GOLF CLUB
A golf putter has a head and a shaft affixed to the head, the head having a front face for striking a ball and a rear face and is constructed and designed to assist the golfer in aligning the putter for propelling the ball to be putted in the desired direction. The head comprises a central section with a front face, the central section extending from proximate the head's front face towards the head's rear face and tapering rearward outwardly in width in plan, and a pair of side sections flanking sides of the central section, the side sections each having a front face adjacent the front face of the central section and being of a tapering configuration along the sides of the central section. The central sections and the side sections are oppositely transparent or opaque, allowing them to be visually distinguished from each other and providing visual cues for aligning the putter.
The present application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/370,216 filed Aug. 3, 2010, and relates to a golf club construction and in particular to a new and improved construction for a putter and putter head.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPutting is the ultimate step in achieving the goals of a round of golf—directing the golf ball to fall into the cup hole. Putting requires extreme accuracy, as the target cup is 4.25 inches in diameter, and a typical golf ball is on the order of 1.68 inches in diameter. The average golfer often finds it difficult to position the putter properly to send the ball on a desired path to the cup. Many aids have been developed to assist the golfer in aligning the putter and assisting the golfer in directing the ball in the intended direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,251 discloses a novelty putter having a funnel-like attachment through which the ball is stroked, the funnel tending to redirect a mis-stroked ball back along a desired path.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,669 discloses a putter head has counterweights embedded in a transparent body. The counterweights are spaced to define a space between them that is intended to serve as an alignment guide, allowing the golfer to observe a target below the club and control the swing with respect to the target.
U.S. Published Pat. Appln. 2009/0118035 discloses a putter with alignment means mounted to the rear of the putter head. An alignment element can be adjusted to provide a target line to the cup, allowing the golfer to more easily swing the putter along that line to direct the ball.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a putter head construction for assisting the golfer in aligning a putt without resort to attachments or devices that substantially alter the performance or operation of the putter, while providing the putter head with a heft and contact feel that is substantially the same as that of a conventional putter. The head has central and flanking sections of visually contrasting portions, preferably of opaque and transparent constructions, which together form an arrow wedge configuration as seen from the perspective of the golfer using the putter. The central section tapers forward to the front face of the head and the intended central striking portion of the striking face of the putter, the tapered configuration providing alignment assistance for a putt. The central section is flanked by a the pair of visually contrasting portions, each of which has a front face portion that forms an lateral outer portion of the striking face of the club. The flanking portions further delineate the alignment function of the central section, while providing additional striking portions for the ball in the event the golfer fails to properly align the putt and strike the ball squarely with the central section as intended.
The construction provides a putter with the feel and heft of a more traditional putter, while providing substantial assistance to the golfer in aligning a putt. The construction assists the golfer in initially aligning the putter (static alignment) as well as assisting the golfer in maintaining the desired orientation through the swing (dynamic alignment).
Further, the construction removes distractions associated with conventional putter designs by providing a single, central element or zone in the golfer's focus for the ball striking location. The back to front taper of the central portion provides an arrow-like aiming device, assisting the golfer to align the putter to have the ball travel along the desired path. The clear outer portions allow the green to be seen through them, minimizing the visual effect of the outer head portions and forcing the golfer to more completely focus on the central portion of the head, its tapering construction further channeling the golfer's focus to improve the accuracy of the putter's alignment along the desired path of the ball.
A fuller understanding of the present invention will be obtained upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred but nonetheless illustrative embodiment thereof, reviewed in association with the annexed drawings, wherein:
As depicted in the figures, and initially with reference to
Flanking central section 12 are transparent side portions 20, which are advantageously fabricated of an appropriate tough material, such as glass or a polymer such as an acrylic or polycarbonate. The forward faces 22 of the side portions define corresponding lateral portions of the putter front face, flanking the central section's forward face 16, and provide additional ball contact areas for the putter front face. The bottom faces 38 of the side portions may be at an acute angle A to the horizontal, on the order of about 15 degrees, as may be seen in
While is a preferred embodiment the central section 12 is opaque and the side portions 20 are transparent, the putter head may have a reversed construction, wherein the central section 12 is transparent and the side portions opaque. In such an embodiment use of the metallic front face insert or spacer 28 for at least the central section is preferred to provide an appropriate contact surface for the ball.
As seen in
With reference to
The central section tapers evenly outwardly from the head's front face 24 to its rear face 26. The minimum taper is such that the width of the central section at the rear face 26 is at least twice the width of the central section's front face 16. The maximum width of the central section at the head's rear face is the full width of the head.
With further reference to FIGS. 2 and 3A-C, central section 12 may be formed in plan view as a trapezoid, with its front face 16 constituting the smaller base of the trapezoid and its rear, larger base forming at least the central portion of the rear face 26 of the head. The plan view shape focuses the golfer's view towards the ball, and assists the golfer in aligning the putter head to putt the ball along the desired line of travel. The side portions 20 may likewise be formed in plan essentially as right angle triangles or trapezoids, depending on the percentage of the head's rear face 26 occupied by the central section 12, with the side portions' smaller bases 32 (if present) flanking the rear base of the central section and forming the rear corner portions of the putter and their larger bases comprising forward faces 22. The transparency of the side portions further emphasizes the guide nature of the central section. While the side portions are preferably trapezoidal or triangular, they may have other shapes in plan, so long as they serve to maintain emphasis of the tapered central portion and provide the lateral coplanar forward faces 22. Overall, the putter head is preferably rectangular in plan, greater in front-to-back depth than in width, with a flat upper surface, although a blade-like construction, in which the width is greater than the depth, is also within the invention's contemplation. With the central section transparent and the side portions opaque the guide nature of the construction is preserved, but tinting of the central section may be desired to assist the golfer in properly directing his focus to the center section and the desired travel path for the ball.
The bottom surface of the putter head may be contoured, as best seen in
As stated above, the transparent side portions 20 have bottom faces 38 that are at the angle A to the horizontal and are coplanar with the adjacent central portion faces 36. The lower front edge of the central section 12 and the adjacent portions of the side portions 20 may be beveled at 42.
The rearward extent of the opaque component 20A is such that it defines the rear corners of the head, with the back face portion widths 44 of the opaque component preferably being in the range of 0.015 to 0.500 inches.
With such a construction the shaft, mounted to portion 14A, is preferably mounted by means of a hosel 48, such that the main axis of the shaft, as seen in
When an insert or spacer 28 or 28A is employed, it can provide means for adjusting the weight or balance of the putter. As depicted in
The spacer's recess may further include portions that extend entirely through the spacer, forming a pattern of openings through the spacer's front face, such as a series of horizontal slots or circular bores. The fill of the recess in such openings thus forms portions of the front face and may allow for varying the nature of the contact between the front face and the ball when struck. The front surface of the fill may lie in the same plane as the remainder of the front face, or its surface may be textured or contoured to form projections, recesses or dimples as may be desired.
The head may be dimensioned as required to comply with organization or local rules respecting the size of club heads. A typical set of dimensions for the head may be, for example, a depth of 3⅞ inch in depth, a width of 3½ inch in width, and a height of ¾ inch, with the front face 16 of the central section being 1 inch wide. The central section and side portions may be bonded together by means as known in the art, such as by epoxy adhesive or mechanical fasteners. While the side portions are preferably transparent, they may be tinted. Further, while the head in plan is preferably rectangular, it may take other shapes, such as trapezoidal, with either a larger or smaller base forming the front striking surface of the putter, once again so long as emphasis of the tapered central portion is maintained and lateral coplanar forward faces are provided.
Claims
1. A golf putter, comprising a head and a shaft affixed to the head, the head having a front face for striking a ball and a rear face, the head comprising a central section with a front face, the central section extending from proximate the head's front face towards the head's rear face and tapering rearward outwardly in width in plan, and a pair of side sections flanking sides of the central section, the side sections each having a front face adjacent the front face of the central section, the side sections being of a tapering configuration along the sides of the central section, the central section being opaque or transparent, and when opaque the side sections are transparent and when transparent the side sections are opaque.
2. The putter of claim 1 wherein the front faces of the central section and the side sections together form the front face of the head.
3. The putter of claim 1 wherein the central section is opaque.
4. The putter of claim 1, wherein the shaft is affixed to the central section.
5. The putter of claim 2, wherein the width of the front face of the central section is between 1/16 inch and approximately 1.6 inches.
6. The putter of claim 2 wherein the central section extends from the front face of the head to the rear face of the head, the central section rear face being at least twice the width of the central section front face.
7. The putter of claim 5, wherein the central section is chosen from metal, polymers, glass and composites.
8. The putter of claim 5, wherein the central section is a polymer, glass or composite, the central section further including a metallic insert at a forward end forming the front face of the central section, the insert having a thickness of at least 1/16 inch.
9. The putter of claim 8 wherein the metal insert comprises no more than 25 percent of a total mass of the central section.
10. The putter of claim 3 wherein the side sections are chosen from the group consisting of glass and polymers.
11. The putter of claim 1 wherein a bottom face of each side section tapers upward towards a corresponding side of the head.
12. The putter of claim 1 wherein the central section has a bottom surface with a forward portion extending horizontally and side portions tapering upward towards an adjacent side of the head.
13. The putter of claim 1 further comprising a metallic layer extending across the front faces of the central section and the side sections, a front face of the layer forming the front face of the head.
14. The putter of claim 13 wherein the metallic layer has a thickness of at least 1/16 inch.
15. A golf putter, comprising a head and a shaft affixed to the head, the head having means for facilitating aiming and directing a golf ball in a desired direction when struck by a front face of the head, said means comprising a tapering in plan central section bounded by a pair of side sections, front faces of the central and side sections together forming the putter front face, the central section being opaque or transparent, and when opaque the side sections are transparent and when transparent the side sections being opaque.
16. The putter of claim 15, wherein the front faces of the side sections extend completely across a width of the head, the central section being transparent with a forward end thereof being positioned rearwardly of the side section front faces.
17. The putter of claim 16, further comprising a metallic layer extending across the front faces of the side sections, a front face of the layer forming the front face of the head.
18. The putter of claim 17 wherein the shaft is mounted to one of the side sections.
19. The putter of claim 18 wherein a main axis of the shaft intersects with a lateral centerline of the head at a bottom surface of the head.
20. The putter of claim 17, wherein the metallic layer includes a portion of a density different from the density of a remainder of the insert.
21. The putter of claim 20 wherein the portion forms a part of the front face of the layer.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 25, 2014
Publication Date: Jan 8, 2015
Inventors: Mark Cohen (Palisades, NY), Robert Farnan (Rivervale, NJ)
Application Number: 14/495,978
International Classification: A63B 53/04 (20060101); A63B 53/00 (20060101);