US20180361214A1

US20180361214A1 - Golf grip with snap-in weightable cap portion

Info

Publication number: US20180361214A1
Application number: US15/625,995
Authority: US
Inventors: John Johnson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-06-16
Filing date: 2017-06-16
Publication date: 2018-12-20

Abstract

In a novel approach to golf club counter-weighting, directed to grip design for original golf club manufacture as well as for after-market grip replacement and user-weighting, quick and easy manual snap-in installation and threaded-tool-assisted removal of a weightable cap portion of the grip are accomplished by special shaping of an annular cap-to-grip interface configuration featuring a tongue-and-groove cross-sectional pattern that utilizes stretching of grip material per its elastic properties to implement the snap-in concept.

Description

PRIORITY

Benefit is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of provisional application 62/348,093, filed Jun. 9, 2016.
NOTE: To facilitate reading and understanding of the present disclosure, conventions and terms unique to the field of golf club weighting systems will be defined, explained and/or exemplified here and/or upon first occurrence throughout the specification.
The golf club is always assumed to be oriented upright as the basis for directional terms such as above, topside, below, underside, etc., and is assumed to be fitted with a grip of resilient material bonded securely to an upper portion of a hollow shaft that is typically annular in cross-sectional shape.
“Annular” is defined in Webster's Dictionary as “of, like or forming a ring”. Virtually everything within the grip and major upper shaft region of the great majority of golf clubs, UW (User-Weighted) or not, is annular in shape. Every threaded component portion must be perfectly annular, i.e. round. However there are some oval and other-shaped shafts to which the invention may be adaptable.
“Weighting” a golf club or grip means adding weight (a.k.a. swingweight or counterweight) to the golf club or grip within its original boundaries (unweighted); golfing regulations prohibit external weighting. UW (user-weighting) includes installing, adjusting and removing, by a user, e.g. golfer, golf technician or owner, as distinguished from factory-installed weighting, especially of a category that is pre-selected and not readily adjustable and/or removable. UW encompasses the Field of the Invention: golf club/grip UW (User-Weighting) systems.
“Cap” or “cap portion” means a topside portion of the grip that is visible from above, typically filling a central grip through-opening, and thus surrounded by a border of resilient grip material. If the cap is made to have a designated weight per se, it is a.k.a. a “weighted cap”, a.k.a. a “cap/weighting-device”; if it also hosts one or more underside-attached weight elements it is a.k.a, a “cap/weighting-assembly”.
A “grip opening”, required in any embodiment of the present invention, is defined as a through-opening, traversing the topside of the grip, must be made sufficiently large for insertion of a weighting device; typically annular (circular) but possibly made in alternative shape e.g. rectangular, square or other polygon (pentagonal, hex, etc.).
A “weighting device” is defined as weight in any form (ranging from a weighted cap or single weight element to an assembly that can include multiple weight elements, expandable element(s), resilient sleeve(s) and/or spacers) that is intended and configured to be installed into a compatible UW grip or club to make it UWE (UW-Equipped).
An “expandable element” is a resilient weighting component for deployment as a member of a tandem series group of weighting components. Typically the expandable element is configured with a central axial bore traversed by the threaded portion of an activation screw, engaging a thrust member, enabling a user to compress the expandable element axially causing it to expand radially against the inside of the shaft, securing the weighting device in place in its working location. The expansion weighting system thus constitutes a viable alternative or supplement to UW systems of the threaded-grip-cap category that, at installation, requires rotation of the cap/weight-device for threaded engagement with the grip opening edge-wall for operational security essential to UW (User-Weighted) golf play.
The main point of novelty of the present invention, as a radical departure from the above-mentioned threaded-grip-cap category UW systems, resides in the respective co-operating cross-sectional shapes of two interfacing facets: (1) that of the grip opening edge-wall and (2) that of the periphery of the cap/weighting-device; enabling the benefits of facilitating snap-in installation of the cap/weighting-device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of sports equipment, and more particularly to improvements in golf club counter-weighting for enhancing a UW (user-weighting) system featuring a golf grip with a snap-in weightable cap portion as an improvement in golf clubs/grips that enhances a golfer's playing and score by more optimally matching the golf club to the dynamic physical characteristics of the individual golfer, by adding one or more strategically selected and located weighting elements secured in the vicinity of an upper region of a hollow golf club shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The evolution in golf club technology has led to ultra light-weight thin-wall hollow shafts. These have intensified concern about optimally matching the amount of mass, including its location and distribution in the golf club, to the physiological characteristics of the individual golfer, taking into account the physics of swing dynamics.
Along with attention that has been given to optimizing the mass at the club head end for the lightweight shaft, there has been recognition that better control, distance and accuracy can be obtained by counterbalancing the mass of the club head by the addition of a judicially-selected amount of swing-weight mass, adequately secured at one or more key locations, typically in an upper region of the club so as to optimally match the player's individual characteristics.
A “weighting device” for adding “counterweight”/“swing-weight” into a UW-ready grip can range from a weighted cap or single weight element to a weight assembly that can include multiple weight elements and optional spacers.
A weighting device requires special mounting arrangements to provide robust retention of weight elements both axially and radially: axially to prevent unwanted weight displacement due to slippage relative to the shaft under the stresses of actual golf play, and radially to prevent vibration and/or noise from unwanted random contact between rigid component materials, e.g. in the shaft and weight element(s).
With increasing interest and demand in the field of user-deployable golf club weighting, manufacturers and distributors of golf clubs and golf grips are motivated by the benefits of making and marketing most or all product lines of golf clubs/grips “ready for user-weighting” and preferably of cost-effective user-friendly design.

DISCUSSION OF KNOWN ART

Known conventional golf club grips that are not intended for UW (user weighting) are typically made with an integral top-side panel “cap” region that is essentially enclosed with the exception of an extremely small central vent hole provided in some grips for the purposes of (a) facilitating shaft installation/removal by minimizing difficulty due to air pressure deviations and (b) facilitating shaft removal by enabling injection of compressed air.
Practically all known conventional golf club grips intended for UW (user weighting) are made with the top-side panel region traversed by a grip-top through-opening made sufficiently large to accommodate installation of a weighting device, and typically made circular with radius approximating that of the shaft.
For golf play, this grip-top through-opening must always be kept closed by some form of cap portion, typically attached removably to the surrounding upper portion of the grip at a grip/cap interface region and characterized by a designated cross-sectional shape of an annular interface facet configured on the edge-wall of the grip-top through-opening and the complementary shape of an annular interface facet configured circumferentially around the cap. The shapes of these two facets interact in a manner to retain the cap, along with any installed weighting device, reliably secured to the grip (and shaft) for golf play.
In the primary interface, both interfacing facets may be made linear in cross-sectional shape to enable a free-sliding or friction fit, particularly for the following two UW approaches (a) and (b), and a non-UW approach (c).
(a) In UW wherein radial and axial weight retention is provided by at least one expansion element friction-gripping the interior of the shaft, and although normally not required, some amount of weight retention is usually contributed from the grip and/or cap portions. Examples of UW utilizing weighting devices including expansion elements are found in four U.S. patents by the inventor in the present application, John Johnson: U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,716 issued Jan. 27, 2009 (priority Feb. 6, 2006) for GOLF CLUB GRIP FOR ACCOMMODATING SELECTABLE WEIGHT ASSEMBLY, and also U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,177,658, 8,641,551 and 9,283,453.
(b) UW implemented by addition of an interface adaptor grip portion (a.k.a. “insert”) interposed between the main grip portion and the cap portion is exemplified by Published Application US 2014/0342845 A1 from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/281,055 by J. Johnson and D. Dingman, filed Jun. 19, 2014 for GRIP AND INTERNAL WEIGHT SYSTEM (priority May 17, 2013), disclosing interjection of “insert” 34, in effect a hardened threaded interface facet of the grip for engaging the externally threaded peripheral interface facets of an annular weighted cap portion 54 at a primary interface.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,463,363 issued Nov. 11, 2016 to D. Dingman and C. Lee for GRIP AND EXTERNAL WEIGHT SYSTEM FOR A GOLF CLUB HAVING A STOPPER WITHIN THE GRIP (priority Mar. 3, 2015) discloses alternative UW approaches, including complex, multi-faceted, stepped and/or flanged versions of the axial and radial cross-sectional facet shapes at the secondary interface region, including non-annular peripheral portions, e.g. square, hex, etc., that cannot be readily machined. An “insert” 34/34′ made of relatively rigid material serves as an interface adaptor portion of the grip having a facet interfacing a facet of the main grip portion at the secondary interface, the two portions being “over-molded or integrally formed” (col. 3, lines 47, 48).
The interjection of the added “insert” 34 was the design choice of a remedial “patch” to solve the problem that threading the rubbery grip material was deemed virtually impossible with known machining or molding techniques. However the insert, as implemented, introduced costly complexity of a dual-interfaced tri-portioned grip structure: in addition to the essential primary (inner) interface between the cap portion and the insert adaptor portion, adding the insert necessitated a secondary (outer) interface between the insert and the edge-wall of the grip opening. In this secondary interface the grip material properties remained problematic, leading to a series of redesigns, evident in the foregoing disclosures, in efforts to mount the insert in a manner to anchor it against slippage rotation in the grip material, including various anti-rotation projections and irregularities e.g. making a portion of the secondary (grip opening/cap) interface non-annular in shape e.g. square, pentagonal, hex, etc.
(c) In the primary interface of an ornamental cap portion that is not required to be UW-ready, friction fit may be made ultra-tight and/or supplemented by adhesive or other fastening means, rendering the grip equivalent to the abovementioned known conventional golf club grips not intended for UW.
In typical UW grips with the primary interface cross-section shaped to provide threaded cap/grip coupling, the cap portion needs to be configured with rotational driving structure e.g. a hex or Philips recess.
The foregoing descriptions relate mainly to weight element assemblies for adding inside the shaft of a previously manufactured golf club.
Ongoing development in UW leaves many unfulfilled needs e.g. for simplified cost-effective implementation, for providing the required axial retention of the weight assembly that can be conveniently incorporated in a golf club both at original manufacture, and in the aftermarket.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an elegant simplified golf club weighting system implementation that provides inherently secure axial and radial retention of swing-weight associated with a cap portion coupled to the main grip portion at an annular interface shaped to enable manual snap-in installation and tool-assisted removal of the cap portion.
It is a further object to provide, as an alternative to threaded grip-to-cap coupling, snap-in coupling implemented by a family of snap-in cap portions including ornamental, unweighted, self-weighted and/or weightable versions, readily and easily incorporated into golf clubs in the snap-in manner at original manufacture as well as in the aftermarket and in field play.
It is a further object that interfacing facets of the main grip portion and the cap portion be made in a purely annular radial shape with a special axial cross-sectional shape that enables “snap-in”, is readily fabricated e.g. machined or molded, requires no insert or secondary interface and thus avoids the abovementioned complexities and irregularities such as anti-rotation anchors and polygon shapes e.g. square, pentagonal, hex, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing objects have been met by the disclosed novel approach to golf club counter-weighting, directed to incorporation in golf club design for original manufacture as well as in the after-market; quick and easy manual snap-in installation and threaded-tool-assisted removal of a weightable cap portion of the grip are accomplished by special shaping of an annular cap-to-grip interface configuration featuring a tongue-and-groove cross-sectional pattern that utilizes stretching of grip material per its elastic properties to implement the snap-in concept.
In a departure from expansion elements and other known approaches to the required axial retention of a weighting device, the “snap-in” approach of the present invention references the required axial retention to the shaft top-side via a shaft-stop of grip material.
The main grip portion is configured topside with a grip opening a.k.a. through-opening configured with a peripheral side-wall constituting an interface facet (a.k.a. grip facet) shaped and sized to enable snap-in installation of a cap/weighting device with a peripheral interface facet (a.k.a. cap facet), the two facets being specially shaped to implement at least one cavity/protrusion pair co-operating in a sliding detent manner that exploits the grip's inherent resilience, enabling convenient snap-in installation, reliable retention for golf play and tool-assisted removal of a cap/weighting device.
The snap-in implementation provides all of the benefits of previous implementations along with the further advantage to both manufacturers and golfers: quick, simple manual snap-in cap insertion.
Simple snap-out removal, still conforming to golfing regulations and requiring only a simple threaded hand tool, is much faster than the rotation required for installation and removal of a threaded cap/weighting-device.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of an upper portion of a golf club fitted with a primary embodiment of the snap-in user-weighting system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view if of the items in the broken line circle region of FIG. 1 showing, as the first of three sequential conditions (FIGS. 2-4) in snap-in installation of a weighting device, the shapes of the interface facet of the grip and of the interface facet of the flanged cap, and showing the weighting device positioned for entering the grip opening at the initiation of snap-in installation.

FIG. 3 shows the items of FIG. 2 in installation immediately prior to snapping the cap into place.

FIG. 4 shows the items of FIG. 3, the cap having been snapped into place in fully installed condition, as shown in smaller scale in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional elevation of an upper portion of a golf club incorporating a secondary embodiment of the snap-in user-weighting system of the present invention wherein the grip facet and the cap facet shapes are similar complementary} but radically different from the facets of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view if the items in the broken line circle region of FIG. 5 showing the weighting assembly positioned ready for installation.

FIG. 7 shows the items of FIG. 6 in installation immediately prior to snapping the cap into place.

FIG. 8 shows the items of FIG. 7, the cap having been snapped into place fully installed condition, as shown in smaller scale in FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 shows a top view of the grip of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional elevation of an upper portion of a golf club fitted with a third embodiment of the snap-in user-weighting system of the present invention derived from the first embodiment (FIG. 1) by extending the cap upwardly above the flange so as to fully occupy the grip opening.

FIG. 11 shows the subject matter of FIG. 10 with the weighting device components shown exploded for clarity in identification and detailed description.

FIG. 12 shows an alternative version of the third embodiment of the present invention (FIGS. 10 and 11) modified by an interchange in the cap/weighting-component threaded attachment structure, rendering the cap traversed by a dual-purpose threaded through-opening.

FIG. 13 shows the subject matter of FIG. 12 with the weighting device components shown exploded for clarity in their identification and detailed description.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of an upper portion of a golf club 10 fitted with illustrating a primary embodiment weight-cap assembly 16 of the snap-in weighting system of the present invention. A cap 16 is configured topside with a flange 12A 16A having a central threaded opening occupied by filler screw 18, and configured underside with a downward threaded extension for attachment of a weighting component, e.g. weight element 20 shown attached and fitted at its lower end region with a resilient sleeve 22 for axial security. Grip 12, installed on an existing known golf club shaft 14, is of known state-of-the-art resilient rubber-like grip material, conventionally shaped except for a top region configured with novel specially-shaped edge-wall structure around a central topside through-opening for installation of a weighting assembly cap/weighting-device 16, shaped peripherally to complement the grip edge-wall shape so as to enable snap-in installation of the weighting device, in a primary embodiment of accordance with the present invention which provides benefits of unprecedented level of convenience, quickness and ease of installation of a full range of versatile swing weight devices while fully preserving performance and traditional exterior golf club appearance and conformity with golfing regulations.
In weighting assembly 16, The cap/weighting-device main body 18 16, is configured with a flat central topside surface including a thin extending circular flange portion 16A which is retained securely in, extends outwardly, serving as the tongue of a tongue-and-groove type attachment mode, securely engaged in a groove formed around the edge-wall of a topside central through-opening in grip 12, the flange 16A resting indirectly on the top edge surf ace surface of shaft 14, spaced therefrom by an inwardly-extending flange of grip material that serves as a shaft-stop.
Cap 18 is configured at top center with an internally-threaded cavity (shown occupied by screw 18), provided for tool-assisted cap removal purposes. A main cylindrical body of cap 18 Cap 16 extends downward from the top flange 16A with reduced diameter and is configured on the bottom with a central threaded post for threaded coupling to an added weight devices component: in this example, a weight element 20, fitted at its low end with a foam sleeve 22 to prevent vibration or metal-to-metal contact with the shaft 14.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view if of the items in the broken line circle region of FIG. 1 showing cap 16 initially positioned for installation. The weight element (20 FIG. 1) has entered into shaft 14, and the flange 16A of cap 16 is shown entering the larger part of an inclined entry taper 12C in the top edge portion of the central opening configured at the top of grip 12.
FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional shape of the interface facet formed in the edge-wall of the grip-opening: starting at the level of the topside 12A, sloping down from corner 12B as a straight-line ramp 12C to corner 12D, then through groove 12E to the lower end of the facet at corner 12F, spaced a short distance above shaft 14 by an inward-extending protrusion 12G of grip material.
In this first embodiment, typical facet height between corners 12B and 12F (FIG. 2) is 0.17″, assumed equal for the two facets, and typical thickness of flange/tongue 16A and groove 12E is 0.03″; intimate engagement between the two facets (FIGS. 1, 4) extends from their lower end to approximately 18% (0.03/0.17) of the facet height.
FIG. 3 shows the items of FIG. 2 in installation with cap 18 16 having been pushed down causing the inclined upper region of the circular opening in grip 12 to stretch and spread open so that the flange 18A 16A of cap 18 is about to snap into place in the narrow mating groove 12A 12E configured around the central opening of grip 12.
FIG. 4 shows the items of FIG. 3 on completion of the installation, cap 16 having snapped in place as a tongue in groove 12E of the grip, in fully installed condition, as also shown in smaller scale in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional elevation of an upper portion of a golf club 10′ incorporating a secondary embodiment of the snap-in weighting system of the present invention wherein the different cap 26 is configured with a much thicker more rounded flange (tongue) located down from the cap's top surface, which is made to be flush with the surrounding top surface of grip 12′, instead of the recessed cap style of the primary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. Additionally this secondary embodiment illustrates the addition of a spacer element 28 between the cap 26 and weight element 20 for purposes of enabling different desired axial locations of added swing weight.
Both versions of the invention accomplish manual snap-in of cap 16/36 with no tool required; axial removal pull-out requires only a simple threaded hand tool engaging the central threaded opening in the cap.
Additionally this invention can be practiced in conjunction with a wide range of weighting approaches including a variety of tandem arrangements of weight elements, spacer elements, expansion elements, foam sleeves, shaft liners, etc., typically threadedly attached as shown herein.
FIGS. 6-8 are essentially equivalent counterparts to FIGS. 2-4 respectively: both embodiments exemplify the manual snap-in installation system enabled by the principle of the present invention. The wide cap-holding groove 34A in the edge of the opening in grip 34 in FIGS. 6-8 corresponds functionally to the narrow groove 12E in FIGS. 2 and 3. The full flange thickness of cap 36 allows the grip-interface region of the flange to be shaped in cross-section with an extending rim 36D as part of an “S” shape matching that of grip 34 from top to bottom of the interface as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the items in the broken line circle region of FIG. 5, shown entering the grip opening at initiation of snap-in installation. The cross-sectional shape of the peripheral interface facet of the cap 36 fully matches the cross-sectional shape of the edge wall of the opening in grip 34. These two matching facets (shown fully engaged in FIG. 5) extend over the full thickness of cap 36: their shape is as shown enlarged in FIG. 6 at the periphery of cap 36, from top down: from the level of top-side 36 downward from corner 36B to groove 36C, then downward/leftward to tongue 36D then downward/rightward to corner 36E at the underside of cap 36. In any embodiment of the invention, the shaping of this matched interface can serve as a key design “handle” regarding target specifications for insertion and removal force requirements.
FIG. 7 shows the items of FIG. 6 in installation immediately prior to snapping the cap 36 into place.
FIG. 8 shows the items of FIG. 7, the cap 36 having been snapped into place fully installed condition, as shown in smaller scale in FIG. 5.
FIG. 9 shows the upper region of the grip of FIG. 1 with a weight element 30 added on top of the flange 18A of cap portion 18, seen also in FIGS. 1-4, whose central threaded opening, provided for removal with a threaded tool, is engaged by a recessed truss-head bolt 32 to retain weight element 30 in place a top view of grip 12 of golf club 10 of FIG. 1, showing a flat topside border 12A of resilient grip material extending inward to corner 12B, then downward on slope 12C to corner 12D surrounding the visible portion of the top side of flange 12A surrounding the central screw 18.
FIG. 10 shows a cross-section of a third embodiment utilizing grip 12 (and shaft 14) as in FIG. 1 in conjunction with cap 34 which is made to extend upwardly to fully enclose the grip's through-opening and make the flat topside 34A of cap 34 flush with surrounding grip material 12A as shown. The cap's central threaded cavity is shown occupied by an ornamental grub screw 36. Cap 34 is configured underside with an externally-threaded extension for engaging an internally-threaded cavity of a weighting component as shown: in this example, weight element 20.
FIG. 11 shows the subject matter of FIG. 10 with the weighting device exploded vertically to facilitate and clarify detailed description of the components. The cross-sectional configuration of cap 34 is seen starting at flat topside 34A, cornering to a cap interface facet comprising (a) ramp surface 34B that slopes downwardly and inwardly, constituting a substantial majority of the cap facet area, and (b) flange 34C, extending outwardly from the low end of ramp surface 34B. On the underside of cap 34, a threaded extension 34D enables threaded attachment of a weighting component: in this example, weight element 20 which is configured topside with a threaded opening 20A for engaging cap extension 34D (as shown in FIG. 10). The topside central cavity 34E, serving to enable tool-assisted removal of an installed cap/weighting-device from grip 12, is normally occupied by ornamental grub screw 36; cavity 34E and screw 36 are sized such that when screw 34E is driven to bottom in cavity 34E, the topside of screw 36 becomes flush with the surrounding cap topside 34A as shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 shows an alternative version of the third embodiment snap-in user-weighting system of the present invention; the only departure from the FIG. 10 version is the threaded central cap opening 34E (FIG. 11) being extended downward (as in FIGS. 12 and 13), eliminating extension 34D (FIG. 11) and forming a dual-purpose threaded through-opening 38D (FIG. 13).
FIG. 13 shows the subject matter of FIG. 12 with the weighting device exploded vertically to facilitate and clarify detailed description of the components. Grip 12 and its interface facet including groove 12F as shown in FIGS. 1-4 and 10-12 remain unchanged, also the periphery of cap 38, including ramp 38B and flange 38C, as shown in FIGS. 10-12, remains unchanged.
The key modification in the alternative version of the third embodiment, rendering a through-opening 38 D traversing cap 38 as shown in FIG. 13, provides internal threading for attaching a UW component under cap 38, requiring the weighting component (in this case, weight element 42) to be configured topside with an externally threaded extension 42A as shown, as opposed to the foregoing topside threaded opening 20A (FIG. 11 et al.)
At the top of through-opening 38D, as shown in FIG. 13, cap 38 is configured to countersink the flat head of ornamental screw 40, so as to ensure a flush appearance along with the topsides of cap 38A and grip 12A as shown in FIG. 12.
This quick and easy snap-in feature also opens up new marketing opportunities, e.g. a product line of golf clubs for general use, supplied initially with only the inexpensive unloaded snap-in grip/cap portions ready for after-market customizing by adding weight devices and/or for utilizing the snap-in access feature for the benefit of other golfing-related innovations.
In view of the ever increasing number of mobile compact electronic devices coming into public use, these could find beneficial use within the shaft of a snap-open golf club, including sensors for measuring/assessing/recording data pertaining to the golfer's swing parameters.
Optionally the material in the main body portion could be made with different resilience/elasticity in different regions thereof: e.g. greater elasticity in a region surrounding the snap-in cap.
The invention may be embodied and practiced in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all variations, substitutions and changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A golf grip having a well-known appearance and structural attributes including a tubular-shaped body of resilient material, shaped internally to be bonded securely to an installed shaft in a known manner, the grip's topside, above the shaft, being traversed by a through-opening sized and shaped to serve as a passageway enabling downward snap-in installation of a weighting device in accordance with a novel user-weighting system of the present invention, said grip comprising:

a cap of relatively rigid material, constituting a separable portion of the grip, serving at least to enclose the grip's through-opening and thus render said grip with a finished appearance simulating that of known golf grips;

a weighting device, including at least said cap as key primary component thereof, made and arranged to provide a designated amount of swingweight to be readily installed into a compatible golf club grip;

a grip facet, constituting an edge-wall surface of the grip's through-opening, configured with a novel first cross-sectional shape designed to serve as the grip's interface facet for user-weighting purposes; and

a cap facet, constituting a peripheral surface of said cap, configured with a novel second cross-sectional shape designed to serve as said cap's interface facet for user-weighting purposes: to engage, complement and co-operate with said grip facet's novel first cross-sectional shape in a novel tongue-and-groove manner that enables manual snap-in installation and tool-assisted removal of said weighting device by a user.

2. The golf grip as defined in claim 1 wherein said cap is configured topside with a central threaded for enabling removal of said weighting device from the grip using a threaded tool.

3. The golf grip as defined in claim 2 wherein said cap is configured underside with an externally-threaded downward extension for enabling threaded attachment of a component of said weighting device.

4. The golf grip as defined in claim 2 wherein said cap is configured underside with an internally-threaded opening for enabling threaded attachment of a component of said weighting device.

5. The golf grip as defined in claim 2 wherein said cap is threadedly attached to a component of said weighting device.

6. The golf grip as defined in claim 5 wherein the component is located beneath said cap.

7. The golf grip as defined in claim 5 wherein at least a component of the weighting device extends into the shaft.

8. The golf grip as defined in claim 1 wherein, in a first embodiment of the invention, the cross-sectional shape of said grip facet starts from said grip's topside, forming downwardly a flared entry ramp having an entry area exceeding the said cap's peripheral area and decreasing downwardly then transitioning leftward forming, in the resilient material around the edge-wall region of the grip opening, a groove shape configured in said grip facet, engaged in a tongue-and-groove manner by a complementary tongue shape formed peripherally around said cap in said cap facet, enabling manual snap-in insertion and tool-assisted removal of said cap utilizing stretching allowed by elastic properties of the surrounding resilient grip material when stressed by the relatively rigid material of said cap.

9. The golf grip as defined in claim 8 wherein the groove is located at said grip facet's lower end, beneath which a region of the resilient grip material interfacing the shaft's top end surface serves as a shaft-stop upon installation of the shaft into said grip and as a spacer to prevent direct contact between the shaft and said cap.

10. The golf grip as defined in claim 8 wherein said cap is configured with a peripheral flange portion extending outwardly and forming a portion of said cap facet, sized and shaped to provide a tongue shape to engage the groove of said first facet in a tongue-and-groove manner enabling snap-in installation.

11. The golf grip as defined in claim 10 wherein:

the flange portion of said cap is formed integrally with said cap as an outwardly-extending portion thereof.

12. The golf grip as defined in claim 10 wherein:

the flange portion is located in a bottom; and

said cap is peripherally shaped in cross-section to provide said cap facet configured to interface and interact with said grip facet in the grip opening edge-wall and to occupy otherwise empty grip opening space up to a topside surface substantially flush with surrounding surface of resilient grip material.

13. The golf grip as defined in claim 10 wherein:

the flange portion of said cap is located between a lower portion and an upper portion of said cap;

the upper portion of said cap is shaped to interface the grip opening and fill space above the flange portion up to a topside surface of said cap made substantially flush with surrounding surface of resilient grip material.

14. The golf grip as defined in claim 13 wherein said cap is configured with a central threaded opening extending axially fully through said cap for dual purposes of (a) providing top-side entry for engagement of a threaded-tool to assist removal of the cap portion from said grip and (2) providing bottom-side entry for threaded engagement with a threaded upward extension of a weighing device thusly coupled beneath said cap.

15. The golf grip as defined in claim 1 wherein said grip is made to have a designated region including said grip facet surrounding the grip through-opening wherein the resilient material is made to have a modulus of elasticity greater than that of the resilient material located elsewhere in said grip.

16. The golf grip as defined in claim 1 wherein, in a second embodiment of the invention, said grip facet and said cap facet are made to be substantially alike in cross-sectional shape, and to be mutually engaged in an intimate common cross-sectional interface shape extending over at least a great majority of area of each facet when said weighting device is installed in working location in said grip, the common cross-sectional interface facet shape comprising a series of curves including at least one engaged tongue-and-groove type gacet pair, sized and shaped to enable snap-in installation of said weighting device.

17. The golf grip as defined in claim 16 wherein the common cross-sectional interface facet shape comprises a tandem series of two engaged tongue-and-groove type pairs, sized and shaped to enable snap-in installation of said weighting device.