Abstract:
A golf putter having upper and lower shaft members which are detachably secured together. The lower shaft member has a putter head secured thereto. In the preferred embodiment, enlarged grips are provided on the upper ends of the upper and lower shaft members. A locking screw connects the upper and lower shaft members to restrict the disconnection of the same.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to a golf putter and more particularly to a golf putter including upper and lower shaft members which may be disconnected from one another for travel purposes. More particularly, the golf putter of this invention relates to a putter having a length sufficient so that a golfer may position the upper end of the upper shaft member between the inside upper portion of the golfer&#39;s leading arm and the side of the golfer&#39;s chest to position the upper end of the upper shaft member in position with respect to the golfer during the golfer&#39;s putting stroke. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Many different types of putters have been previously provided. There is the conventional length putters, belly putters and sternum putters. It has been found that it is desirable to putt with the golfer&#39;s larger muscles other than with the golfer&#39;s smaller muscles. Many golfers who have experienced the “yips” go to the belly putters or the sternum putters so that they putt more with their arms and shoulders rather than with their hands and fingers. It has been found that an ideal putting stroke may be achieved if the upper end of an elongated putter is positioned between the inside upper portion of the golfer&#39;s leading arm and the golfer&#39;s chest and maintained therein during the putting stroke. 
         [0005]    The rules of the United States Golf Association permit long putters which may be disconnected into two parts for travel purposes. The same must not be readily disconnected to deter the golfer from separating the putter into two pieces during play. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
         [0007]    A golf putter is disclosed which includes a putter head which has a lower shaft member secured thereto and which extends upwardly therefrom. The putter also includes an upper shaft member wherein the lower end thereof may be threadably secured to the upper end of the lower shaft member so that the putter will have a combined length such that when the upper shaft member is secured to the lower shaft member, a golfer may position the upper end of the upper shaft member between the inside upper portion of the golfer&#39;s leading arm and the side of the golfer&#39;s chest to position the upper end of the upper shaft member in position with respect to the golfer during the golfer&#39;s putting stroke. 
         [0008]    In the preferred embodiment, an enlarged grip is mounted on the lower shaft member at the upper end thereof and an enlarged grip is mounted on the upper shaft member at the upper end thereof. The upper and lower shafts may be tapered or have a constant diameter. 
         [0009]    It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved golf putter. 
         [0010]    A further object of the invention is to provide a two-piece golf putter having a length such that the upper end of the putter may be positioned between the inside upper portion of the golfer&#39;s leading arm and the side of the golfer&#39;s chest to maintain the upper end of the upper shaft member in position with respect to the golfer during the golfer&#39;s putting stroke. 
         [0011]    A further object of the invention is to provide a golf putter of the type described which forces the golfer into a better putting stroke. 
         [0012]    A further object of the invention is to provide a two-piece putter including means for restricting the disconnection of the upper and lower shafts during play. 
         [0013]    Yet another object of the invention is to provide a two-piece putter wherein the lower section of the putter, when the two-pieces are disconnected, may be used as a putter. 
         [0014]    These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the assembled putter; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the putter of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a cross-section of the means for locking the upper shaft member to the lower shaft member of the putter; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the putter which does not have any grips formed thereon; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an assembled putter having tapered shafts; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  illustrates a golfer having the upper end of the golf putter positioned between the golfer&#39;s leading arm and the side of the golfer&#39;s chest. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0022]    Embodiments are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, which form a part hereof and show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are disclosed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. However, embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense in that the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims. 
         [0023]    In  FIG. 1 , the numeral refers to the golf putter of this invention including a putter head  12 , lower shaft member  14  and upper shaft member  16 . The lower end of shaft member  14  is secured to the putter head  12  by any conventional means. The upper end of lower shaft member  14  preferably has an enlarged grip  18  provided therein. The upper end of upper shaft member  16  preferably has an enlarged grip  20  provided thereon. 
         [0024]    The lower end of upper shaft member  16  has a plug  22  inserted into the lower end thereof and which is secured thereto as seen in  FIG. 3 . An externally threaded stud  24  extends downwardly from the plug  22  and has a transversely extending bore  26  extending thereinto which extends into the stud for a distance greater than one-half of the diameter of the stud  24 . 
         [0025]    The upper end of lower shaft section  14  has a plug  28  received therein and which has an internally threaded bore  30  adapted to threadably receive the stud  24 . An elongated internally threaded bore  32  is formed in plug  28  which is adapted to threadably receive an allen screw  34 . Grip  18  is provided with an opening  36  which communicates with opening  38  formed in shaft member  14  as seen in  FIG. 3 . Openings  36  and  38  communicate with bore  32  to enable allen screw  34  to be threadably inserted into bore  32  to restrict the disconnection of shaft members  14  and  16 . 
         [0026]    The shaft sections  16  and  14  may be secured together by threadably inserting the stud  24  into the internally threaded bore  30  of plug  28 . When the stud  24  has been sufficiently tightened within the internally threaded bore  30 , the allen screw  34  is threadably inserted into bore  32  and is moved inwardly until the inner end of the allen screw is received by the bore  26  to prevent the ready disconnection of the shaft section  16  from the shaft section  14 . 
         [0027]    In use, assuming that the golfer is right handed, as seen in  FIG. 6 , the golfer will place the upper end of the shaft section  16  between the inside surface of his/her left arm and the side of the golfer&#39;s chest and securely maintain the putter in that position by lightly squeezing the golfer&#39;s left arm against the upper end of the putter. The golfer will grasp the grip  18  with his/her right hand and address the ball. The fact that the upper end of the putter  10  is anchored between the golfer&#39;s arm and the golfer&#39;s chest causes the golfer to make a pendulum stroke without any hand action. In other words, the golfer uses the golfer&#39;s large muscles rather than the golfer&#39;s small muscles to execute the putting stroke. 
         [0028]    The putter of  FIG. 4  is designated by the reference numeral  10 ′ and is identical to the putter of  FIG. 1  except that the putter  10 ′ does not have any grips thereon. 
         [0029]    The putter illustrated in  FIG. 5  is designated by the reference numeral  10 ″ and includes tapered shaft members rather than shaft members of a constant diameter. 
         [0030]    It should be noted that when the shaft section  16  is disconnected from shaft section  14 , shaft section  14 , with the putter head  12  affixed thereto, may be used as a putter having a more conventional length. 
         [0031]    Thus it can be seen that a novel golf putter, which when assembled, has a length sufficient so that the golfer may place the upper end of the putter between the inside portion of the golfer&#39;s leading arm and the side of the golfer&#39;s chest to firmly position the putter in position. It can also be seen that a novel means has been provided which prevents the “ready” disconnection of the shaft members during play as required by USGA rules. 
         [0032]    It can therefore be seen that the putter accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives. 
         [0033]    Although the invention has been described in language that is specific to certain structures and methodological steps, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures and/or steps described. Rather, the specific aspects and steps are described as forms of implementing the claimed invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.