LOFT ADJUSTMENT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GOLF PUTTER

Abstract

An apparatus and method for adjusting the loft of a golf putter head. The apparatus and method may utilize a plate coupled to a golf putter head with screws. Spacers may be inserted between the plate and golf putter head in order to suspend the plate away from the putter head.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a golf putter head comprising: a. a plate; b. a plurality of locking screws coupling said plate to said golf putter head; c. a plurality of spacers situated between the plate and the golf putter head and suspending the center of said plate away from said golf putter head, said spacers having a variable thickness such that the portions of the spacers located nearer the bottom of the plate differs from the thickness of the portions of the spacers located nearer the top of the plate, such that the plate is angled with respect to the golf putter head.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the portions of said spacers located nearer the bottom of the plate are thicker than the portions of said spacers located nearer the top of the plate.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the plate is angled at 2 degrees with respect to the golf putter head.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the portions of said spacers located nearer the bottom of the plate are thinner than the portions of said spacers located nearer the top of the plate.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the plate is angled at 2 degrees with respect to the golf putter head.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spacers suspend said plate away from said golf putter head.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plate is comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum, titanium, and copper.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plate is comprised of carbon base plastic.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plurality of spacers are comprised of vinyl plastic.

10. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plurality of spacers are comprised of a material selected from the group comprising aluminum, copper, and titanium.

11. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plurality of spacers are comprised of linen.

12. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plurality of spacers are comprised of carbon-based plastic.

13. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said locking screws permanently couple said plate to said golf putter head.

14. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said locking screws semi-permanently couple said plate to said golf putter head.

15. A method for adjusting the loft of a golf putter comprising the steps of: a. tapping the face of a golf putter head to accept a plurality of locking screws; b. passing said plurality of locking screws through a plurality of holes in a plate; c. passing said locking screws through a plurality of spacers with variable thickness; and d. coupling said plate to said golf putter with said locking screws such that said plurality of spacers with variable thickness suspend the center of said plate away from said putter and orient said plate at an angle relative to said golf putter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiment and figures disclosed herein are to be illustrative rather than limiting.

[0023] FIG. 1is a top view of the loft adjustment apparatus and a golf putter head according to one embodiment.

[0024] FIG. 2is a front view of the loft adjustment apparatus and a golf putter head according to one embodiment.

[0025] FIG. 3is an exploded view of the loft adjustment apparatus and golf putter head according to one embodiment.

[0026] FIG. 4is a view of example spacer types with different thickness profiles that may be used to achieve positive or negative putter loft according to one embodiment.

[0027] FIG. 5is a front view of the plate according to one embodiment.

[0028] FIG. 6is a view of locking screws that may be used for semi-permanent or permanent coupling of the plate to the golf putter according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Several embodiments will be described more fully in reference to the accompanying figures. However, this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may be exaggerated for clarity.

[0030] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms a, and, and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0031] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being attached, coupled or connected to another element, it can be directly attached, coupled or connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly attached, directly coupled or directly connected to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

[0032] All patents, patent applications and publications referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of a conflict in terminology, the present specification is controlling.

[0033] It is noted that any one or more aspects or features described with respect to one embodiment may be incorporated in a different embodiment although not specifically described relative thereto. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination. Applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim, or file any new claim, accordingly, including the right to be able to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. These and other objects and/or aspects of the present invention are explained in detail in the specification set forth below.

[0034] It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims.

[0035] Referring now to FIG. 3, the loft adjustment mechanism 10 may include a plate 100, spacers 110, and screws 120. As used herein, the term plate refers to plate 100, whereas the term face refers to the side of the golf putter head used for striking the ball. Plate 100 may be formed from a variety of materials, including, for example, aluminum, copper, titanium, and carbon base plastic.

[0036] The plate 100 may generally correspond to the shape of golf putter head 20, namely the shape of the face of the golf putter head 200. The plate 100 may have one or more holes 101 for accepting screws. The spacers 110 may be of a generally circular shape and may have circular holes 111. The screws 120 may be semi-permanent or permanent locking screws.

[0037] The loft adjustment mechanism 10 may be attached to golf putter head 20 by coupling plate 100 to golf putter head 20 with screws 120. Spacers 110 may be inserted between plate 100 and golf putter head 20 to suspend plate 100 away from putter head and provide an open area or space between golf putter club head 20 and plate 100 behind the center of face 100.

[0038] Two primary variables under the golfers control impact a putt: 1) the contact area with the putter face itself; and 2) the speed of the putter head the golfer applies in stroking the ball.

[0039] In one embodiment, the spacers may suspend the face plate away from the putter head.

[0040] Suspension of the plate away from the putter head provides several advantages over a typical solid face putter and helps minimize the effect of one of the variables that impact a puttthe contact area with the putter face. Specifically, in a typical solid face putter there is no space between the contact plate and the putter head. In such a putter, vibration upon striking the ball is hardly recognizable to the golfer except upon a miss-hit. A miss-hit is when putter and ball contact is off the sweet spot or the center of mass, creating noticeable force vectors of varying vibrations.

[0041] In contrast, with a suspended face putter the contact face will resonate at constant and specific vibration tones, which assists the golfer in rolling the ball equal distances when providing the same force. Vibration tones for a face plate according to this embodiment were measured using a BISONIC C4096 tuning fork. When a tuning fork is struck, it vibrates to particular vibration rate or resonance. When placed on a solid putter, face the tuning fork shuts off immediately and ceases to vibrate. In contrast, when the tuning fork is placed on a suspended face coupled to the same putter in accordance with this embodiment, the tuning fork continues to vibrate at a consistent rate. This is true no matter where the tuning fork is placed on the suspended face putter, so long as it is placed between the locations where the face plate is coupled to the putter head, which encompasses all areas of the face plate that are likely to strike the ball during a putting stroke.

[0042] Testing demonstrates that the resonant vibration in the contact plate of the suspended face plate embodiment and the tuning fork continues to remain consistent with very little variance, regardless of where the ball is hit or contacted on the suspended face putter (with the exception of the attachment areas where the spacer and the screws hold the contact plate in place to the putter body). This creates a consistent roll coming off of the putter if the speed of the putter also remains constant, even if the ball is miss-hit.

[0043] The suspended plate embodiment thus minimizes or eliminates the impact of one the primary variables impacting putt performancethe contact area with the putter faceand leaves only one primary variable that the golfer must controlthe speed of the putter head. This greatly simplifies the putting stroke and allows the golfer to putt with greater control and consistency on greens of any speed.

[0044] The loft adjustment mechanism 10 may be installed on an existing putter according to the following steps. First, it should be determined what degree of loft the player desires for the putter. While commercially available putters typically have loft angles between 3 and 5 degrees, the present invention can be configured to provide loft angles ranging from 10 degrees to 10 degrees.

[0045] In order to adjust the loft angle of the golf putter, the player may select an appropriate set of spacers 110. As shown in FIG. 4, spacers 110 may be of varying thickness such that they are tapered in cross section. Spacers 111 with a thickness profile such that the top is thinner than the bottom will result in the plate being angled with respect to the putter face such that the putter has a positive loft. Spacers 111 may be provided with differing thickness profiles to achieve positive lofts of 1 degree to 8 degrees. Such positive lofts will tend to slightly lift the struck ball from its lie position on the green, resulting in greater distance travelled on relatively slow greens. In a preferred positive loft embodiment, the spacers 111 are configured such that the putter has a loft of 2 degrees.

[0046] Alternatively, or in addition, spacers 112 may be provided with a thickness profile such that the top is thinner than the bottom, which will result in the putter having a negative loft. Spacers 112 may be provided with differing thickness profiles to achieve negative lofts of 1 degree to 5 degrees, which will tend to cause the struck ball to bite into the turf, resulting in a slower speed and less distance traveled on relatively fast greens. In a preferred negative loft embodiment, the spacers 112 are configured such that the putter has a loft of 2 degrees.

[0047] Spacers 110 may be formed from a variety of materials including, for example, rubber, vinyl, plastic, aluminum, copper, titanium, linen, or carbon-based plastic.

[0048] Screws 120 may be of any commercially available kind suitable for semi-permanently coupling the plate 110 to the golf putter head 20. Use of semi-permanent locking screws allows for a player to set the loft of the putter prior to a round of golf and have the golf putter remain fixed for the duration of the match in order to comply with the USGA Rules of Golf-specifically, USGA Rule of Golf 4.1(a)(3), which prohibits use of an adjustable feature or physically changing the club during a round of golf. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, locking screws that require tools such as a screwdriver or hexagonal wrench for removal may be used for semi-permanent attachment in order to prevent the club from being easily modified (or accidentally adjusted) during a round of golf. However, because this embodiment utilizes semi-permanent locking screws, after a round of play the player may remove the loft adjustment apparatus from the golf putter, select a new set of spacers with a different thickness profile in order to set a new loft angle, and utilize the semi-permanent locking screws to once again semi-permanently couple the loft adjustment apparatus to the golf putter. In this way the player may adjust the loft of the putter prior to each round of golf in order to account for the green conditions of the course to be played.

[0049] Alternatively, screws 120 may be permanent locking screws that once coupled result in a permanent coupling. In this embodiment the player (or manufacturer of the putter) would decide on the preferred loft angle, select appropriate spacers, and permanently couple the plate to the golf putter such that it cannot be removed non-destructively.

[0050] Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0051] It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims.