Don’t Worry About Fixing My Swing, Fit Me With a Club that Minimizes the Ugliness

Isn’t that a large part of club fitting? Well, watch out club fitters because The Yokohama Rubber Co. is looking to automate this process. This week an interesting patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090270204 titled “Method for Golf Club Selection, and Golf Club,” which describes the invention as….. I am not sure that a system exists that could process all the movement in my swing, and I know that I would not want to see it illustrated on a screen. Nonetheless, wouldn’t it be great to have an automated system that recommends the best club for your swing regardless of the manufacturer, salesperson incentives, or what brand of clubs the winner in last week’s tournament played? Ah, a golfer can dream…..

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What Would You Think if a Playing Companion Pulled Out This Invention to Help Them Get Aligned to the Target?

I don’t know what I would do if a playing partner pulled this invention out and started lining up shots. Well, yes I do. First, I would laugh and ridicule them a bit, and then I would probably end up trying it and asking to borrow it. This interesting alignment tool is found in a patent that issued today as USPN 7607988 titled “Golf Alignment and Targeting System.” The patent describes the invention as….. It’s just a matter of time before we see one of these used on tour…..

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Would You Game a Plastic Driver? Author of Several Golf Club R&D Books Receives Interesting Plastic Club Head Patent

You may recall a prior post that introduced you to golf inventor Dr. Frank D. Werner? He is the author of a handful of books (example 1, example 2) on golf club engineering, and was one of the early supporters of square drivers (see THIS prior post). Based upon his bio, it appears Frank is one smart guy. Well, Frank was recently granted USPN 7597634 titled “Plastic Golf Club Head.” The patent explains….. I would love to hear the sound of a plastic driver…..

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Yet Another Level of Adjustability in Golf Club Design

There is no doubt that adjustability is great for marketing hype, but I really don’t know anyone that uses it beyond the first few rounds played with their new adjustable toy. Taylor Made has led the adjustability movement with their movable weight technology (MWT) and flight control technology (FCT), and now they have another adjustability feature on the drawing board. The new technology is disclosed in a patent application that recently published as US Publication No. 20090253530 titled….. Interesting. So, what do you think the new acronym will be? Perhaps…..

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Bizarre Golf Club Patent of the Week – Does Your Club Need More Lube?

You may recall a prior post regarding a “golf ball lubricant” that looked a lot like a tube of ChapStick. The idea was to rub it on the club face to temporarily make the face of your club slippery so that it did not impart as much spin on the golf ball. Well, this week’s bizarre golf club patent details a similar idea developed in the late 1990’s in which the face is impregnated with a lubricant…. I have to admit, it would be interesting to see real test data illustrating whether either of these approaches significantly reduces spin. If it worked I suspect there would be a lot more members of the ChapStick Fan Club (yes, there really is a fan club…. check out the link)….

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Book Your Room in Wilmington, Delaware; Re-Trial of ProV1 Litigation Scheduled for the Weeks of March 15, 22, and 29

Back in August the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) found that “irreconcilably inconsistent jury verdicts” necessitated a new trial regarding the original ProV1 patent infringement lawsuit. See this prior post for a link to the CAFC’s rational. Well, the District Court has scheduled a new trial for the weeks of March 15, 22, and 29. Put it on the calendar and book your room!….

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Bridgestone Is Determined To Maintain High-Spin Wedges

Regular readers of the Golf-Patents blog know that Bridgestone has not taken the new groove regulations laying down. In the past I have posted on their face texturing designs and groove designs. Recently Bridgestone has bolstered their spin-related IP portfolio even further with the issuance of a patent directed to the orientation of face striations and had a patent application publish related to score lines….. I wonder what the USGA has to say about these inventions….

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Do You Really Know What “Grain Flow Forged” Means? Honestly?

Golfers see the term “grain flow forged” in Mizuno advertisements all the time, but I suspect only a small portion really understand the concept. Fortunately, a recently published Mizuno patent application educates us on the subject. The application published last week as US Pub. No. 20090247317 titled “Golf Club and Manufacturing Method Thereof,” which explains….

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E-Z-GO versus Club Car; Finally, A Golf Cart Patent Infringement Battle

Golf carts just don’t get any respect. Golfers largely ignore the beauty and the complex engineering that goes into the design of these wonderful machines. However, there is no doubt the manufacturers never forget about the sweat and tears, not to mention money, that go into designing a reliable golf cart. In fact, last week E-Z-GO sought to protect its investment and filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Club Car alleging that several of the Club Car products infringe E-Z-GO’s patent USPN 7,332,881 titled “AC Drive System for Electrically Operated Vehicle.”….

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Now This is a Handy Little Training Device

Having trouble with your grip? If so, this little device may be the answer. Check it out…. Simple enough, right? The drawing comes from USPN 7,591,733 titled “Device for Reducing Effect of Dominant Hand on Golf Swing,” which explains…. Now, the rest of the story….. Looks simple enough (and inexpensive enough) that I suspect most golfers would give it a try….

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Now This is a Golf Glove!

Cool golf glove inventions don’t come along every day. In fact, the last golf glove post on the Golf-Patents blog was over a year and a half ago. Well, that changes today with an Acushnet patent application that combines acupuncture and golf. The application published today as US Pub. No. 20090241238 titled “Golf Glove,” which describes the invention as…. That is one golf glove that I would love to try. I hope it makes it to the market….

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