Pendulum putting system

Abstract

Pendulum putting system including a golf putter with a shaft gripping portion, a shaft, and a center shafted putter head. The shaft is attached to the putter head so that the resulting angle between the ground plane of the putter head and the shaft length is greater than seventy two degrees. The shaft is less than thirty-two inches in length and the putter head weighs more than four hundred grams. A preferred embodiment includes a system where the user grips the gripping portion in a symmetrical fashion consisting of the palmer surfaces of the two index fingers to be extended along the length of the grip, the remaining fingers interlocked and the thumbs overlapped with gripping pressure being applied to the the putter grip by the palms, interlocking fingers, extended index fingers and overlapping thumbs.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of golf clubs and more specifically to a pendulum putting system.

The game of golf has been in existence for hundreds of years. There is a long history of efforts to improve golf club construction in order to reduce the number of strokes needed to knock the golf ball into the hole. One of the most challenging aspects of the game of golf is the short game where the golfer must use a putting club to direct the ball accurately, a short distance to the hole.

One recommended method of swinging a putter club effectively is a pendulum action where the user holds the grip portion of the shaft and the grip portion is held as a fulcrum point and the club head swings to hit the ball toward the hole. A number of inventors have designed putter type clubs that are meant to improve a pendulum type swing. For example, Mr. Kropp, in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,349 discloses a pendulum style putter where the user holds the putter to one side of his body and holds onto the top of the grip portion with one hand which forms the fulcrum point of the swing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,206 by Lin shows a pendulum putter that is used croquet style. The Vaughn pendulum putter, U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,011 shows a pendulum putter that uses a T handle grip as a fulcrum point for the swing. Both the Zichmanis U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,463 and the Moore U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,891 disclose a grip style where the hands of the golfer hold the club in a symmetrical fashion.

While all the above listed patents attempt to improve a golfers putting game, they do not address a number of crucial issues. First, most of the existing putters have a long shaft that forces the golfer to stand erect during the putt while holding his elbows close to his trunk. This creates tension in the arms and shoulders, which is not helpful to the putting motion. Additionally, as the golfer rotates his or her shoulders in an upright stance, the path of the putter is in the shape of an arc with a relatively small radius, with the face of the putter opening and closing during the putt. This makes it difficult to strike the ball with a square putter face. Some instructors, to insure a square club head face at impact, teach golfers to keep the club head on a straight line during the putt. The problem with this approach is that it requires the golfer to use his arm and shoulder muscles to move the hands and club in an unnatural motion, resulting is further tension in the arms and shoulders that impede a pure pendulum motion. In addition, the conventional right hand low grip impedes motion in the back swing, forcing the golfer to swing the putter in an unsymmetrical motion, with less range of motion in the back swing and a larger range of motion in the follow through. Lastly, the light weight of most putter heads forces the golfer to use muscular effort to hit the ball, rather than relying on the weight of the putter as would happen with a purely pendulum motion.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide a putting system that improves the user's pendulum type putting stroke.

Another object of the invention is to provide a golf putting club that reduces arm and shoulder tension therefore improving putting motion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a golf putting club that allows the user to maintain a wider, more stable stance.

A further object of the invention is to provide a golf putting club that provides a heavier club head for a more natural pendulum action.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a golf putting club that includes a shorter than normal shaft length to let the user's arms hang straight down and still maintain the center of the putter directly below his eyes at address and at impact.

Still yet another object of the invention is to provide a golf putting club that allows the user to grip the gripping portion in a symmetrical fashion with index fingers placed along the sides of the lower length of the putter grip.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a pendulum putting system comprising: a shaft gripping portion, a shaft, and a center shafted putter head; said shaft attached to said putter head so that the resulting angle between the ground plane of said putter head and said shaft length is greater than seventy two degrees; said shaft being less than thirty-two inches in length, and said putter head weighing more than four hundred grams.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the wide stance of the user.

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of the invention showing angle of club head to shaft.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the user holding the putter of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the hand grip style of the putting system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the hand grip style of the putting system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a golfer pulling back with the putter of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a golfer swinging forward with the putter of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a golfer to determine the correct length of the putter shaft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

Referring now to FIG. 1 we see a perspective view of a golfer 2 holding the putter of the present invention. The putter consists of a gripping portion 6, a shaft portion 4 and a putting head portion 8. The preferred embodiment uses a short shaft 4 length of approximately twenty-nine and one half inches for an average height person. This short shaft length allows the golfer to let his arms to hang naturally and to have a wide stance as shown by dotted lines 10, 12. The distance between the heels is approximately the same as the distance between the shoulders. This more solid stance helps prevent any swaying or movement of the hips during the putt, which would result in miss-hit putts. This putter uses a center shafted, end-weighted blade style club head 8 weighing five hundred grams as seen in FIG. 2. The lie angle, or angle between the ground plane 50 and shaft 4 is seventy nine degrees as shown by radial dimension line 14. FIG. 3 shows a side view of a golfer 2 holding the putter of the present invention. Because of the short shaft length 4, the golfer's upper body is bent over approximately thirty degrees as shown by radial dimension line 16. The thirty degree angle is the angle between line drawn from the back of the heels as shown by dotted line 18 and the upper body bent position as shown by line 20. The upper arm is parallel 52 with vertical line 18. When the golfer 2 rotates about his spine during his putt, the arc of the putter has a larger radius, allowing the club face a longer amount of time to be square to the path of the putt. This improves the chances of having the putter face exactly square at impact. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the preferred method of gripping the putter. As you can see, the grip is symmetrical and the index fingers 30, 32 are pointing down and the extended palmer surfaces are place along the sides of the lower length of the putter grip 6. The upper end of the grip 6 is placed in the depression between the two pads of the opposing palms and the palms are locked together by pressure from the interlocking fingers 26, 28 and overlapping thumbs 30, 32. While keeping his hands, arms and shoulders locked together as one rigid structure, the golfer swings the putter by rotating his rib cage to his right using his oblique stomach muscles. At the apex of his back swing as shown in FIG. 6, he relaxes his stomach muscles and allows the putter to swing through the ball to his left as shown in FIG. 7. The angular displacement of the back swing 34 and the follow through swing 38 are identical, just as one would see in any genuine pendulum mechanism. The golfer varies the length of the back swing according to the length of the putt. The longer the putt, the greater the back swing, follow through and after swing. This allows the golfer to use a pure pendulum motion and to use the weight of the putter head to hit the ball to the cup, rather than using muscular strength. At the end of the after swing, the golfer allows the putter to come to rest and turns his head to look at the ball. By keeping his head down during the back swing, follow through and after swing, the golfer reduces the chance of moving his head during the putt and thereby miss-hitting the ball. The correct length of the putter for each golfer is determined by having the golfer bend his trunk forward at an angle of thirty degrees as shown by radial dimension line 48 in FIG. 8. This angle is the difference between the vertical heel line 50 and the bend of the torso 52. In FIG. 8 the hands are hanging down freely. The length of the putter shaft is the distance from the heel of the hands 44 to the floor 46 minus the height of the putter head as shown by dimension line 46. The head of the putter can be varied in shape, by peripheral and/or variable weighting, by grooves, smoothness or various loft angles of the face, or by various designs such as long prongs, large weights or facsimile balls behind the putter face. Various markings may be placed on the putter head to facilitate squaring the putter face at address. The shaft may be bent or straight. The putter grip can be conventionally shaped, or over or undersized, or with parallel or non-parallel surfaces in order to accommodate a comfortable, symmetrical grip for each golfer.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. pendulum putting system comprising:

a shaft gripping portion;

a shaft; and

a center shafted putter head.

said shaft attached to said putter head so that the resulting angle between the ground plane of said putter head and said shaft length is greater than seventy two degrees;

said shaft being less than thirty-two inches in length;

and said putter head weighing more than four hundred grams.

2. pendulum putting system as claimed in claim 1 wherein a user grips the gripping portion in a symmetrical fashion consisting of the palmer surfaces of the two index fingers to be extended along the length of the grip, the remaining fingers interlocked and the thumbs overlapped, and the end of the putter grip fitting in the depression between the two pads on the palm of each hand, with gripping pressure being applied to the said putter grip by the palms, interlocking fingers, extended index fingers and overlapping thumbs.

3. pendulum putting system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said putter design allows the user to perform a symmetrical swing consisting of an equally angular back swing, follow through and after swing.

4. pendulum putting system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said putter design allows the user to have a stance equal in width to a conventional driving stance, where the inside of the golfer's feet are placed on the ground at a distance equal to the outside width of said golfer's shoulders.