Putter face configuration with progressively increasing loft

Abstract

A putter type golf club formed of a club head body having a heel, toe, upper surface, bottom and frontal ball striking face. The striking face is characterized by a progressively increasing loft angle on the striking face toward the heel.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to putter type golf clubs and in particular to a golf putter having an improved ball striking face configuration with progressively increasing loft toward the heel of the putter.[0002]Since essentially all golf putting greens are not level and present a variety of slopes, rolls and surface curvatures, various attempts have been made to improve the roll of a golf ball on a putting green by altering the face configuration of a putter. Loft angles of a putter vary from a negative loft to as many as six to eight degrees of loft on some conventional putters. In addition putters have ball striking faces that are rounded, grooved and curved and all these create a different roll characteristic of the golf ball.[0003]Examples of golf putters having ball striking faces made with various angles to control the roll of the golf ball are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,380 to Yim that discloses a putter with a flat and a ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The advantages of the putter face of the present invention having increasing loft toward the heel end of the putter, enables the golfer to close the face of the putter at address thus counteracting the effects of a hanging lie that is most often encountered with left to right putts, while preserving a substantial portion of the clubface on which the ball may be struck without creating negative loft. A further advantage of the progressively increasing loft on the putter face is to provide a more consistent ball compression and subsequent better ball speed anticipation for a given application of force by the putter head. Heretofore conventional putters with a substantially uniform loft across the entire striking face could not be delofted in an attempt to control the roll of a golf ball on left to right breaking putts without the negative effect of driving the ball into the green surface. The present invention with increasing loft on the putter face creates a new result by presenting a lofted striking face to the golf ball even when the putter is adjusted to a closed position to accommodate a left to right breaking putt.

Problems solved by technology

Golf professionals and amateurs alike historically have found that the most difficult putts are those with a left to right break, that is, where the ball will be approaching the hole with a right moving roll path generally away from the position of the golfer.

In this position, the ball tends to break more than perceived by the golfer usually because, even with a proper arc putting stroke, the putter face often contacts the ball low on the clubface creating a weak ball strike.

Typically a golfer will try to compensate for a hanging lie by closing the clubface but with conventional putter faces this puts negative loft on the entire putter face that drives the ball into the putting surface causing the ball to bounce and skid instead of rolling smoothly.

The application is silent as to the overall effect of the loft of the putter face and does not recognize that striking a golf ball on the heel portion of the putter head will tend to decrease the loft of the putter face causing the golf ball to be driven into the green surface causing bouncing and skidding that further effects the accuracy of the roll, even when the ball starts on the intended line to the hole.

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