Patent Publication Number: US-2003236128-A1

Title: Universal putter

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] This invention relates to golf putters.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] A typical putter has an elongated head mounted on a shaft. One side of the head provides a face, generally parallel with the long axis of the head, for hitting the ball. With the bottom of the putter head lying flat on a level surface, the face may be vertical or tilted back a slight angle, called the loft of the putter, often between about 2 and 4 degrees. The shaft is attached to the putter head and extends from the head in a plane that is generally parallel to the long axis of the head and the face of the putter. With the bottom of the putter head again lying flat on a level surface, the shaft is angled upwards from the horizontal at an angle, called the lie of the putter, of between about 68 and 78 degrees. Some variations from this typical configuration will be discussed below.  
       [0003] U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,737 describes a putter with a cylindrical head. The side of the cylinder is used to contact the ball so the face is convex rather than flat. The shaft may be inclined between 16 degrees and 22 degrees relative to a vertical plane normal to the longitudinal centerline of the head. The inclination of the shaft may be varied because the end of the shaft is fitted with a partial cylinder, mounted with its central axis perpendicular to the shaft, that can rotate through the angles of inclination mentioned above in a slot in the head. A desired angle of inclination is fixed by screwing a wedge block is into the slot to clamp the end of the shaft into the slot.  
       [0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,295 describes a putter with an elongated head having a flat face. The end of the shaft has a sphere that is mounted in one of two pockets in the head. Each pocket prevents the sphere from leaving the head but permits the shaft to rotate through a range of lie angles. One pocket allows the shaft to be positioned relative to the face as appropriate for left handed golfers, while the other pocket allows the shaft to be positioned for right handed golfers. With the sphere in either pocket, set screws through the head are tightened against the sphere to hold the shaft at a desired lie.  
       [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,920 describes a putter with a head having a flat face at one side and bullet shaped weights protruding from the other side. A sphere on the end of the shaft is mounted in a cylindrical bore through the head. An annular shoulder in the bore prevents the sphere from coming out of the bore through the top of the head. A screw threaded into the bore from the bottom of the head locks the sphere in place between the annular shoulder and the top of the screw. The screw has a lower portion that breaks off as the screw is tightened in place to permanently fix the shaft at a desired lie and loft angle. The annular shoulder may be sharpened to provide a biting engagement with the sphere.  
       [0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,969 describes a putter with a cylindrical head and convex face. The end of the shaft has a ball or cylinder that fits into a bore in the head. The top of the bore has a shoulder to engage the ball but also opens to the top of the head through an elongated opening. The elongated opening allows the shaft to pivot through lie angles of between 30 and 90 degrees while preventing the shaft from pivoting about the longitudinal axis of the head. A resilient plastic or aluminum retainer is inserted into the bore from the bottom of the head and held against the ball by a locking member threaded into the bore. A golfer alters the angle of the shaft relative to the head by applying weight to the resilient retainer to disengage the ball from the shoulder of the bore. An alternate embodiment has an offset shaft. Another alternate embodiment has a head with a flat face.  
       SUMMARY OF MY INVENTION  
       [0007] It is an object of the invention to improve on the prior art. Another object of the invention is to provide a putter with a shaft that may be held in various positions relative to the head for putting but that requires no tools for the golfer to move the shaft to a new position. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a putter suitable for putting from either the face or end of the putter. These and other objects of the invention are met by the combination of features, steps or both described in the claims. The following summary may not describe all necessary features of the invention which may reside in a sub-combination of the following features or in a combination of some or all of the following features and features described in other parts of this document.  
       [0008] In some aspects, the invention provides a putter with an elongated head. The head has a face for striking a ball along a long side of the head and at least one, but optionally two, end surfaces for striking a ball along a short side of the head. A shaft is connected to the head through a pivotable, and optionally rotatable, connection. The connection allows the shaft to be positioned (a) in a generally vertical plane generally parallel with the face, and with a suitable lie for striking a ball with the face, or (b) in a generally vertical plane generally aligned with an end surface, and with a suitable lie for striking a ball with the end surface. In some embodiments, the shaft may be positioned for striking a ball from the face or end surface for either left or right-handed golfers. The end surface or surfaces may have a loft of 5 degrees or more and, in embodiments with two end surfaces, the end surfaces may have different lofts. The shaft is held in each position such that it does not move appreciably while putting, but can be moved to another position by a golfer using their muscles alone, or without the assistance of tools. In each position, some embodiments allow the lie to be selected by the golfer and some embodiments provide abutments or detents to allow the golfer to consistently return to one or more certain shaft position. In practice, the inventor has found that the face of the club is useful for putting from the manicured part of the green, while the end surfaces are useful for putting from the rougher parts of a green or from beyond the edge of the green.  
       [0009] In other aspects, the invention provides a putter with a shaft that is pivotably mounted in the head, but all contact between the shaft and the head is made through one or more resilient, non-metallic materials such as rubber. In some embodiments, the shaft may pivot about two orthogonal axes and may also rotate, for example about a vertical axis.  
       [0010] In other aspects, the invention provides a putter with a head having an upwards opening cavity in the head. A ball or sphere on the end of the shaft fits inside of the cavity. An annular nut or ring is placed in the top of the cavity and contains the ball in the cavity. The shaft exits through a hole in the center of the ring. An O-ring, which may be rubber, is mounted in the cavity between the ball and the ring. The ring puts sufficient pressure on the O-ring to hold the ball so that the head does not move appreciably during a put, but a golfer can still move the shaft using the golfer&#39;s muscles alone or without tools. The ring may be sized and configured so that the shaft abuts the ring when the shaft is set at a useful lie. The putter may also be provided with a plurality of retainer rings that the golfer may chose from to select between different lies. The bottom of the ball on the shaft may also sit in an O-ring on the bottom of the cavity so that the ball does not contact any components fixed to the head other than through an O-ring. The bottom of the ball may also or instead rest on a screw threaded upwards into the cavity from the bottom of the head. The ball and screw may be shaped to fix the shaft at a useful lie but permit the shaft to rotate around a generally vertical axis through the ball. For example, a horizontal flat surface on the top of the screw may contact a flat spot on the ball, the flat spot being horizontal when the shaft is at the useful lie. The screw can be (a) turned into the head far enough to effectively lock the shaft in a single position for a round of play, (b) turned out slightly to effectively fix the lie of the shaft but allow the shaft to rotate about a vertical axis, (c) turned out further to provide a detent at a useful lie but not prevent the golfer from moving the shaft to a different lie or (d) turned out yet further to not contact the ball. With the screw turned out as in (d), in different embodiments the ball may either rest on a lower O-ring or directly on the bottom of the cavity.  
       [0011] In other aspects, the invention provides one or more ball scoops in a side of the head opposite the face to allow the golfer to pick up golf balls from the ground. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0012] For a better understanding of the invention, and to show more clearly how it may be made and used, various examples of embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the following drawings:  
     [0013]FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic representations of a putter according to one or more embodiments of the invention configured for putting against the face and end of the putter head respectively.  
     [0014]FIGS. 3, 4 and  5  are side, top and end views of the head and portions of the shaft and connection between the head and shaft of a first embodiment.  
     [0015]FIGS. 6, 7 and  8  are side section, end section and top views detailing the connection between the head and shaft of the first embodiment.  
     [0016]FIG. 9 is a sectioned side view of the head, shaft and connection between the head and shaft of a second embodiment, sectioned through the center of the shaft.  
     [0017]FIGS. 10 and 11 are top and perspective views of the head, shaft and connection between the head and shaft of the second embodiment.  
     [0018]FIGS. 12 and 13 are section views of a cavity and a retaining ring of the second embodiment, sectioned along the line A—A in FIG. 10.  
     [0019]FIGS. 14 and 15 are top views of a retaining ring and gate of the second embodiment.  
     [0020]FIG. 16 is a sectioned side view of the head, shaft and connection between the head and shaft of a third embodiment.  
     [0021]FIG. 17 is sectioned side views of two balls of the third embodiment.  
     [0022]FIGS. 18 and 19 are side and end views of a fourth embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MY INVENTION  
     General Description of the Putter  
     [0023]FIGS. 1 and 2 show a putter  10  according to one or more embodiments of the invention. The putter  10  has a shaft  12  with a handle  14 . The handle  14  may be round or may have a flat spot or other feature of shape to allow a golfer to better hold the putter in a desired orientation. The shaft  12  is attached to a head  16  that has a face  18 , a side  20 , a first end  22  and a second end  24 . The face  18  provides a surface for striking a golf ball along the side of the head  16 . The face  18  may have a slight loft, for example of a few degrees, to make it suitable for play on a smooth green. The side  20  may provide a second surface for striking a golf ball, may have an irregular surface, or may include one or more ball scoops  26  as shown. The ball scoops  26  allow a golfer to pick up a ball from the ground. The first end  22  and second end  24  may have an irregular surface or may be made flat to provide additional surfaces for striking a golf ball. If the ends  22 ,  24  provide striking surfaces, they may be given a slight loft as for the face  18 , or they may be given a larger loft, for example between about 5 and 25 degrees. Each end  22 ,  24  may also be given a different loft. For example, the first end  22  may have a loft between about 15 and 25 degrees, while the second end  24  may have a loft of between about 5 and 15 degrees. The head  16  may be made of brass, aluminum, manganese bronze, zinc, stainless steel or other materials suitable for putters. The total weight of the head  16  may vary, for example between about 9 and 16 ounces. The head  16  may be made or shaped by machining, casting, forging, pressed powdered metal or other suitable methods. The shaft  12  is conventional and may be between about 33 and 36 inches in length.  
     [0024] The shaft  12  may be pivoted to change its angle in relation to the head  16  according to various means that will be described below. For example, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the putter  10  configured into some of its possible configurations. In FIG. 1, the putter  10  is configured for putting with the face  18 . The position of the shaft  12  shown in solid lines is appropriate for right handed golfers while the position shown in dashed lines is appropriate for left handed golfers. Although a single lie of the shaft  12  and loft of the face  18  are shown, in some embodiments, the golfer may set the lie of the shaft  12  at any desired angle and may also be able to rotate the head  16  relative to a vertical plane through the shaft to simulate a change in the loft of the face  18 . In FIG. 2, the putter  10  is configured for putting from one of the ends  22 ,  24 . A vertical plane through the shaft  12  is generally perpendicular to the face  18  and the shaft  12  has a lie angle within that plane. The position of the shaft  12  shown in solid lines is appropriate for right handed golfers to put using the first end  22  or for left handed golfers to put using the second end  24 . The position of the shaft  12  shown in dashed lines is appropriate for left handed golfers to put using the first end  22  or for right handed golfers to put using the second end  24 . Although a single lie of the shaft  12  and loft of the face  18  are shown, in some embodiments, the golfer may set the lie of the shaft  12  at any desired angle and may also be able to rotate the head  16  relative to a vertical plane through the shaft to simulate a change in the loft of the face  18 . The inventor has found that, when putting from rougher grass around the edge of a green, striking the ball with an end  22 ,  24  allows the head  16  to swing more easily through the grass and that the larger loft of the ends  22 ,  24  assists in moving the ball through the grass. For example, in situations where a golfer with ordinary clubs must decide between using a putter or a wedge, configuring the putter as shown in FIG. 2 and striking the ball with one of the ends  22 ,  24  is often ideal.  
     Description of a First Embodiment  
     [0025]FIGS. 3, 4 and  5  show a first head  116  connected to a shaft  12  through a first connection  128 . The first head  116  has a face  18 , first end  22 , second end  24  and ball scoops  26  as described above. The first head  116  is about 5.5 to 5.75 inches long, about 1 to 1.25 inches wide and about 1 inch high although other suitable dimensions may also be used. The length of the first head  116  helps distribute the weight away from the center of the first head  116 , which increases the size of the “sweet spot” while also providing room for two ball scoops  26 . The ball scoops  26  are roughly in the shape of a quarter of a sphere of a radius slightly larger than a golf ball, for example between about 0.86 and 0.88 inches. The ball scoops  26  may be given a radius where they intersect with the side  20  of the second head  116  to allow a golf ball to roll into them more easily. The shape of the ball scoops  26  may also deviate from a perfect sphere to better hold a golf ball. A portion of the bottom surface of the second head  116  may provide a flat sole  30 . However, the remainder of the bottom surface may curve or angle upwards towards the ends  22 ,  24 , for example by about 0.25 inches, to provide additional swing clearance when putting from the ends  22 ,  24 .  
     [0026]FIGS. 6, 7 and  8  show the first connection  128  in greater detail. The shaft  12  is pinned by a pin  80  into a slot  82  in a disc  84 . The slot  82  provides clearance for the shaft to rotate about the pin  80 , for example, to the side as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7. The shaft  12  can also rotate to the other side and through any angle in between. The shaft  12  is held at any angle by friction provided by rubber pads  86 . The pads  86  hold the shaft  12  with enough force to prevent the first head  116  from moving appreciably during a put, but a golfer may still move the shaft  12  with muscle force alone and without tools. The pads  86  may also be made of other suitable materials that can provide a similar amount of friction.  
     [0027] The disc  84  is mounted in an outer ring  88  held in an opening  90  of the first head  116  by a setscrew  92  that may be sized to not protrude from the sole  30 . The disc  84  can rotate in the outer ring  88  but the pads  86  provide friction between the disc  84  and the outer ring  88  as described above. The ring  88  may be made from a tube with an inside diameter slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the disc  84 . Once cut and bent over the disc  84 , the ring  88  then creates some friction with the disc  84 . The shaft  12  can be rotated towards one end  22 ,  24  of the first head  116  as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 6. The shaft  12  can also be rotated towards the other end  22 ,  24  or positioned at any angle in between. Again, the pads  86  hold the shaft  12  with sufficient force for putting, but a golfer can still move the shaft  12  using their muscles alone without tools.  
     Description of a Second Embodiment  
     [0028]FIGS. 9, 10 and  11  show a second head  216  connected to a shaft  12  through a second connection  228 . The second head  216  is shaped generally as described in the first paragraph of the description of the first embodiment except as required for the second connection  228 .  
     [0029] The second connection  228  is shown in FIGS.  9  to  14 . A sphere or ball  232  is attached to the end of the shaft  12 . The ball  232  may be made of metal and attached to the shaft  12 , for example, by gluing, pinning or threading the ball  232  to the shaft  12 . The ball  232  fits inside of a cavity  234  in the second head  216 . There is at least a slight clearance all around the ball  232  so that, while the cavity  234  may prevent the ball  232  from moving laterally out of position, the ball  232  is free to rotate within the cavity  234 . The ball  232  is also positioned by, and seated in, a pair of rubber O-rings  36 . A lower O-ring  36   a  rests on the bottom of the cavity  234  and holds the bottom of the ball  232  clear of the bottom of the cavity  234 . Lower O-ring  36   a  may have an outside diameter smaller than the diameter of the ball  232  to allow the bottom of the cavity  234  to be nearly flat. A lower portion  38  of the cavity  234  is tapered to provide a reduced diameter for lower O-ring  36   a . An upper O-ring  36   b  sits on top of the ball  232 . The outside diameter of upper O-ring  36   b  may be about the same as the diameter of the ball. The outside diameter of the upper O-ring  36   b  may also be slightly larger than the diameter of the ball  232 , particularly, if the second head  216  is cast and the cavity  234  has a slight drift angle opening towards the top of the second head  216 .  
     [0030] The ball  232  is held in the cavity  234  by a retaining ring  40  that is threaded into a threaded portion  42  at the top of the cavity  234 . The retaining ring  40  can be turned with any thin item, such as has a knife blade, inserted into a pair of tightening slots  44  in the edges of the retaining ring  40 . The retaining ring  40  can be rotated to adjust how much the O-rings  36  are compressed which in turn adjusts the amount of friction between the shaft  12  and the second head  216 . For example, the retaining ring  40  can be set so that there is sufficient friction to prevent the shaft  12  from moving relative to the second head  216  during a put while still allowing a golfer to easily move the shaft  12  relative to the second head  216  by muscle force alone. Since the O-rings  36  are compressible and flexible, yet develop significant amounts of friction with even small amounts of pressure, the exact position of the retaining ring  40  is not overly critical and an acceptable degree of compression is easily found by trial and error. If the golfer wishes to lock the shaft  12  in one position, for example if rules prevent moving the shaft  12  during a round, the retaining ring  40  can be tightened down further so that the shaft  12  will not move under any reasonable force. If desired, one or more locking screws (not shown), which may have sharp points and may be orthogonal to each other, may be threaded through the second head  116  to put additional pressure against the ball  232  to even more securely fix the shaft  12  in a position.  
     [0031] The shaft  12  exits the cavity  234  through the retainer ring  40  and so the inner surface  48  of the retainer ring  40  controls the minimum lie  50  of the shaft  12 . To provide a broader area of contact with the shaft  12 , all or part of the inner surface  48  may be made at a retainer angle  46  which matches the minimum lie  50 . Retainer rings  40  providing a variety of minimum lies  50  are useful, and a plurality of retainer rings  40  may be provided with the second head  216  to allow the golfer to use different retainer rings  40  as desired. For example, most golfers prefer a lie that allows them to stand with their eyes directly above the ball when standing on level ground. However, when standing on uneven ground, a different lie may be required to allow the golfer to stand with their eyes directly over the ball. A retainer ring  40  that provides a minimum lie  50  lower than what the golfer would use on level ground allows the golfer to adjust the lie as required for uneven ground. On the other hand, a golfer may choose to put with the same lie all situations in the hopes that consistency will improve his or her game. A retainer ring  40  that provides a minimum lie  50  that is that same as the lie that a golfer might use for all situations allows the golfer to always set the shaft  12  at the same lie, even when switching back and forth between putting against the face  18  as shown in FIG. 1 and putting against an end  22 ,  24  as shown in FIG. 2. Further, a golfer may wish to experiment with different defined lies without buying several putters. By using different retainer rings  40  and always playing with the shaft  12  abutting the retainer ring  40 , a golfer can perform repeatable experiments to determine a preferred lie.  
     [0032] Although this second embodiment allows a plane through the shaft  12  to be located at any angle from the face  18 , and allows the face  18  and ends  22 ,  24  to be angled from the vertical to simulate a variety of lofts, some golfers may wish to use only the positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. To make it easier to set the shaft  12  in those positions, a gate  60 , as shown in FIG. 15, may be inserted between the upper O-ring  36   b  and the retainer ring  40 . The gate  60  is made of a thin plate material with an outside diameter that allows it to fit into the cavity  234 . The inside of the gate  60  is cut to provide detents  62  of about the same radius as the shaft  12 . A locating notch  64  in the gate  60  mates with an abutment (not shown) in the cavity  234  to index the detents  62  to the face  18  or ends  22 ,  24 . By pulling the shaft  12  into the detents  62 , the shaft  12  can be easily set into the positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.  
     A Third Embodiment  
     [0033]FIG. 16 shows a third head  316  connected to a shaft  12  through a third connection  328 . The third head  316  is shaped generally as described in the description of the first embodiment except for the differences described below.  
     [0034] Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, a third ball  332  is attached to the end of the shaft  12 . The third ball  332  fits inside of a third cavity  334  in the third head  316 . The third cavity  334  may prevent the third ball  332  from moving laterally out of position, but does not prevent the third ball  332  from rotating. The third ball  332  is also positioned by and seated in an upper rubber O-ring  36   b . In place of, or in addition to, the lower O-ring  36   a  of the second embodiment, a screw  66  protrudes into the third cavity  334  and contacts the bottom of the third ball  332 . The screw  66  is threaded into the bottom of the third head  316  and may engage a tool, such as a screwdriver head or Allen key, while not protruding below the sole  30 . The third cavity  334  has a shape similar to that described in the second embodiment except that it is displaced away from the sole  30  to leave enough material at the bottom of the third head  316  to thread the screw  66 . The screw  66  may be turned in to hold the bottom of the ball  232  clear of the bottom of the third cavity  334 . The screw  66  may contact the third ball  332  directly, or through a rubber washer (not shown) to increase the friction between the screw  66  and the third ball  332 . The third ball  332  is shaped to inhibit or prevent it from rotating about any axis other than the central axis of the screw  66  when a certain part of the third ball  332  contacts the screw  66 . For example, third ball  332   a  has a flat  68  that abuts the top of the screw  66 . Third ball  332   b  has a screw hole  70  that admits the screw  66  or a screw pin  72  at the top of a modified screw  66   b.    
     [0035] The flat  68  or screw hole  70  are oriented to provide a lie  74 . A set of third balls  332  may be provided to the golfer to allow the golfer to experiment with different lies  74 . Since the retaining ring  40  is no longer solely responsible for maintaining the shaft at a desired angle, the retaining ring  40  may have a minimum lie  50  that is less than the lie  74 . Alternately, the retaining ring  40  may have a minimum lie  40  that is approximately equal to the lie  74  to take stress away from the third ball  332 . As a further option, the retaining ring  240  may be omitted and replaced with a circular or gated opening through the top of the third head  316  which has enough diameter to permit a desired lie  74 . In this case, the third cavity  334  is modified to allow the third ball  332  to be inserted through the sole  30  and the screw  66  is made larger in diameter to thread into the modified third cavity  334 .  
     [0036] Adjusting the position of the set screw  66  and/or the retainer ring  40  effects how much the upper O-ring  36   b  is compressed and allows the golfer to produce enough friction to keep the third head  316  stable for a put but still allow the golfer to move it. It is also possible to tighten the screw  66  and/or retaining ring  40  further so that a golfer can not move the third head  316  relative to the shaft  12  by muscle alone. Although only the lie  74  is mechanically fixed, the shaft  12  can be effectively locked in a single position as may be required to play a round under some rules. A gate  60  as described for the second embodiment may be used and makes this locking in place even more secure. Optionally, the screw  66  and/or retainer ring  40  can also be adjusted to allow the shaft  12  to rotate into the positions shown in FIGS.  1  and  2 , but at a single lie in all positions. As a further option, the screw  66  and the retainer ring  40 , when used at least with third ball  332   a , may also be loosened to the point where only a detent is provided. The shaft  12  falls naturally into an angle equal to the lie  74  but the shaft  12  can also be forced to assume other angles when desired. As a further option, the screw  66  can be turned out so that it does not contact the third ball  332  at all. Among other things, a golfer can make repeated puts with the ball  332  held firmly but movably and then tighten the screw  66  further only after a desired shaft  12  position is located.  
     A Fourth Embodiment  
     [0037]FIGS. 18 and 19 show a fourth embodiment having a fourth shaft  412  made of a lower portion  76  and an upper portion  78  and a fourth head  416 . One of the portions  76 ,  78 , such as the lower portion  76 , provides an angle between the two portions  76 ,  78  as shown in FIG. 18. This angle may be selected to provide a desired lie with the lower portion  76  being generally vertical where it joins with the fourth head  416 . Any of the connectors  128 ,  228 ,  328  discussed above may be used to join the fourth shaft  412  to the fourth head  416  although only the second or third connectors  228 ,  328  are shown. If a third connector  328  is used, the flat  68  or screw hole  70  may be located directly below the fourth shaft  412  and perpendicular or parallel to it. Without changing the third ball  332 , different lies may be provided by using portions  76 ,  78  which provide for different angles between them, or the portions  76 ,  78  may be joined so that the angle between them can be varied. One of the portions  76 ,  78 , such as the lower portion  76 , may also provide an offset between the two portions  76 ,  78  as shown in FIG. 19.  
     [0038] The fourth head  416  is shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, but any of the previous heads  16 ,  116 ,  216 ,  316  may also be used. The fourth head  416  extends primarily in one direction from the connector  228 ,  328  and has only one ball scoop  26 . Heads like the fourth head  416  may also be used in any of the previous embodiments. In this fourth embodiment, the combination of the fourth head  416  with the fourth shaft  412  keeps the fourth shaft  416  out of the golfer&#39;s line of sight to the “sweet spot” of the face  18  when putting against the face  18 . The offset shown in FIG. 19 also puts a vertical plane through the upper portion  78  near the face  18  when putting against the face  18  and near the first end  22  when putting against the first end  22 .  
     [0039] Other embodiments of the invention may be made in other configurations and operated according to other methods within the scope of the invention. For example, and without limitation, the ball  232 ,  332  may be replaced with a cylinder and the O-rings  36  replaced with flat annular washers with some alteration to the embodiments described above. The O-rings  36  may also be replaced with similar items made of different materials to alter the friction characteristics. For example, other compressible, elastic materials, such as silicone, may provide similar but slightly more or less friction and different wear characteristics. Metals or plastics may significantly reduce the friction so that only the various detents, or new detents in addition to those described above, provide usable positions of the shaft  12 ,  412 . Replacing the O-ring with a serrated metal part could significantly increase the friction to allow a single position of the shaft to be securely fixed. Parts to replace the O-rings made of several materials may be provided with a putter to allow a golfer to create different levels of friction as desired. Various splines, pins, screws, keyways etc. may be added in various locations to provide detents or fixed positions. The shape and weighting of the heads  12 ,  112 ,  212 ,  312 ,  412  may also be modified in numerous ways to suit a golfer&#39;s taste. The scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.