Golf club grip

Abstract

A golf club grip made up of a composite strip that includes a first segment having a felt layer to the upper surface of which is bonded a polyurethane and a second segment having a felt layer to the upper surface of which is bonded a fabric fiber mesh by a coating of polyurethane. The mesh defines slip-resistant grooves in the polyurethane. One side edge of the first segment is adhesively attached to a side edge of the second segment. The strip is spirally wrapped about a resilient underlisting sleeve or directly about the handle of a golf club.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A golf club grip that includes an elongated composite strip, said strip comprising: 
 a first segment having a backing layer to the upper surface of which is bonded a layer of polyurethane;    a second segment having a backing layer to the upper surface of which is bonded a mesh formed of fabric fibers by means of a coating of polyurethane and with fibers of the mesh defining slip-resistant grooves in the upper surface of the polyurethane coating;    adhesive on the underside of the backing layers of the first and second segments; and    with a side edge of the first segment being adhesively attached along one of its side edges to a side edge of the other segment to define said strip.    
     
     
         2 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 1    wherein the backing layers are felt.  
     
     
         3 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 1    wherein the backing layers include an EVA.  
     
     
         4 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 1    wherein some of the fibers extend longitudinally and the other of the fibers extend transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the second segment, and the longitudinally extending fibers are thicker than the transversely extending fibers and define said grooves.  
     
     
         5 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 4    wherein the coating of polyurethane on the second segment is buffed to partially expose the longitudinally extending fibers.  
     
     
         6 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 5    wherein the side edges of the polyurethane layers of the first and second segments are heat-compressed so as to define recessed reinforcement side edges and outwardly, and downwardly slanted skived side edges are formed along the length of the backing layer of such segments.  
     
     
         7 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 6    wherein the adhesive of the backing layer of the first segment is initially covered by a peel-off tape that is scored along one side to define a band that covers a skived side edge of said backing layers, said band being removed for attachment to a recessed reinforcement side edge of the second segment.  
     
     
         8 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 6    wherein the backing layers are of felt.  
     
     
         9 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 6    wherein the backing layers include an EVA.  
     
     
         10 . A slip-on golf club grip comprising: 
 a strip having a first segment that includes a backing layer to the upper surface of which is bonded a layer of polyurethane;    a second segment that includes a backing layer to the upper surface of which is bonded a mesh formed of fabric fibers by means of a coating of polyurethane and with fibers of the mesh defining slip-resistant grooves in the upper surface of the polyurethane coating;    adhesive on the underside of the felt layers;    with a side edge of one segment being adhesively attached along its side edge to a side edge of the other segment to define said strip; and    a resilient underlisting sleeve about which the strip is spirally wrapped and adhered.    
     
     
         11 . The combination as set forth in    claim 10    wherein heat compressed radially inwardly extending reinforcement side edges are formed in the polyurethane layer of the segments along the length of the segments, and outwardly and downwardly slanted side edges are formed along the length of the felt-layer of the segments whereby when the strip is spirally wrapped about the sleeve to define said grip the underside of the adjoining recessed side edges are overlapped by the slanted side edges to define a water retarding joint between the adjoining side edges.  
     
     
         12 . The combination as set forth in    claim 10    wherein some of the fibers extend longitudinally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the second segment and the other of the fibers extend transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the second segment, and the longitudinally extending fibers are thicker than the transversely extending fibers so as to form said grooves.  
     
     
         13 . A golf club grip as set forth in    claim 12    wherein the coating of polyurethane on the second segment is buffed to partially expose the longitudinally extending fibers.  
     
     
         14 . The combination as set forth in    claim 10    wherein the adhesive of the backing layer of the first segment is initially covered by a peel-off tape that is scored along one side to define a band that covers a skived side edge of said backing layer, said band being removed for attachment to a recessed reinforcement side edge of the second segment.  
     
     
         15 . The combination of a golf club having a handle and a resilient grip wherein the resilient grip comprises: 
 a strip having a first segment that includes a layer of felt to the upper surface of which is bonded a layer of polyurethane;    a second segment having a layer of felt to the upper surface of which is bonded a mesh formed of fabric fibers by means of a coating of polyurethane and with fibers of the mesh defining slip-resistant grooves in the upper surface of the polyurethane coating;    with a side edge of one segment being attached adhesively along its side edge to a side edge of the other segment to define said strip;    a resilient underlisting sleeve about which the strip is spirally wrapped and adhered; and    with the sleeve being positioned upon the handle of the golf club.    
     
     
         16 . The combination as set forth in    claim 15    wherein heat compressed radially inwardly extending reinforcement side edges are formed in the polyurethane layer of the segments along the length of the segments, and outwardly and downwardly slanted side edges are formed along the length of the felt-layer of the segments whereby when the strip is spirally wrapped about the sleeve to define said grip the underside of the adjoining recessed side edges are overlapped by the slanted side edges to define a water retarding joint between the adjoining side edges.  
     
     
         17 . The combination of    claim 15    wherein some of the fibers extend longitudinally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the second segment and the other of the fibers extend transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the second segment, and the longitudinally extending fibers are thicker than the transversely extending fibers so as to form said grooves.  
     
     
         18 . The combination of    claim 17    wherein the coating of polyurethane on the second segment is buffed to partially expose the longitudinally extending fibers.  
     
     
         19 . In a method of making a golf club grip, the steps including: 
 providing a backing layer strip to the upper surface of which is bonded a mesh of fabric fibers by means of a coating of polyurethane, with the fibers of the mesh defining slip-resistant grooves in the upper surface of the polyurethane coating; and    buffing the polyurethane coating to partially expose some of the fibers.    
     
     
         20 . A method as set forth in    claim 19    wherein some of the fibers extend longitudinally and the other of the fibers extend transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the backing layer strip, and the longitudinally extending fibers are thicker than the transversely extending fibers, with the longitudinally extending fibers being partially exposed by the buffing.