Year: 2009

Technically challenged? If so, a recently published patent application describes a range finder that may be perfect for you. The patent application (US Pub. No. 20090151177) describes the invention as…. I think this is the one range finder that has the potential to actually slow down play!….

I have no doubt that young golfers would buy the PING golf bag described in a patent application that published this week as US Pub. No. 20090152144 titled “Golf Bag Having Shoulder Strap With An Electronic Device.” The application described the invention as…. A cassette player? Really? Check out these drawings….. Interesting invention that would be nice to have on the range or when playing by yourself, but please not when playing in a group!

Most golfers can look at a pile of unlabeled golf balls and easily identify the Callaway balls because of their unique HEX aerodynamic technology; but in the future will we be seeing more traditional circular dimples on Callaway balls? One could be led to that conclusion after reading a Callaway golf ball patent that issued this week as USPN 7547259 titled “Aerodynamic Pattern for a Golf Ball.” Here is an interesting bit of history from the patent…. I did not know that is where ATTI originates. The patent describes the invention as….

Karsten Manufacturing, maker of PING brand golf clubs, had 3 design patents issue today. Interestingly, the patent applications were filed less than 5 months ago, leading me to believe that these patents may give us a peak at some new PING products in the pipeline. The first two patents, namely USPN D594,520 and USPN D594,521, are directed to the ornamental design of drivers, whereas the third patent USPN D594,518 appears to be directed to a hybrid with a design unlike any previous PING hybrids. Check out these designs…..

In the past I have profiled some rather unusual, some may say unique, golf club designs by Callaway, Taylor Made, and Bridgestone; however I have never reported on any Acushnet patent applications disclosing club head designs that lean toward the unconventional. Today is a new day and an Acushnet patent application published yesterday that will make you think. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090149276 titled “Metal Wood Club With Improved Moment of Inertia” and described the invention as…. OK, that description does not do justice to the club head designs that you are about to see…..

It doesn’t take a lot to explain this golf bag invention, check it out!…. The invention is described in a patent application that published today as US Pub. No. 20090145787 titled “Golf Bag.” The application explains the need for the invention as follows…. So, hot product or flop product? I think….

Many golfers would be surprised by the amount of litigation concerning patents on golf shoe spikes; just check out these prior posts (post 1, post 2). In the latest round of litigation Greenkeepers takes on Adidas, TaylorMade, Callaway, and Ecco. These defendants are in good company in that Acushnet, Softspikes, Nike, and MacNeil Engineering (maker of Champ Spikes) have all also been sued by Greenskeepers….

Roughly one year ago I noticed that Callaway had filed a trademark application for the WING NOTCH WEIGHTING mark. What could it be? Well, this week a Callaway patent application published that may give us a look at the Wing Notch Weighting™ system that may be coming out in the new FT 11, or perhaps the FT-MACH 11, FT-JET, or FT-BLACKHAWK….. The patent application that became public yesterday published as US Pub. No. 20090143167 titled “Golf Club Head With Adjustable Weighting, Customizable Face-Angle, and Variable Bulge and Roll Face.” The application summarizes the invention as…. Now, check out this design…. Interesting. Callaway must be tired of all the TaylorMade MWT advertisements; but will this design make it to market?

Probably not, but what a radical club for Bridgestone! Check out the driver disclosed in a patent application that published last week as US Pub. No. 20090137338 titled “Wood-Type Golf Club Head.”….. The application says it all with the following: “Besides, the head appearance has an unprecedentedly peculiar shape that attracts the attention of a bystander, but a golfer who uses this head does not feel the peculiar shape at address.” Think this design will make it to market?….

Titleist’s A.I.M. (Alignment Integrated Marking) sidestamp is coming under fire! As we all know, golf equipment can never have enough acronyms! The A.I.M. sidestamp is that convenient line ending with arrowheads to help golfers align their putts. Lombardi Golf Designs is alleging that the alignment sidestamps on the…. Bet you would have never guessed Titleist’s alignment line would be the subject of a golf ball design patent infringement lawsuit! (me neither)….

I bet you have never seen a driver like this. Check out the driver design found in design patent USPN D592720 titled “Golf Club Head,” which issued last week to Jack Hamm (the creator of some unconventional drivers)….

Ever wish you could easily turn your trusted loyal old putter into a face balanced putter? The invention that is disclosed in recently published patent application US Pub. No. 20090131194 titled “Weighted Golf Club Grips and Shafts” offers one way to achieve the goal. The application describes the invention as….

A design patent issued yesterday to Callaway that is directed to a driver that I have never seen before. The following drawings come from USPN D592721 titled “Golf Club Head.”…. So, what do you think…. something new, something old, or something that never made it out of R&D?….

An interesting Acushnet patent application published this week as US Pub. No. 20090120197 titled “Golf Club Head Comprising a Piezoelectric Sensor.” The application describes the invention as…. Cool stuff. Will this club ever make it to market? If so, how long will it take?….

Probably not, but check out this invention!…. Wow, check out that hosel wrap! When was the last time you had a club that looked like that? The drawings come from a patent application that published yesterday as US Pub. No. 20090119857 titled “Golf Clubhead Cleaning Device.” The application describes the invention as…. No offense but this invention looks like the type of thing that a golfer gets as a gift from a non-golfer….

Well, neither have I…. but a recently published patent application may indicate that Rife Putters is looking to branch out. Today Mr. Rife had a patent application publish that may give us an idea of what he has been thinking about; namely, the soles of metal woods. The patent application publishes as US Pub. No. 20090124410 titled “Sole Configuration for Metal Wood Golf Club.” The application describes the invention as….
So, is Guerin onto something new, or should he stick with designing putters?

Yesterday I posted about an invention designed to keep a golfer’s leading leg under control. Today let’s take a look a recently patented invention designed to keep the trailing leg under control. The invention is found in USPN 7517287 titled “Golf Swing Improvement Device.” Check it out….. Which invention would you find most helpful? I am leaning toward the _______ invention, but why not combine them!

What is more important during a golf swing, controlling the movement of your leading leg or your trailing leg? Beats me. Heck, if I knew then I would be a much better golfer. The reason I ask is that the USPTO records reveal two recently disclosed golf training inventions that take different approaches to controlling a golfer’s lower body. The first invention is disclosed in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20090105005 titled “Golf Swing Training Device.” Check it out…. What do you think? I am not sure that I would buy it, but I would give it a try.

Every now and then I come across a golf training invention disclosed in a patent application that makes me say “I would buy that (assuming it is priced right).” It happened last week when I came across the invention found in US Pub. No. 20090105004 titled “Inertially Responsive Golf Club Head Mounted Device for Instructing Correct Club Face Direction & Swing Speed.” Check out this nifty device…. Pretty cool little device, but what would you pay for it?….

Have you been watching The Haney Project: Charles Barkley show on TGC? If so, you have probably seen Charles hit some decent shots when Hank is standing over him holding his head; and you have probably also seen Charles hit some less than perfect shots as soon as Hank steps away. Last week a patent application published that made me immediately think of poor Charles. The invention disclosed in US Pub. No. 20090105006 titled “Training Apparatus for Improving a Golf Swing” seems to be made for him. Check it out!….. Now if only they could throw a set of wheels on it so Charles could attach it to a cart and pull it around the course…..

Recall last year’s post titled “Is This Callaway Driver Radical Enough for You?” Well, last week Callaway was granted a patent on the “c-shaped golf club head.” Amazing design!…. The fact that Callaway paid the fees necessary to get the patent issued makes me think that they may actually produce this club! Heck, I would give it a try….

The inventor listed on a recently published patent application wants to educate golfers on “golf’s magic lines.” The application published as US Pub. No. 20090098953 titled “Method for Teaching a Golf Swing Using Simple Thought Imagery and Very Limited Body Awareness.” What, “thought imagery” and “limited body awareness!” Initial thoughts…. a little airy fairy. See what you think….

Are you familiar with Dr. Frank D. Werner? He is the author of a handful of books (example 1, 2) on golf club engineering, and was one of the early supporters of square drivers (see THIS prior post). Based upon his bio, I would bet that Frank is one smart guy. Well, Frank was recently granted an interesting patent; namely, USPN 7510486 titled “Elastic Head Golf Club.” As you can imagine, the title caught my attention. The patent describes the invention as…. Check out this design…. Great stuff, but will this elastic golf club make it to market?

Can you identify this molecular structure?…. Luckily, the golf shaft designers at SRI Sports know the molecular structure of fullerene. Yesterday, SRI was granted an interesting golf shaft patent; namely, USPN 7517288 titled “Golf Club Shaft.” The patent describes the invention as…. The patent goes on to explain the need for this new shaft design (and insult senior golfers at the same time)…. Who knew fullerene was so handy! Talk about some brain power going into shaft design….

While I do love golf, I am not sure I would be willing to publicly use the device disclosed in the recently issued patent USPN 7513834 titled “Golf Swing Training Device.” Check it out….

An interesting golf grip patent recently issued. The patent is USPN 7510483 titled “Golf Club Grip,” and describes the invention as….. Perhaps “grip fitting” will become as common as club fitting and ball fitting. I wouldn’t mind being able to adjust the way that my grips feel. It would be interesting to know if these grip designs were ever determined to be USGA conforming….

Recently SRI Sports (the parent company of Srixon and Cleveland Golf) was granted an interesting golf swing diagnosis system patent. The patent is USPN 7502491, which describes the invention as…. Time to brush up on your pixel binarization to extract shaft motion using a movement vector…. Cool stuff! It is just a matter of time before all golfers have access to low cost self-service swing diagnosis systems.

I doubt it, but driving range kiosks are an interesting idea. Recently a patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090069105 titled “System and Method for Improving Golf Skills” and explains….

OK, you start by measuring (i)….(vi) you do the Hokey-Pokey, and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about! But seriously, according to the German inventor listed on USPN 7510490 titled “Method for Determining Length of the Shaft of an Individually Adapted Golf Club” those are the measurements you need to properly determine a golf club shaft length….. Ahh, now I see my problem…. I have never properly accounted for the curvature of my spine!

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?…..

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?…..

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].

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)!

Are you one of those golf nuts that records their swings and analyzes every last aspect of it? If so, you will love this little product. The drawings from a patent application that published this week do a better job of describing the invention and I can do with words. Check it out!…. Now, if that little gadget was priced right, it would sell!

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….

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.

I love patents directed to golf ball aerodynamics and fortunately an interesting one issued this week. Yesterday Bridgestone was granted USPN 7503857 titled “Golf Ball.” The patent describes the invention as…. Check out these dimples….

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!

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!”….

An interesting putter grip patent application published today. Check out the putter grip disclosed in US Pub. No. 20090069106 titled “Grip Arrangement for Golf Club.”…. The application explains…. No doubt that it is one unique grip….

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.

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.

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….

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….

OK, I don’t know if they have them, but they have thought about them! This week Callaway was granted USPN 7494428 titled “Golf Ball,” which describes the invention as…. Check out this drawing showing the deep apertures extending through the cover and into the core….. The patent contains an interesting explanation of the golf ball manufacturing process…. Interesting stuff, but unfortunately the patent doesn’t explain the benefit associated with deep apertures extending through the cover and into the core. Bummer….

Callaway had an interesting golf ball patent application publish today as US Pub. No. 20090054177 titled “Dimples Composed of Letters or Symbols Inset into Cover,” which describes the invention as…. That’s right, logos in your dimples, or dimples that are logos! Just what the game of golf has needed…..

Really, a patent issued today directed to a method of correcting your golf swing over the internet. I know, hard to believe. The patent is USPN 7494430 titled “System and Method for Correcting Golf Swing Using Internet” and describes the invention as…. Nothing a few flowcharts can’t clear up!…. Got it? Check out this claim from the patent…. Holy mackerel, it seems like it would be hard to infringe that claim!

Recently a patent application published that combines the best of a virtual reality golf game and the technical data of a launch monitor. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090036237 titled “Golf Gaming Systems and Methods” and explains…. Pretty cool but will this take the place of Golden Tee in your local bar?

Ever practiced putting with an egg? Check out design patent USPN D586419 titled “Golf Putting Practice Device,” which issued last week….. Interesting concept!….

This week a patent issued with the title “Golf Ball Passing Elephant Miniature Golf Course Hazard,” so I had to check it out. The patent issued as USPN 7488260 and describes the invention as…. Really? The “ball exits the rear end to simulate the elephant pooping the ball.” Check it out…. Boy, I must be underestimating the size of the miniature golf market!

Today an interesting golf tee design patent issued to Excel Golf Products, owners of the ZeroFriction line of tees, and Tocare line of grips. Check out this design…. Looks like it would require delicate placement of the ball! The golf tee patent that issued today is USPN D586411 titled “Golf Tee.” Definitely not a lot of contact between the ball and the tee, which should be a good thing….

An interesting patent application published with week covering a golf bag invention. Would you buy a golf bag that has a pull cart built into it? Check it out…. Interesting concept, but it is hard to believe that it has not been done before.

The idea of incorporating some type of drag chute into a training aide seems to be a pretty popular idea; just check out THIS previous post. Recently a patent issued on a more discreet variation; you know one that doesn’t scream “hey look at me and my fancy training aide!” In fact, USPN 7479068 titled “Golf Swing Training Device” nicely incorporates the “drag chute” concept into a head cover. The patent explains…. Check out these drawings from the patent…. From the look of those last two drawings it seems that this device can also be used to catch butterflies….

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?

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…..

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…..

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.

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.

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?

I don’t know if a heated head cover is really “necessary,” but some inventor must think that there is a market for heated head covers because they have filed a patent application directed to one such device…… So what do you think is the ideal temperature to keep the face of your golf club?….. and the answer is …..

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.

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….

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?”

How familiar are you with the new lines of “players” irons? Do these look familiar?….. You can click here for the answer, and click here to check out USPN D584370 titled “Iron Golf Club Head,” which issued today. Nice looking sticks, but my game is not good enough for them…..

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?…..