by Victoria Slind-Flor, Bloomberg News

Nike Inc. (NKE) said it can make a golf shirt that could replicate what a coach does.

The world’s largest maker of sporting goods obtained about a dozen patents on Aug. 27, including one invention with the potential to irk golf pros.

“A coach or trainer can greatly improve an athlete’s form or body positioning, which can result in improved athletic performances,” Nike said in patent 8,516,616, issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “For most people, however, a coach or trainer is not always available” and there isn’t an easy way to check positioning on your own, the company said.

The patent covers “articles of apparel providing enhanced body position feedback.” The clothing will have tighter material in areas key to a repetitive movement, like a golf swing. The snug fit increases muscle stimulation, giving a better feel that will improve form, according to the patent.

Obtaining a patent doesn’t mean for certain that the invention will be used in a product. Companies are granted millions of patents a year and many never become a reality.

In the golf patent, Nike describes thin elastic material embedded into the part of the garment that covers the lower back to heighten sensation. That part of the body is essential to a swinging motion and is impossible to see and difficult to feel while performing, which is why a coach is needed to give feedback, the document said.

Besides boosting performance, the shirt also could lower injury risk by keeping athletes in proper form as they swing a golf club or a baseball bat over and over again, Nike said.

Mary Remuzzi, a company spokeswoman, declined to comment on the patent.

Under U.S. Golf Association rules, compression and posture garments are allowed during competition while clothes designed to store and release energy aren’t, said Joe Goode, a spokesman for the Far Hills, New Jersey-based group that governs golf rules in the U.S. and Mexico. He declined to comment on whether a product based on the Nike patent would be permitted.