positioned between a user's forearms, so that the exterior side walls of rear arms 32 contact the user's forearms.

In preferred embodiments, the geometry and relationship of the parts of trainer 10 allow adjustment to accommodate a wide range of interactions with a user.

The axis of pivot pin 40 is perpendicular to the plane defined by trainer 10 and golf club 12. As a result, pivotal movement of rear arms 32 with respect to forward arm 30, made possible by the slidable attachment of forward arm 30 at clip 53, changes the position at which a user's forearm will be engaged by the space defined by rear arms 32, and may also adjust the nature of the engagement of a user's forearm with forearm band 42. The pivotal adjustability of forearm band 42 similarly increases the flexibility of trainer 10 to adopt alternative configurations for different uses and different users.

Trainer 10 provides for a very wide range of alternative uses. For example, trainer 10 may be used to provide a student with a consistent swing position and feeling for putting, chipping or driving. In some uses,

a student may be encouraged by the positioning of parts of trainer 10, particularly the relationship of forearm band 42 to forearm 47, to keep club 12 in a correct position or'plane'during the back swing, which may result in a straighter and further golf shot. Rear arms 32 may help to guide the club in use to a balanced and correct position at the top, bottom and finish of the swing. By rotating the position of forearm band 42, adjusting clamp 60 and the position of rear arms 32, the user may be able to adapt trainer 10 to help the user learn to prevent unnecessary wrist and body movements and to feel proper'pendulum'putting and chipping techniques.

Although various embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein, many adaptations and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention in accordance with the common general knowledge of those skilled in this art. Such modifications include the substitution of known equivalents for any aspect of the invention in order to achieve the same result in substantially the same way. For example, in one aspect, the invention may provide a training apparatus that includes a trainer mounted to a shaft, without the remaining components of a golf club. Similarly, although the flexibility of the various parts of the present invention is useful to enable the apparatus to be adapted to a wide range of uses, alternative embodiments may be made in which various parts are locked in a particular relationship tailored for specific applications. The present invention encompasses all such variations, whether they are accomplished by unifying various parts described herein into an integral unit, or made otherwise.