SCIENTIFIC GOLF AND EQUIPMENT

Abstract

A scientific method of golf employs a pendulous or near pendulous swing to hit a golf ball so that the ball flies airborne and straight, including a tee shot with a driver. A new golf club with the shaft attached to the heel of the club head as in conventional golf clubs, but with the shaft angle increased to about 65-90° is disclosed. Also disclosed are golf clubs and putters having a shaft attached at or near the center of the club or putter head.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Provisional Patent Application No. 61/691,405, filed on Aug. 21, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention relate to a newly discovered scientific method of hitting golf balls straight, and also to new unique golf clubs used in scientific golf.

BACKGROUND

Golf is probably the hardest game among all sports. The goal of the game is to use golf clubs (maximum 14) to hit a golf ball onto a green covered with very short grass and to put the ball into a hole in the green. Typically, there are 18 holes with some par 3, par 4 and par 5 holes. In each hole, a golfer places a golf ball on a tee, and uses a driver or another club to hit the ball airborne and straight in most cases. After the first shot, the golfer hits the ball as it is laid down on the ground or sand, and finally hits the ball onto the green to hole out. The object of the game is to use the lowest number of strokes to hole out the ball. For example, in a par 4 hole, a golfer gets a par after using 4 strokes to hole out, gets a birdie after using 3 strokes to hole out, and gets an eagle after 2 strokes to hole out. On the other hand, a golfer gets a bogey after using 5 strokes to hole out, and gets a double bogey after 6 strokes.

For 18 holes, most golf courses have a total par of 72. A handicap system is used to determine a golfer's competency in golf. The system is rather complicated because it is based on computation of a golf course rating and slope factors. For simplicity purpose, a handicap is an average score of the best 10 rounds of the previous 20 rounds of play. For example, a golfer will have a handicap of 20 if the golfer's average score of playing 18 holes is 92 (92 minus 72). Therefore, a golfer is a better player if the handicap is lower.

Golf is an exciting and enjoyable game but it is very difficult to hit the ball airborne and straight consistently, especially for amateur golfers. Even for professional golfers with constant and daily practice, it is very common to see at the PGA tournaments that even the best or top players cannot hit the balls straight and miss the fairway from tee shots using drivers.

Many golf teaching schools, golf books and golf magazines teach how to hit the ball and play golf. In the conventional golf, for a swing with a driver, the ball is placed on a tee in front and between the feet. The line between the toes of the feet (front line) is parallel with the line between the ball and the target. At the address, two hands hold a golf club with the shaft at an approximately 40-50 degree angle)(40-50° to the ground depending on the length of the shaft and the height of the person. The golfer then swings or takes the club back with shoulders turning in a circular swing (swing plane). At the top of the backswing, the shaft should be parallel to the ground. The club is then swung down in an effort to try to hit the ball airborne and straight.

For most golfers with high handicaps, it would be a miracle to hit the ball airborne and straight, because the ball is rather a small target and the club head has to travel quite a distance before contacting the ball. For right-handed golfers, the ball usually would go to right (slice) or to the left (hook), if not completely mishitting the ball. Even for a low handicap player it is very difficult to hit the ball consistently straight with a driver in the tee shot. At the PGA tournaments, even the best or top professional players cannot hit the balls straight and very often miss the fairway.

In a conventional driver, either for right or left-handed and for men or women, the shaft is always attached to the heel of the club head. The angle between the club shaft and club head is approximately 60 degrees despite the different loft of the clubface or the length of the shaft. For example, the following brand name drivers all have club shafts attached to the heels of club heads with shaft angles of about 60 degrees and shaft length of about 46 inches: Taylor Made™ 460 cc: R9 loft 9.5°, R11 loft 10.5°; Ping™ 460 cc: G5 loft 10.5°; Cleveland™ Hibore XLS loft 10.5°; Callaway™ RAZRX loft 13.5°.

For fairway shots, the following clubs all have club shafts attached to the heel of the club head and with the shaft angles of about 60-62°. For example, Cleveland™ Halo #4i with clubface loft of 25° and club length of about 40 inches; Taylor Made™ Rescue #2 with clubface loft of 16°, sand wedge with clubface loft of 64°; Ping™ G10 with clubface loft of 15°, wedge with clubface loft of 60°.

Most golf putters have the shaft attached to the heel of the putter head, and a few new putters have shafts attached to near center but not at the center of the putter head. However, all the putters have shaft angles of about 70°. For example, Odyssey™ WhiteHot 2-Ball has a shaft attached near the heel of the putter head, about ¾ inch from the heel and 2¾ inches between the putter head toe and the shaft; Odyssey™ Tri-Ball SRT WhiteSteel has a shaft attached 1¼ inches from the heel and 4 inches between the putter head toe and the shaft; Odyssey™ WhiteIce has a shaft 1¼ inch from the putter head heel and 2¼ inches between putter head toe and a shaft; Odyssey™ Metal X 2-Ball has a shaft attached ¾ inch from the putter head heel and the distance between putter head toe and the shaft is about 3 inches; Odyssey™ 2-Ball Blade WhiteHot has a shaft attached to the putter head 1 inch from the heel and the distance between the putter head toe and the shaft is 3¼ inches. The Ghost™ Manta putter has a shaft attached to the putter head 1¾ inch from the heel and the distance between putter head toe and the shaft is 2¼ inch. The above putters have shaft length about 32-36 inches long with the shaft attached at near center but not at the center of the putter head and with the shaft angle of 70°. In some instances, the bottom of the shaft may have about 80-100° for the initial 2-3 inches length, then bent back to 70° for the rest of the shaft length.

B. Butler in U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,172 entitled “Metal wood golf club head having a shaft attachment at the sole” describes a metal wood golf club head having a shaft attached to the interior surface of the sole, and to provide improved off-center shots.

R. C. Evans in British Patent No. 22,400 dated Oct. 22, 1908 describes a combined pitching wedge and putter with loft angle of 35 degrees on one side and 90 degrees on the other side of the same golf club.

G. Grant built a center-shafted approach golf club in 1892 and asked for a sale price of $11,250.

S. Wyant sent a comment to F. Thomas of Golf Digest described on May 14, 2004 that he was interested in reading an article by J. P. Sterba of the Wall Street Journal that reported the decline of participation in golf due to frustration with the game's difficulties. Wyant said that he had a solution by allowing center-shafted woods and irons, so that it would be easier to hit the ball than with the current heel-shafted clubs. Thomas said that it had been tried before, but it did not work. The inventor believes that center-shafted woods and irons may not work with the conventional swing, but would work with the scientific swing of the present invention.

An electro-mechanical machine or robot called Iron Byron is used by the USGA (United States Golf Association) to test new golf clubs and new golf balls for conformity to standards. The machine is using a conventional golf club and conventional swing to hit a ball straight repeatedly. However, most people especially amateur golfers using the conventional swing cannot hit the ball straight all the time like the machine.

SUMMARY

Conventional golf clubs may be used for the scientific swing described in the embodiments herein. In one embodiment described herein, however, the angle of the club shaft to the club head is from about 65 to about 90 degrees instead of the conventional 60 degrees, or the angle may be between about 70 to about 90, or from about 75 to about 85, or from about 76 to about 82 degrees.

In accordance with another embodiment, there is described a golf club comprising at least: (a) a golf club head having a golf club head face configured to strike a golf ball and a golf club head body, the golf club head face being generally elliptical in shape and having a top, bottom and two sides, and the golf club head body connected to the face and having a top, bottom, two sides, a front portion and a back portion; and (b) a shaft, wherein a distal end of the shaft is attached to the top of the golf club head body near the middle or center of the club head face, and positioned from about 1 mm to about 60 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body in a direction toward the back portion of the golf club head body. The angle of club shaft to the club head is increased from conventional 60° to 65-90° depending on the clubs. The golf club with a shaft angle of 65-90° can provide better contact with the ball with near pendulous swing to hit the ball airborne and straight.

Another embodiment includes a golf club putter, which in contrast to a conventional putter, includes: (a) a putter head having a putter head face and a putter head body, the putter head face having a top, two sides, and a bottom, and the putter head body connected to or integral with the putter face and having a top, two sides, bottom, front portion and back portion; and (b) a shaft, wherein the distal end of the shaft is connected to the top of the putter head body near the middle or center of the putter head face, and positioned from about 0.5 mm to about 15 mm distally from the front portion of the putter head body in a direction toward the back portion of the putter head body. The angle between the plane of the top of the putter head body and the plane of the shaft is within the range of from about 80° to about 95°, and preferably is about 90°. Such new putter can stroke the ball straight into the hole with pendulous swing.

In accordance with another embodiment, there is provided a method of swinging a golf club (wood, iron, putter) that utilizes a pendulous or near pendulous swing to hit a golf ball such that the ball travels in a relatively straight line toward the target.

For a tee shot with a driver or iron, the ball can be placed on a tee in front of the left foot, with the right leg generally positioned beneath the shoulder and parallel or slightly behind the front line, the front line being an imaginary initial line between the toes of the feet which are parallel with the line between the ball and the target. In one embodiment, the user grips the club with both hands, with hands positioned straight with the club shaft and both arms forming a V intersecting at the club shaft. In this embodiment, the golf club head face is positioned behind the ball and is square to the target, and the individual stands as close as possible to the ball, with the individual head slightly bent forward toward the ball. In this embodiment, the golfer stands nearly straight and very close to the ball, both arms and hands are fully extended but not too tight holding the club, and the club head is slightly touching the ground.

The method of swinging the club begins with the whole units of hands, arms and shoulders pulling the golf club head backwards to the front of right foot then upward with left shoulder turn to make a pendulous swing or within 70-90° to the ground. In the down swing, the swing plane is very close to the same as the plane taking off or backswing, or about 70-90° to the ground. After the impact, the ball generally flies airborne and straight despite the half or imperfect swing because the swing plane is pendulous or near perpendicular to the ground. For the left handed golfer, the method applies in reverse insofar as the swing begins by pulling the golf club head backwards toward to the front of the left foot.

After the tee shot, to hit the ball from the fairway or ground, the method is essentially the same as tee shots except that the ball is sitting on the ground or the sand. For putting, a pendulous swing or stroke is applied to hit the ball on the green, so that the ball will always roll straight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a conventional golf driver where the distal end of the club shaft is attached to the heel of the club head, with a shaft angle of about 60 degrees to the club head.

FIG. 2 shows a golf club driver in one embodiment where the distal end of the club shaft is attached to the top of the golf club head body near the middle or center of the club head face, and positioned from about 1 mm to about 30 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body in a direction toward the back portion of the golf club head body, and is attached with a shaft angle of about 77 degrees to the club head.

FIG. 3 shows a modified conventional golf driver where the distal end of the club shaft is attached to the heel of the club head, with a shaft angle of about 65-90° to the club head.

FIG. 4 illustrates a putter in one embodiment where the distal end of the putter shaft is attached to the top of the putter head body near the middle or center of the putter head face, and positioned from about 0.5 mm to about 15 mm distally from the front portion of the putter head body in a direction toward the back portion of the putter head body, and is attached with a shaft angle of from about 80° to about 95° degrees to the putter head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various publications and references about golf and golf games are available as public domain or described in the background and throughout the specification. For the intended purpose of this application, scientific golf refers to use of body and natural physics, anatomy and physiology principles to swing or play golf. In this application, physics may be defined as the study of matter, energy and physical principles of nature. Anatomy may be defined as the study of human body structure, and physiology as the study of human body movement and function. Thus, scientific golf may be the use of natural principles to play golf with minimum shortcomings and variables.

Throughout this description, relatively straight insofar as it relates to the path of the golf ball after being struck by the golf club head denotes a straight path directly from the ball towards the target or on the fairway ground. Throughout this description, hitting the ball straight therefore denotes hitting the ball relatively straight more than 50% of the time, or more than 65% of the time, or more than 75% of the time, or more than 90% of the time, or more than 95% of the time.

The embodiments described herein relate to a method of swinging a golf club, whether it be a conventional golf club, a modified conventional golf club, or a golf club of one or more embodiments. The embodiments will be described in turn below.

Using Conventional Golf Clubs

In conventional golf, the swing plane has many shortcomings and variables, and can be easily derailed during the down swing because of body motions such as head movement, extension or refraction of arms, poor coordination, etc. Because the swing plane is approximately 40-50° to the ground at the beginning (or relatively flat), many factors will change the swing plane to flat, horizontal, upright or vertical during the down swing. Such changes can cause the ball to fly in different directions or mishit, especially since the human body cannot hit the ball like a machine.

The inventor has discovered that conventional golf swings involve too many faulty and variable factors including: (a) distance change between the ball and the feet; and (b) height change between the ball and the hands. In (a), because the hands holding the club are flexible with about 40-50° to the ground at the beginning, the hands can easily extend or shorten during the down swing, resulting in mishits. In (b), the hands holding the club head can move up and down during the down swing, resulting in hitting too thin or too heavy, if not missing the ball or hitting into the ground before the ball.

The inventor is a scientist, age 81, and also an amateur golfer with a handicap of about 18. Fifteen years earlier, the inventor learned conventional golf and natural golf, and played golf occasionally, once a month or less during the golf season. During the last few years, the inventor was frustrated about the inconsistency of hitting golf balls airborne and straight, and decided to find a scientific method of swinging the golf club, as well as a new golf club design to reduce faults and variables in the conventional swing, so that he can hit the golf ball airborne, straight and with longer distance consistently. The conventional swing has too many faulty factors, and the chance of hitting the ball airborne, straight and with longer distance is diminishing with advancing age.

The inventor realized that he had two options, either to give up golf or to find a better way of hitting the ball consistently, and he decided to improve and simplify the golf swing. The inventor purchased many thousands of recycled golf balls and tried different approaches to hit balls starting with conventional golf clubs in his backyard. Using conventional or natural golf, the inventor could hit a ball to 170-190 yards with a driver having a clubface loft of 9.5 to 12 degrees, but the ball could not fly airborne and straight more than 50% of the time. After many failures, the inventor discovered for the first time that he could drive a ball 190-220 yards, airborne and straight more than 80% of time with a unique scientific method.

In one embodiment, the scientific golf method can be described as follows. For a tee shot with a driver or iron, the ball can be placed on a tee in front of the left foot, with the right leg generally positioned beneath the shoulder and parallel or slightly behind the front line, the front line being an imaginary initial line between the toes of the feet which are parallel with the line between the ball and the target. In one embodiment, the user grips the club with both hands, with hands positioned straight with the club shaft and both arms forming a V intersecting at the club shaft. In this embodiment, the golf club head face is positioned behind the ball and is square to the target, and the individual stands as close as possible to the ball. The movement of the body closest to the ball may be limited by the length of the club shaft depending on the height of a person. For a shorter person a few inches shorter shaft length is preferred. The head can be bent slightly forward. It is important that the body stands nearly straight, both arms and hands are straight and fully extended holding the club lightly, and the club head is slightly touching the ground.

The method of swinging the club begins with the whole units of hands, arms and shoulders pulling the golf club head backwards to the front of right foot then upward with left shoulder turn to make a pendulous swing or within 70-90° to the ground. In the down swing, the swing plane is very close to the same as the plane taking off or backswing, or about 70 to 90° to the ground. After the impact, the ball generally flies airborne and relatively straight despite the half or imperfect swing because the swing plane is pendulous or near perpendicular to the ground. In other words, the swing plane is very close if not closest to the body. For the left handed golfer, the method applies in reverse insofar as the swing begins by pulling the golf club head backwards toward to the front of the left foot.

The major differences between the conventional swing and the current scientific swing method are as follows. In the conventional tee shot, the ball is placed on a tee in front of the left foot or slightly toward the center, for example about 34-36 inches between the ball and the left foot for a conventional 44-48 inch driver, and the club shaft is about 40-50° to the ground. In the current scientific golf swing method, the distance between the ball and the left foot is about 26-28 inches for a conventional 44-48 inch driver, very close to the body and the shaft is about 60-70° to the ground. As another example for a shorter person, in the conventional tee shot with a shorter driver shaft (e.g., less than 44 inches), the ball can be placed on a tee in front of the left foot about 30-32 inches between the ball and the left foot, and the shaft is about 40-50° to the ground. In the current scientific swing method, the distance is about 20-22 inches, and the shaft is about 60-70° to the ground.

In the scientific golf swing method, the swing plane is pendulous and very close to the body with extended hands and arms, therefore the club head should always hit the ball in the down swing. Because the swing plane is very close to the body and cannot create the conventional defects or shortcomings in (a) changes in the distance between the ball and the left foot during the downswing. The extended arms and hands in the current scientific swing also prevent the conventional defaults in (b) height change between the ball and the hands during the downswing. Therefore, the current scientific swing method can hit the ball airborne and relatively straight. For the left handed, the same method applies except that right and left leg positions are switched.

After the tee shot, to hit the ball from the fairway or ground, the golf swing is essentially the same as the tee shots. At the address, move the body very close to the ball which is in front and between the two feet, generally directly in front of and between the golfer's two feet. The ball is hit with the same scientific or pendulous swing to fly airborne and relatively straight. Once the ball is on the green, putting can make use of the same scientific or pendulous action with the ball placed between two feet with straight back and forward pendulous swing. Because of pendulous stroke the ball rolls relatively straight toward the target line most of the time.

The conventional golf clubs and putters can be used in the current scientific golf. Such a conventional driver is shown in FIG. 1, in which the angle between the shaft and the head of the golf club is about 60°. However, in one embodiment, a modified conventional golf club can be used, such as the golf club illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown therein, a modified conventional golf club 300 can include a golf club head comprising a golf club head face 310, and a golf club head body 320 that is connected to the golf club head face 310, preferably integral with the golf club head face, and includes a heel portion 325. The golf club 300 also includes a shaft 330 in which the distal end of the shaft 330 is connected to the golf club head at the heel portion 325, and extends at an angle of from about 65 to about 90 degrees instead of the conventional 60 degrees. In other embodiments, the angle may be between about 70 to about 90, or from about 75 to about 85, or from about 76 to about 82 degrees. Scientifically, the clubs with the shaft attached to the middle or center of the club heads are more suitable for making a pendulous swing to make a ball fly straight or roll straight. Furthermore, the transfer of the hitting force or energy is more direct and efficient when the club shaft is attached to the center of the club head, as described in detail below and with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4.

New Golf Clubs

(A) Increased Shaft Angle

The inventor has discovered that a new golf club can have the shaft attached to the heel of the club head as the conventional golf clubs, but the shaft angle is increased from about 60° to about 65-90°, as shown in FIG. 3 and described above. Using such a new golf club, or modified conventional golf club, the distance between the ball and the left foot can be shortened, and the ball may be placed much closer to the body or the body may be moved as close to the ball as possible. Thus, the ball can fly airborne and straight most times by the current scientific swing.

(B) Shaft Center Position

The inventor has discovered that when the golf shaft is attached at or near the center of the club head, it is much easier to hit the ball at the sweet spot of the clubface more consistently. The new golf clubs include the driver, the fairway wood, irons, hybrid clubs, wedges, and putters. The shaft angle to the club head may be about 65-90°, preferably about 70-90° and more preferably about 80-90°. The loft of the clubface may vary in the same manner as the conventional clubface loft varies (e.g., 8-12° for a driver, etc.). For the putters described herein, the most preferred shaft angle can be from about 80 to about 95 degrees, preferably 90 degrees, and with the loft of the putter face at about 0 degrees or from about −1 to about 2 degrees.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional golf club that has a club shaft attached to the heel of the club head. As shown in FIG. 2, a new driver club has the shaft attached to the center of the club head, and the shaft has a shaft angle with respect to the plane of the golf club head of from about 65 to about 90 degrees instead of the conventional 60 degrees. In other embodiments, the angle may be between about 70 to about 90, or from about 75 to about 85, or from about 76 to about 82 degrees, and as shown in FIG. 2, the shaft angle is about 77°. The new driver can have various shaft lengths as the conventional ones. The loft of the clubface remains the same as the conventional ones.

As shown in FIG. 2, a golf club driver 200 comprises at least: (a) a golf club head 210 having a golf club head face 220 configured to strike a golf ball and a golf club head body 230, the golf club head face being generally elliptical in shape and having a top 221, bottom 224, and two sides 222, and 223, and the golf club head body 230 connected to the face 220 and having a top 231, bottom 234, two sides 232, and 233, a front portion 235, and a back portion 236; and (b) a shaft 250, wherein a distal end 251 of the shaft 250 is attached to the top 231 of the golf club head body 230 near the middle or center of the club head face 220, and positioned from about 1 mm to about 60 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body in a direction toward the back portion of the golf club head body. This distance may vary and can be as close to the golf club face 220 as possible without impeding a clean strike at the ball, and can be from about 1 mm to about 60 mm, or from about 5 mm to about 40 mm, or from about 10 mm to about 30 mm. The golf club head 210 forms a plane 260 generally orthogonal to the plane of the golf club head face 220, and the golf club shaft 250 forms a plane 270. The shaft angle generally refers to the angle formed at the intersection of plane 260 and plane 270, and can be anywhere from about 65 to about 90 degrees, or about 70 to about 90 degrees, or from about 75 to about 85 degrees, or from about 76 to about 82 degrees.

Using the new golf club driver 200 for a tee shot, the ball can be placed on a tee in front of the left foot, with the right leg generally positioned beneath the shoulder and parallel or slightly behind the front line, the front line being an imaginary initial line between the toes of the feet which are parallel with the line between the ball and the target. The distance between the ball and the left foot is about 22-24 inches instead of about 34-36 inches in the conventional address. In one embodiment, the user grips the club with both hands, with hands positioned straight with the club shaft and both arms forming a V intersecting at the club shaft. The shaft angle to the ground is about 70-75° in contrast to about 40-50° in conventional address. In this embodiment, the golf club head face is positioned behind the ball and is square to the target, and the individual stands as close as possible to the ball. The movement of the body closest to the ball may be limited by the length of the club shaft depending on the height of a person. For a shorter person a few inches shorter shaft length is preferred. The head can be bent slightly forward. It is important that the body stands nearly straight, both arms and hands are straight and fully extended holding the club lightly, and the club head is slightly touching the ground.

The method of swinging the club begins with the whole units of hands, arms and shoulders pulling the golf club head backwards to the front of right foot then upward with left shoulder turn to make a pendulous swing or within 70-90° to the ground. In the down swing, the swing plane is very close to the same as the plane taking off or backswing, or about 70 to 90° to the ground. After the impact, the ball generally flies airborne and relatively straight despite the half or imperfect swing because the swing plane is pendulous or near perpendicular to the ground. In other words, the swing plane is very close if not closest to the body. For the left handed golfer, the method applies in reverse insofar as the swing begins by pulling the golf club head backwards toward to the front of the left foot.

FIG. 4 illustrates a new golf club putter that has the shaft attached to the center of the putter head, and the shaft has a shaft angle with respect to the plane of the golf club head of from about 80 to about 95 degrees, or from about 80 to about 89 degrees instead of the conventional 70 degree shaft angle. In other embodiments, the angle may be between about 85 to about 92, or from about 87 to about 90, or from about 88 to about 90 degrees, or 90 degrees. The new putter can have various shaft lengths as the conventional ones. The loft angle of the clubface putter can remains the same as the conventional putters and can vary from about −1 to about 3-5 degrees from the plane vertical or perpendicular to the ground, but can be about 0 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 4, a golf club putter 400 comprises at least: (a) a putter head having a putter head face 420 configured to strike a golf ball and a putter head body 410, the putter head face having a top 421, bottom 424, and two sides 422, and 423, and the putter head body 410 connected to the face 420 and having a top 411, bottom 414, two sides 412, and 413, a front portion 415, and a back portion 416; and (b) a shaft 440, wherein a distal end 441 of the shaft 440 is attached to the top 411 of the putter head body 410 near the middle or center of the putter head face 420, and positioned from about 0.5 mm to about 15 mm distally from the front portion 415 of the putter head body 410 in a direction toward the back portion 416 of the putter head body 410. This distance may vary and can be as close to the putter face 420 as possible without impeding a clean strike at the ball, and can be from about 0.5 mm to about 15 mm, or from about 1 mm to about 10 mm, or from about 1.5 mm to about 5 mm. The putter head 410 forms a plane 450 generally orthogonal to the plane of the putter head face 420, and the putter shaft 440 forms a plane 460. The shaft angle generally refers to the angle formed at the intersection of plane 450 and plane 460, and can be anywhere from about 80 to about 95 degrees, or from about 80 to about 89 degrees, or from about 85 to about 92, or from about 87 to about 90, or from about 88 to about 90 degrees, or 90 degrees.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A golf club comprising: (a) a golf club head comprising a golf club head face and a golf club head body that is connected to the golf club head face the golf club head body including a heel portion; and (b) a golf club shaft in which a distal end of the shaft is connected to the golf club head body at the heel portion, and extends at a shaft angle of from about 65 to about 90 degrees to the plane of the club head.

2. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the shaft angle is between about 70 to about 90 degrees.

3. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the shaft angle is between about 76 to about 82 degrees.

4. A golf club comprising at least: (a) a golf club head having a golf club head face configured to strike a golf ball and a golf club head body, the golf club head face having a top, bottom, and two sides, and the golf club head body connected to the golf club head face and having a top, bottom, two sides, a front portion, and a back portion; and (b) a shaft, wherein a distal end of the shaft is attached to the top of the golf club head body near the middle or center of the club head face, and positioned from about 1 mm to about 60 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body in a direction toward the back portion of the golf club head body, and wherein the golf club head forms a head plane generally orthogonal to the plane of the golf club head face, the golf club shaft forms a shaft plane along its longitudinal extent, and the shaft angle comprises the angle formed by the intersection of the head plane and the shaft plane and is between about 65 to about 90 degrees.

5. The golf club of claim 4, wherein the distal end of the shaft is attached to the top of the golf club head body and positioned from about 5 mm to about 40 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body.

6. The golf club of claim 4, wherein the distal end of the shaft is attached to the top of the golf club head body and positioned from about 10 mm to about 30 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body.

7. The golf club of claim 4, wherein the shaft angle is between about 70 to about 90 degrees.

8. The golf club of claim 4, wherein the shaft angle is between about 76 to about 82 degrees.

9. A golf club putter comprising at least: (a) a putter head having a putter head face configured to strike a golf ball and a putter head body, the putter head face having a top, bottom, and two sides, and the putter head body connected to the face and having a top, bottom, two sides, a front portion, and a back portion; and (b) a shaft, wherein a distal end of the shaft is attached to the top of the putter head body near the middle or center of the putter head face, and positioned from about 0.5 mm to about 15 mm distally from the front portion of the putter head body in a direction toward the back portion of the putter head body, and wherein the putter head forms a head plane generally orthogonal to the plane of the putter head face, and the putter shaft forms a shaft plane along its longitudinal extent, and the shaft angle comprises the angle formed by the intersection of the head plane and the shaft plane and is between about 80 to about 95 degrees.

10. The putter of claim 9, wherein the distal end of the shaft is attached to the top of the putter head body and positioned from about 1 mm to about 10 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body.

11. The putter of claim 9, wherein the distal end of the shaft is attached to the top of the putter head body and positioned from about 1.5 mm to about 5 mm distally from the front portion of the golf club head body.

12. The golf putter of claim 9, wherein the shaft angle is about 90 degrees.

13. The golf putter of claim 9, wherein the shaft angle is 80-89 degrees.

14. A method of hitting a golf ball comprising:

standing with the golf ball in front of a left foot with a right leg shoulder wide and parallel or behind a front line, wherein the front line is an imaginary line between the toes of the feet and is parallel with a line between the golf ball and a target;

holding a golf club having a shaft and clubface, wherein both hands are straight with the club shaft and the arms form a V intersecting at the shaft, and the clubface is behind the golf ball and square to the target;

swinging the golf club with a pendulous upswing at a swing angle of from about 65 to about 90 degrees to the ground and a downswing wherein both hands and arms are fully extended and the swing plane is close to the body.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the swing angle is from about 70 to about 90 degrees.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the swing angle is from about 80 to about 90.