Methods and apparatus for a golf swing aid include a knee connector for connecting to a person's knee, a golf club connector for connecting to a golf club's grip that is gripped by the person, and a resilient connector for connecting the knee connector and the golf club connector. In an illustrative example, the resilient connector may be distendable to stretch under tension from an unstretched length to a stretched length to provide a force that opposes separation of the golf club connector and the knee connector beyond a predetermined distance based on the unstretched length of the resilient connector. In some examples, the golf swing training aid may provide a feel-based aid using feedback forces that may be a function of separation between the knee connector and the golf club connector during a dynamic movement of a swing to aid learning an improved golf swing.

     

[0040] FIGS. 5A-C show the golf swing aid at work with the golf club connector, knee connector, and resilient connector at different positions and resilient connector at different lengths in different phases of the golf stroke, which includes a back swing, down swing, and follow-through for a normal stroke. In the depicted FIG. 5A, a golfer positions a golf club near a golf ball. In the depicted FIG. 5B, the golfer moves the club away from the ball in a back swing. From the backswing, the golfer makes the down swing back to middle and completes the follow-through for a normal stroke as shown in FIG. 5C.

[0041] The resilient connector may start to stretch shortly after the golfer initiates the backswing. Then tension in the resilient connector may increase as the resilient connector is stretched longer. Tension in the resilient connector may grow as the golfer continues the backswing. Tension can reach its maximum as the golfer gets to the top of his backswing. The grip end of the club is the furthest from the leading knee during the backswing when the golfer is at the top of the backswing. This applies to a golfer with a fundamentally correct golf swing. This is not necessarily true for a golfer with an incorrect golf swing.

[0042] Tension in the resilient connector can decrease as the golfer approaches impact with the golf ball and the grip end moves closer to the leading knee. Tension can increase again after the golfer impacts the golf ball and the grip end of the club begins to move away from the leading knee. The tension in the resilient connector can create a pulling force throughout the golf swing that is not present without the training aid. This pulling force can help correct many of the typical problems in the golf swing through various means as described below, and these may include problems backswing, timing, lag, follow through swing, and strength. The training aid is not limited to the benefits mentioned herein. They just serve as examples of some of the benefits.

[0043] A swing flaw among some golfers is a tendency to have a narrow backswing. A narrow backswing happens when the golfer does not extend his arms away from his body during his backswing. Instead, his arms and hands remain close to his body all the way to the top of his backswing. At this point, the right-handed golfer's left arm is significantly bent and in a weak position to hit the ball. A narrow backswing may lead to a weak and inaccurate golf swing. In various embodiments, the training aid described herein may help fix the problem of the narrow backswing because as the golfer swings the club back, the resilient connector pulls the grip end of the golf club toward the leading knee. If the golfer does not provide a counter force against the resilient connector by extending his arms and the grip end of the golf club away from his leading knee, his narrow backswing problem will be exaggerated. Because of this, the golfer naturally provides the counter force against the resilient connector to avoid the exaggerated narrow backswing. The feeling the golfer gets while doing this is exactly the feeling he needs to have to correct his narrow backswing problem. The golfer can then practice and learn the feeling of providing force against the resilient connector by practicing with the training aid. After the feeling is engrained and he removes the training aid, the golfer may continue to provide the learned counter force to fix the narrow backswing problem. Providing this counter force can lead to arm extension and a wider backswing. That is how the training aid helps fix the narrow golf swing problem.

[0044] Timing is an important aspect of the golf swing. As used herein, timing may generally relate to the sequence of movements in the golf swing. In the transition phase of the golf swing, the club begins to move from the top of the backswing back towards the golf ball. The leading knee should initiate the transition. It should slide toward the target, creating a slight weight shift toward the target. After this, the upper body should follow suit, and begin rotating back towards the golf ball.

[0045] Coming "over the top" and "getting stuck" are common problems that stem from the transition phase of the golf swing. Coming over the top occurs when the upper body initiates the transition, whereas getting stuck occurs when the lower body dominates and gets too far ahead of the upper body during the transition. The training aid helps fix both these problems.

[0046] Coming over the top is a more common problem for the novice golfer than getting stuck. Wearing the training aid can help fix this problem by drawing the golfer's attention to what the proper transition feels like. While wearing the training aid, as the golfer reaches the top of his backswing, the tension on the resilient connector builds. This leads to the knee connector pulling the leading knee away from the target. This pulling force serves as a reminder throughout the backswing for the golfer to initiate the transition with the leading knee, instead of with the upper body as he was previously. This new, lower body initiated transition, will create more tension in the resilient connector than the previous over the top transition. The golfer then continues to practice with the training aid, engraining the feel of the proper transition, until it becomes second nature.

[0047] Getting stuck is a more common problem for the advanced golfer. Like coming over the top, the training aid can help fix getting stuck by drawing the golfer's attention to the transition. Specifically, a golfer that is getting stuck will feel tension in the resilient connector for longer than ideal. This is because his overactive lower body is moving the leading knee away from the grip end of the golf club while the passive upper body is not moving the grip end of the golf club toward the leading knee fast enough. To fix the getting stuck problem, the golfer will want to feel as if he is releasing tension in the resilient connector sooner by transitioning more with his upper body. The training aid can help him transition more with his upper body by serving as a reminder to release the tension in the resilient connector sooner. Practicing with an embodiment of the training aid may advantageously engrain this new transition.

[0048] The training aid may also, in some embodiments, help golfers increase power by increasing lag in the golf swing. Lag refers to the angle between the golf club shaft and the leading arm during the downswing. The smaller the angle, the greater the lag will be. Lag can be primarily determined by how much the golfer hinges the club with his wrists. In general, lag may increase distance because lag acts like a whip. If a golfer has a large amount of lag, the club head of the golf club must travel a greater difference in a shorter period of time before it hits the ball, which is similar to a whipping motion. This may produce increased speed and increased distance.

[0049] The training aid can promote lag in the golf swing a number of different ways. First, if the golfer was previously coming over top, he likely had very little lag in his golf swing. By helping the golfer to fix the over the top motion, the training aid also increases the golfers lag and distance. Second, if the golfer chokes up on the golf club slightly while using the training aid, he will feel increased tension in the resilient connector by having more lag on the down swing. This is because the greater the lag, the further away the end of the golf club is from the leading knee, and therefore the greater the tension.

[0050] Increased tension may serve as a reminder during the golf swing to maintain wrist hinge to increase lag. As the golfer practices with the training aid, this motion becomes second nature and becomes easily incorporated into golf swings made without the training aid.

[0051] The follow through is another trouble area for some golfers. Novice golfers have the tendency to hit at the ball instead of through it. This leads to decreased distance and accuracy. The training aid can help fix this problem. After the golf club makes contact with the golf ball during the golf swing, the grip end of the club moves away from the leading knee. As this happens, the tension in the resilient connector increases. This tension serves as a reminder for the golfer to follow through the golf shot and extend his arms through the finish. This leads to increased distance and accuracy. As the golfer practices with the training aid, the new follow through will become engrained in his golf swing both with and without the training aid. The training aid also helps golfers increase distance and accuracy by increasing the strength of the muscles used in the golf swing.

[0052] As described above, the training aid provides force against the golfer's momentum in various points throughout the golf swing. This means the golfer must learn to swing against the increased force, leading to increased strength after repeated use. Although various embodiments have been described with reference to the figures, other embodiments are possible.

[0053] For example, the body portion of the golf club connector may comprise one, two, or more connection elements for connecting the resilient connector to the golf club connector. The connection elements may be a loop formed by attaching the ends of a cord to the body portion of the golf club for attaching the resilient connector to the golf club connector. The body portion of the golf club connector may include openings or structures with openings for attaching the ends of the cord or other sheet of material to form the loop. In some implementations the ends of the cord or sheet of material may be knotted around the opening to form the loop.