Using a mobile device with integrated motion sensing for customized golf club fitting

Abstract

One aspect of the disclosure relates to a method of swinging a mobile device to simulate swinging of a golf club in order to evaluate a user's golf swing for customized golf club fitting. In an embodiment, the method can be performed by a processor of the mobile device. In another embodiment, the method can be performed for multiple mobile devices concurrently, the method performed at least in part on a cloud-based server. According to an aspect of the invention, a method comprises swinging a mobile device having motion sensors integrated therein to simulate a golf swing; evaluating the simulated golf swing to determine at least one characteristic of a custom-fitted golf club; and outputting information related to the determined at least one characteristic. In an embodiment, the mobile device is held by a user. In an alternate embodiment, the mobile device is attached to a golf club.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving motion data from motion sensors integrated into a mobile device, the motion data corresponding to motions of the mobile device during swinging of the mobile device to simulate a golf swing without any physical contact with an actual ball;   evaluating the received motion data to determine at least one characteristic of a component of a custom-fitted golf club;   wherein the evaluating includes determining a virtual impact point of a virtual ball; and   outputting information relating to the evaluating.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile device is held in at least one hand; 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the motion sensors include a gyroscope and an accelerometer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further including the steps of:
 emitting a human-perceptible signal indicating readiness to start the swinging.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of evaluating the golf swing includes estimating a velocity of the mobile device at the virtual impact point. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the velocity is one of an average velocity or an instantaneous velocity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes golf club shaft stiffness determined at least in part using the estimated velocity of the mobile device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes golf club shaft weight determined at least in part using the estimated velocity of the mobile device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes golf club shaft flex point determined at least in part using the estimated velocity of the mobile device. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes a golf club head lie angle determined at least in part using gyroscope data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes a golf club head loft angle determined at least in part using an angle of approach of the mobile device through impact. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes a golf club head angle relative to the shaft determined at least in part using gyroscope data. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , the at least one characteristic includes a golf club head weighting determined at least in part using gyroscope data. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the outputting step further includes displaying on the mobile device information related to a selected custom golf club. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the outputting step further includes displaying on another display device separate from the mobile device information related to a selected custom golf club. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further including displaying a ball flight simulation. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the displayed ball flight simulation is displayed on a second device and the mobile device, the second device and the mobile device networked. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the outputting step includes displaying a video clip of a virtual guide. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the video clip is presented on a display device different from the mobile device. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the outputting step includes displaying ball flight distance information for at least one custom-fit golf club. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein ball flight distance information for several different custom-fit golf clubs are displayed on the mobile device at the same time. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the outputting step includes displaying swing data for at least one custom-fit golf club on the mobile device. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the outputting step includes displaying swing data for at least one custom-fit golf club on a display device different from the mobile device. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the output step includes outputting at least one marketing message on the mobile device. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one marketing message is outputted on a device different from the mobile device. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1 , further including the step of using global positioning sensor data to provide golf store location information. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the global positioning sensor data is used to provide golf store location information on a device different from the mobile device. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24  where the marketing message includes a testimonial. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method is performed using only the mobile device, the evaluating and outputting steps performed on the processor of the mobile device. 
     
     
         30 . A method, comprising:
 receiving motion data from motion sensors integrated into a mobile device, the motion data corresponding to motions of the mobile device during swinging of the mobile device to simulate a golf swing without any physical contact with an actual ball;   evaluating the swing so as to determine a virtual impact point with a virtual ball   
       for a virtual golf club;
 calculating the speed and angles of impact of the head of the virtual golf club 
 
       about the virtual impact point;
 using the calculated speed and angles of impact, determining at least one component of a custom-fitted golf club; and 
 outputting information related to the determined at least one component. 
 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein calculating the speed is based at least in part on one or
 more of estimated forearm rotation speed and wrist hinge speed.   
     
     
         32 . A system, comprising:
 a server;   a product component database linked to the server; and   a communication interface accommodating a plurality of mobile devices linked to the server concurrently, each of the mobile devices having motion sensors integrated therein;   wherein, when any one of the mobile devices is moved to simulate a golf swing, the system is configured to:   evaluate the simulated golf swing to determine at least one component of a custom-fitted golf club, the at least one component selected from the product component database.   
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 32  wherein information is output related to the determined at least
 one component. 
 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the output information is displayed using the same mobile device used to simulate the golf swing. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the output information is displayed on a display device different from the mobile device used to simulate the golf swing. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the output information includes one or more of a testimonial, a product recommendation, and a marketing message. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the mobile devices are linked to the server via the Internet. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the motion sensors include a gyroscope and an accelerometer. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein, preparatory to the mobile device being moved to simulate the golf swing, the mobile device is held in an initial position until a human-perceptible signal indicating readiness to start the swinging is emitted. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 32 , further comprising a database for storing motion data related to motions of the mobile device during the golf swing. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the at least one component of the custom-fitted golf club is selected according to a set of predetermined rules based at least in part on one or more of user input data, prior golf swing motion data, and CRM data. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein evaluation of the customized club fitting includes comparison of a not-fitted golf club component and a custom-fitted golf club component for measuring performance improvement. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 32 , wherein the output displayed on a web-enabled display device includes a ball flight simulation. 
     
     
         44 . A non-transient computer readable medium containing program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of:
 receiving motion data from motion sensors integrated into a mobile device, the motion data corresponding to motions of the mobile device during swinging of the mobile device to simulate a golf swing without any physical contact with an actual ball;   evaluating the received motion data to determine at least one characteristic of a component of a custom-fitted golf club;   wherein the evaluating includes determining a virtual impact point of a virtual ball; and   outputting information relating to the evaluating.