Yes, I Believe I Have Found a Helpful Training Aid
It may be hard to believe but I, like most golfers, occasionally get jaded after seeing training aid after training aid, none of which seem particularly helpful. Every now and then I come across one that actually seems to have some merit. Today was one of those days. USPN
The patent goes on to explain:
Golf is a game in which form is emphasized over athletic ability. It is generally thought for a golf club to move a golf ball along a desired or intended line to a target, the head of the golf club first must strike the golf ball while traveling in a curved path at a point tangential to the desired line, and second the plane of the golf club must be normal to the vertical plane of intended flight. Proper alignment throughout the swing is essential to obtain any degree of success in playing golf. The second requirement is generally met by maintaining a proper grip on the golf club throughout the swing. The first requirement is best achieved by maintaining the golf club in a proper plane through the swing.
Failure to maintain the golf club in the proper plane through the swing has generally resulted from either starting the golf club in motion in an improper plane, or from movement, either lateral or vertical, of the center of rotation of the golfer’s swing due to the effort of the backswing.
Repetitive practice is very effective in developing a correct golf swing. However, to practice with the wrong form serves only to foster bad habits. Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult for a golfer to correct or improve his own “swing” because he needs another person, preferably a professional instructor, to watch him while he is hitting the ball.
The need to eliminate bad habits has prompted the popular use of video cameras to record player’s swings. Practice techniques using video cameras have very limited effectiveness, however, because the golfer cannot observe himself while he or she is being recorded and must wait until later to analyze and adjust his or her stroke. There is a need for a device that provides real time visual feedback on the condition of the golfer’s swing from address to follow-through so that immediate corrective action can be taken by the golfer.
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This invention enables a new apparatus for training a golfer in proper movement of swinging a golf club by permitting the golfer to observe motion of the golf club, and body movement of the golfer during the golf swing, from the edge of the swing plane. A pair of mirrors reflects the golfer’s image to the golfer during the swing while also permitting the golfer to observe club motion during the swing. One of the mirrors is supported by a support means in a position where the golfer may observe movement of the golf club and the golfer’s body during the swing. With the apparatus of the present invention, a golfer thus is permitted to observe and control both motion of the golf club and movement of the golfer’s body, while making a golf swing.
Sounds pretty good to me.
Dave Dawsey – Tracking Golf Training Inventions
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