Year: 2011

Probably, but do golf clubs wear out due to the wear and tear of an average avid golfer? I wonder. Either way, it sounds like an interesting new marketing spin to get golfers to replace their equipment more often. Kudos Nike Golf! This week they had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20110070963 titled “Golf Club Head Wear Indicator.”…. Interesting idea, but I am not sure it is a compelling selling point….

My guess is no (seems a bit gimmicky for their putter line, although clearly not without merit), but you never know since they did go through the effort of obtaining a utility patent. The patent issued last week as USPN 7,905,792 titled “Adjustable Putter Alignment Aide”….

I am glad that Nike is getting into the golf ball IP arena because they don’t seem to be afraid to try to protect the “unusual.” Their latest golf ball related invention has to do with an alignment guide for a golf ball and it is pretty interesting. The invention is disclosed in a patent application that published this week as US Pub. No. 20110065530 titled “Alignment Guide for a Golf Ball.”….. Interesting for sure but “dazzling effects” aside, how is this going to improve my game?….

Well, I am happy to report that some golf equipment manufacturers are looking to take alignment aides beyond the scope of the putter. Just last week Cobra Golf had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20110059808 titled “Golf Club with Directional Based Graphic,” which describes the invention as…. Pretty cool, but just wait for my next post regarding an alignment aid for a golf ball!….

The term “circumscribed prismatoids” sounds like a medical condition but it is apparently a way to “tune the aerodynamic flight characteristics” of a golf ball. An Acushnet patent application published this week as US Pub. No. 20110059813 titled “Golf Ball Dimples Having Circumscribed Prismatoids,” which describes the invention as…. PS – The gap in posting can be blamed on a 4 day golf trip to Hilton Head that included roughly 126 holes. I was my first trip to Hilton Head and I highly recommend it for any golf addicts. Below is a picture from an overcast day at Harbour Town….

It has been a while since I have covered an interesting golf shoe invention. Fortunately that changes this week with the publication of a patent application directed to a golf shoe with retractable spikes. The application published as US Pub. No. 20110047830 titled “Extendable Spikes for Shoes,” which describes the invention as…. Interesting concept but I am not sure anything will bring back a conventional spike construction….

I am now in my fifth year of blogging and I have seen just about every insane type of golf invention that you can imagine. Generally I just bite my tongue and only post about the crazy ones that make me smile, but this week a design patent issued that almost made me fall out of my chair. Does anyone see the need for this?….

Callaway is looking to change the way you perceive your club’s face angle. One of their recently published patent applications provides a great education on how a golfer perceives a golf club’s face angle. The application published as US Pub. No. 20110039637 titled “Golf Club With Stable Face Angle.” The application explains…. I suppose this is why you should address the ball at the correct lie angle…..

Over the years I have posted several times about how inventors have attempted to reduce the spin produced with a driver. Generally these attempts center around the application of a lubricant to the face of the golf club (see this post, or this post ). That’s not cheating! A recently published patent application discloses a new spin at reducing spin. The application published as US Pub. No. 20110014996 titled “Higher Performance Golf Club and Attachment for Golf Club, Golf Ball, Athletic Shoes, and Athletic Shin Guards Using Shear-Thickening Fluids.” Who wouldn’t want a higher performance golf club using shear-thickening fluids? The application describes the invention as…. Definitely a cooler way to deal with spin than smearing lip gloss on the face of your driver!….

Recently an interesting groove patent application published, which led to me to an even more fascinating “stealth groove” patent. The patent application belongs to Performax Golf and Composite, Inc. and is titled “Golf Club Head Having Score Line Structure” (20110028234), which describes the invention as….. The application mentions a patent that may get your attention simply by the inclusion of “stealth grooves” in the title….. Those are some pretty impressive numbers but would golfers be willing to give up 6.5% of total distance in return for a 19% increase in spin and a 44% reduction in dispersion?….

I would bet the answer for 99% of golfers the answer is a resounding NO. Apparently Bridgestone Golf disagrees because one of their recently published patent applications is directed to just that, a CG map on the crown of a golf club. The application published as US Pub. No. 20110034262 titled “Wood Type Golf Club Head,” which describes the invention as…. So, do you think this club will make it into the bag of Mr. Couples?….

If you had to guess, which of the following iron and shaft combinations produces a “superior feel”? (a) a forged soft-iron head created from soft iron (S20C), with a steel shaft; (b) a forged soft-iron head created from soft iron (S20C), with a graphite shaft; (c) a stainless steel iron body having a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) face insert, with a steel shaft; or (d) a stainless steel iron body having a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) face insert, with a graphite shaft….. Also, which combination produces the worst feel? The results may surprise you….. I am sure that these results will make ______ shaft manufacturers happy! Does your subjective “feel” agree with the scientific results?….

A Bridgestone patent application published this week providing us with some insight on the impact that colors have in golf club design…. Interesting stuff, do you buy it?….

Acushnet rolls out another fascinating golf ball dimple pattern patent application. Check out these golf balls…. Come on, I just want one of these golf balls to make it to the market because I know that my ball’s “great circles due to parting lines” have been messing up my game….

The PGA Show had some amazing putters on display. I felt the new Axis 1 Umbra putter and the Utopia putter had the most interesting technology stories, while Piretti, Bettinardi, and Carnahan produced some stunningly beautiful milled putters. Check out these flatsticks….

During my recent trip to Florida I was fortunate to play a couple of swanky golf courses. Since I am more of a commoner, the hillbilly in me pulled out the camera and snapped some pictures to share with you. First, I was lucky enough to play the Trump International Golf Club of Palm Beach, which is a GolfWorld Top 50 private course. No worries, the Donald’s low amateur round of 66 was not in danger. It is an absolutely beautiful course, check out these pictures….

Training aides are often hard to find because so few actually make it to the market. Stick with these photos until the end of the post, there are some gems mixed in with some rubble (including at least 2 that I would consider purchasing)….

Eventually I will have time to post all my putter pictures, but until then check out these interesting grips and gloves on display at the PGA Show…. Stay tuned, future posts will cover training aides and putters….

OK, golf tees aren’t the sexiest golf products but the PGA Show had a few on display today that are worth taking a look at. How about a teflon coated golf tee?….

Yes, all the big golf companies have their latest and greatest products at the PGA Show. However, my goal is to expose you to the cool products by the smaller companies that you might not otherwise come across. The first great idea is The Golf Tripod – Tag Banner by DRENALINE PRODUCTS. Think of all that branding space that has been ignored by the golf industry for years. Pretty amazing…. The second great idea is a cart bag from Eazy Bag, check out their website for an interesting story on how the idea came about. It is surprising that no alternative cart bags have made it to market….

It is not very often that the Golf-Patents blog gets to cover artwork, but there were some beautiful sculptures at the PGA Show that are worth highlighting. Check out these “artfully repurposed” golf club sculptures from On Tour Golf Wear and Sculptures…. Kudos to them, that is some really cool stuff; not to mention it looks like a hobby I would enjoy….

I am reporting from the annual PGA Show in Orlando and have to say that the largest demo day in the US, if not the world, was pretty darn impressive. Not necessarily the products, because we all knew (for the most part) what equipment would be on display, but the facility itself is pretty incredible. What does a 42 acre circular range with three practice greens look like? Check it out…. As you would expect, there was some over the top ridiculousness at the demo day. The photo below shows the inflatable Cobra Golf / Puma show room, which contained a live DJ spinning some tunes that sounded fresh from a club on the show Jersey Shore! Nothing live a mini-rave at the PGA Show. Would it surprise you that the area was crawling with collar-popped Ian Poulter wannabe’s?….

A recently published patent application discloses a pretty cool putter. The application published as US Pub. No. 20110014994 titled “Golf Putter Head,” which describes the invention as…. I like it; different rotating faces for different conditions….

Nike Golf thinks they may have the answer, a double wall system. A recently published Nike patent application (US Pub. No. 20100323812) explains the issue…. This is one of those beautifully simple concepts that just seems so logical (after you have seen someone else propose it, of course), you can’t help but wonder “hasn’t someone tried this in the past?”….

There is no doubt that adjustability is a big marketing push and appears to be here to stay. In fact, just last week I posted about the golfing purists at Titleist taking a stab at weight adjustability. This week let’s take a look at what is on the minds of the engineers at Bridgestone….

Sure, supersonic flight is pretty impressive; but come on; most of us aren’t fighter pilots. However, golf ball aerodynamics… now that is something we can all appreciate, which is why an Acushnet patent that issued this week caught my attention. The title is “Golf Ball with Dimples having Constant Depth.” (USPN 7,867,109) Constant depth dimples, now that is interesting. The patent describes the invention as….

Yes, Nike Golf recently had a patent application publish under the title “Golf Club with Golf Club Head Having Compressible V-Shaped Grooves,” namely US Pub. No. 20100298062. This application will make you scratch your head and wonder….

Can you imagine a Titleist driver like this making it to market?…. I like it, but would traditionalists?….

It has been a while since I have added any new material to the “crazy golf club patent” category, which is a shame because these are generally the most entertaining posts on the site. So, with a new year perhaps I will turn over a new leaf and again start highlighting these diamonds in the rough. This one shows that as early as 1904 golfers were obsessing with the spring-like effect of golf clubs (quite literally). Check out this beauty!…. I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that it didn’t work, but you never know!….

Alignment inventions have never really sparked my interest primarily because there are just so many of them. Additionally, alignment devices are generally directed to the putter. Recently Nike Golf had a patent application publish that did grab my attention because it is not directed to putters (and because it is directed to one of my many swing flaws). The application published as US Pub. No. 20100323806 titled “Visual Swing Indicator Golf Club Head,” which describes the invention as…. Pretty cool. I would buy a pack of removable alignment indicator stickers, but don’t want to see that built into the crown of my driver…..

That’s right; golfing in Ohio on December 31st! Ohio golfers were fortunate to have a couple of warm days to melt most of the snow and make golf on the last day of the year a reality. Check out these pictures from my round this afternoon. Northern golfers know that winter golf can bring some challenges such as snow on the green and ice in the traps…. (yes, that is my ball in a trap above… tough bunker, but nothing compared to the one seen below)…. But every now and then winter golf can work to your benefit. Check out my playing partner below as he benefited from a frozen pond. Unfortunately he had to use a fairway wood to reach the ball, and was only 120 yards from the green (but it beats the non-frozen alternative)…. What a great day!