Configurable golf club putter

Abstract

A golf putter. The golf putter has a putter head having a putter face and a T-slot extension. An attachment bolt receiving slot extends through the T-slot extension. One or more attachment weights are slidingly positionable along the T-slot extension. An attachment bolt extends through the T-slot extension and into the attachment weight to rigidly hold the attachment weight in place as desired by the golfer. The putter may be configured: to maximize moment of inertia, to be a toe hang putter, to be a face balanced putter, to be a mallet type putter or to be a blade type putter.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Golf is a game that can be played and enjoyed by people of all ages and ability levels. The rules of the game are straight forward. Hit the golf ball into a hole with the fewest number of hits or strokes. There are typically 18 holes in the game (or round) of golf. The hole is located on a smooth section of grass called the green where the ball is tapped, or putted, into the hole with a club known as the putter. Golf scoring is such that each hole is assigned a score which represents the nominal number of strokes needed to put the ball in the hole. This score is known as par and depending upon the distance to the hole, is 3, 4, or 5 strokes. The number of strokes per hole assumes the ball is hit onto the green and then 2 strokes allowed to put the ball into the hole. A typical par score for 18 holes is 72 strokes. For 18 holes with 2 strokes allowed for putting, that means that 36 strokes – half the total score – are allocated for putting. With putting accounting for such a significant contribution to a golfer’s score, the importance of putting cannot be overstated.

[0002] Golf manufacturers constantly introduce new putter designs to improve putter accuracy and how it feels to the golfer when striking the ball. While other types of golf clubs (i.e. the driver) can be adjusted to fit a golfer’s hitting mechanics, some putters offer a minimal amount of adjustment mainly consisting of adding or subtracting small weights to the putter’s head. But even with these weight changes, golfers must adapt their putting style to the putter. The large variety of putter designs may seem to benefit golfers with many choices; however, there are some drawbacks, namely:

[0003] 1. No one putter may be ideal for a golfer resulting in the golfer compromising their natural swing motion to accommodate a given putter. One size does not necessarily fit all.

[0004] 2. The wide variety of choices can influence a golfer to purchase more than one putter. The golfer chooses the putter that feels the best for that day of golf. Purchasing multiple putters adds additional costs to a golfer’s budget.

[0005] The type of putter chosen by a golfer is very important. For example, something a golfer should consider is whether he is better off with a toe hang or face-balanced putter. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show examples of a toe hang and face balanced putter, respectively. If the toe is drooping slightly (FIG. 1), that means the putter has some semblance of toe hang. If the face of the putter points towards the sky (FIG. 2), the putter is a face-balanced putter.

[0006] Another important consideration in choosing a putter is moment of inertia. Moment of inertia (MOI) is a measurement of how much a putter resists twisting when the ball is hit off-center. A higher MOI means the club is more forgiving and easier to hit. Forgiveness allows for less-than-ideal ball contact to still provide a good controllable hit.

[0007] It is important to know if the golfer would perform better with a toe hang putter, a face balanced putter and / or a putter with a high moment of inertia. Depending on the golfer’s stroke, he could benefit from one design over the other. Ultimately, the goal of a golfer while putting is to get the face square to the target at impact. The path the golfer takes to get there varies. For some golfers, a straight-back-straight-through stroke with minimal face rotation produces consistent results. Conversely, there are also many golfers who rotate the face open-closed but still manage to get the face relatively square at the impact position.

[0008] What is needed is a golf putter that is easily and cost effectively customizable to fit an individual golfer’s style of putting.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides a golf putter. The golf putter has a putter head having a putter face and a T-slot extension. An attachment bolt receiving slot extends through the T-slot extension. One or more attachment weights are slidingly positionable along the T-slot extension. An attachment bolt extends through the T-slot extension and into the attachment weight to rigidly hold the attachment weight in place as desired by the golfer. The putter may be configured: to maximize moment of inertia, to be a toe hang putter, to be a face balanced putter, to be a mallet type putter or to be a blade type putter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIGS. 1 and 2 show prior art golf putters that are a toe hang putter and a face balanced putter, respectively.

[0011] FIGS. 3 - 7 show a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] FIGS. 8 - 14 illustrate how a variety of attachment weights may be added to configure the putter.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Shaft 13 is rigidly connected to club head 15 of putter 10. Putter face 12 is rigidly connected to the front side of club head 15 as shown. Likewise, T-slot extension 16 is rigidly connected to the rear side of club head 15 (see also FIGS. 4 - 6). Attachment weight 20 includes female reception slots 21 for receiving male extension tabs 23 of T-slot extension 16. T-slot extension 16 includes bolt receiving slot 18 for receiving bolts 19. Attachment weight 20 includes bolt receiving threads 25 for receiving bolts 19.

[0014] FIGS. 3–6 show a preferred method for connecting attachment weight 20 to club head 15. Attachment weight 20 is slid onto T-slot extension 16 as shown. Once attachment weight 20 has been slid onto T-slot extension 16 and is in the position desired by the user, bolts 19 are inserted through receiving slot 18 and into threads 25 and tightened, thereby securely locking attachment weight 20 onto club head 15.Varying Attachment Weights

[0015] It should be understood that the type and placement of attachment weights may be easily modified depending upon the preferences of the golfer.

[0016] For example, FIG. 7 shows a bottom perspective view of attachment weight 30 rigidly connected to club head 15. Attachment weight 30 has different size and weight characteristics when compared to attachment weight 20 which will allow the golfer to experience different performance features from the putter.

[0017] By sliding in and tightening attachment weights into different locations along receiving slot 18, the putter’s face balance, toe hang, and moment of inertia can be changed easily by the golfer. FIGS. 8 - 11 show the different orientations of weights. T-slot extension 16 allows for different numbers of weights, different weight shapes, and lighter / heavier weights to meet the golfer’s specific type of putter swing without the need for the golfer to change their swing. For example, FIG. 8 shows attachment weights 42 and 43 positioned to maximized the moment of inertia of putter 10. FIG. 9 shows attachment weights 42 and 43 positioned in the center of receiving slot 18 to maximize the weight at the center of face 12. FIG. 10 shows attachment weights 42 and 43 positioned so that club 10 has toe hang. FIG. 11 shows attachment weights 42 and 43 positioned so that club 10 is a face balanced putter.

[0018] The unique ability to configure putter 10 not only applies to adjusting weights, but also to changing the type of putter. As FIGS. 12 - 14 demonstrate, different weight components can be slid onto putter 10 to create different types of putters with different configurations. For those golfers who prefer a mallet style of putter, different mallet attachment weights 60 or 70 can be added (FIGS. 12–13). Conversely, putter 10 can be configured as a blade putter with attachment weight 80 (FIG. 14). Only one putter 10 is needed for the golfer. By purchasing different attachment weight components, putter 10 can be configured and modified as desired.

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[0020] Although the above-preferred embodiments have been described with specificity, persons skilled in this art will recognize that many changes to the specific embodiments disclosed above could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the attached claims and their legal equivalents should determine the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A golf putter, comprising:A. a putter head,B. a putter face rigidly connected to said putter head,C. a T-slot extension rigidly connected to said putter head,D. an attachment bolt receiving slot extending through said T-slot extension,E. at least one attachment weight slidingly positionable along said T-slot extension, andF. an attachment bolt extending through said T-slot extension and into said at least one attachment weight to rigidly hold said attachment weight in place as desired.

2. The golf putter as in claim 1, wherein multiple attachment weights are connected to said T-slot extension.

3. The golf putter as in claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment weights are positioned so as to maximize moment of inertia.

4. The golf putter as in claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment weights are positioned so as to maximize weight behind the center of said putter face.

5. The golf putter as in claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment weights are positioned so as to create a putter with a toe hang.

6. The golf putter as in claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment weights are positioned so as to create a face balanced putter.

7. The golf putter as in claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment weight creates a mallet type putter.

8. The golf putter as in claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment weight creates a blade type putter.

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