Can You Identify This Driver?

It has been a while since I have tested your golf club knowledge, so here we go. This club should be easy to identify given the huge quantity of advertisements and commercials. The following drawings come from a driver design patent that issued yesterday. Do you recognize this club?…..

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Several uPlay Technologies’ (now Callaway) Patent Applications Publish, What Is The Next Step in Golf GPS Devices?

Earlier this year Callaway Golf acquired uPlay Technologies and launched the new Callaway uPro website. In the past couple of weeks two uPlay patent applications published giving us the first look at uPlay’s intellectual property. Could one of these applications provide us with a glimpse at the future of golf GPS devices?…..

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Everyone Wants a Piece of the Golf GPS Market (Including Qualcomm)

Qualcomm had an interesting patent application publish this week. The application published this week as US Pub. No. 20090082139 titled “Methods and Apparatus for Determining Distances to Selected Targets on a Golf Course Using a Wireless Communications Device,” which describes the invention as…. I know, that is a pretty benign description from the Abstract of the application and it is hard to identify anything unique…. Seems like a lot of the same, but I like the idea of a direction vector as discussed in paragraph [0029].

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It is Just a Matter of Time before We See Rory or Anthony Kim Wearing the “All-In-One Golf Belt” on Tour

Ahh, a patent application directed to incorporating Velcro or magnets into a belt to secure your golf glove, ball marker, repair tool, or ball pouch. I wonder if this application will ever grow into a patent. Regardless, it is entertaining. Check out these drawings…. What the heck is that attached to the right side of the belt above? It looks like either the foot of a chicken or the smallest golf glove I have ever seen!…. Has this inventor never ruined an expensive golf shirt by accidentally rubbing it with the Velcro of a golf glove? Confirmation that golfers are nuts (myself included)!

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Can You Guess How Much Force is Applied to a Golf Ball as the Cover is Cast Around the Core?

Well, it is far less than I would have guessed. For Acushnet, the answer is approximately (guess) pounds of force. The answer comes from a patent application that published this week; namely, US Pub. No. 20090072437 titled “High Speed Casting of a Golf Ball Layer.” The application describes the invention as…. The application does a great job explaining the typical golf ball manufacturing process…. The answer to the question posed in the title comes from the following paragraph….

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Need a Few More Thoughts in Your Head as You Address the Ball? Try Wondering About Whether Your Ball has a Dimple Pattern Based on a Hexagonal Dipyramid Polyhedron!

Welcome to my world. It is a miracle that I can swing a golf club with all the fascinating (some may say “useless”) golf information floating around in my head! Several of the more interesting golf patents that issued this week concerned golf ball dimples. One in particular will make you realize how little you remember from trigonometry class. On Tuesday Acushnet was granted USPN 7503856 titled “Dimple Patterns for Golf Balls.” The patent describes the invention as…. If “hexagonal dipyramid polyhedron” didn’t make your eyes gloss over, then give the patent a glance to refresh your knowledge of inverse tangents, Reynolds Numbers, and aerodynamic coefficients. I am not sure whether a job researching and designing dimple patterns would be cool and exciting, or would make me insane.

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DeLaCruz Golf Designs Granted Putter Design Patent Today

Familiar with the DeLaCruz SweetSlot line of putters? If not, check them out because they deserve a look. Well, today DeLaCruz Golf Designs was granted a design patent on some form of the SweetSlot putter. I say “some form” because the alignment features on the putter in the patent do not seem to match those of any of the putters on their website. The patent is USPN D588658 titled “Golf Putter With Slotted Head.” Check it out…. Personally, I prefer their blade versions over their cavity backs, but they all look sweet!

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The New Plop Golf Centered Shafted Hosel Technology…. Breakthrough or Fluff?

Recently Plop Golf has reemerged on the golf scene touting a new Center Shafted Hosel (CSH) technology. As with anything new, some have questioned whether the CSH technology is marketing hype or truly a technology improvement based upon sound engineering. I will let you be the judge of that. This week a patent application published directed to Plop’s new CSH technology. Oddly, the Plop Golf home page says “Introducing the new CSH Patented Technology,” and another page states “The new PLOP RSVP 2 debuts with the patented CSH (Center Shafted Hosel) technology.” Readers of this blog know that there is a big difference between having a patent application filed, and therefore being “patent pending,” versus having an issued patent, and therefore being a “patented technology!”….

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Am I the Only Golfer That Thinks Scented Golf Grips are Unnecessary?

Back in December I wrote a post about a scented grip designed by Scotty Cameron. That was a little hard to believe, but then yesterday another patent application published directed to adding scent to a golf grip. Why? Why I ask? Can’t golfers just enjoy the clean fresh natural scent of a golf course! The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090069108 titled “Golf Club Handle Cover” and describes the invention as…. What! “The aroma is exhaled from the body to greet the player’s nose that offers the player a boost in vitality.” I don’t think I have ever had an aroma “greet” my nose, let alone one that boosts my vitality. Enjoy this description of the invention and appreciate the subtle, and not so subtle, issues that arise when translating documents between different languages…. I just can’t imagine that there is actually a market for these….

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If One Shaft is Good Then Two Shafts Must Be Better…. Right? The Wedge and Putter Edition

Back in December I wrote a POST about a dual shafted driver. Never did I think that I would be writing a post about a two shafted putter and wedge just a few months later. I recently discovered USPN 5547196 titled “Two-Shafted Golf Wedge Club and Method for Using Same.” Check out these clubs!….. There may be something to this invention, but boy would you get some odd looks from fellow golfers on the practice green.

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What Has This Inventor Been Smoking?

What would be your reaction if a member of your foursome started using their putter as a pipe (probably not to smoke tobacco)? Recently I came across USPN 6454661 titled “Golf Club with Smoking Pipe Attachment.” The patent describes the invention as…. Interesting use of a putter that would never have crossed my mind. Seems like something that was invented during a case of the munchies.

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Do You Really Understand the Technology in Your Golf Shaft? Harrison Sports Granted Interesting Golf Shaft Patent

Golf shaft technology is fascinating, partly because it is so misunderstood. Well, this week Harrison Sports, Inc. was granted a shaft patent that may provide you with an inside look at some of their unique technology. The patent is USPN 7497786 titled “Golf Club Shaft Having Multiple Metal Fiber Layers,” presumably directed to their reinforced graphite shafts. The patent explains….

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The Love Continues: Callaway Sues Acushnet Regarding the Converted 2007 Pro V1’s and the New 2009 Pro V1x Golf Balls; Acushnet Sues Callaway Regarding the Tour i and Tour ix Golf Balls

As most golfers know, Callaway Golf and Acushnet (aka Titleist) have been keeping patent litigation attorneys fed and nicely clothed for years. In fact, their golf ball patent dispute has been one of the most widely covered patent litigation cases in recent history. If this is news to you then check out my POST from December 2007 summarizing the jury verdict (and yes the case is still ongoing). Today, the love continues with two new golf ball patent infringement lawsuits. Callaway sued Acushnet over the converted 2007 Pro V1’s and the new 2009 Pro V1x golf balls, and Acushnet sued Callaway over the Tour i and Tour ix golf balls. Callaway alleges infringement of USPN’s 6495633 and 6623381, while Acushnet alleges infringement of USPN’s 6913547, 7255656, 7226369, 6945880, 7473195, 7491137, 6905426, 7455601, and 6180040. You can review the Callaway Complaint HERE and the Acushnet Complaint HERE, but for your convenience I have reproduced some of the more interesting points from the Callaway Complaint below….

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Hot New Golf Swing Practice Device or Next Big Flop?

Any patent applications including “golf-bat” in the title get my immediate attention. This week a patent application published with the title “Golf-Bat for Centrifugal Golf Swing” (US Pub. No. 20090054171). The application describes the invention as…. Check out these drawings…. The application explains (bear with some odd sentence structure, probably some translation issues)…. So, hot product or flop product? It doesn’t look like it would hurt my swing, so I would give it a try….

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