Patent Publication Number: US-6663499-B2

Title: Golf putter

Description:
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 of Provisional Application Serial No. 60/243,099, filed Oct. 25, 2000 and currently pending. The disclosure of that provisional application is hereby fully incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to golf clubs. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved golf putter. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional putters are used with the golfer facing generally 90° relative to the hole or cup. The ball is placed in front of the golfer&#39;s toes and the putter swings back and forth in front of the golfer. Most conventional putters are between about 35 inches and 39 inches in length with a grip affixed to a shaft at one end and a putter head affixed at the opposite end. The shaft extends away from the putter head at a lie angle of approximately 25°-35° relative to vertical. The putter shaft length and lie angle are designed so that the golfer can assume a comfortable position with the putter head positioned at address well in front of the toes of the golfer&#39;s shoes. 
     Another class of putters has emerged relatively recently and is becoming more and more popular. These putters are used in a “side saddle” manner with the golfer facing the hole or cup at address and the putter held and swung at the golfer&#39;s side. The ball is placed alongside one of the golfer&#39;s feet. These putters have a much more upright lie angle of approximately 10°, and the shaft of the putter may be lengthened significantly beyond the length of a conventional putter. Typically, the shaft of the putter is gripped at one end with one hand and at a more intermediate location with the other hand. The golfer swings the putter with the lower hand and uses the upper hand generally as a pivot. This putting style is especially useful for putts of shorter distances since many golfers feel that the side saddle stroke allows better putter head control. 
     Many golfers would like to use a conventional putter and conventional putting stroke at longer distances from the cup, while using the side saddle approach at shorter distances from the cup. Unfortunately, if the golfer attempts to use a typical, upright side saddle putter with a conventional stroke, the golfer must assume an awkward stance, for example, placing the ball too close to his or her toes and standing too upright. On the other hand, if the side saddle approach is attempted with a conventional putter, the ball is placed too far away from the golfer because of the conventional lie angle. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a putter which may be more conveniently and effectively used with both a conventional putting stroke and a side saddle putting stroke. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention therefore provides a putter adapted to be used effectively with both a conventional stroke, i.e., with the ball placed in front of the golfer&#39;s toes, and also a side saddle approach, i.e., with the ball placed aside one of the golfer&#39;s feet. To this end, the putter essentially comprises a shaft having a grip portion at one end and a putter head affixed to the opposite end. A forward offset portion, which may be the shaft itself, or a hosel portion of the putter head, extends forwardly in a direction parallel to the face of the putter head. This forward offset portion extends for a short distance above the putter head. In the preferred embodiment, the forward offset portion is a curved portion, however, it may take other shapes as well. The majority of the shaft extends upward from the forward offset portion most preferably at a lie angle of 10°. Most preferably, the lie angle is about 10° from vertical. With this configuration, the upright lie angle allows the putter to be used effectively with a side saddle stroke. In addition, the forward offset portion allows the putter to be used effectively with a conventional putting stroke. 
     Various additional features, advantages and objectives of the invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a golf club in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the golf club of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the putter of this invention used by a golfer with a conventional stroke; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing use of the same putter with a side saddle approach; 
     FIG. 5 is a front plan view of one alternative style of golf club constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the putter head associated with the putter of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of the putter head shown in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of another alternative putter head constructed in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a top view of the putter head shown in FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a rear elevational view of the putter head shown in FIG. 8; and 
     FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the putter head shown in FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT 
     FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively illustrate the front and rear views of one preferred putter  10  of this invention. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a putter constructed in accordance with the concepts disclosed herein may be constructed with many different designs and configurations, using many different grip configurations, shafts and putter head configurations. Therefore, Applicant should not be limited to any particular configuration, including that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     The putter  10  generally comprises a shaft  12  having a grip portion  14  at one end and a putter head  16  at an opposite end. In the present embodiment, the grip portion  14  is split into two defined portions, i.e., an upper portion  14   a  and a lower portion  14   b . As will be described below, this allows more convenient use of the putter  10  in a side saddle approach with one hand gripping the upper grip  14   a  and another hand gripping the lower grip portion  14   b . The shaft  12  includes an upper section  12   a  defining a majority of the length thereof and including an axis  18  disposed at an angle θ relative to vertical. The shaft  12  includes a lower section  12   b  comprising a forward offset portion, which may be simply bent away from the upper shaft section  12   a  or which may be a separate piece, such as a hosel connected with the putter head  16 . Angle θ is preferably between 5° and 15° from vertical and, most preferably, at least 10° from vertical with the putter  10  at address as shown in FIG. 1, to comply with USGA regulations. As further shown in FIG. 1, the forward offset section  12   b  moves the putter head  16  in a forward direction parallel to the front face  16   a  and away from the lower part of the shaft axis  18 . This places the putter head  16  in a position similar to the position of a conventional putter head if shaft axis had a conventional angle of 25° to 30° from vertical. The preferred length of putter  10  is approximately 43 inches, although this may vary according to the desires of the user. The offset portion  12   b  preferably moves the putter head  16  forward approximately 3-5 inches relative to the bottom of the upper shaft section  12   a.    
     As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the putter  10  may be conveniently and effectively used with a conventional putting stroke. Using this stroke, the golf ball  20  is placed in front of the golfer&#39;s toes  22  with the golfer  24  facing generally 90° relative to the hole or cup  26 . The golfer  24  then swings the putter  10  back and through generally in a direction parallel to the front of their body. In the conventional stroke, the forward offset portion  12   b  allows the golfer  24  to assume a more traditional stance with the ball  20  placed a conventional distance away from the golfer&#39;s toes  22 . 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the putter  10  may also be effectively used in a side saddle manner. Using this stroke, the golfer  24  grips the upper grip portion  14   a  with one hand and the lower grip portion  14   b  with the other hand. The ball  20  is placed alongside one foot  26  of the golfer  24  and the golfer  24  swings the putter  10  in a direction generally parallel with that foot  26  alongside the golfer&#39;s body. Using this stroke, the golfer  24  is facing the hole or cup  26  and the upright lie angle of the putter  10  allows the golfer  24  to assume the upright stance necessary for effective use of this stroke. 
     FIGS. 5-7 illustrate one of many different variations of putter capable of using the concepts of the present invention. In FIGS. 5-7, reference numerals with prime marks (′) indicate corresponding, but somewhat altered structure, relative to the first embodiment of FIGS. 1-4. New reference numerals indicate new structure. FIG. 5 illustrates a putter  10 ′ having a shaft  12  with a grip portion  14 ′ at one end and a putter head  16 ′ at an opposite end. In this embodiment, grip  14 ′ is formed as one continuous grip. This allows the putter to be used with a conventional swinging-style while anchoring the upper end of the grip in the golfer&#39;s abdomen. This helps steady the putter during the swing. The continuous grip  14 ′ allows the golfer to choose any point on the grip that is comfortable for the chosen swing style. As with the first embodiment, shaft  12  includes an upper section  12   a  defining a majority of the length thereof and including an axis  18 . Shaft  12  includes a lower section  12   b  comprising a forward offset portion as described in connection with the first embodiment. Angle θ is again defined between vertical and axis  18  as being between about 5° and about 15° from vertical and, most preferably, at least 10° from vertical when putter  10 ′ is at address as shown in FIG.  5 . Lower offset shaft section is preferably configured as described in connection with the first embodiment. 
     The main difference between this alternative embodiment and the first embodiment is that putter  10 ′ is configured as a mallet-style putter having a center-shafted design. In addition, putter  10 ′ is shown as a left-handed putter. Mallet head  16 ′ includes perpendicularly oriented raised sections  30 ,  32  and a pair of cavities  34 ,  36  positioned on opposite sides of raised portion  30 . Many golfers find such mallet-style putters to be easier to use with both side saddle putting strokes and conventional putting strokes. It will be appreciated that many other putter head configurations may be used in conjunction with the concepts of this invention as well. 
     FIGS. 8-11 illustrate another illustrative embodiment of the invention in the form of a putter head  16 ″ attached to a shaft  12 . In these figures, reference numerals with prime marks (′) or double prime marks (″) refer to structure which is somewhat altered from the corresponding structure denoted with the same numerals and discussed in FIGS. 1-7. Putter head  16 ″ is another mallet-style putter head formed in accordance with the invention having a neck portion  12   b ′ formed with a forward offset. An upper end of neck  12   b ′ attaches to shaft  12  at an angle of preferably 10° from vertical as shown in FIG.  10 . Putter head  16 ″ includes a striking face  16   a ″ and a stepped rear portion  16   b  providing centralized weight for the putter head  16 ″. Putter head  16 ″ further includes a heel  40  and a toe  42 . Preferably, the putter head is moved forward approximately 3 to 5 inches relative to the bottom of the shaft  12  due to the forward offset neck  12   b . Preferably, the heel  40  does not intersect with the central longitudinal axis of shaft  12 . However, this may not be the case with putter heads of other designs used in accordance with the invention. 
     While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant&#39;s general inventive concept. The scope of the invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims, wherein I claim: