Near zero inertia pendulum golf swing trainer Swinky™

Abstract

Swinky™ is a pendulum golf swing trainer. It weighs about six pounds, folds up like an umbrella, and can be unfolded and set up without tools in a moment. It comprises a long, stiff, ultra-light pendulum arm that hangs atop a mast, planted on a sure-footed tripod opposite the golfer's chin. The golfer's club makes up at least 98% of the weight of the pendulum bob. The other vital 2% of the bob's weight is provided by the device's low-inertia, visually graphic rectangular string bridge, one end of which is anchored on the neck of the club shaft and the other on the tip of the pendulum arm. The club swings accompanied by the bridge quite unaffected by its presence as long as the club's center of mass tracks parallel to and centered with the sweep of the pendulum arm. Exploiting rectangle feedback is simple. Preset the mast angle to match the lie angle of the club shaft and the top of the mast to the height of the golfer's own chin at address. Start and complete swings with the bridge just sufficiently tensioned to form the rectangle. Proper swings are confirmed by steadiness of the mast and tripod throughout the swing, along with air speed whistling that peaks at the bottom of the swing. A faulty swing at any point instantly deforms the rectangle and rocks the mast and tripod.

1 . A near zero inertia pendulum golf swing trainer suitable for anyone swinging a standard golf club, said trainer comprising:
 A pendulum hub axle support:   an ultra rigid 0.4 oz wt. pendulum arm with a swing period of about two seconds, which arm may swing freely only around the longitudinal axis of its axle support and bears at its tip:   an offset pendulum bob about 98% of whose total mass is   the mass of the golfer's club at its center of mass near the neck of the club shaft, with   the remaining scant 2% or so of bob mass,   provided by a visually graphic bob bridge of distinct rectangular structure,   composed of taut, strong lines,   one extremity of the bridge anchored on the neck of the golfer's club;   the other extremity anchored on the tip of the pendulum arm;   whereby constant geometry of that bridge rectangle distinctly guides the golfer to swing in a circular path, congruent with the major axis of the pendulum axle support.   
     
     
         2 . The rectangular bridge of  claim 1  composed of visually graphic lines anchored separately side by side to one another, one end on the neck of the club shaft and the other end on the tip of the pendulum arm;
 which two lines, upon becoming free of slack and parallel between the club and pendulum arm when the golfer properly addresses the trainer to swing, subsequently form 
 a rectangular bridge typically of thirty by four inches that weighs about 0.1 ounces. 
 
     
     
         3 . The rectangular bridge of the trainer of  claims 1  and  2 , where the lines forming the bridge are twisted together and intersect at their midpoint to form the diagonals of that rectangle rather than its two long sides, whereby maintaining said FIGURE intact induces the golfer to swing the club's center of mass back through its starting position. 
     
     
         4 . The pendulum trainer of  claim 1 , where the pendulum hub axle is carried atop a mast attached to a mast support extending up from and hinged upon the neutral leg of the tripod;
 said tripod having three horizontal legs each having a vertical foot at its free end;   two legs being very firmly hinged under the nose end of the third neutral leg, to enable the tripod's three feet to be configured for various levels of stability as necessary to advance a golfer's skill safely.   
     
     
         5 . The pendulum swing trainer of  claim 4 , where the mast angle is adjustable by rotation of the mast support up to 160 degrees with respect to the tripod to preset the swing stability of the trainer according to the golfer's skill. 
     
     
         6 . The pendulum trainer of  claim 5 , where the height of the mast is adjustable by extending or retracting it from its support. 
     
     
         7 . The pendulum trainer of  claim 4 , where the distance between the feet of the tripod coupled with firm hinging of two legs below the nose of the neutral leg endows the trainer with a type of spring-leaf suspension, ensuring desirable swing recoil stability. 
     
     
         8 . The pendulum trainer of  claim 1 , where the swing inertia accrued by the pendulum and bob is so tiny compared to that of the swung club that the mast and tripod barely sway, unless the golfer's swing is faulty. 
     
     
         9 . The pendulum trainer of  claim 1 , where the pendulum arm is a premium-grade 0.4-ounce ( 3/16 inch outside diameter, ⅛-inch inside diameter) hollow arrow shaft, commonly referred to by archers as a “carbon fiber” or “boron fiber” or “Kevlar™ fiber,” or combination thereof, arrow shaft. 
     
     
         10 . The pendulum bob of  claim 1 , where the taut lines composing the rectangular perimeter are twisted together to form a bridge/rectangle having conspicuous intersecting diagonals and imaginary long sides. 
     
     
         11 . The tripod of  claim 2 , comprising hinged ½-inch square hollow legs, fastened together to permit the tripod to fold up or to be unfolded numerous times to form a robust stand-alone robotic structure without tools which is essentially maintenance-free. 
     
     
         12 . The tripod of  claim 2 , where the mast angle is set by sliding its articulated base along the neutral leg of the tripod, and rotating the mast/pendulum arm 180 degrees. 
     
     
         13 . The mast and pendulum of the trainer of  claim 1 , where the unit is removed from the device and swung to simulate the batting or racket-swinging action of other sports.