Dick’s Sporting Goods Entry in the Golf Club Design Business – An Eagle or a Shank – You be the Judge

There is no doubt that Dick’s is a major force in golf equipment retailing, yet I was still surprised this week to see that they had a patent application publish that is directed to a club head design. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 201000041495 titled “Golf Driver Head with Exchangeable Rear Sections,” which describes the invention as…. Interesting, very interesting. Look’s like the OEM’s may soon have more competition. It does make you wonder how long it will be before walking into a golf retailer will be like walking into a grocery store. Will each name brand product will have a very similar “house brand” product for sale right beside it (for 30% less)? Perhaps a little chart will even compare the ingredients…. yes, the house brand is all titanium; yes, the house brand has an MOI of 5000; yes, the house brand…..

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Day 5 – Karsten’s Patents Directed to Woods

So far this week we have looked at Karsten’s non-golf related patents, golf tool related patents, a golf ball patent, and his golf grip patents, therefore it is about time that we start looking at his golf club patents. Let’s start with woods. I was surprised to learn that Karsten is listed as an inventor on only two wood-related patents, however we all know that the PING brand made its name with putters and irons. Karsten’s first wood related patent is USPN 3625518 titled “Golf Club Head with Complex Curvature for the Sole and/or the Striking Face.” The patent, which issued in 1971, describes the invention as….

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Day 4 – Karsten’s Golf Grip Patents

We have looked at Karsten’s non-golf related patents, golf tool related patents, and a golf ball patent, so now let’s look at his golf grip patents. He has many golf grip design patents, but only one golf grip utility patent. The 1992 utility patent is USPN 5087042 titled “Golf Club Grip,” which describes the invention as…. I wonder how many of these grips have made it into golfers hands. One million? Ten million? Hundred million? Hard to guess. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come with upcoming posts covering Karsten Solheim’s inventions directed to woods, irons, and, of course, putters…..

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The Week of Karsten Solheim – Day 3 – The Lone Golf Ball Patent

Over the past few days we have examined Karsten Solheim’s non-golf related patents, as well as his golf tool related patents; well, there is one other unusual invention and patent that most people would not typically associate with Karsten and the PING brand…. a golf ball patent. Karsten’s one and only golf ball patent is USPN 4653758, which is appropriately titled “golf ball” and issued in 1987. The patent explains….. It seems that this man of many talents also knew a thing or two about aerodynamics and golf ball manufacturing…..

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Day 2 of “The Week of Karsten” – His Golf Tool Patents

Yesterday you learned about Karsten’s non-golf related patents. Today let’s look at his inventions that are golf related, but aren’t the type of inventions that you would typically associate with PING. You know, some behind the scenes tools…… Neat stuff! Stay tuned, the upcoming posts will delve into the patents that reveal Karsten’s true genius, including posts covering his golf grip patents, a golf ball patent, patents on woods, iron patents, and, of course, putter patents…..

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The Week of Karsten Solheim – Day 1 – Karsten’s Non-Golf Patents

As we approach the 10 year anniversary of the passing of one of the most prolific golf club design visionaries, a week long tribute to the inventiveness of Karsten Solheim seems appropriate. If you don’t know who Karsten is then you are probably on this site by mistake; however, you may want to check out this nice biography on the World Golf Hall of Fame website. Diehard golf geeks know that Karsten did not even take up golf until he was in his forties, and that it was not until he was in his mid-fifties that he quit his day job as an engineer at General Electric to focus on Karsten Manufacturing and build the powerhouse PING brand. There was a great portion of his life in which he did not focus on the torture that a little white ball can inflict on a person. So, without golf what is a man to focus on? Good question, let’s look at some of Karsten’s earliest non-golf inventions….. Well there you have it. Karsten was obviously an inventive person that probably learned a lot about the value of protecting intellectual property when he was at General Electric. Stay tuned, posts later this week will cover the following categories of Karsten’s inventions: golf tools, grips, balls, woods, irons, and, of course, putters…..

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A Wild New PING Dynamically Variable MOI Driver

The Golf-Patents blog has revealed some pretty radical golf club designs in the past, but rarely do they originate from Karsten Manufacturing (aka PING). Therefore, when an unusual PING patent application is published it deserves a close look. This week PING had two related patent applications publish related to variable MOI driver designs, one of which is US Pub. No. 20100029402 titled “Golf Clubs With Variable Moment of Inertia And Methods Of Manufacture Thereof.”….. Wow, I suspect that design concept will surprise a lot of people; but will it ever make it to the market?…..

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Wrapping Up the Week Dedicated to Golf Course Patents – A Compact Design

What better way to get hit by a golf ball than playing on a compact golf course. Every golfer has played on one of those courses that squeezed 18 holes in the space that should house 14 holes. The type that has a net around at least one tee box; probably the result of a line drive to the forehead (and a lawsuit). Can you appreciate a course that takes it a step further and fits 18 holes in the space of 7 holes? Well, check out the disaster waiting to happen in disclosed in USPN 4,157,831 titled “compact golf course.”….. This wraps up a rather uneventful week of crazy golf course designs! (thankfully)…..

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Day 4 of the Week Dedicated to Golf Course Patents – Finally a Web Pattern Layout

What happens when a statistics professor designs a golf course? The possibilities are endless. Actually, I don’t know if the inventor of the course of today is a statistics professor, but it wouldn’t surprise me. So, what could possibly follow a linear golf course layout, a circular layout, and a shared fairway layout (with movable trees)? A web pattern layout, of course. Today’s course is found in USPN 6,036,606 titled “Golf Course with Multi-Sequential Arrangement of Golf Links,” which explains….. You may ask, how many combinations are there? Good question. Check out the diagram below and read the subsequent paragraph…… I think I have spotted a trend; the more likely you are to receive a patent on a golf course layout, the less likely it is that most golfers will be interested in playing it!…..

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Day 3 of the Week Dedicated to Golf Course Patents

So far this week we have examined a linear golf course layout and a circular layout, therefore it must now be time to look at a design incorporated shared fairways. Today’s design is found in USPN 6,053,819 titled “Golf Course, Golf Park and Associated Method of Playing a Golf Game,” which describes the invention as….. What do you think of playing “back and forth along a fairway” for as long as you have reserved the course? While I love the movable tree, I think this concept might be a tough sell……

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A Week Dedicated to Golf Course Patents – Day 1

Ever wonder if you can patent a golf course’s architecture? Well, this week I will provide you with some interesting golf course layout patents that you may find hard to believe. Additionally, if you are a golf course architecture aficionado then you should avoid these posts because they will bring tears to your eyes (or make you puke)….. I am all for speeding up the pace of play, but I would prefer to play a slower round on a nice unique design rather than a blazing fast round on an, umm, less unique design….

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