This Club May Be A Tough Sell, Even for Callaway (but I would give it a try… for sure)

While reviewing the golf club patents that issued this week I came across a Callaway patent titled “Golf Club Head with Alignment Line.” I immediately assumed it was yet another putter alignment system patent. Since putter alignment systems are generally pretty innovative I immediately clicked on it to learn more. It only took a split second to notice the language “[t]he golf club head is preferably a driver or fairway wood, and preferably has a volume of 250 cubic centimeters to 475 cubic centimeters.” What… an alignment line for a driver or fairway wood! The patent describes the invention as….. Ahh, the old switcharoo! Make you think the face is open when it is actually closed, and vice versa. Now your clubs really will be playing mind games with you out on the course! Check out these drawings…. How about calling it the FT-i-Need-2-B-trkd-2-hit-r-str8?

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Looking to Get a Little Extra Distance Out of Your Drives? Perhaps You Need an “Assistive Energy Type Golf Club”

An interesting patent application published today under the title of “Method and Apparatus for an Assistive Energy Type Golf Club” (US Pub. No. 20090029793). The application explains that getting extra distance is simply a matter of timing; or more precisely the timing of an explosive charge, the release of a compressed spring or compressed gas, or other “assistive energy” means. The application explains…. I know that the day will come when I can no longer produce my picture perfect, silky-smooth, powerful, Tiger-esque golf swing, and when that day comes I hope that these types of clubs have been perfected so that I can still get out and enjoy some time on the course…..

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A Bridgestone Golf Ball Fitting Patent Application Publishes! Should Contain All Sorts of Cool Ball Fitting Information, Right?

Wrong! I wanted to read about all the cool stuff going on behind the computer screen. You know, relationships among launch angles, spin rates, ball speed, swing speed, ball hardness, influences of multi-piece ball construction, etc. Nope, none of that interesting information in this patent application; it is more like a softball marketing piece…..

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How is Your Knowledge of Triboluminescent Materials? Probably Not Good, but Would You Buy a Reversible Color-Changing Golf Ball? Taylor Made Hopes So

If you are like me, and 99.99% of golfers, then you have no idea what triboluminescence is. Fortunately, a recently published Taylor Made golf ball patent application explains…. This explanation comes from published patent application US Pub. No. 20090023518 titled “Triboluminescent Materials and Golf Balls Made from Such Materials.” The application explains the need for a golf ball made of triboluminescent material….. OK, the application had my attention at this point! So what is special about this ball? Here you go…. How cool would it be to play with such a golf ball? I hope this makes it to market!

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Want to Read Greens Like Camilo Villegas but Don’t Have the Back for It, or Is the Belly Getting in the Way?

Having trouble reading the greens? If so, an invention disclosed in a recently published patent application may be just what you need. The application published as US Pub. No. 20090017943 titled “Golf Green Reader” and included these drawings….. The application describes the invention as…. I would suffer the embarrassment of lugging one of these around if it could shave at least 2 strokes off my round.

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Proof That No Business Can Ignore Patents; Greg Norman Interactive Named in Patent Infringement Lawsuit Regarding a “Size Adjustable Hat!”

Watch out, if you wear a Greg Norman straw hat style GNS8AC20; you may be a patent infringer!
Last week the Bollman Hat Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Greg Norman Interactive, LLC regarding the sale of the Greg Norman straw hat. You may read the Complaint HERE.
The patent that is allegedly infringed is USPN 5426789 titled “Size Adjustable Hat.” The patent describes the invention as….
PS – Greg, if you are reading this (as if)…. I just happen to know a patent attorney that would be happy to defend you in exchange for a week on Aussie Rules and one golf lesson. Sounds like a bargain to me.

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Bridgestone Wants Some Information Redacted from the ProV1 Litigation Court Order, But Why?

Back in November the District Court issued several rulings regarding the ProV1 litigation (click HERE to refresh your memory). Well since then Acushnet has appealed several rulings to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), and as you know the CAFC let the injunction stand.
Well this week I was surprised to get an email that new documents had been filed with the District Court. What could it be? So, I do a little poking around and see that the new documents were filed by an attorney for Bridgestone. Yes, for a moment I thought I was looking at the docket for the wrong case. Nope, it was the right case. Click HERE
to read the couple of sentences of the letter that have not been redacted and click HERE
to see the couple portions of a November court ruling that were redacted. Interesting right?…..

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Golf Balls With Grooves; Truth or Fiction?

Truth! Just consider the disclosure in an Acushnet patent application that published today. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090017941 titled “Golf Ball Surface Patterns Comprising Multiple Channels” and contained the following drawings….. Bet you haven’t seen a golf ball like those before. The application explains….. What will they think of next?

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GolfTech Wins & the Dancin’ Dogg Loses

A little over one year ago I wrote about a patent infringement lawsuit that GolfTech filed against Edens Technologies LLC regarding their Dancin’Dogg personal golf simulator. The plaintiff is not the golfTEC teaching franchise, but rather the owner of USPN 6821211 titled “Sport Swing Analysis System” and licensor of the technology for the P3ProSwing golf simulator and swing analyzer. Piece of cake, right? Does it infringe or doesn’t it? Oh, if only it were so easy. Click HERE
to review the analysis that the judge performed to determine whether the patent is valid and infringed. Not too easy is it!

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Talk About Alternative Energy! Why Not Generate Electrical Power From The Impact Of A Golf Club And Golf Ball?

Generally it is easy to dismiss golf ball locating systems as impractical or technically impossible. Recently I was about to dismiss yet another such patent application simply from the abstract and title, but upon scratching the surface I realized that there was an awful lot of technical disclosure in the application. This is a generally a sign that the application is directed to an actual invention rather than a nice idea supported only by smoke and mirrors. You be the judge. The patent application that I refer to published as US Pub. No. 20090003136 titled “Impact Energy Powered Golf Ball Transmitter.”…. Sounds crazy, right? Well, don’t dismiss it just yet; the listed inventor has roughly 20 issued patents, with many directed to mobile communication systems for major companies. He seems to have the credentials. The application goes on to explain…. Pretty cool idea that I would love to see make it to market, but I would have to see it work to believe it.

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Grooves of the Future?

Grooves, grooves, grooves…. they have definitely been a hot topic for the past year at the USGA, which by default means they have been a topic for the club makers! Therefore, it should be no surprise that we are starting to see some interesting groove related inventions. Karsten (aka PING) has come up with a rather interesting groove related invention disclosed in a patent application that published today. The application published as US Pub. No. 20090011852 with the title “Grooves with Multiple Channels and Methods to Manufacture Grooves of a Golf Club Head.” Check out these groove designs….

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How Is Your Knowledge of Electromagnetic Field Theory, Soddy Circles, and Circle Packing Theory? Fortunately Acushnet’s Golf Ball Engineers Know a Little About These Subjects

An interesting golf ball patent issued yesterday to Acushnet. The patent is USPN 7473194 titled “Dimpled Golf Ball and Dimple Distributing Method” and describes the invention as…. Like most golf ball dimple related patents, it is full of interesting information. For instance…. I just can’t explain why I find this stuff fascinating! Next time you are on the tee, look at your ball and ask yourself “are those dimples placed on the regions defined by a great rhombicosidodecahedron?”

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Is Foam the Future of PING? Probably Not, But Check Out This Interesting Karsten Manufacturing Patent Application!

In the past I have posted about some pretty unusual Callaway designs (here) as well as some rather unique Taylor Made designs (here). This week Karsten Manufacturing (aka PING) steps up to the plate with a surprising design. Last Thursday a patent application published as US Pub. No. 20080318707 titled “Golf Club Head with Foam Core.” I wasn’t surprised by the title because every week there are several “odd” golf club related patent applications that publish. I was surprised when I clicked on the link to view the application and saw that it was a Karsten / PING patent application! Is a foam core PING driver in the future?…..

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