CA1055984A

CA1055984A - Offset putter head

Info

Publication number: CA1055984A
Application number: CA227,432A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Rudolphe L. Gelinas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1975-05-21
Filing date: 1975-05-21
Publication date: 1979-06-05

Abstract

A B S T R A C T
This invention consists of a new design of a golf putter in which the head of the putter is offset in relation to the leg, in the direction of the cup, so that the putter head and the ball which it strikes are at all times visible to the golfer, thereby eliminating the momentary blind spot which occurs with regular putters or putters which are slightly off-set by a small twist in the putter leg in the direction away from the cup, during the follow through of the club.

Description

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This invention consists of a golf putter which is a golf club used to strike the golf ball when it is located within close range of the cup. When the ball has reached this position, the obiect is to have the ball fall into the cup with one stroke of the club. This requires precise aim-ing of the ball in the direction of the cup before it is struck. It is therefore of extreme importance for the gol1er to have a continuous visual contact of the club and the ball, during the follow through.
At the present time there are two kinds of putters, i.e. the putters whose heads are in line with their shafts, and those whose heads are provided with a short twist away from the line of the club shaft. In either of the above cases, during the period between the beginning of the swing of the club and the time the head makes contact with the ball, there takes place a momentary period when the club and ball are not visible to the golfer. This momentary period of time is re-ferred to as the blind spot.
The object of this invention is therefore to provide a putter the head of which eliminates this blind spot, thereby providing greater accuracy in putting.
Another object of the invention is to provide ad-ditional accuracy in putting by providing a putter head the weight of which can be varied to suit the required feel of the club which varies with almost every individual golfer.
The above advantages are accomplished in the in-vention by providing a comparatively large offset of the head, in relation to the shaft of the club~ and the offset is always in the direction towards the cup. The offset direction is maintained in putters used by both right hand and left hand players.

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In describing the invention, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the putter head, Figure 2 is an end view of the putter head as used by a right handed player, Figure 3 is a end view of the putter head as used by a left handed player, Figure 4 is a side view of the putter head showing the use of striations, and Figure 5 shows a typical plug used in varying the weight of the putter head.
In the drawings, the putter head 1 is shown consisting of an elongated bar of a rust proof metal and of rectangular cross-section having a rounded point in the front and a rounded back in the rear thereof. The center part oi its base is usually flat or of a very slight curve. The upper part is provided with a short raised section slightly to the rear of the center, of the head, and to this raised section is attached a leg 2. The two vertical walls of the head are at rightangles to the base, and are flat and parallel to each other. In some cases as shown in Figure 4, the face or wall of the putter head which comes in contact with the ball, is provided with a series of striations 14 to provide a firmer contact with the ball 12.
The leg 2 is also made of a round bar of rust proof metal, and it is attached to the head at an angle of approxi-mately ~8 . It consists of an upwardly rising part 3, a bent part 4 which is at an angle slightly larger than 90 with the part 3, and a part 5 which rises upwardly from the other end of 4. The leg part ~ is widened and bored at its upper end for the purpose of inserting the shaft 13 of the golf club therein.
The offset dista-nee between the center of the club 1~55984 and the longitudinal center of the head is definite and quite large as compared to some of the existing clubs which are provided with a small twiæt between the club and the head.
Furthermore, it should be noted that in all the clubs at presently used by golfers, the ball 12 is struck by the in-ner face of the head in a direction awaY from the offset. In this invention the ball is to be struck with the outer face of the head n the direction of the offset. This of course provides the continuous visibility of the head and the ball during the follow through.
For the purpose of controlling the weight of the putter head, the head 1 is bored with a hole 6 which is counter bored as shown at 8, in Figure 1, a short distance from its entrance. Immediately behind the counter bore 8, the hole 6 is tapped as shown at 7.
A series of plugs as shown in Figure 5 are provided with each putter, each plug being of a different weight than the others. Each plug consist of three parts~ a head 11 which is provided with a slot for a screw driver and which fits the coun~erbore ~, a threaded part 10 which screws into the part 7, and a stem 9 which fits into the hole 6, The stem 9 is made of various lengths which determine the weight of said plug.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an esclu-sive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-

1. An offset putter in which longitudinal center of the head is offset from the center of the club, designed to strike a golf ball in the direction of the offset, for the purpose of eliminating momentary obstruction to the visibility of the ball during the putting stroke, comprising in combination, a standard shaped putter head to the top of which is attached a leg by me-ans of which said head is attached to the shaft of said club;
said leg which is made of a round rod of rust proof material, and is attached to the head at an angle of about 18° with the vertical, comprising a short upwardly rising part, the bottom end of which is attached to the putter head, the other end being bent away from the head at an angle slightly larger than 90°
with the said short upward part, for a short distance, and conti-nuing to be bent upwardly to form the part which is attached to the shaft of the club; and means for varying the weight of the head to suit particular needs of each golfer.

2, A putter such as described in claim 1, in which the means for varying the weight of the head consists of several me-tal plugs of various weights which are screwed into a tubular bore provided in said head for said purpose; each of said plugs consisting of a round threaded head notched for the use of a screw driver, and having round rods of various lengths and weights extending centrally from said plug head, said extensions being slightly smaller in diameter than the plug head; and the entrance to the bore in the putter head being tapped to fit the threads of the plug head.