Hinged Ring Golf Training Aid for Adjustable Putting Practice
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Solution Overview
Problem
Amateur golfers often lack practice opportunities for improving their putting technique due to the need for a golf course and surface, leading to poor performance and reluctance to attempt short putts.
Innovation Solution
A golf training aid featuring a ring-shaped body with inwardly curved arms, adjustable hinged joints, interchangeable end sections, and optical illusions to enhance alignment and trajectory control, allowing practice on any surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional golf hole is used for putting practice, then the putting technique can be improved, but the practice is limited to golf courses and specific surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a portable copy of a golf hole using a ring structure with target section that replicates the essential features of a real hole (opening, target area, lip-out effect) without requiring actual golf course infrastructure. This allows putting practice to be copied and performed on any flat surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The training aid is designed as a universal device that can be used on any flat surface (carpet, floor, grass, etc.) rather than being limited to specific golf course locations. The ring structure with adjustable components provides multi-surface adaptability while maintaining consistent training functionality.
2Productivity
If short putts are given as 'gimmie putts' to amateur golfers, then their confidence is boosted, but they miss the opportunity to practice these essential shots
Solution Approach 1:
The target section with visible protrusion and the ring structure provide immediate visual feedback when the ball successfully navigates through the opening and hits the target. This feedback mechanism allows golfers to experience successful short putts during practice, building confidence through repeated positive reinforcement rather than receiving gimmie putts.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is set up in advance with the ring positioned and target section configured, allowing golfers to practice short putts before they would normally encounter them on the course. This preliminary practice builds both skill and confidence in advance of actual playing situations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the gap in the training aid is fixed, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot adapt to different putting distances and skill levels
Solution Approach 1:
The arms are designed with hinged joints that allow the gap size to be dynamically adjusted between different configurations. The arms can move relative to each other to create various opening sizes, transforming a static structure into a dynamic one that adapts to different training requirements while maintaining relatively simple construction.
Solution Approach 2:
Each arm is divided into multiple sections connected by hinged joints, allowing independent movement and adjustment of the gap size. This segmentation enables the structure to achieve adaptability through modular components rather than requiring a completely complex mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A golf training aid, comprising a ring shaped main body having an inwardly curved arm extending from either side of a central target section, the ends of each arm being separated by a gap to allow a ball, in use, to pass therethrough in order to reach the target section; each arm comprising front and back sections connected by a hinged joint to allow the front section to move relative to the back section thereby to increase or decrease the size of the gap.