Patent Publication Number: US-2010124999-A1

Title: Asymmetrically shaped golf ball, method of manufacture, and method of use

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
     This application is a non-provisional application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/115,143 filed on Nov. 17, 2008, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
     This invention was not federally sponsored. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention  
     This invention relates to the general field of sports equipment and methods of use, and more specifically toward an asymmetrically shaped golf ball that can be used to practice putting. By way of a brief summary, the asymmetrically shaped golf ball has a “long axis” and a “short axis”, such that when placed with its “long axis” in a horizontal position, it will roll without a wobble only if pushed in line with the short axis. If pushed by even a few degrees off “center” the ball takes a wobbly path and the error in the golfer&#39;s putting stroke becomes obvious. 
     The sport of golf is one of the most popular sporting pastimes in the world. Dating back to 1456, golf has grown slowly but surely from the first recorded game in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a professional and amateur sport with worldwide recognition and participation. There currently are somewhere around 35,000 golf courses in the world, with most in developed countries such as the US, UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Japan and China. Just in the USA, it was estimated in 2000 that nearly seven million US citizens played golf at least 25 times per calendar year. 
     Concurrent with its geographic expansion and ever-growing popularity, golf equipment has undergone substantial changes as well, both in terms of equipment design and the materials from which clubs and other golfing equipment is made. While the contents of a golf ball have changed considerably over the past 500 years, as has the method of manufacture, the theory behind the ball was always to make it spherical. The current invention revolutionizes this way of thinking to provide a practice golf ball for helping golfers work on their putting technique. 
     When playing golf, there are three basic means by which the golfer advances the golf ball toward the hole. With a “driver,” the golfer hits the ball off a tee, striving for maximum distance and Direction. Once the ball has landed after being driven, the golfer usually switches to an “iron” to “chip” the ball onto the green. Once on the green, the golfer uses a putter to attempt to hit the ball into the hole in a desired maximum of two shots (avoiding “three-putting the green”). 
     There is an old adage in golf, “Drive for Show, Putt for Dough”, meaning that few sights in sport are as impressive as a strong golfer rearing back and driving a golf ball for 300 or more yards, but that most professionals (and betting amateurs) succeed or fail with their putting abilities. Thus, the correct use of a putter to gently hit a ball toward the hole is very important to a golfer, whether it be a professional trying to make millions of dollars a year or a rank amateur trying to avoid embarrassing himself when playing with business associates. 
     The basics of correct putting are very simple: hit the ball directly at the green reading that leads to the hole with a suitable velocity such that the ball is moving at a speed that is slow enough to drop into the hole once it gets there, but fast enough to get the ball to the hole. As can be imagined, there are two general ways in which the golfer can make a mistake: 1) hitting the ball at an angle away from the hole, and/or 2) hitting the ball either too hard (so that it jumps over the hole) or too softly (so that it never reaches the hole). This invention helps the golfer to work on the first potential problem, that of hitting the ball in a correct alignment to approach the hole. 
     The problem of putting a ball toward the hole has two components: aiming the putting stroke toward the hole, and hitting the ball squarely with the face of the putter. When approaching a putt, the golfer tries to line up his putt correctly, such that the head of the putter is aligned at 90 degrees to the direction of his swing. If he does this correctly, he only has to worry about aiming the swing in the correct direction of the hole. If, however, he has the face of the putter at an angle other than 90 degrees to the direction of his swing, even if his swing is aimed perfectly at the hole, the ball will not get there, but rather will be deflected off its proper path. Thus, being able to correctly align the face of the putter with the golf ball is crucial to a successful putt. 
     By creating a golf ball that is asymmetrical, a golfer practicing his putting can place the ball on its long axis and hit it with the putter. If his alignment was correct, the ball will roll away on its short axis and will roll for some distance without “dipping side to side” or wobbling. If, on the other hand, the golfer strikes the ball with the putter face not in alignment with the long axis of the golf ball, the ball will move with a pronounced wobble, such that the golfer will know immediately that his alignment was not perfect. 
     There are a number of different embodiments considered for this invention, all of which are designed to increase the obviousness of an incorrect alignment when striking a ball. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The system of the current invention is focused around the aforementioned asymmetrically shaped golf ball, a method of manufacturing such a ball, and a method of practicing a golfer&#39;s putting abilities using said ball. 
     It is intended that one main object of the invention is to provide an asymmetrically shaped golf ball for use in putting practice, where said golf ball has a “long axis” and a “short axis”. This can be accomplished by either creating an actual golf ball with a long axis and a short axis, or by adhering attachments to a regular golf ball that cause it to have a long axis and a short axis. 
     It is another main object of the invention to provide a method of making an asymmetrically shaped golf ball. Molds are made in the form desired to create the asymmetric golf ball under pressure. Another method is to make the ball in halves and then bond the halves. The halves may be made from a compression or injection mold process. 
     It is a further object of the invention to create a new method of practicing and enhancing a golfer&#39;s putting abilities through use of an asymmetrically shaped golf ball. It is contemplated that the striking of the golf ball can be done manually, as when a golfer takes a club and strikes the ball, or indirectly, as in a game where a player tries to correctly line up a golfing figure to strike a golf ball. It is also contemplated that the device could be useful in physical therapy, training a person to complete a motion within a certain ark, as an amusement device, and as a means by which people with learning disabilities are taught to focus on a task. 
     It is further contemplated that the ball could be made with a weight equal to PGA specifications, or heavier or lighter to provide additional training opportunities. 
     Another object of the invention is to allow for the asymmetrical golf ball to have a variety of finishes on it to provide different training opportunities, including a finish identical to a standard PGA golf ball. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide an asymmetrical golf ball with a hollow cavity that allows a manufacturer or user of the golf ball to insert a component that can assist with training of putting abilities. The inserted component can be an electrical device or a mechanical device that buzzes, emits noises, or sends a radio wave or other signal that indicates that the golf ball has been struck squarely or not squarely. 
     It is further contemplated that the asymmetrical golf ball can be used with clubs other than a putter. 
     It is also an object of the invention to provide these same technologies and surface configurations to a ball in a game of pool, for example, the cue ball, such that a pool player can practice hitting the ball squarely (or off center) as he desires, using an asymmetrical pool ball. 
     A further aspect of this invention is to use the technologies taught herein using the asymmetrical golf ball as an example for any sport or avocation where devices are to be struck in a plane, where the object is to strike the device in either a square or off center manner. For example, an asymmetrically shaped basketball could be used to teach proper passing techniques. 
     It is an additional object of the invention to provide a number of different enhancements to the asymmetrically shaped golf ball to make its performance (or lack thereof) more noticeable, such enhancements include without limitation: 
     A. Graphic images arrayed on the sides, such as circles, whereby if the golfer strikes the ball in perfect alignment, he will see rotating circles on the sides of the ball as the ball moves away, but if he strikes it incorrectly, the images on the sides of the balls will be blurred. It is also contemplated that various colors and color patterns can be used to provide useful guidance as to whether the ball has been struck squarely. 
     B. Buzzers or other noisemakers embedded within the device or attached to the sides of the device, such that an improperly aligned putt results in noise being created when the golf ball wobbles to a degree that the sides move side to side, particular when the noise is an unpleasant noise whereby the golfer tries hard to hit the ball correctly to avoid the noise. The ball may contain one or more motion sensing elements to activate noise or may contain a data producing/logging device internally such that the data can be read externally at a later time. Parallel lines either molded into the surface of the ball or applied as an appliqué´ or marking after the molding process may appear to converge during the wobble action. 
     The golfer may also, through visual perception, learn to approximate the speed of the ball by observing patterns and coherence of light reflecting from markings on the ball. Like watching telephone poles when driving, one can estimate speed visually. Patterns may be printed on the ball. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an asymmetrical object that can be used in wind tunnels and under windy conditions to test whether and how an object performs under various airflow or wind conditions. 
     It is a final object of the invention to provide a relatively inexpensive device that can be used to improve the putting aspect of a golfer&#39;s game. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. The features listed herein and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this invention. 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of an asymmetrically shaped golf ball. 
         FIG. 2  is a series of two illustrations showing a golfer preparing to putt a golf ball off center, with the projected straight path using a standard golf ball and the wobbly path that would come from using an asymmetrical golf ball. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with the references made to the drawings below. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the components of the present invention. Moreover, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through the several views in the drawings. 
     The current invention comprises an asymmetrically shaped golf ball, a method of making an asymmetrically shaped golf ball, and a method of improving a golfer&#39;s putting game through practicing with an asymmetrically shaped golf ball. 
       FIG. 1  shows an asymmetrically shaped golf ball, generally referred to by reference number  1 . The golf ball has a long axis ( 2 ) and a short axis ( 3 ). When placed on its long axis, the golfer can align the head of the putter with the direction of the long axis and strike the ball. If the alignment is correct, the golf ball should roll in a direct line on its edge without falling over or wobbling. If, however, the golfer strikes the ball with the head of the putter at even a slight angle, the ball will not stay “on edge”, but rather will wobble from side to side. 
       FIG. 2  shows a golfer addressing the golf ball or preparing to putt. The putter face ( 4 ) should be adjusted such that it makes a 90-degree angle with the intended direction of the golf ball.  FIG. 2A  shows a golfer putting a standard, round ball. Should the golfer set this angle correctly, the golf ball will travel in a straight path ( 5 ), but if the golfer hits the ball off-center, the ball will still roll in a straight path ( 7 ) without an indication that is was hit incorrectly.  FIG. 2B  shows a golfer putting an asymmetrical ball. Should the golfer hit the ball squarely, the ball will travel a straight path ( 5 ) rolling on its short axis. If, on the other hand, the golfer strikes the golf ball at an incorrect angle, the ball will take a wobbly path ( 6 ). Because the incorrectly struck golf ball wobbles noticeably, the golfer has immediate feedback that he angled the face of the putter incorrectly. Through experimentation, it has been found that the further the golf ball travels, the greater the wobble observed. With this in mind, the golfer can tell how well he adjusted his putter face to the intended path of the ball by how much distance the ball carries before it noticeably begins to wobble. 
     An asymmetric golf ball can be made using similar techniques that are currently in use. Split molds can be used to form the outer surface of the ball. The two halves are then fused together to form a solid surface. The inner core of the golf ball can be hollow, solid, or partially solid. A plurality of dimples are included on the surface to increase the efficiency of the aerodynamics as the ball flies through the air. While the asymmetric golf ball may primarily be used for putting practice, it may nonetheless be used for practicing chipping and driving, thus warranting the inclusion of dimples. Further, the dimples may be included for aesthetic purposes. 
     The asymmetric golf ball is preferably an ellipsoid that is preferably a prolate spheroid. It has a semi-major (long) and semi-minor (short) axis. While the golf ball is asymmetric in three dimensions, it should be symmetric about at least one axis, preferably the semi-minor axis such that it will roll without wobbling when struck at a 90-degree angle (in one dimension) by a golf club. 
     Various markings can be included on the surface of the asymmetric golf ball. Similar to the markings of a college football, stripes can be affixed around the edges of the asymmetric golf ball towards the end of the semi-major (long) axis. Thus, when the asymmetric golf ball is struck and properly rotates about its long axis, the stripes form straight lines. When struck off center, the stripes form lines that move back and forth. Partial stripes can also be used, such that one can determine the speed with which the ball is travelling. 
     Using the asymmetric golf ball to practice one&#39;s golf shot preferably involves trial and error. The user obtains the asymmetric golf ball and places it on the ground (or, alternatively, tee). The user then lines up his or her shot, and strikes the ball with the golf club. The user then views the movement of the golf ball. If the ball wobbles, the user adjusts his or her swing, and attempts to strike the golf ball again. If the ball wobbles less than before, then the user is adjusting his or her swing in the correct direction. If the ball wobbles more than before, then the user is adjusting his or her swing in the incorrect direction. By performing multiple iterations of these steps, a user can perfect his or swing. Little to no wobbling after striking the ball confirms that the user has successfully improved his or her golf swing. While a putter may be the most often used club, a driver, iron, wood, and wedge can be used as well. 
     It should be understood that while the preferred embodiments of the invention are described in some detail herein, the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations and changes thereto are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention. 
     All of the material in this patent document is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all other copyright rights whatsoever are reserved.