GOLF PUTTER HEAD
A golf putter has a head provided with spaced, upper and lower leading edges and a toe and heel presenting a club face for striking a golf ball. The face extends linearly substantially from the toe to the heel, and extends between the upper and lower edges of the head along an arc having a radius of from approximately nine to thirty-five inches to provide consistent and predictable ball rolling characteristics.
This application claims the benefit of a prior filed, co-pending provisional application Ser. No. 61/010,388, filed Jan. 8, 2008, entitled TALL FACE PUTTER.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a golf club putter head having a face or ball striking area geometrically configured to assist the golfer in accurate putting.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPutters used in the game of golf are available in various configurations and styles. A putter may have a degree of loft so as to lift the ball slightly off of the putting surface and send it rolling toward the intended target. Other putter heads may be configured to locate the strike zone at slightly above the equator of the ball so as to impart overspin or reduce or eliminate backspin. There are many configurations and styles, thereby providing the golfer with many choices of putter configuration from which to choose.
Consistency from putt to putt, hole to hole and round to round is of the utmost importance and most beneficial to a golfer, and may depend on his or her choice of a putter. Some putters are designed with a flat striking surface with varying degrees of loft and a wide array of weighting schemes which give each putter a particular feel. If the ball if contacted with the hands ahead or forward of the ball during a stroke thereby causing a steeper angle of contact between the face of the putter and the ball, substantial backspin may be imparted to the ball and cause it to skip and possibly skew off of the intended line. The distance of the roll may also be affected. If the ball is contacted with the hands behind the ball or the putter has passed the bottom of its arc, loft may be imparted to the ball causing it to hop or skip as a result of backspin, resulting in inconsistent distance control. Consistency from putt to putt, therefore, is important to accurate putting and minimizing strokes on the green.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn an embodiment of the present invention the aforementioned problem of maximizing consistency in the game of golf when the golfer reaches the green is addressed by providing a golf putter with a face design that is generally taller than conventional putters and has a slight curvature or radius from the top leading edge of the putter face sloping down to the lower edge or sole.
In another aspect of the invention, the putter head presents a club face extending linearly from the toe to the heel of the face, and extending between upper and lower edges of the face along an arc having a radius of from approximately 9 to 35 inches, thereby providing consistent and predictable ball rolling characteristics.
In another aspect of the invention, the face of the putter is tall in that its vertical height may be equal, or substantially so, to the diameter of a golf ball and thus is at least approximately one and one/half inches in height to thereby improve the probability that the putt will be struck on or close to the equator of the ball regardless of reasonable variations of swing arc, variation in the grass putting surface or the position of the hands either forward or rearward of the ball.
A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a head of a putter with a face that extends linearly from the toe to the heel of the putter head or along a substantial portion thereof, and extends between upper and lower edges of the face along an arc having a radius of approximately 24 inches from the top to the bottom of the ball-striking face, and an overall height of the face approximately equal to the diameter of the ball, resulting in a higher probability that the putt will be struck on or very close to the equator of the ball regardless of variations in the golfer's swing or hand position.
Other advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring initially to
As is apparent in
The preferred curvature of the face 30 is illustrated in
Other putter head configurations embodying the improvements of the present invention are shown in
Another exemplary embodiment of a putter head as shown in
It should be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims.
Claims
1. A golf putter comprising:
- a shaft which, in play, has an upper end presenting a grip, and an opposite end provided with a putter head,
- said head having spaced, upper and lower leading edges and a toe and heel presenting a club face for striking a ball,
- said face extending linearly substantially from said toe to said heel, and extending between said upper and lower edges along an arc having a radius of from approximately 9 to 35 inches, whereby to provide consistent and predictable ball rolling characteristics.
2. The putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said putter head presents a sole of said head at laid lower edge thereof.
3. The putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said face presents a striking surface extending essentially from said toe to said heel and along said arc between said upper and lower edges.
4. The putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said radius is approximately 24 inches.
5. The putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said face is at least approximately 1½ inches in height.
6. The putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said face is from 1⅝ to 1¾ inches in height.
7. The putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said arc extends from said upper edge to said lower edge.
8. The putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said radius extends from said upper edge to said lower edge to provide a protrusion defining a striking surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 6, 2009
Publication Date: Jul 9, 2009
Inventor: Patrick Lorin Wempe (Tecumseh, KS)
Application Number: 12/349,212