Apparatus for improving dynamic response of sports implement

Abstract

A weight collar for optimizing the dynamic response or feel of a sporting implement, such as a golf club. The collar comprises a notch or cut-out to allow the collar to be slipped over the shaft of the implement below the grip and a tapered interior wall to allow a snug fit between the inner wall of the collar and the exterior wall of the grip of the implement. Collars of varying weights may be substituted on an implement until the user subjectively determines that the implement has the best feel or until performance is maximized.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A weight collar to be installed on a sporting implement having an elongated shaft with a lower head end and an upper grip end, the head end having a head attached thereto and the grip end having a grip installed thereon, the grip being tapered from a smaller diameter at its lower end to a larger diameter at its upper end, the collar comprising: 
 an annular member having an inner wall and an outer wall and an upper end and a lower end, said member comprising a notch through said walls such that said member has a substantially C-shaped cross section, the width of the notch being slightly larger than the outside diameter of the shaft, and wherein the inner wall of said member is tapered from a smaller diameter at its lower end to a larger diameter at its upper end, said larger diameter being slightly less than the outside diameter of the grip at its upper end.    
     
     
         2 . The weight collar of  claim 1  wherein said sporting implement is a golf club.  
     
     
         3 . The weight collar of  claim 2  wherein said outer wall is tapered from a smaller diameter at the lower end to a larger diameter at the upper end.  
     
     
         4 . The weight collar of  claim 2  wherein said member is made from an alloy of a metal selected from the group consisting of brass, aluminum, lead, tungsten, titanium, steel, stainless steel, and nickel.  
     
     
         5 . The weight collar of  claim 2  wherein said member is made from a high density polymeric material.  
     
     
         6 . The weight collar of  claim 2  wherein said member weighs from 5 to 250 grams.