Putter and putter fitting system

[0001] The present application claims priority from the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/537,216, filed Jan. 16, 2004, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

[0002] Golf has become increasing popular through the years, and as a result more and more golfers are purchasing custom fit golf clubs. Custom fitting may be performed by a golfing professional, a fitting professional, or by a golf store employee. Many different fitting techniques can be employed to find golf clubs that are best suited to a particular golfers needs. One golf club for which a professional fitting has become increasingly popular is the putter. Putters can be customized in a large number of ways. For example, putters are available in a number of different styles offering different shaft lengths, different grips, different weighting in the club head and differently sized and shaped heads. However, more subtle alterations can have profound effects on a golfer's putting success as well. For example, alterations in the lie angle of the club face or style of hosel can significantly impact a golfer's feel for the putter. When custom fitting a putter to a golfer, it is desirable to allow a golfer to try out as many different putters as possible. Therefore, it is desirable to provide putters and putter-fitting systems that allow for quick and easy alteration of the putter being tried.

[0003] The present invention is related to the field of golf clubs. More particularly the present invention is related to apparatus for the custom fitting of golf clubs. Specifically, the present invention provides a putter and putter-fitting system that allows for quick and easy alteration of various aspects of the putter including, but not limited to, weighting, and hosel style.

[0012] The present invention provides a putter and putter fitting system that allows for quick and easy alteration of various aspects of the putter face including weighting, lie angle and hosel style. In one aspect, the putter comprises several component parts that can be removed, replaced and then seamlessly connected together to provide a fully functioning putter.

[0013] FIGS. 1–6 depict a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a putter 10. Putter 10 includes a putter head 12 connected to a hosel 14. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that while not shown, a putter shaft would typically be connected to hosel 14, for example at orifice 14a, when the putter is in use. As shown, putter head 12 includes a face portion or plate 16 and a rear or body portion 18. Face portion 16 includes an upper lip 20 that extends rearwards and fits flush against rear portion 18 to form a seamless striking surface as well as a seamless transition from the striking surface to the upper surface. Face portion 16 further includes an orifice 22, which provides access to hosel release mechanism 24, which is described in greater detail below.

[0014] FIG. 2 provides a better view of rear portion 18. As shown, rear portion 18 includes an orifice 26, which provides access to face portion release mechanism 28, which is also described in greater detail below. A cam 30, seen in greater detail in FIG. 3, is seated within orifice 26 and, in FIG. 2, is just barely visible within orifice 26.

[0015] FIG. 3 depicts face portion 16 separated from rear portion 18. It is noted that the hosel has been removed and is not shown in FIG. 3. Upper lip 20 is clearly visible in this figure. As stated above, upper lip 20 provides a seamless surface for putter 10. A seamless surface particularly on the striking surface and upper portion of the club is desirable because golf clubs in general, and putters in particular, tend to be subjected to a significant amount of wear and tear during normal use. This wear and tear can result in various parts of the club becoming dented or malformed. Any malformation may make it more difficult for the various components parts to seat together seamlessly, thereby disrupting the various aspects of the golf club that have been carefully engineered to provide a specific result when striking the ball.

[0016] As stated above, putter 10 may include a face portion release mechanism. According to one embodiment, the face portion release mechanism may be cam-based. As previously described rear portion 18 may include cam 30 seated in orifice 26. As shown in FIG. 3, face portion 16 may include detents 32. When detents 32 are inserted into orifices 34 in rear portion 18, the detents are able to be engaged and disengaged by cam 30, thereby securing the face and rear portions of putter 10 to each other.

[0017] This cam-based face-plate engagement mechanism provides a fast and easy way to remove one face plate and exchange it with another. This provides for an extremely efficient fitting process. Alternatively, this allows the owner of the club to change the face plate characteristics, or replace a damaged face plate, without having to resort to using or purchasing an entirely different putter. It will be appreciated that the face portion release mechanism may be designed to be significantly more difficult to release, for example by requiring a specific, uncommon tool to effect release of the putter face, in order to conform the club to USGA rules for tournament play. Such design is contemplated by the scope of the present disclosure.

[0018] Moreover, as previously described, putter 10 may include a hosel release mechanism. According to one embodiment, the hosel release mechanism may be cam-based. Thus, in the depicted embodiment, a second cam 36 is shown seated within rear portion 18. Cam 36 is able to engage and disengage hosel 14 when the hosel is inserted into a recess 38. The fourth side of recess 38 is provided by the inner surface 40 of putter face portion 16. Thus, recess 38 is fully formed when face portion 16 and rear portion 18 are joined together. As with the cam-based face plate engagement mechanism, the cam based hosel engagement mechanism provides for a fast and easy way to quickly and efficiently remove and exchange various hosels. However, again, it is contemplated that the release mechanism may be designed so that it is significantly more difficult to operate so as to conform the club to USGA tournament rules.

[0019] As mentioned above, cam 30 secures face portion 16 and rear portion 18 together, forming putter head 12. Cam 36 secures hosel 14 to putter head 12. Returning briefly to FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen that cam 30 is accessible via orifice 26 (FIG. 2) and cam 36 is accessible via orifice 22 (FIG. 1). Any suitable tool may be used to rotate the cams within their respective shafts, including for example, Allen wrenches, screw drivers, etc. FIG. 4, shows Allen wrenches 42 and 44 being used to rotate cams 30 and 36, respectively. It will be appreciated that the cams should include an appropriate engagement surface for the type of tool that will be used. Therefore, in the depicted example, cams 30 and 36 include hexagonal indentures suitable for receiving the end of an Allen wrench.

[0020] FIG. 5 depicts hosel 14 being inserted into recess 38. Because most hosels have a square or rectangular terminal surface and it is important that the hosel seat securely in recess 38, the recess has been formed into a rectangle. This may be accomplished, for example, by pre-drilling two small holes (the residual portions of which can be seen at 46) at the lower limit of the intended recess and then using a larger bit to drill down to the holes.

[0021] In the presently described embodiment, face portion release mechanism 28 includes cam 30 and detents 32. As shown in FIG. 5 and in greater detail in FIG. 6, cam 30 may be formed to have an irregular shape which allows the cam to present a broader diameter d1 or narrower diameter d2 to detents 32. The irregular shape of cam 30 allows the cam to securely engage detents 32 when the cam is rotated such that the broader diameter d1 is seated between the detents and disengage detents 32 when the cam is rotated such that the narrower diameter d2 is seated between the detents.

[0022] A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7. The depicted putter 50 includes a detachable (or interchangeable) hosel 52, to which a shaft (not depicted) would attach at point 52a. The detachable hosel can be removably affixed to club head 54 by inserting end 52b into orifice 56. Once inserted into the orifice, the hosel can be locked into place by rotating an internal cam by using an Allen wrench 58 (or other suitable device.)

[0023] Club head 54 may be formed of a face portion 60 and a rear portion 62. Face portion 60 may be removably (or interchangeably) mated to rear portion 62 via screws 64. A wrench 65, or other suitable tool, may be used to tighten screws 64.

[0024] As shown, face portion 60 further includes an upper lip 70 which is configured to align with the side and upper surfaces of rear portion 62 so as to present a smooth outward appearance.

[0025] The present disclosures also provides for a customizable putter fitting/design system, where regardless of the specific embodiment used, a single rear body portion maybe configured to mate with a plurality of different face portions and/or hosels with the same or different characteristics. Thus, the fitting system may include face portions providing different material, weighting, etc.

[0026] For example, the fitting system may include two or more face portions formed from different types of materials. (Alternatively, only a portion of each face portion may include the different material.) For example, the fitting system may include a rear portion formed from steel, a first face plate formed from steel, and a second face plate formed from titanium or some other material having a specific gravity different from steel. Thus, by exchanging one face plate for another, the system provides for the alteration of the weighting, or moment of inertia, of the golf club.

[0027] Alternatively or additionally, the system may include a face portion having a striking surface including a reflective surface. The reflective surface may comprise all or only a portion of the putter face. It will be appreciated that the putter fitting system may include putter faces including any one or more of the above-described characteristics and that various combinations and sub-combinations of these or other logical differentiable characteristics, including both those of aesthetic (i.e. color or design) and utile nature are contemplated by the present invention.

[0028] Moreover, as previously described, the putter fitting system may include a plurality of different hosels. Hosels are known to differ in shape and design, and the use of such various hosels as are known is contemplated by the present invention. For example, without wishing to be limited to these designs, L-shaped, S-bend, and slant neck hosels are commonly known variations of hosel design.

[0029] Thus, the putter fitting system is able to provide a wide variety of adjustable features and the ability to quickly and easily find the putter set up that most favorably suits a particular golfer's style or the particular conditions encountered by the golfer. For example, the ability of the system to provide the above-described different characteristics in the putter without changing any other aspects of the club allows the golfer to alter this characteristic of the club to provide for better overall feel, or to customize the club for specific conditions—i.e., golf course set-up, type of grass, speed of the putting green, weather, etc.

[0030] As stated above, it may be desirable to provide a putter face where a portion of the face includes a reflective material. This may be accomplished through the use of a temporary or permanent face plate insert. One embodiment of a putter having a face plate insert is shown in FIG. 8. In the embodiment depicted, a face portion 80 includes an interchangeable insert 82. Insert 82 may be formed of a highly reflective material so as to act as a mirror, reflecting the image of the ball as it travels to and from the putter face. The interchangeable nature of the insert allows a golfer to use the putter a few times with the reflective surface and then change the insert to provide a non-reflective or substantially non-reflective surface more in keeping with the rest of the putter. Alternatively, inserts having other characteristics (i.e. weight, material, color, shape, etc.) may be used.

[0031] In the depicted embodiment, insert 82 may be seated into recess 84 and secured via screws 86 or other suitable means. Screws 86 may be tightened with wrench 88 or other suitable means. The seating of insert 82 into recess 84 allows the putter face to present a smooth and uniform surface when the insert is placed in the recess. This allows a golfer who is looking down on the putter when taking a putting stance to see a single, planar, putting surface. Moreover, any abrupt edges or angels that might result from the application of a removable surface to an already existing smooth putter face are significantly reduced or eliminated.

[0032] It will be appreciated that rather than attaching the insert to the putter using screws, as shown, the insert may be glued or otherwise adhered to the putter face, in either a permanent or removable fashion.

[0033] Typically, the various parts of the putter and putter fitting system are machine milled from metal using the techniques commonly known and understood by those of skill in the art. However, it will be appreciated that some or all of the parts may be formed from any suitable materials including, but not limited to natural materials such as wood or man-made materials such as plastic.

[0034] While this disclosure has been described particularly in reference to putters it will be understood by those of skill in the art that the scope of the invention may encompass all golf clubs including, but not limited to, drivers, woods, irons, chippers, etc.

[0035] It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.

[0036] Inventions embodied in various combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed in a related application. Such claims, whether they are directed to a different invention or directed to the same invention, whether different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to any original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the inventions of the present disclosure.