Golf putter having a round-shaped head

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/570,189, filed May 12, 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to the field of golf putters and more particularly for a method and apparatus for a golf putter having a round-shaped head.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are two general putter types used by most golfers today: blade-style putters and mallet-style putters. Blade putters are typically thin and have a ball-striking face that is slightly angled to introduce slight back spin to a struck golf ball. Mallet-style putters have thicker and larger putting heads that, because of their size, may aid in alignment of a golf ball along a particular desired trajectory. In both cases, the striking faces are generally flat.

The prior art has considered shape characteristics of putter heads and striking faces in attempts to benefit ball trajectory. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,865 to Fioretti; U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,933 to Schmitt; U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,452 to Ahn et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,011 to Thomas; U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,076 to Cella; U.S. patent application Publication No. US 2002/0160855 to Giraldi; and JP 3210279 to Kanbara, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.) However, there remains a need for a putting head having a design that facilitates improved golf putting shots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A golf club putter having a round-shaped head design. In one aspect of the invention, the putter head has a cylindrical shape. The cylindrical head provides a rounded putting face that is designed to make a struck golf ball roll true from the moment the golf ball leaves the head. The cylindrical design also helps a player learn beneficial putting techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention is described with reference to the several figures of the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club putter having a cylindrical head design according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the golf club putter having a cylindrical head design at the moment of striking a golf ball according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top-down schematic view of the golf club putter according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is an end view of the golf club putter having a cylindrical head design showing the interchangeability of putter between right handed and left handed use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the figures of the drawing, the figures constitute a part of this specification and illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. 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 a golf club putter having a cylindrical head 10 and FIG. 2 is a end view of the golf club putter at the moment of striking a golf ball 5. With traditional putters, a ball struck with significant force, such as in a long putt, may become lo airborne upon contact. This loft effect has the tendency to cause a ball to bounce as it settles into its rolling pattern which results in the ball deviating from the desired trajectory. The cylindrical shape of the putter head 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention provides a rounded striking face 12 of the putter head that is designed to enable a struck ball 5 to have a truer roll from the moment the golf ball 5 leaves the striking face 12 of the putter head 10. A golf ball 5 having a truer roll is more likely to maintain a desired trajectory, even over long putts. The putter is illustrated for a right-handed golfer in FIG. 1; however, the design of the putter according to this embodiment of the present invention is such that it may be used interchangeably with left or right handed players, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, and may be adapted for a belly putter. FIG. 3 is a schematic top-down view of the golf putter showing the length of the putter head 10 with the ends conceptually shown by an in-plane rotated layout style.

According to U.S. Golf Association (USGA) rules, a golf ball may have a diameter that is no smaller than 1.68 inches, which is the typical diameter of a modern golf ball. In one embodiment of the present invention, it has been found that a putter head having a diameter of approximately 1.25 inches (dimension A, see FIG. 3)enables a struck golf ball to have a preferred roll, even for long putts. The putter head may have a length of approximately 4 inches (dimension B, see FIG. 3). It is contemplated that the size of the golf club head may be adjusted to other dimensions to aid in ball roll trajectory and in fostering beneficial swing mechanics. For example, the design of a putter according to the present invention helps players learn to use their hands and shoulders and thereby eliminate the less desired use of the wrist when making a putt. This promotes the beneficial pendulum effect for putting.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a weight port 14 is illustrated which allows the addition or subtraction of head weight. Removing weight from the weight port 14 makes the putter lighter; whereas adding a weight to the weight port 14 may help teach a proper pendulum stroke. In one embodiment, the weight port 14 is positioned at the center of the cylindrical head 10 and measures approximately ⅜ inch in diameter (dimension C, see FIG. 3). The weight may extend through the entire putter head or may extend any desired distance into the putter head.

FIG. 4 shows an end view of the golf club putter having a cylindrical head design showing the interchangeability of putter between right handed and left handed use. The putter 10 is shown with two striking faces 12 and 12′, each having a rounded shape, for example cylindrical. With this design, the putter is capable of being used by one or more golfers interchangeably between right handed or left handed use to hit balls 5 or 5′ with striking faces 12 or 12′.

The putter head may be capped with Allen style set screws and may be adapted to accept a putter shaft 16 with a standard tip diameter, for example 0.370 inches. In one embodiment, the putter head is made of brass, which material is chosen because it is soft and allows one to feel the ball striking and leaving the putter head. Other materials that could be substituted include steel, titanium, magnesium, aluminum, bronze and alloys thereof.

The putter head is designed for all levels of abilities, for players of any age, and for male and female players, and will help improve the swing mechanics of the user.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the specification or practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.