Golf club fitting system

• US 20040204262A1
• Filed: 01/21/2004
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PRO-Fit Performance Club Fitting, LLC
• Original Assignee: Greg Johannesen, James White
• Inventors: White, James, Johannesen, Greg
• Granted Patent: US 7,195,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/287
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/00 Golf clubs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/005 Club sets
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/025 lie angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about an axis parallel to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/42 Devices for measuring, verifying, correcting or customising the inherent characteristics of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like, e.g. measuring the maximum torque a batting shaft can withstand

Abstract

An improved golf club fitting system for fitting a set of golf clubs to a player includes the steps of measuring a player'"'"'s hand grip strength and selecting a representative golf club having a dead weight directly proportional to the player'"'"'s grip strength. The club length and the swing weight of the representative golf club are then determined by standard testing procedures commonly used in the golf club industry. A balance index (BI) for the representative golf club is then computed by dividing the dead weight (DW) by the swing weight (SW) (DW/SW=BI) and the balance index (BI) is compared to the dead weight to determine generally corresponding values for the remaining other golf clubs in the set such that the system user can match different irons and woods to the representative golf club thereby creating an ideal matched set of golf clubs for the player.

Claims

5-1. The improved golf club fitting system of claim 1 wherein said step of selecting a representative golf club comprises selecting a test golf club having a determined dead weight, swing weight and balance, said determined dead weight, swing weight and balance calculated via said determining step, said test golf club having a club head including adjustable weighting means and adjustable weight positioning means, said test golf club further having shaft length adjustment means such that the weight and balance of said club head of said test golf club and the length of said shaft of said test golf club are adjustable to fit the player'"'"'s determined swing characteristics.

12. An improved golf club fitting system for fitting a set of golf clubs to a player comprising the steps:

measuring a player'"'"'s physical dimensions at least including grip strength of the player'"'"'s hand;

selecting a representative golf club having a dead weight equal to the total weight of the representative golf club, said dead weight being directly proportional to the player'"'"'s grip strength, specifically that the dead weight of the golf club is greater when the player'"'"'s grip strength is greater and vice versa;

recording the club length of the representative golf club;

determining the swing weight of the representative golf club;

computing a balance index (BI) for the representative golf club by dividing the dead weight (DW) by the numerical value of the swing weight (SW) (DW/SW=BI);

comparing said balance index (BI) determined for the representative golf club to said dead weight of the representative golf club to determine generally corresponding balance index and dead weight values for at least some of the other golf clubs in a set of golf clubs such that the system user can generally match different iron and wood golf clubs to the representative golf club thereby creating a generally ideal matched set of golf clubs for the player;

providing an adjustable lie board including a base plate on which is pivotably mounted a lie plate which is angle and attitude adjustable relative to said base plate, an angle readout device mounted on said base plate adjacent said lie plate operative to permit reading of the angle of said lie plate relative to said base plate, said adjustable lie board enabling use of said representative golf club during the angle determination section of the fitting process, with angle changes being made via said adjustable lie board instead of through the use of multiple test clubs with slightly different club head angles;

placing marking tape on the sole of the club head of said representative golf club;

having the player hit at least one shot off of said lie plate of said adjustable lie board;

recording the position of the impact mark on said marking tape via said hitting of at least one shot;

adjusting the angle of said lie plate relative to said base to bring the angle of said lie plate into general alignment with the angle of the player'"'"'s swing; and

repeating said hitting, recording and adjusting steps until the impact mark on said marking tape is generally centered on the club sole in relation to the heel and toe of the club head of said representative golf club.

13. An improved golf club fitting system for fitting a set of golf clubs to a player comprising the steps:

measuring a player'"'"'s physical dimensions at least including grip strength of the player'"'"'s hand;

selecting a representative golf club having a dead weight equal to the total weight of the representative golf club, said dead weight being directly proportional to the player'"'"'s grip strength, specifically that the dead weight of the golf club is greater when the player'"'"'s grip strength is greater and vice versa, said representative golf club comprising a test golf club having a determined dead weight, swing weight and balance, said determined dead weight, swing weight and balance calculated via said determining step, said test golf club having a club head including adjustable weighting means and adjustable weight positioning means, said test golf club further having shaft length adjustment means such that the weight and balance of said club head of said test golf club and the length of said shaft of said test golf club are adjustable to fit the player'"'"'s determined swing characteristics;

providing a plurality of shaft extensions and a plurality of head weights for said test golf club, said plurality of shaft extensions adapted to releasably connect to the top end of the test golf club and which are made in a series of progressively lengthened units such as the one-inch extension and the one and one-half inch extension, said head weights adapted to be releasably mounted into the club head of the test golf club, said head weights being in progressively heavier units such as the ¼

ounce weight and the ½

ounce weight such that the precise weight and shaft length for said test golf club can be set so that the player and fitter can determine the best fitting club for the player and use the resulting figures to fit the rest of the desired set;

computing a balance index (BI) for the representative golf club by dividing the dead weight (DW) by the numerical value of the swing weight (SW) (DW/SW=BI); and

comparing said balance index (BI) determined for the test golf club to said dead weight of the test golf club to determine generally corresponding balance index and dead weight values for at least some of the other golf clubs in a set of golf clubs such that the system user can generally match different iron and wood golf clubs to the test golf club thereby creating a generally ideal matched set of golf clubs for the player.