Rotational golf training aid

Abstract

A hinged golf training club having a hinge that pivots rightwardly at a ninety degree angle relative to the reference plane 42 of zero degree clubhead 32. This device corrects the two main faults shared by all prior patents in this genre. The first fault is that their hinges are constructed so that the fork and the tongue members have flat surfaces contacting each other. The second fault is that some hinge both forwardly and rearwardly. This training club provides a construction that has a rounded male member contacting a rounded longitudinal cavity. The club looks substantially like and acts substantially like a conventional golf club in every way except for hinge 28, and allows the user to safely hit golf balls both on the range and on the course. This hinged training club 20 gives unmistakable positive feedback to the user both as how to use the hands, wrists and forearms in the golf swing to affect what has been popularly called ‘Ben Hogan's Secret Move,’ particularly during the transition of the golf swing. This invention will give the golfer unmistakable feedback as to whether they have executed the correct movement that Hogan explained in his 1955 Life magazine article.

1 . A golf training aid comprising:
 an upper shaft section having a grip; a lower shaft section having a clubhead having a reference plane; and a one-way hinge assembly comprising a female hinge member that is fixed to said upper shaft section and a rounded male hinge member that is fixed to said lower shaft section and that is pivotably connected to said female hinge member; wherein said female hinge member comprises a rounded longitudinal cavity within which said male hinge member pivots about a transverse axis, said transverse axis being parallel to the reference plane of a clubhead having a zero degree loft, said cavity being formed by two outer walls that are connected at their lower ends by a third wall, said third wall being operative to prevent pivoting of the male member by more than about 90 degrees.   
   
   
       2 . The golf training aid of  claim 1  further comprising a roll pin about which male hinge member pivots. 
   
   
       3 . The golf training aid of  claim 1  wherein said clubhead is selected from the group consisting of:
 a putter head,   an iron,   a driver, and   a training head.   
   
   
       4 . The golf training aid of  claim 1  in which the hinge assembly is located at or near the center of gravity of the golf training aid. 
   
   
       5 . A golf training aid comprising: an upper shaft section having a grip; a lower shaft section having a clubhead; and a hinge assembly comprising a female hinge member that is fixed to said upper shaft section and a rounded male hinge member that is fixed to said lower shaft section and that is pivotably connected to said female hinge member; wherein said female hinge member comprises a rounded longitudinal cavity within which said rounded male hinge member pivots about a transverse axis, said cavity being formed by two outer walls that are connected at their lower ends by a third wall and at their upper ends by a fourth wall. 
   
   
       6 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  wherein said hinge assembly is a one-way hinge assembly that constrains said lower shaft section to pivot perpendicularly from a plane that is parallel to said transverse axis and that intersects said side third wall. 
   
   
       7 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  wherein said third wall and said fourth wall are operative to prevent pivoting of the male member by more than about 90 degrees to the right. 
   
   
       8 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  in which the components of said training aid are configured similarly to and weighted approximately the same as those of a normal golf club. 
   
   
       9 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  wherein said grip is selected from the group consisting of:
 a conventional grip, and   a training grip.   
   
   
       10 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  in which said female hinge member contains a shaft cavity for receiving the lower end of said upper shaft portion. 
   
   
       11 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  in which said male hinge member and said female hinge member contain bores that accept a roll pin 
   
   
       12 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  wherein the lower end of male hinge member is configured to fit into the rounded hollow core of said lower shaft section. 
   
   
       13 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  configured so that the longitudinal axes of upper shaft member and lower shaft member are aligned when a ball is addressed and when the ball is struck during a proper golf swing. 
   
   
       14 . The golf training aid of  claim 5  wherein the longitudinal axis of said male hinge member and the longitudinal axis of said female hinge member stay aligned during a proper swing. 
   
   
       15 . A method for training a golfer to execute a proper golf swing using a training aid comprising an upper shaft section having a handle and a lower shaft section having a clubhead, said upper and lower shaft sections being joined by a one-way hinge assembly, said method comprising: addressing the ball, at which time said upper shaft section and said lower shaft section are in alignment; executing a first part of a backswing to a first checkpoint at which said upper shaft section is parallel to the ground and parallel to a line to the target, said handle is generally over the toes of the right foot, and said lower shaft section stays in the same alignment it was in at address; continuing the backswing to a second checkpoint at which both the upper end of said upper shaft section and said lower end of lower shaft section have stayed at the same alignment as they were at address; executing a first part of a forward swing to a third checkpoint at impact with the ball in which said upper shaft section and said lower shaft section are in alignment; continuing the forward swing to a fourth checkpoint at which said upper shaft section is parallel to the ground and the target line, said handle is generally over the toes of the left foot, said lower shaft section has stayed in the same alignment with said upper shaft section as they were at address; and continuing the forward swing to a fifth checkpoint at which the upper end of said upper shaft section and said lower shaft section have stayed in the same alignment as they were at address.