US2975429A - Golf glove - Google Patents

Description

March 21, 1961 D. J. NEWMAN GOLF GLOVE Filed Sept. 30, 1959 INVENTOR. DONALD J. NEWMAN BY 7M ATT YS United rates ate'ntfiice 2,975,429 Fatented Mar. 21, 1981 GOLF GLOVE Donald J. Newman, 412 Lincoln Ave., Fox River Grove, Ill.

Filed Sept. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 843,591

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-159) This invention relates in general to gloves and is particularly directed to a new and improved golf glove for use on one of the hands of a golfer. If the golfer is right-handed, then the glove would be made to fit the left hand. If the golfer plays the game left-handed, then the structure of the glove may be reversed and applied to the right hand.

Numerous constructions of golf gloves have been de-' signed in the past and are now in use at the present time, but none of these gloves has been designed having in mind the basic requirements of properly holding and swinging a golf club.

Most golfers at the present time utilize what is commonly known as the Varden grip which requires the overlapping or interlocking of the little finger of one hand with the index and middle fingers of the other hand. In the proper grip and swing of a golf club, it is important that certain fingers be left free and uncovered in order that the golfer have the proper touch and feel of the club shaft. Expert golfers recognize that certain of the fingers are used for guiding the club during the back swing and for controlling the club on the down swing and follow-through to obtain best results. When the shaft is properly gripped, there are also certain friction points which may tend to create blisters on the hand and fingers. Thus, it is important that these portions of the hand be protected. On the other hand, if the glove is designed to cover portions of the hand and fingers which are needed for the proper touch and feel of the shaft, then the glove does not serve its function properly.

As an example of some of theprior art. gloves which do not embody the advantages of the present invention, there is on the market a glove having a palm portion with an opening through which the thumb may extend and be free and having finger portions through which all four fingers of the hand may extend but which cover only a portion of the length of each finger. These partial fingers in the glove will act as a possible protection to preventjblistering but does not leave free the important fingers necessary to theproperfftouch and feelf of the shaft. fingers of the glove tend to wrinkle and roll at the edges so that the glove eventually become uncomfortable to wear, does not cover the portions of the fingers that should be covered, and affords an uneven or bumpy surface.

In more recent times many golfers have adopted a full glove where all of the fingers and the thumb are completely covered. This type of glove not only has the disadvantage of completely covering the fingers which ought to be left bare for the proper touch and feel of the shaft as above mentioned, but also has the further disadvantage that it will cause the hand to perspire on a warm day, whereupon the glove becomes damp and permits slippage in its contact with the club shaft.

The present invention is directed to a novel form of glove which eliminates the disadvantages outlined above Furthermore, the outer ends of these partial.

6 which extends toward the and which has the basic advantage of providing effective protection to the hand and allowing the proper grip without eliminating the touch and sense of feel by direct contact of the hand and finger areas with the club shaft. The sense of feel as mentioned above is essential to the proper execution of a golf shot. The present invention is designed, therefore, to cover those parts of the hand and fingers which are most susceptible to friction but leaves uncovered those parts which are necessary to be in direct contact with the club shaft in order to retain the sense of feel so necessary to the execution of a proper golf shot.

With the foregoing in mind, it is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a golf glove adapted for use with either the right or left hand and which is so designed as to cover certain parts of the hand and fingers and to leave uncovered certain other parts, whereby the proper execution of a golf shot will not be interfered with.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf glove which has portions thereof designed to cover those parts of the hand which are subjected to the greatest friction when in contact with. a golf club shaft and to leave uncovered those portions which are usedto give the golfer the necessary sense of touch in order not to detract from or interfere with the proper execution of a golf shot.

A further object of the invention is to provide a golf glove which is so designed as to enable the golfer to grip the club with the maximum amount of firmness required by providing a sufficient gripping area, while at the same time eliminating those portions of the glove which will permit the proper sense of touch as though the golfer were not wearing a glove.

Still another and more specific object of the invention is to provide a golf glove which is so designed as to provide maximum protection to the little finger and the ring finger, which are the primary gripping fingers, while allowing the thumb, index and middle fingers to be free so that the proper sense of touch may remain, not only with respect to the shaft but also with respect to the other hand.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a golf glove embodying the features of the invention showing the backside thereof and illustrating the hand to which it is applied in phantom, and

Fig. 2 is a plan view similar to Fig. l, but showing 9 Fig. 1 shows the glove as having an open backside although this. feature is not important, and a glove may be made embodying the features of this invention regardless of whether the back thereof is open or closed.

In the embodiment shown, the glove is indicated generally by the numeral 1 and comprises side portions 2 and 3 which extend along the sides of the hand permitting the wrist end of the glove to be closed either by a strap like that shown at 4 or by some other means, such as an elastic band. In the illustrated form, the strap 4 has one end connected to the side 3 and the other end connected to the side 2 so that the wrist end of the glove may be held snugly about the wrist by means of the usual buckle 5. The side portions 2 and 3 define an opening fingers and terminates along the line 7 a short distance below the base of the fingers providing a back portion 7a.

The front of the glove is provided with a palm portion 8 and that part of the glove is preferably formed with an opening 9 which permits the thumb to extend there through and to be free.

The glove also has. an opening defined by the edge portion 10 through which the index finger may extend, and another opening adjacent thereto and defined by the edge portion ll through which the middle finger may extend. A connecting member lla extends from the palm portion 8 to the back portion 7a between the index and middle fingers and is secured in place in such position with respect to the edge portions 1% and 11 as to fit snugly against the base of the V between the fingers and not only prevent the glove from being pulled too far onto the hand, but also prevent the edges 10 and 11 from rolling. The edges 10 and 11 are located substantially in a line with or below the base of the V between the index and middle fingers which also contributes to the .fact that no rolling of these edges will occur in the use of the glove embodying the present invention. The glove then also has the full finger 12 into which the ring finger is received and another full finger 13 adjacent thereto for reception of the little finger.

The edge portions 1t} and ll, through which the index and middle fingers extend, are preferably at the base of the fingers so that these two fingers may extend completely therethrough and be completely uncovered and free. Obviously, as heretofore explained, the index and middle fingers must be left substantially free so as not to impair the sense of touch which it is necessary that these particular fingers have along the club shaft for the purpose of insuring the proper execution of a golf shot. Thus, the precise point at which the edge portions 19 and 11 are located along the length of the finger is important to the extent that substantially the entire length of each of these fingers should be left free and uncovered. The preferred location of the edge portions 10 and 11 is substantially like that shown in the drawing, but it will be evident that slight variations from this point could be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

As mentioned hereinabove, the points of friction of the hand where blisters are more likely to occur should be covered for maximum comfort and efficiency. These points of friction as far as the fingers are concerned are the ring and little fingers. These fingers are the ones most likely to become sore or blistered because of the friction, and therefore the two finger portions 12 and 13 have been provided to cover these fingers.

Here again, these finger portions have been shown as capable of completely covering the two fingersmentioned. It will be obvious, however, that some variation in this construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, these finger portions have been described as substantially completely covering the ring and little fingers, but it would be obvious that the ends of these fingers could be left open if desired and still give the protection to the fingers at their point of contact and friction against the club shaft.

By means of the golf glove embodying the invention above described it is possible to protect those portions of the hand most susceptible to friction against the club shaft and at the same time leave completely free those fingers which are used to impart to the golfer the proper sense of touch along the club shaft for the proper execution of a golf shot. The thumb, as Well as the index and middle fingers are allowed to contact the club shaft throughoutsubstantially the full length thereof, but the other two fingers and the palm of the hand which are most likely to become sore and blistered due to friction will be protected.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of parts from those disclosed herein without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantages thereof, provided, however, that such changes fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A golf glove comprising palm and back portions, an opening in said palm portion through which a thumb may extend, finger portions extending from said palm and back portions for covering the small and ring fingers throughout substantially the entire lengths thereof, openings defined by said palm and back portions through which. the index and middle fingers may extend and remain completely uncovered, a connecting strap be tween and separating said last named openings, said strap being secured to said palm and back portions and positioned with respect to the edges of said last named openings so as to fit snugly into the base of the V between the index and middle fingers when the glove assumes its normal position on the hand, and means at the wrist end of the palm portion to secure the glove onto the hand of the wearer.

2. A golf glove comprising palm and back portions, an opening in said palm portion through which a thumb may extend, finger portions extending from said palm and back portions for covering the small and ring fingers throughout substantially the entire lengths thereof, openings defined by said palm and back portions through which the index and middle fingers may extend and remain completely uncovered, the edges of said palm and back portions which define said openings being substantially in line with the base of the V between the index and middle fingers, a connecting strap between and separating said last named openings, said strap being secured to said palm and back portions and positioned with respect to the edges of said last named openings, so as to fit snugly into the base of the V between the index and middle fingers when the glove assumes its normal position on the hand, and means at the wrist end of the palm portion to secure the glove onto the handof the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Willard Dec. 25, 1945

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