This invention relates to golfer practise device, the purpose of which is to enhance a golfer's performance when actually playing the game.

Rules of golf prevent the use of any artificial aids whilst playing the game of golf, but there are many and various golf practise devices which a golfer can use on the practise ground in order to enhance his performance on the course.

The performance of a golfer, because of the nature of the game, is enhanced if he can swing the golf club in a repeating swing path, so that the club head will meet the golf ball consistently and accurately, but the difficulty with the game is that in the making of a golf swing to strike the ball, the body executes a complicated turning and swinging motion and many muscles come into play, and if all of the muscles do not operate in a co-ordinated fashion, then the path of the club may travel in different paths from swing to swing.

In one part of the body the movements vary considerably from swing to swing, and that part of the body is in the legs, in particular in the right leg for a right handed golfer or the left leg for a left handed golfer.

It is established teaching practise that the legs should remain in a position where they are slightly bent at the knees during the entire swing, but frequently in the case of a right handed golfer, as the swing is executed, the golfer will tend to straighten his right leg on the back swing, causing it to "lock", and this causes difficulty in making the down swing, because in the down swing the golfers weight or more particularly his centre of gravity must move forwards

with the forward swinging of the club and this locking of the right knee prevents this movement leading to inconsistent results.

The present invention seeks to provide a means for overcoming this particular difficulty.

According to the present invention a golfer practise device comprises a fitting for the knee (the right knee in the case of a right handed golfer and the left knee in the case of a left handed golfer) which can be strapped over the knee, and which embodies a rigid stay means which extends from above the knee and to below the knee, and which defines a "knee angle" to keep the leg set so that there will be a slight bend at the knee during the entire swing executed with the golfer practise device in position.

The device may comprise simply a section of fabric or leather or the like having a pocket in which the stay, which may be a metal rod or strip, is trapped, and the device being provided with straps for anchoring the device in position on the golfer's knee.

The straps may be integral with the panel, and may be of the buckle and aperture fixing type, or may be of the touch and close fastener type to enable the selected application and removal of the device from the golfer's knee.

As will be understood, the device is designed for use by the golfer when practising, and the principle is that by repeated practising using the device the golfer's leg muscles will acquire a habit which ensures that the knee remains in the correct position during the entire swing.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way

of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein:-

Fig. 1 is a view of the lower half of a golfer when addressing a golf ball ready to make a strike at same with a golf club;

Figs. 2 and 3 are views similar to Fig. 1 but showing the golfer in two different positions during the golf swing;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a prototype device according to the embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a production sample of the device.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1 the legs 10 and 12 of a right handed golfer are shown, and it wil be seen that the golfer is holding a golf club 14 positioned at the address position ready to strike a golf ball 16 which rests on the ground 18.

On the golfer's right leg and extending over the knee is the device 20 according to the embodiment of the invention, and which will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 4.

To make the golf stroke, the golfer swings the club 14 away from the golf ball 16 as he makes the back swing of the golf stroke, and this is followed by swinging the golf club back towards the ball 16 to strike same and to follow through in executing the forward stroke of the swing.

Fig. 2 shows the golfer's legs in the position when he has reached the end of the back swing, and it will be seen that

the left leg 12 has been bent in the region of the knee so that the knee comes towards the ball. The hips have turned slightly with the back swinging movement of the club, but the right leg 10 has generally retained the set angle of flex at the knee.

As regards the Fig. 3 position, the golfer has executed the forward swing and has completed same, and he has turned around the left leg 12 whilst the right leg 10 has swung forwardly as can be seen, but again the angle set of the leg at the knee is retained.

The device 20 according to the invention in fact ensures that the set angle of the right leg is maintained throughout the entire swing, because a common fault in swinging a golf club is that a golfer when in the Fig. 2 position will straighten or lock his right leg 10, making it difficult to swing through to the finished position shown in Fig. 3.

To achieve the desired effect, the simple device 20 as shown in Fig. 4 is provided, and the device comprises essentially a panel 22 of a flexible material such as a fabric or leather or the like or any suitable combination, the panel 22 being generally rectangular and having embedded therein a stay 24 in the form of a metal rod or strip which is in fact bent in the central region to define the angle 26 which is an angle related to the natural set angle of the leg at the addressed position on the golfer. The angle 26 can be varied by bending the stay 24 to suit the golfer, but once the device is fixed in position, that angle will be retained.

The panel 22 is provided with a plurality of straps 28 as shown of the buckle and hole variety so that the golfer can connect the device to his leg in the correct position, and can easily remove same upon completion of his practise.

The straps 28 may be attached to one another and to the panel 20 by touch and close fastening devices such as Velcro (Registered Trade Mark) .

A suggested production version of the device is shown in Fig. 5, but it operates essentially as does the device described in relation to Fig. 4. The device of Fig. 5 comprises a flat body 100 of generally figure-8 configuration as shown. The body comprises front and rear layers, and contains the brace or stay as described in relation to Fig. 4 and there is a decorative plastic strip 102 secured to the front layer of the body and which is in register with the stay. Edging 104 is stitched to the front and rear layers, and the three straps shown 106, 108 and 110 are trapped between the plastic strip 102 and the front layer of the body 100. Straps 106 and 110 have their tails to the right hand side of the strip in Fig. 5, whilst strap 108 has its tail to the left hand side. Each strap has a simple strap ring 112 as shown, and the front face of each strap is provided with the respective parts 114 and 116 of a touch-and-close fastening arrangement.

The application of the device to the golfer's knee will be readily understood. He simply positions the body 100 over his knee, the stay setting the knee angle as described hereinbefore, and then the straps are connected by the user applying the appropriate tension to the strap before completing the fixing.

The device of course operates similarly to that described in relation to the Fig. 4 embodiment.

The device may take any suitable embodiment in order to achieve the desired result and it may be useful for other sportsmen such as cricketers and hockey players.