CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent No. 60-464,894 issued on Apr. 21, 2003. 
     
    
     
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable  
         REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING” 
         [0003]    Not applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0005]    The present invention relates generally to protecting the heads of golf clubs from damage, and more specifically to the protection of a golf club head while in personal use (the act of hitting the ball).  
           [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0007]    Golf club head covers to protect the club while being transported in the bag have been in use for years. More recently golf shops have been attaching three pieces of tape to the top, bottom and face of a golf club for temporary protection of their inventory while on trial or demo.  
           [0008]    The main problem with both club protection products is they do not address the need to protect the appearance and subsequently the lifetime value of the golf club during personal use, when the majority of the damage normally occurs to the club.  
           [0009]    As stated above, conventional head covers are primarily intended to protect the clubs during transportation, and do no protect the club from damage that can occur as a result of a miss-hit while in the act of hitting the ball.  
           [0010]    The problem with the protective tape product for trial or “demo” is that it is designed to protect the golf shop&#39;s inventory by wrapping nearly the entire head of the club. This gives the potential buyer a chance to try out the club without leaving any trace of use, and allows the reseller to sell the club to another buyer as new. As a result the tape is not intended for prolonged use. The other problem is that the tape is not tailored to fit the club closely. This fact, coupled with the type of tape used, make the use of this protection product very noticeable and alters the look of the club, which does not lend itself to personal use.  
           [0011]    While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose that they address, they are not as suitable for protection of a golf club during personal use.  
           [0012]    In these respects, the protective guard according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting of the appearance and the lifetime value of a golf club while in personal use.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    How a golf club looks at address or at set up has always been important to golfers psychologically. Looking down on a golf club with noticeable sky marks or abrasions can be a constant reminder of shots that went bad and can have a negative effect. This fact, coupled with recent developments in the golf market, has led to the publishing of a “Blue Book” for used clubs. Much like in the automotive industry, the value of a club is primarily based on the type of club and its physical appearance. This has resulted in greater demand and a higher value for used clubs for trade or resale, and were all factors that led to the development of the Golf Club Protective Guard.  
           [0014]    In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of golf club protective devises now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new protective product that protects the lifetime value of a golf club while in personal use.  
           [0015]    The general purpose of the invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new golf club protection product that has many of the advantages of the protection products mentioned above, and many novel features that result in a new golf club protection product that is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.  
           [0016]    To attain this purpose, the invention consists of a transparent abrasion resistant adhesive vinyl strip that preferably has a thickness in the range of 4 to 5 mil and acts as a deflective guard that is designed to fit the contours of the club and when attached provides a semi-permanent, almost invisible protective barrier against abrasions caused by miss-hits during the act of hitting the ball.  
           [0017]    There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter.  
           [0018]    In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.  
           [0019]    A primary object of the present invention is to provide a protective guard that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.  
           [0020]    An object of the present invention is to provide a protective guard to protect the appearance and subsequently the lifetime value of the club.  
           [0021]    Another object is to provide a protective guard that is virtually invisible while protecting the Golf Club.  
           [0022]    Another object is to provide a protective guard that is semi permanent, but can be removed from the club at any time or replaced with little or no adhesive residue.  
           [0023]    Another object is to provide a protective guard that is economical and can be removed and replaced easily.  
           [0024]    Another object is to provide a protective guard that is attachable to various sizes, styles and type of golf clubs.  
           [0025]    Another object is to provide a protective guard that does not interfere with the normal operation of the club.  
           [0026]    Another object is to provide a protective guard that is lightweight and does not affect the overall balance and performance of the club.  
           [0027]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention.  
           [0028]    To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0029]    Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 1 is a perspective of a golf club head with the protective guard invention attached, and shows the components of both the protective guard and the golf club.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing all of the components of a preferred embodiment of the protective guard that constitutes the invention.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 3 is a perspective of a golf club with the protective guard of FIG. 1 being fitted to the club.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 4 is a perspective of a golf club with the protective guard of FIG. 1 being lined up and attached to top edge of the club.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a golf club with the protective guard of FIG. 1 being attached to the face of the club.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 6 perspective view with the protective guard of FIG. 1 installed.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a similar golf club, illustrating the type of damage that the protective guard of FIG. 1 protects against. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0037]    Turning now to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the attached figures illustrate the golf club protective guard, which consists of a transparent strip that is designed to fit the contours of a golf club, and that when properly attached, that strip provides an almost invisible protective barrier against abrasions caused by miss-hits.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the head of a golf club  10  with protective guard  11  attached. This view permits pointing out the common features of a golf club, and illustrates how guard  11  looks when attached to the head of the golf club  10 . The head of a golf club  10  is shown generally to include a top  12  and a face  13 , and the contoured edge along which top  12  and face  13  are disposed in a mutually facing relationship is referred to as top line  14 . The outward point at which top  12 , face  13  and top line  14  meet is the toe  15 , and the opposite end where shaft  16  attaches to the head of the club  10  is the hosel  17 . The point where the hosel  17  meets the top of the club  12  is the base of the hosel  18 .  
         [0039]    With respect to FIG. 2, the preferred embodiment selected to illustrate my invention includes a transparent  4  to  5  mil vinyl adhesive strip that provides an abrasion resistant and deflective guard  11 , and is shaped to fit the head of a golf club  10 . Guard  11  has a cut away  19  (also shown in FIG. 1) that is designed to fit around the base of the hosel  18  of club head  10 . The bottom edge of guard  11  has V-shaped notches  20  as shown in FIG. 2 that are designed to compensate for material gathering and potential lifting that can be created by wrapping guard  11  along the contoured top line  14 . Another feature is that guard  11  is designed to accommodate clubs of all sizes, as demonstrated by dashed lines  21  in FIG. 2 that represent alternative sizes. Before installation of guard  11 , the adhesive side  22  of guard  11 , as shown in FIG. 4, is attached to glossy backing paper  23  shown in FIG. 5 that is split into equal halves  24  as shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIGS. 3-5 illustrate the procedure for attaching guard  11  to a golf club head  10 . Before installing guard  11 , it may be necessary to measure and then cut guard  11  to the correct size for each particular club, as shown in FIG. 3. The first step of the installation procedure is to place guard  11  onto top line  14 , while retaining backing paper  23  in place. The second step is to place the cutaway end  19  of the guard  11  at the base of hosel  18  and measure the length of guard  11 . The third step is to mark a line approximately 0.5 cm ({fraction (3/16)} in.) short of toe  15 , which will be the new cut line  25  shown in FIG. 3. The fourth step is to use extra guards  11  as a template, place the extra guard  11  up against the new cut line  25 , and trace around the rounded end of guard  11  to create an appropriately sized guard  21 . The final step is then to take a pair of scissors and cut along the inside of newly sized guard  21  to form a properly sized guard  11 .  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 4 now shows a method by which to line up the guard  11  on club head  10 . The first step is to peel back the half of the backing paper  23  from the guard  11  that has the cutaway  19  that fits around hosel  17 , so as to expose adhesive side  22 . The second step is to place guard  11  at the base of hosel  18  and lay the adhesive side of tape  22  along top line  14  between face  13  and top  12  of the club  12 . The V-shaped notches  20  provide a good guide and should align with the top of face  13 . To ensure that guard  11  is lined up, one should only let adhesive side  22  of guard  11  stick to the edge of top line  14 . This will allow easy realignment of guard  11  if not straight in a first attempt.  
         [0042]    As can be seen in FIG. 5, once guard  11  is lined up the next step is to attach guard  11  to top  12  of the club. One may use a thumb and work slowly from the center of guard  11  to the base of hosel  18 , pressing firmly to work all air bubbles out as adhesive side  23  of the guard  11  is affixed to top  12  of the club. The next step is to remove the remaining backing  23  and repeat the last step: working from the center on guard  11  to toe  15  of the club, and again attaching adhesive side  22  of guard  11  only to top  12  of club head  10 . The final step is to use the same technique as was used on the top  12  of club head  10 , and work from top line  14  to the lower edge and press guard  11  to face  13  of club head  10 .  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a club head  10  with guard  11  installed, showing the transparent quality of guard  11  and demonstrating the difficulty of seeing guard  11 .  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 7 demonstrates the kind of damage  26  that can occur along top line  14  and top  12  of club head  10  without having used the present invention (guard  11 ). The club shown is of the same type as shown is FIG. 6. Both clubs are approximately the same age and have experienced similar usage.  
         [0045]    With respect to the foregoing description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.  
         [0046]    Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not intended here to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, with the scope of the invention to be determined only by the claims appended hereto.
A golf club protective guard serves to protect the appearance and lifetime value of golf clubs. The inventive device is a transparent 4 to 5 mil vinyl adhesive strip that is designed to fit the contours of the club, and that when attached to the head of a club provides an almost invisible protective barrier against abrasions caused by miss-hits during the act of hitting the ball.