Golf club

Abstract

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.

Description

[0001]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 INVENTION[0002]Putting 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.[0003]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 ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]The 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.

[0007]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).

[0008]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.

Problems solved by technology

The average golfer often finds it difficult to position the putter properly to send the ball on a desired path to the cup.

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