Did a Golfer Invent this Glove?

Some inventions just really make me scratch my head and wonder what I am missing. They often seem so bizarre that I wonder if the inventor is really a golfer, but that is the beauty with some golf inventions. I can’t say if this golf glove invention is genius or plain crazy, but I am leaning toward the later (but who am I to judge). The invention at issue is found in USPN 7,725,956 titled “Golf Glove with Club Handle Stop,” which describes the invention as:

A golf glove provides a positive stop for the end of a golf club handle and a resilient pad for seating the golf club handle against the glove. The stop reaches across the glove palm and angles towards the small finger and has a wall extending perpendicular to the wearer’s palm for the handle to abut against. The resilient pad fills a concave portion of the palm to provide a substantially flat surface for the golf club handle to seat against.

The patent goes on to explain:

In many sports utilizing hitting or driving implements, achieving a consistent grasp of the implement is important in success. Especially in golf, a slight error in the angle of hitting the ball may result in a disastrous shot. Generally, the handle of the golf club extends through the golfer’s hands, and the precise position of the golfer’s hands on the golf club handle may be difficult to repeat. Further, a golfer’s grip on the club handle may be limited when the handle can slide against the golf glove’s surface.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a golf glove which provides a positive stop for the end of a golf club handle and a resilient pad for seating the golf club handle against the glove. The stop reaches across the glove palm and angles towards the small finger and has a wall extending perpendicular to the wearer’s palm for the handle to abut against. The resilient pad fills a concave portion of the palm to provide a substantially flat surface for the golf club handle to seat against.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a golf glove for stabilizing a golf club handle. The golf glove includes a stop attached to the golf glove and is positionable on a palm of the golfer’s hand, a wall of the stop facing the golfer’s fingers, and resilient pad attached to the golf glove. The stop reaches across the palm from near the base of the golfer’s thumb and angled away from the horizontal towards the base of the small finger when the fingers are pointed downwards. The wall is approximately perpendicular to the golfer’s palm when the golf glove is worn on the golfer’s hand. The resilient pad extends from a wide end of the resilient pad proximal to the face of the stop to a narrow end of the resilient pad residing along an index finger of the golfer wearing the golf glove and fills a gap between the golfer’s palm and the golf club handle to provide a firm grasp.

So, what do you think? Genius or crazy?

Dave Dawsey   – Keeping an Eye on Golf Glove Inventions

PS – check out other golf glove related posts here