Year: 2013

A PING design patent issued today that may give us a first look at a new PING hybrid. Check it out….

No, not a swing training device; it appears that Nike Golf has been working on a golf club head with a contoured backstop. Backstops to control the maximum face deflection are nothing new, but they are generally flat and a fixed distance behind the face. See what you think of what the Nike engineers have disclosed in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20130331202 titled “Golf Clubs and Golf Club Head Structures Having Contoured Backstop,” which describes the invention as…. Place you bets; will this ever make it into an actual product? How much extra would you pay for the customization aspect?

Perhaps Nike Golf is betting on it! One of their patent applications recently published as US Pub. No. 20130324323 titled “Golf Ball Having A Cover Layer With Two Different Hardness Values.” Yes, a cover with 2 different hardness values!…. Would you play such a ball?

Well, if you read my post yesterday then you already know the answer. Yesterday’s post titled “Introducing the Gravity Core by Cobra Golf” suggested that vertical center of gravity adjustability was indeed an innovation back in 1922, but not in 2013! Why do I say this? Because vertical CG adjustability seems to be a hot topic this week, and the truth is that it rubs me the wrong way when any golf company goes too far in patting themselves on the back and suggesting they were the first to do something. After all, golfers have been tinkering with clubs since the first smother hook. As I mentioned yesterday, the word “innovation” is thrown around way too loosely in the golf industry. There is no doubt that there are lots of elegant solutions found in today’s club designs, and there is no doubt that these elegant solutions required a lot of creativity and engineering hours, but are they really “innovations” or just a unique implementation of an older innovation? You decide. Elegant solution or innovation? Check out these designs!….

Yep, that’s right, Cobra Golf, not Callaway Golf. Why am I posting this? Dumb luck. A Cobra Golf patent application published today while I was working on another post regarding vertical center of gravity adjustment systems in light of this week’s launch of the Big Bertha. Let’s be honest, the word “innovation” is thrown around way too loosely in the golf industry. In fact, if you work in the golf industry and ever catch yourself starting to say “this is the first club to…,” or “our new innovation…”, then you should really demote yourself because eventually someone will call you out. Plus it makes you sound like you are on an infomercial and kills your credibility! After all, golfers have been tinkering with clubs since the first worm-burner. Sure, there are lots of elegant solutions found in today’s club designs, and there is no doubt they required a lot of creativity and engineering hours, but there are very few real innovations. Later this week I will illustrate that vertical center of gravity adjustability was indeed an innovation back in 1922, not 2013!….

Most golf geeks are well aware of last week’s media schmooze fest put on by Nike Golf (if not, read about it here and here). Apparently my invitation got lost in the mail; probably smart given my distrust of anything associated with over the top marketing. I prefer facts, technical data, and generally boring “spin-free” information; you know, like the information found in patent applications. Most of the lucky invitees seemed to be most impressed with their 2014 RZN golf balls with Speedlock Core Technology. I have to admit, the pictures are pretty intriguing. Recently a Nike Golf patent application published as US Pub. No. 20130288825 titled “Golf Ball Core Having Radial Appendages,” which describes the invention as…. The application appears to be the first of many directed to the Speedlock Core Technology concept….

I wouldn’t bet on it because these “backstryke” driver designs could take down any golf company. Check out these beauties!…. The drawings come from a patent that issued today as USPN 8,585,510 titled “Golf Club Head With Improved Aerodynamic Characteristics.” The associated application was filed with a nonpublication request meaning that Callaway wanted to keep this under wraps (perhaps in fear of a shareholder revolt…. I kid). The patent describes the invention as…. Interesting stuff but could these designs ever really find their way into an actual product line?…

Check out the designs disclosed in a Cobra Golf patent application that published this week…. Sure, I could see them incorporating phospholuminescent or glow-in-the-dark pigment, heck it might even be pretty cool, but “LEDs or other illumination elements within or around window” – give me a break. Prove me wrong and I will buy one!….

Rumors are circulating that G-Mac has been testing this golf ball design and is going to put it in play in early 2014. OK, I haven’t actually heard any of these rumors, but they might be out there (and it makes this post a little more interesting). Check out the latest bizarre golf ball dimple design patent that was issued to SRI this week!…

Well, it probably won’t find a home in any golf equipment museum, but the invention is interesting nonetheless. The ground breaking invention at hand is found in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20130276211 titled….

It is hard to believe that it has been 20 months since I reported on a ridged score line patent awarded to Bridgestone Golf. This week an interesting variation of the ridged score line concept was disclosed in a patent application that published as US Pub. No. 20130281226, which….

That club is so ugly that it is cute; just what every manufacturer wants to hear. Actually, when confronted by a jaw-dropping ugly golf club I am more likely to think “there must be something to that club because no one would make something look like that if it didn’t perform, let me give it a try.” Soak in the beauty of these designs…. What do you think, would it work?….

Limited information can be found on the popular golf forums regarding PING’s upcoming I25 driver (here), fortunately a design patent that issued today provides us with a better perspective of the overall shape and design of the club head. Check it out…. Looks like the new driver will be adjustable and include a swing weight port. Baby steps that PING loyalists will love….

Earlier this summer a post titled “Adjustable Bounce; Who Did it Better” pitted Acushnet against Bridgestone in a death match concerning the best adjustable bounce wedge (perhaps slightly overly dramatic). Today we tackle a different issue, perhaps a sensitive issue for some (not me, of course), regarding men and their desire to have things appear larger than they actually are. Come on; I am talking about grooves and today the competitors are Cobra Golf and Karsten (aka PING)…. So, who did it better?…. Now I am off to purchase a muscle suit to wear during my round tomorrow because I am sure it will make me hit the ball further (and with improved accuracy)!

Cue the cheesy game show music. Can you guess the golf company that was awarded a design patent this week for the following wedge design?…. I will give you a hint, the…. Now the million dollar question, is it an upcoming product or simply a design that never made it out of R&D? I suspect the later since the patent application was filed back in October 2012, but either way it is different enough from past products that there must be a good story behind it….

This week the company associated with the popular SuperStroke grips, namely Technique Golf, L.L.C., filed a trademark application seeking registration of a trademark that consists of the shape of a golf club grip. The application includes the following drawing of the grip shape that they are trying to register…. Other grip manufacturers should take notice. Unfortunately for Technique Golf, my gut tells me that they have roughly a zero percent chance of registering this product design as a trademark via this application….

A patent application recently published that lists a major champion as one of the inventors. Take a guess who invented this “golf putting training device and method.”…. I will go out on a limb and say that this invention would probably improve any golfer’s handicap. Reading between the lines, the inventors clearly believe that a golfer should be focused a few inches in front of the golf ball while putting. So, who is the inventor? Drum roll please….

I wonder if it is just a matter of time before each pro golfer has their own custom dimple pattern and/or profile; similar to how they all have their preferred wedge grinds. Why am I thinking about such nonsense? Simple, because a Nike patent application that published this week leads me to believe that the concept may not be outside the realm of possibility….. Not exactly the artistic personal touch of grinding a player’s wedge, but pretty darn cool. I wonder how long each ball would take, not to mention the final cost of a ball with laser cut dimples….

The simple fact is that it is easy for a golfer to tweak the settings on a modern adjustable golf club, yet 90%+ of golfers will never change a setting. What does that tell us about the likely market for golf balls that have to be tweaked/assembled by a golfer in order to use the product?…. Can you imagine spending the time to assemble this golf ball puzzle and then lose it on your first shot? I would go nuts. I think the more accurate representation of a golfer assembling their custom golf ball is something like this…. Crazy stuff! It may be time for someone to shorten the leash on the crew in golf ball R&D….

You saw it here first!…. Um, 3-putt machine! I am not convinced that my scores would improve by playing archery golf!

Drum roll please. The next PING driver is …. (probably)…. Now, the million dollar question: is that some type of adjustable, or interchangeable, sole plate?….

When it comes to really outside-the-box golf inventions, bordering on wacky, Nike Golf is the leader in the field. While some may argue that such a distinction is not a compliment, I think that it is and demonstrates that they are not tied down by conventional thinking. Now with that said, it sure would be nice if they brought one of their really odd designs to a commercial product instead of just dreaming and filing patent applications! The latest unique golf ball invention is disclosed in a patent application that published recently as US Pub. No. 20130165270 titled “Golf Ball With Material-Filled Grooves,” which describes the invention as….. Come on, if Nike would bring a ball like this to the market I promise to purchase at least 10 dozen, and I suspect there are millions of golfers like me willing to try something a little unconventional….

Check out the golf glasses disclosed in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20130150173 titled “Golf Training Glasses and Method of Use Thereof.”…. What do you think, any chance these would help your game?

Forget about Google Glass! Golfers need to dream of Nike’s Golf Glass. A recent Nike patent application published as…. Wicked cool! How many years before this is reality?….

Well, it just makes sense. As I stated in a prior post, everything I read in their patent applications about hydrophobic and hydrophilic coatings seems like such a good idea (albeit one that sounds much easier to say than do) that I am left wondering whether it has been done before. As you may recall, back in 2010 I posted about one of their patent applications directed to a golf club having hydrophobic and hydrophilic portions. Then, in 2011 I posted about a patent application directed to a golf ball with a hydrophilic coating such that when the ball gets wet the dimples become shallower and the coating becomes softer. This week the love affair with hydrophilic and hydrophobic coatings continued as a patent application published as….

This week Acushnet had a patent application published directed to a “reversible sole” iron design that allows a golfer to adjust a club head’s bounce. This is not a new concept, as evidenced by these prior posts about similar attempts by Bridgestone Golf and Nike Golf. So, who did it best? There is no question in my mind….

Some golfers are meticulous about the elevation of their golf ball on a tee. Personally I love watching these golfers when they arrive at a tee box that is just a little bit uneven. Are you “that guy?” You know, the one that gets to the tee box and tees up on the far right edge, takes a practice swing, decides that the ball is too low, raises the tee, then tries to tilt the tee slightly forward to gain that extra six inches on the drive, the ball falls off the tee, tees up again, takes another practice swing, and then decides that the tee box is not level on the right side, or too spongy, and proceeds to repeat the process on the left side of the tee box. Don’t be ashamed; scratch that, you should be ashamed, however you are not alone…

A design patent issued last month to Cobra Golf suggesting they may launch a line of putters. I suspect a lot of golfers would welcome more players in the putter market; I just hope the initial product line has a little more sizzle than this design. Check it out…. Yawn; a pass for me unless it was wittled by Ian Poulter and finished by Rickie Fowler….

You know who you are. The guy at the club that has an index of 5, doesn’t post any scores over 85 although 75% of their scores are over 85, plays to an index of 20+, is always “working through” a swing change, and insists that he needs a forged iron because he likes to “work” the ball and can feel the difference in a cast head, or even the feel of a grain-flow forged head versus a form-forged head versus a traditional forged head. As annoying as this vanity-handicapping, swing-coach obsessed, flat-bill wearing, collar-popping group of golfers is, the golf industry needs them. They are the cash cows of golf consumers. A recently published Acushnet patent application will have these players salivating, and for good reason, the invention sounds great (particularly for such highly skilled golfers). Unfortunately I suspect this may be one of those inventions that is a lot easier to explain on paper than it is to carry out in the factory…. Are you buying the statement “post manufacturing machining causes bad feel?” Not me, but it has the potential of being a pretty unique iron (if they can pull it off). Place your bets, will a co-forged Titleist iron make it to the market in the next 5 years?

Today Nike Golf had a rather interesting patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20130137533 titled “Golf Club Head Or Other Ball Striking Device Utilizing Energy Transfer.” It reminds me of a post from 3 years ago regarding a PING dynamically variable MOI driver. Check this out!…

Timing is everything! Check out this chipper…. The sad thing is that until recently there was probably a niche market for such a club.

Turbulator; we don’t need no stinking turbulator! Well, unless golfers believe that it will help them add a few yards to their drives. Check out the PING driver design found in a patent application that published last week…. While I wouldn’t even notice the turbulators, I wonder what PING purists would say.

Since the sole thickness and topline thickness are a close match to the i25, I am going to guess that this is either the new i25 irons or Anser irons. The cavity design appears more consistent with the i-series of irons. What do you think?….

Could it be? I would bet on YES. Check out these irons!….

Perhaps. Check out the club head found in a design patent that issued today….

Golf equipment companies come up with a lot of club head designs in the process of developing one commercial product, majority of which golfers never get to see. Fortunately their patent applications often reveal some of the hidden gems that for one reason or another did not survive the process, or may be a glimpse of a future generation product. Check out these Covert driver designs!…. My favorite is…. Which one would you have brought to the market?

Three years ago I wrote about an interesting variable MOI driver design disclosed in a Karsten (aka PING) patent application (read about it here); but this week I want to examine what Acushnet has in mind for a variable MOI golf ball. Yep, you read that correctly, a variable MOI golf ball! Get past all the words that most of us can’t pronounce let alone spell and there is some interesting disclosure in the application. For instance…. Interesting for sure, but would such a ball be “conforming”?

It takes a certain mojo to pull off the use of this golf invention. Perhaps Charles Barkley could do it, but few others need try….

Guess which golf equipment company filed a patent application directed to a “thermoreactive face.” The answer is at the bottom of this post. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20130085012 titled “Golf Club Head or Other Ball Striking Device with Thermoreactive Face.” Think about the moment of impact between a club head and a golf ball; all that energy transferred so quickly. Ever wonder about the temperature increase of the club face?….

How many yards would you gain with this driver? More appropriately, “would it work?”….

How long would it take you to kick a golf ball around 9 holes? More importantly, could you do it without ending the round with a distinct limp? A long time, and no! Regardless, it would be fun to try this golf invention at least once…. Looks fun, but it would be more fun playing a round in which the penalty for taking a double-par or worse would be that you had to play the next hole only using your feet….

As I have said before, PING drivers are known for their classic simple designs. Purists love the designs, but some would suggest they are old-school (ahem, not loaded with technology). Nonetheless, they always seem to perform, even without 10 different technology acronyms plastered to the product. That may soon change. Today an interesting patent application published…. Now the million dollar question, is this technically and economically feasible or is it just another R&D project that will never see the light of day?….

Check out these dimple patterns and take a guess as to the year that the patent issued…. Unlike most modern dimple pattern patents this patent is not directed to flight aerodynamics but rather to a method of improving the visibility of the ball in flight. Specifically, the patent discloses a flexible “mirror-like metallic film” within the dimples….

Time for a new addition to the “Would it Work” category of posts. Check out this “Force Focusing Golf Club” patent (USPN 3,817,522) from 1974 and come to your own conclusion. The patent describes the invention as…. My prediction….

Cobra Golf believes the battle is on. While I want to smugly say “ridiculous,” they may be onto something (ignoring for the moment that I have yet to play with a golfer that regularly adjusts their club settings)….. The application had my attention because it isn’t very often that we see a major club OEM filing patent applications on grips. The application goes on to explain…. Interesting, very interesting.

Golf purists often argue that the modern golf ball has ruined the game. Is it just a matter of time before the football analysts are making the same arguments and demanded that the football’s performance needs to be rolled back?….. Oh no, more spin, increased stability, longer and more accurate travel; sounds familiar. Is this the end of the “prolate spheroid body” that we know and love?….

Don’t pull this invention out while playing a round of golf with me unless you want to see my head explode (and learn how fast I can turn my pitching wedge into a deadly accurate spear). The invention looks like a foolproof way to annoy everyone in your group and have the ability to bring play to a screeching halt is found in…. I try not to give unsolicited advice, but if you ever utter the words “guys go ahead and hit, I have a tough lie and need to get a second opinion from the call center,” please remove yourself from the golf course and destroy your clubs. Thank you…..

Nike Golf had an interesting patent application publish this week as US Pub. No. 20130017898 titled “Golf Clubs and Golf Club Heads Having Adjustable Characteristics.” The application describes the invention as…. What do you think, will we ever see irons with piezoelectric adjustable grooves?….

Will we ever see clubs from Nike Golf with grooves that look like this?….

Sometimes the drawings in a patent just draw you in and make you want to learn “the rest of the story.” That was the case when I came across USPN 8,342,983 titled “Golf Putter.” Check out the following figures and description of how this putter will improve your putting, then decide “would it work?”….

Forget about all the corporate press releases, the PGA Show, and the buzz in the forums about the deluge of new golf equipment for 2013, this may be the most unique golf product of the year. Well, probably not…. I smell an endorsement deal for Steve Williams (yes, he has his own Wikipedia entry)!….

I am sure the golfers in your foursome would love a gift from you consisting of a head cover with a bobblehead that resembles your mug! Check this out….

PING drivers are known for their classic simple designs. Purists love the designs, but in today’s market a little more pizazz may be necessary to maintain their market share. This morning two design patents issued that may give us a glimpse of some new styling queues for PING drivers in 2013. What do you think?…. Party on the sole, business on the crown! Baby steps. Will they have the nerve to paint-fill the grooves with a splash of color, or is going to be black on black?….