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Golf putter club head

Golf putter club head description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/738,499 filed Nov. 21, 2005.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to golf clubs, and, more specifically, to a putter having an improved club head design for improved putting accuracy.

2. Description of the Background Art

The field of golf has enjoyed perhaps the greatest proliferation of equipment improvements available to its avid participants of any hobby or pastime. The popularity of professional golf has heightened not only participation by tremendously increasing numbers of golfers, but has also consequently spurred the development and introduction of very sophisticated equipment designs and materials.

The golf club putter in general has been the recipient of great inventive effort directed toward the achievement of the ultimate putter design. One such effort is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,089 invented by Bonneau which teaches an inverted mass relieved putter head in the form of a general block of metal having a conventional striking face with mass relieved portions behind the face of the putter head club. A plug of heavy metal is centered at the center of gravity to add stiffness with emphasis on the use of exotic materials for proper head weight.

A customizable golf putter head with a face insert is taught by Anderson in U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,694. The face member has a cavity formed in its rear surface to receive a weighted face insert. In a recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,782, Tang discloses a putter head having a body preferably formed of stainless steel, the body including a face portion, a crown portion, a sole portion and an aft mass portion to achieve novel inertial properties. An alignment means for aiming a golf ball during putting is also provided.

A golf club with interchangeable sole is taught by Lu in U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,540. This allows for customizing the club head with selected ground-engaging sole plates to more closely match ground and grass conditions. An adjustable golf putter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,652 by Westbrook teaching a novel energy transmitting head composition which transmits vibrational energy upon contact with a golf ball. A unique layered design of high density elastomer, PVDF, carbon fiber, polyester resin and aluminum is disclosed.

Another golf putter head design is disclosed by Caiozzo in U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,035. This golf putter head includes an arcuate cavity extending from the back surface of the hitting face and a semi-circular rear section attached to and extending back from the front section. A keyhole-shaped cutout formed into the semi-circular lip for weight/balance redistribution is also provided. Still another golf putter head is disclosed by Bolanos in U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,052 teaching a club head body having a center of mass, the center of effort located on the striking face in axial alignment with the center of mass to define an axis of effort extending through the club head body.

A balanced putter with top spin facility is disclosed by Baker in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,290. This club head includes a member securable to the exterior surface of the club head formed of a material different from the material constituting the club head itself, the member having an arcuate configuration for striking the ball.

Hettinger, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,931 teaches a bimetallic golf club head having a weighted body for lowering the center of gravity of the club head itself in order to achieve an increase in the vertical gear effect upon impact with a golf ball. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,035, a balanced golf club putter taught by Hannon includes two chambers that increase the proportion of heel and toe mass relative to the center mass and decreases the cross sectional area of head material to increase vibration transmitted upon the shaft upon ball impact.

Another golf club head design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,857 as taught by Cochran includes a golf club head having a high radius of gyration formed of steel and having tungsten embedded inserts added to the heel and toe areas of the club head itself. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,871, Fisher teaches a golf putter head design with interchangeable rebound control inserts which are readily interchangeable to provide higher or lower rebound factors depending upon the speed of the green.

Colucci, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,372 teaches a putter head which includes three long plastic insert sighting lines to assist a golfer in lining up the club head with the intended target. The patent to White, U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,913, teaches a golf club putter head having a removable blade forming a front striking surface in a fashion such that the blade may be adjustably positioned longitudinally with respect to the body of the putter head. Two protrusions are provided on the bottom surface which position the blade above the grass surface.

Despite the plethora of golf putter designs in the art, there is a continuing need for a golf putter having improved weighting, improved contact with the golf ball resulting in a truer roll of the golf ball and improved feel and aerodynamics.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf putter having improved weighting, improved contact with the golf ball resulting in a truer roll of the golf ball and improved feel and aerodynamics. Additionally, the configuration of the face portion with respect to the sole portion advantageously prevents scuffed putts. That is, since the bottom edge of the face portion is raised above the sole portion, there is less chance that the golfer will catch the face on the ground as he swings through the putt.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a golf putter head including a face portion having an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion; a sole portion; a top portion extending rearward from an upper edge of the face portion, the top portion having a front edge and a rear edge; a rear portion extending downward from the rear edge of the top portion to the sole portion; and a transition portion for joining the face portion with the sole portion, wherein the face portion is a maintained at a predetermined distance above the sole portion and the sole portion is positioned rearward of the face portion.

The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes are possible without departing from the principles set forth herein. There are many applications of this design.

The above is a brief description of some deficiencies in the prior art and advantages of the present invention. Other features, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, drawings and claims.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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