BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a golf practice aid.

Golf is a sport where technique is very important. The use of the correct technique leads to consistently executing successful shots and thereby a lowering of handicap.

In order to achieve a consistent result a golfer must practice and so many golf practice aids are available which attempt to help the golfer learn consistent form (particularly swing) and thereby improve the golfers game.

The majority of these aids focus on a single area of the game such as club type (eg. putting aids) or swing. These aids provide some assistance but are by no means a complete solution.

Written manuals and golf coaching media are available as a poor substitute to a personal professional golf tutor who can adapt to the needs and physique of an individual player. The cost of employing a professional golf tutor is, however, beyond the budget of many casual players.

The use of mirrors and mats are known but rarely does a product produce consistent results and teach a good swing form for a variety of players. Products are known which encourage an iterative improvement by marking feet and tee positions when good plays are made, but this does not encourage improvement from first use. Inevitably many golfing aids are used for only a short time before the golfer loses interest.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a practice golf aid which can be used by a wide range of different golfer physiques and teaches improvement in swing form by enabling the user to learn correct addressing of the ball prior to commencement of the swing.

Broadly in one aspect of the invention there is provided a golf practice aid including a surface area with a plurality of placement guides for a golf ball, the placement guides being located to correspond to a particular type of club or plurality of clubs, there being feet and shoulder positioning guides to teach correct positioning of the golfer when addressing the ball relative to an intended course of travel of a ball located with selected of said placement guides.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of the practice golf aid layout according to the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the golf practice aid being used by a golfer, Figure 3 shows an example of the golfer's addressing of the ball to induce a fade or sliced shot, Figure 4 shows a further example of the address used to induce a draw or hook shot, and Figure 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the practice golf aid according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS It should be appreciated from the following description that several embodiments of the golf practice aid may be possible without extending beyond the scope of the invention.

The golf practice aid 10 includes three major components, a ball positioning guide matrix 11, a shoulder/hand positioning guide 12 and a foot positioning guide 13.

The ball positioning matrix 11 is comprised of a series of parallel lines 14 and strips 15 arranged perpendicularly to said lines 14. The parallel lines 14 provide the'ball to target line'. When a straight shot is played the ball should continue in the same direction as lines 14. There are eight lines 14 as seen in Figure 1 which are generally derived to accommodate the range of physiques of different golfers and/or length of club shaft. More lines may be added if more adjustability is desired.

Intersecting with lines 14 are strips 15. The intersect points I provide a guide for ball or tee placement as seen best in Figure 1. Each strip 15 corresponds to a club type or range of club types (eg. short iron, long iron etc.) and may be colour coded for identification purposes. The illustrated form of the invention provides a golf practice aid for three golf club types and so three strips (15a, 15b, 15c) are provided for three types of clubs- (a) drivers/fairway woods, (b) medium irons and (c) short irons/wedges respectively.

According to golf theory, longer distance clubs should address the ball on a line which is roughly in line with the centre of the heel of the leading foot to ensure a straight shot. Driver strip 15a extends from the heel centre of

footprint 16 of foot guide 13 perpendicularly into target lines 14 as illustrated by Figure 1.

Short irons/wedges require the ball to be more centrally located and closer to the body. Accordingly short iron strip 15c is positioned substantially in the mid-body point (as defined by footprint 16 and 17).

Medium irons strip 15b is positioned between the driver strip 15a and short iron/wedge strip 15c. Preferably the location is closer to the driver strip 15a.

As indicated above the ball is positioned closer to the golfer when using a shorter club. Accordingly the ball should be placed on a strip 15 in a position which is comfortable for the golfer. This will be dependant on the length of the golf club shaft and maintaining the correct stance for the swing.

Figure 1 illustrates the three ball positions B1, B2, B3 necessary for an"average"golfer to execute a straight shot.

Position B1 is the recommended location for the ball (preferably mounted upon a rubber tee) when being struck by a suitable driver. Position B2 corresponds to a medium iron and position B3 to a short iron or wedge. An increase in club length will cause an increase in the distance of the ball from the golfer.

In order for a straight shot to be executed (other shots will be described hereinafter), the golfer must maintain the feet in a line which is parallel to the target line 14. To achieve this, foot guide 13 is provided which includes a fixed placement footprint 16, a set of variable placement footprints 17, and a straight edge 18.

The golfer preferably stands with feet at shoulder width with the front foot in the fixed footprint 16 and one foot in an appropriate variable footprint 17. The height of the golfer will be proportional to the separation of the feet and also to the tee/ball placement guide offered by target lines 14.

Shoulder placement (and hence correct stance) is monitored by a mirrored strip 19 which is located in front of the golfer adjacent and parallel to the straight edge 18. The golfer can watch the reflection in mirror 19 and then ensure that his/her shoulders are maintained parallel to the target lines 14.

A parallel channel 20 within mirror 19 is provided for the adjustable positioning of a sliding marker 21 which is used to indicate the correct hand placement of the golfer.

Initial hand placement is preferably a hand span from the body and in line. In Figure 1 the sliding marker 21a shown

in dotted detail has been adjusted for, say, a driver/wood shot.

The mirror 19 can also include a marker/indicator 23 which corresponds to the recommended head position.

The club back swing is then initiated and the hands and club head should move in parallel to the target line 14 during the initial part of the swing. Constant use of the practice aid 10 will eventually lead to correct addressing of the ball and movement of the club away from the ball becoming second nature to the golfer.

Figure 2 illustrates a golfer G in the correct initial stance for use of a driver D. The ball B can be seen to be placed on line 15a in a position comfortable to golfer G. The golfer G monitors his shoulder bearing in the mirror strip 19.

The main purpose of the golf practice aid according to the invention is to teach good alignment (along with other guidelines and tips provided in a user's manual) so the correct stance and good habits will become second nature to the golfer. Eventually after prolonged use, the golfer will not need the use of the golf practice aid 10.

For shots which are not intended to be straight but to fade or draw (curve in flight), Figures 3 and 4 illustrate alternative feet positions to achieve these specialist shots (on purpose).

Figure 3 illustrates the feet position for a fade (or slice) shot. The fixed foot 16 remains substantially unchanged but foot 17 steps over the straight edge 18 of foot guide 13.

The golfer still attempts to strike the ball straight but the alteration in body position will cause the ball to travel away from the golfer. A successful fade shot is used to curve the ball part way through its flight eg. to avoid obstacles in front of the golfer or take into account wind or some other factor such as a dog leg fairway.

Figure 4 illustrates the feet position for a draw (or hook) shot. The golfer stands further away from the ball with his/her rear foot.

Foot 17 is positioned further back from the target line than foot 16 and the ball (if struck successfully) curves mid way through its flight behind the golfer and around obstacles or to follow a bend in the fairway.

An alternative embodiment of the golf practice aid 10 with additional features is shown in Figure 5.

In addition to the series of parallel lines 14 (as illustrated in Figure 1) is a set of arcs 22 which more correctly define the back-swing motion of the golf club. The arcs 22 curve toward the body of the golfer and is hence a more natural movement during the initial part of the back- swing. The curve of the arc may be different for different club types as will be apparent to experienced golfers.

Figure 5 also features two small sliding cursors 23a and 23b sliding within channel 20 and a fixed centre line indicator 23c. The moveable mirror 19 is located parallel to straight edge 18 with the fixed centre indicator 23c placed at the centre of the feet positions. Cursors 23a and 23b are located at respective shoulder reflections in mirror 19.

The slideable cursors 23a and 23b represent the limits within which the shoulders must turn when executing the swing to avoid swaying. The centre indicator 23c corresponds to the recommended head position In a further development the foot positioning guide 13 includes footprints 17 of colour coded form to correspond to the recommended stance for a particular club type.

For even further swing monitoring, a vertical (preferably at least body-height) mirror 25 may be provided so a golfer may see his/her swing and stance to correct errors. A similar

adjustable marking system may be used to set recommended movement boundaries as described previously (ie. channel 20 and cursors 23a, 23b, 23c). Alternatively, marker pens used directly on the glass could be used to set these limits.

It will be appreciated that several further embodiments will be possible which each incorporate different combinations of the features described above without departing from the scope of the invention.

The embodiments described in all Figures are clearly for a right handed player. The apparatus can easily be configured to the needs of left handed players by reversing the layout.

The ball positioning surface area 11 and foot guide 13 is most conveniently produced in a mat form with holes provided therethrough for tees to be placed therein or into the earth if the mat is used outdoors. The mat may be made from a synthetic grass or like surface so balls can be struck easily without tees (more realistic for practicing with clubs other than drivers).

The advantages of producing the golf practice aid as a mat (which may be rolled up) are clear-it is easily transportable with other golf equipment and left and right handed versions can be displayed on alternative sides of the mat utilising the same tee holes.

A mat of this type can be used for practicing swings at home as well as for actual shots made on a golf course.

It is envisaged, however, that the layout could be provided in a more permanent form either on a driving range or as outlines drawn on hard ground.

The golf practice aid according to the invention is suited to a wide range of golfer physiques by virtue of its adjustability and teaches correct stance and positioning technique for several club types.