Golf Club Grip Asymmetry for Joint Mobility Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional golf club grips encourage excessive mobility of the hands and arms, leading to inconsistencies and misalignment during play, particularly problematic for golfers with conditions like the 'yips' that cause involuntary joint movements.
Innovation Solution
A golf club grip featuring a longitudinal base portion and angled side portions that guide the user's fingers to rest on the gripping member, reducing joint mobility by encouraging a specific holding posture where both palms face forward, rather than opposing each other, thereby restricting rotational movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional cylindrical grip is used to improve hand mobility and joint movement, then ease of operation is improved, but control precision deteriorates due to excessive rotation and misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The grip transitions from a traditional cylindrical symmetric shape to an asymmetric design with a flat top surface and angled side portions. This asymmetric geometry guides the hands into a specific holding posture where palms face each other, reducing excessive rotation while maintaining natural hand movement. The flat top surface provides a reference plane for thumb placement, and the angled sides constrain hand positioning to achieve consistent alignment.
2Ease of operation
If a cylindrical grip is used to facilitate smooth hand and arm movement, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to inconsistencies in control and rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric grip design with flat top and angled sides creates a unique holding posture that reduces variability in hand placement. This consistency in posture across different swings improves reliability by minimizing unintended rotations and misalignments, while the geometry still allows for smooth, natural hand movement through the asymmetric contours.
3Ease of operation
If palms face each other on opposing sides of the grip, then joint mobility is improved, but control precision deteriorates due to rotation and misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The flat top surface and angled side portions of the asymmetric grip guide the hands into a specific posture where palms face each other on opposing sides, but with controlled orientation. This asymmetric geometry ensures that the thumbs rest on the flat top surface while fingers wrap around the angled sides, creating a consistent and repeatable holding position that maintains joint mobility while improving alignment precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention provides a grip for a golf club and a method of manufacturing thereof. The grip comprises a gripping member having a base portion extending longitudinally along a portion of the gripping member adapted to engage one or more palms when held by one or more hands of a user, and at least two side portions extending from said base portion; wherein the at least two side portions are inclined towards one another, such that when the based portion is engaged by the one or more palms of the user during a holding, one or more fingers of the or each of the user's hands are guided to rest on the at least two inclined side portions to thereby reduce or restrict mobility of joints at the user's hands and arms.