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When I think of a keel it always involves the fin on the bottom of sailboat. Critical to stability, yet easy to run aground in shallow water. Therefore I was a little surprised to stumble across a patent titled “Metal Shell Golf Club Head With Keel.” Check out these figures!… Frankly, this looks like a club that most golfers would be running aground a lot!

The infamous foot wedge. Accuracy has always been a problem. The ball is too small to hit it off the laces and the shoe tip is just too rounded to catch one square. One inventor feels he has the solution. Check out USPN 5472200 titled “Golf Ball Kicking Device.” I am surprised that FootJoy hasn’t licensed this patent…

Patent Attorney: Of course not! Protect it all.
Golf Equipment Manufacturer: We spend $__ millions in R and D every year, we must protect our intellectual property or we would just be giving it to the competition. Plus, all of our competitors are trying to protect everything!
Golfer: I wish the equipment manufacturers would just save the legal fees and reduce the price of the products.
Who is correct? Well, at one point or another I could see myself taking all three positions. But… this week a design patent issued that made me look at …

If you can identify the manufacturer of this wedge then pat yourself on the back… you know your wedges. The figure below comes from a US wedge design patent that issued yesterday to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand?

The Golf-Patents blog has tested your knowledge of iron club head design in the past. Today, let’s see if you can identify another set of irons. This is a tougher test than usual. Good luck. The figure below comes from a US golf club iron head design patent that issued yesterday to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of irons?

A prior post discussed an interesting Callaway patent application regarding their liquid filled golf ball technology. This week Callaway was granted USPN 7232382 based on the previously discussed patent application. Check out these figures… Congratulations Callaway! One question… how much would these balls cost?

Ever want to strap your bag to your bike and cruise to the course? If so then this invention may be for you. A patent application published last week as US Pub. No. 20070138223 with the title “Golf Bag for Motorcycles.” The figures tell the story… Interesting invention, but will we see these as a Harley factory option?

Do you understand why average golfers should not play the same equipment as the pros? Probably, but I know that a lot of average golfers do not. How many times have you seen a 20+ handicapper playing “pro” or “tour” forged irons while hitting the most expensive balls they can find? An Acushnet (aka Titleist) patent issued this week that does a nice job of explaining why golfers should select balls based upon the golf balls spin characteristics… The Acushnet patent that issued this week is USPN 7232384 titled “Perimeter Weighted Golf Ball.” The patent describes the invention as…

Several tour players use this driver… the manufacturer has plenty of advertising in the golf magazines and on TV… so you should be able to identify this unique driver design…(drawings)… I trust that at least 75% of you quickly identified this driver, for those of you that don’t read golf magazines or watch The Golf Channel…

This week an interesting driver design patent issued that may give us a glimpse into new product development at Cleveland Golf. The driver design patent is USPN D544938 titled “Portion of a Golf Club Head.” Check out these figures from the patent… Will we see a square HiBore XL?

What’s the difference! An interesting patent application published last week as US Pub. No. 20070135226 titled “Golf Teaching Aid.” The application describes the invention as… Check out these drawings of the device… Must have been invented by a lefty. Congratulations nonetheless.

Last week an interesting putter utility patent application published as US Pub. No. 20070135230 titled “Impact Force Dampening System for Use with a Golf Putter Head.” The application describes the invention as… So what does all that mean? Well, check out the figures below and then form your opinion regarding this unique design concept.

The following product line may have the honor of being the product line protected by the greatest number of design patents. There is little doubt that the manufacturer greatly values the product line. Check out these five design patents that issued this week… I trust that you can identify the brand.

As you may recall, a prior post during the Masters looked at the trademark portfolio of Augusta National. Let’s see how Oakmont stacks up. Actually it is not fair to blindly compare Oakmont’s trademark portfolio with Augusta’s trademark portfolio because Augusta owns the trademarks associated with the Masters, while the USGA owns the trademarks associated with the US Open (a future post). Oakmont has two federally registered trademarks. Check them out…

It is not very often that I look at an iron design and it takes my breath away. I actually said “what the heck” when I saw the drawings from a patent application that published yesterday. The application published as US Pub. No. 20070135233 titled “Golf Iron Club.” The application describes the invention as:… An iron with three rounded modules and an oblong island… what? Check out these figures from the application…

It seems that there is a fascination with pedal powered golf carts. Recently a patent application published that takes the concept to a new level. The application published as US Pub. No. 20070123363 titled “Bicycle-Mounted Golf Club Carrying System, Combination With a Bicycle Having Extra-Wide Tires and Method of Use Thereof.” The application describes the invention as: A system for carrying golf clubs on the front end of a bicycle by dividing the clubs between two enclosures: one to the left of the bicycle’s front fork and one to the …

Are you familiar with the ImpactStik swing exerciser? I was not until the patent application published a few weeks ago. The patent application describes the invention as: Components of a golf exerciser are contained within a tube that can be swung in a simulated golf swing independently of a golf club. Within the tube is an extension spring connected to a weight so that centrifugal force developed during swinging the tube can move the weight toward a distal end of the tube. There, a …

USPN D543,597 titled “Golf Tee” issued on May 29th for a unique tee design… It looks as if it includes some type of alignment device that would sit on the turf…

On July 6, 2006 Nike filed US trademark application Serial Number 78919236. The description of the trademark is “The mark consists of the color yellow appearing on the sole of the golf club head opposite the clubface. The matter that is shown in broken lines is for placement purposes only and is not part of the mark.” The application contained the following figure:… On September 16, 2006 the trademark examining attorney refused the application stating:… Nike responded on March 19, 2007 with a 57 page response. The response is very well written and must have persuaded the trademark examining attorney, as the USPTO issued a Notice of Publication on June 6, 2007. The mark will be published for opposition on June 26, 2007…

When you bend down to pick your ball up out of the hole do you ever wonder about the intellectual property associated with the cup design? I don’t… and I am a patent attorney and golf nut. This is why I was so intrigued to see USPN 7226361 issue this week. The ‘361 patent is titled “Golf Cup Sleeve” and is assigned to Par Aide Products (a major producer of golf course maintenance products). I have to admit… I spend a lot of time thinking about golf, yet I have never given the cup a single thought. The background of the invention explains the problems that the invention of the ‘361 patent tries to solve… In preparing a golf green, a hole is cored into the ground which receives the golf ball therein. Various cups have been inserted into the ground to preserve the shape of the hold and to hold a flag. One example of a cup inserted into the hole is a plastic cup. The plastic cup has several drawbacks…

Several driver design patents have issued in the past few weeks (see prior posts one and two). This week another driver related design patent issued that should be immediately recognizable to every golfer. The patent is USPN D544,058 titled “Portion of a Golf Club Head.” Do you recognize the driver shown in the design patent drawing below? The ‘588 patent is directed to the scalloped regions in the sole of the club…

On Tuesday Acushnet was granted a fascinating patent for a ball that the patent describes as: A golf ball is provided that has improved aerodynamic efficiency, resulting in increased flight distance for golfers of all swing speeds, and more particularly for golfers possessing very high swing speeds, such as those who can launch the balls at an initial speed greater than 160 miles per hour and more particularly at initial ball speed of about 170 miles per hour or higher. The golf ball of the present invention combines lower … Basically, the design focuses on a dimple arrangement and dimple profile that improves aerodynamic efficiency at high ball speeds. The design combines the lower dimple counts (less than 370 dimples) of earlier golf balls with higher dimple coverage and multiple dimples sizes of more modern golf balls…

I expected to see Al Czervik listed as an inventor on a patent that issued yesterday. For those of you that don’t know Al Czervik… he is the character played by Rodney Dangerfield in the classic 1980 movie Caddyshack. The patent that issued is USPN 7,225,951 titled “Portable Fluid Delivery System.” The patent describes the invention as: A dispenser is located within a golf bag and remotely controlled and coupled to a linear actuator, which extends the fluid dispenser outside of the golf bag upon actuation …

The Golf-Patents blog has tested your knowledge of iron club head design several times in the past. Today, let’s see if you can identify another set of irons. A hint… this test may be easier for the low handicap golfer. The figure below comes from a US golf club iron head design patent that issued yesterday to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of irons?…

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 and proceeds to repeat the process on the left side of the tee box. If you are the golfer that I just described then perhaps you (or the other three people in your group) should be excited about the issuance of USPN 7,223,184 titled “Golf Tee Setting Device and Method.” …

Last week SRI Sports was granted USPN 7,223,183 titled “Golf Ball” directed to an interesting two-tiered dimple design. It’s all about aerodynamic symmetry…

Last week USPN D543,599 titled “Top of Golf Putter” issued to Cleveland Golf related to the Never Compromise brand of putters. The patent illustrates a unique design patent strategy. Many people seem to be surprised that one goal of a design patent should be to obtain as broad of patent protection as possible. Often people mistakenly only think of the “breadth” of a patent with respect to utility patents. This is why you will often see several design patents directed to various aspects of a single club… Congratulations Cleveland Golf, great strategy! So, which design patent do you think is the most broad? USPN D543,599 or USPN D543,598?…

Golf-Patents.com has repeatedly used putter design patents to test your knowledge of putter designs. Well here is another tough one… How good are you at identifying a particular brand of putter when all the brand identifiers are stripped off the club head? The figures below come from a US putter design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of putter?… PS – don’t feel bad if you couldn’t identify the putter manufacturer… heck I did not even know that the particular brand was owned by the golf company in question.

A prior post illustrated a design patent on the sole features of a particularly recognizable square driver. This week a design patent issued on some identifiable crown features of that same driver. Can you identify the driver?… I suspect there will be many more design patents on this product line. The club manufacturer has also filed a utility patent application related to the product. The application has published as US Pub. No. 20050239576 and is currently under examination at the USPTO…

Last week PowerLine Golf LLC had an interesting patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20070117643 titled “Swing Plane Training Method.” One of the inventors appears to be a well respected professional golfer. Additionally, the PowerLine website is pretty informative and includes videos of the product in use. I encourage you to check it out… This is one of the few golf training products that has made me say “that could actually help my game.” (although I fear that my swing would get me so tangled up that I would have to cut myself loose)…

Finally, all the golfers that have ever wished for a granite putter… your dream has come true. Last week an interesting putter patent application published as US Pub. No. 20070117644 titled “Golf Club.” The application describes the invention as a “golf club in which the golf club head comprises granite or a natural or synthetic, granite-like stone, a composite, or a similar material.” Finally!… Check out these drawings… Golfers will buy anything in hopes of improving their game, so it wouldn’t surprise me if golfers purchased granite putters!…

This week an interesting training glove patent issued as USPN 7220188 titled “Golf Glove for Promoting Swing Accuracy.” The patent describes the invention as relating to an improved golf glove which promotes club swing accuracy by stabilizing the posture of a golfer’s hand and wrist from address while providing flexibility in the hand’s sidewise movement. The patent asserts that a golf swing’s accuracy is known to substantially improve if the glove-clad hand is maintained without backward or forward leaning during the entire swing. Check out these drawings of the glove… Think this would help your game?…

Most golf equipment buffs will know of Taylor Made’s Inverted Cone Technology. The skeptics have probably wondered whether it is all marketing hype or real technology. The inverted cone technology is a specific variation of face thickness covered by no less than three utility patent; USPN 6800038, USPN 6824475, and USPN 7066832. The ‘475 patent describes the invention as…

This week an interesting putter design patent issued as USPN D543252. Check out the following figure from the patent. Think this putter has enough consumer appeal to make it to market?

As a follow-up to my post on Dave Pelz, I felt a look at David Leadbetter was in order. If you are not familiar with David Leadbetter, he holds the #2 position on Golf Digest’s list of the greatest American teachers. Anyone that has built such a successful golf instruction career must have invented some interesting golf products in his many years in the industry. Right? Also, given that the likes of Ernie Els, Michelle Wie, and Charles Howell III listen to him, I suspect that anything David has invented will actually improve a golfer’s …

I have been keeping my eye on the NanoDynamics hollow metal core golf balls for some time now. The NDMX line of golf balls seem to be getting a lot of press because they are so unique (as they should be for $60 / dozen). NanoDynamics indicates that the hollow metal core technology is covered by three of their patents. The primary goal of the invention appears to be improving the moment of inertia (MOI) of the ball by minimizing the density in the center of the ball, while maximizing the density away from the center and near the cover or outer edge of the ball…

In the past your knowledge of iron club head design, putter design, and driver design has been tested. This post should make you feel smart… it is a really easy test of your driver knowledge. The figures below come from a driver design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify this famous driver?…

To date most of the Golf-Patents blog “can you identify this product” tests (based upon a design patent’s drawings)have been relatively easy. Well, not this one. So, congratulate yourself if you can identify this putter…

This week AccuSport International was issued a design patent on an interesting ball marking template. The following figure is from USPN D542,875 titled “Golf Ball Marking Guide.”…

Earlier this week I authored a post that takes a look at the patents of Dave Pelz, Phil Mickelson’s short-game coach. It got me thinking… is Butch Harmon, Phil’s other coach, listed as an inventor on any patents? Well, the answer is no… but in the process of researching the issue I happened across an interesting invention of a Mr. Al Harmon (I have no idea if they are related). Al’s invention (disclosed in USPN 4,792,149 is a pedal powered golf cart. Interesting concept. Would you pay to rent a cart that you had to pedal? Check out the following figure from the patent…

Last week an interesting patent issued to Callaway; namely USPN 7,214,143 titled “Golf Club Head with a Face Insert.” The patent is directed to a multi-layer face insert having a nickel-iron layer and a layer of titanium, titanium alloy, steel alloy, magnesium, magnesium alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy. In one embodiment the nickel-iron alloy is a nanocrystalline nickel…

After watching the Players Championship this weekend there is little doubt that Michelson has one of the best short-games in the past twenty years. Perhaps there is something to Dave Pelz’s instruction. Ever wonder if he has patented any golf instruction aides? It turns out that Dave Pelz is a listed inventor on 12 golf patents. He has patented everything from sets of wedges with specific groove shapes and spacing to putters and putter practice aides. The patents are really some interesting reading (and I bet most of his inventions do actually improve your game). Check out the following…

This week an interesting golf tee design patent issued. As far as golf tees go, design patents are few and far between. This is why USPN D542,366 titled “Golf Tee” deserves a look. The following figure shows it all…

I am not familiar with the Eing Nan Rubber Company of Taiwan, but this week they were the recipient of an interesting golf grip patent. USPN 7214141 titled “Air Cushion Type Sleeve of a Handle of a Golf Club” is directed to a golf grip with an underlisting formed with a plurality of cavities. The outer sleeve then seals the underlisting forming air pockets in the cavities. Check out the following figure from the patent… I would love to get my hands on a few of these grips to see how they feel…

An interesting patent application published this week as US Pub. No. 20070105645 titled “Golf Clubs.” The application is directed to an interesting feature of an iron’s leading edge such that “the resistance of the head to passage through sand is reduced.” Just check out the following figure… This club looks like a true multi-purpose tool; namely a golf club, ax, and saw. Interesting stuff!…

Most golfers would never guess that their golf shoes’ soft spikes are probably patented. This week a nice example of a golf spike patent application published as US Pub. No. 20070101618 titled “Cleat for Athletic Shoe.” The application describes the invention as: “A golf cleat and system includes cleats having a base and a plurality of barbs… A perpendicular surface is formed by the distal end extending from the base and preferably counters rotational movement …

Sometimes patent attorney’s can become jaded (hard to believe, I know). For instance, the first thing I said to myself when I saw the patent application that published yesterday as US Pub. No. 20070102082 titled “Golf Club Cover” was… “how many of these novelty head covers must the inventor sell just to cover the cost of the patent application?” Nonetheless, the invention is somewhat amusing (in a “cute, but I would never buy it” kind of way). See what you think. The application describes the invention as: “The present invention is directed at a humorous club head cover. The club head cover is designed to resemble the rear end of an animal…

Things appear to be heating up in the golf shaft patenting arena. Regular readers of the Golf-Patents blog know that I was surprised by the low number of golf shaft related patents that issued in 2006… This week another interesting shaft patent application published as US Pub. No. 20070105644 titled “Golf Club Shaft.” The application is assigned to SRI Sports and is directed to an improved golf club shaft made of fiber reinforced resin… Let’s face it, very few golfers ever consider the amount of engineering R&D that does into the design of a golf club shaft. If you have ever wondered why shafts can be pretty expensive just read this application. The design, orientation, and placement of the multiple plies are engineered to a level that few people can appreciate. Just consider the figure below illustrating the various layers that make up this shaft.

As you may recall the “Fascinated IP of the Week” category is the resting ground for golf inventions that I can’t identify as the next great golf technology or a ridiculous idea (although generally I have a pretty good hunch). The latest “Fascinating IP” award goes to the golf club disclosed in USPN 7,211,006 titled “Golf Club Including Striking Member and Associated Methods.” The patent describes the invention as a golf club head having a striking member that deflects inwardly during initial contact with a golf ball and recovers outwardly as the golf ball …

This is one patented golf ball that I hope makes it to the market because it just sounds cool. USPN 7,211,007 titled “Golf Ball Having Visible Non-Spherical Insert” issued this week to Acushnet. The patent describes the invention as:… Translation: a ball with a clear, or nearly see through, cover so that you can see a uniquely shaped insert. The figures below explain it better than any words…

Congratulations go out to Fairplay Electric Cars. Their patent USPN D541,699 titled “Golf Car” issued this week. The Fairplay patent is the first golf cart design patent that has caught my eye since starting the Golf-Patents blog. Check out the following figure from the patent…

Putting… if only I could one-putt every green. Actually, I would be elated if I could one-putt just 9 greens per round. Is that asking too much? One-putts may be less elusive for users of the invention disclosed in a patent application that published this week. US Publication No. 20070099729 titled “Golf Green Reading Device” describes itself as …

Increase your club head speed and the ball should go further. Simple, right? Just swing harder or reduce the aerodynamic drag of your golf club… The problem is that whenever I increase my club head speed I usually find my tee shot on nice short grass in the vicinity of little red markers on the ground. Some people refer to the area as the women’s tee box. Perhaps I should be looking into reducing the drag of my club head. Maybe the golf club disclosed in US Publication No. 20070093315 will solve all my problems …

Putters, putters, putters… They are a love / hate relationship for golfers. How good are you at identifying a particular brand of putter just from the shape of the sole? If you correctly answer this one then you are officially a golf equipment geek. The figure below comes from a US putter design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of putter …

Why are golf ball dimple pattern patents so interesting? No, really… I am being serious. It must be the engineer in me… I love reading about dimple patterns. The bizarre geometry, the complicated layouts, the terminology, how they influence drag, … it is just fascinating stuff. This week congratulations go out to Acushnet for USPN 7207905 titled “Golf Ball Dimples.” The patent describes the invention as: … Check out some of the embodiments disclosed in the patent… Did you know that tessellated dimples are dimples arranged in a tiled pattern with generally uniform land widths between the dimples?…

An interesting golf related design patent issued today as USPN D541,832 titled “Graticule for Golf Scope.” As more and more golfers use yardage scopes the manufacturers appear to be looking for unique ways to protect their products. This is one creative use of design patenting! Check out the following scope figure….

I recently stumbled across USPN 4471961 titled “Golf Club with Bulge Radius and Increased Moment of Inertia about an Inclined Axis.” The ‘961 invention is described as:…If you love golf club technology then you will find the ‘961 patent a fascinating read (as I did). The patent left me thinking “so which golf club giant invented this?” A quick check of who the assignee is left me perplexed…

All remotely serious golfers know how important a golfer’s grasp on the club grip is to producing consistent shots. Therefore, as one would expect, there have been a lot of inventions over the years attempting to aid golfers in gripping the club properly (just one example was previously discussed here). Recently an interesting golf glove patent application was published as US Publication No. 20070044202 titled “Golf Glove.” The secret of this invention lies in the fact that the glove’s little finger is secured to the ring finger, and the ring finger is secured to the…

Yesterday USPN 7207894 titled “Golf Club Gripping Aid and Method of Use Thereof” issued to inventor Marmon Pine. The patent describes the invention as a golf grip, device, and method to hold a golf club shaft in a manner to avoid pinching the golf club shaft between the fingers and the thumb of the dominant hand. The invention includes a golf glove that has the thumb and index finger attached to one another. The glove is designed to be used in training and actual play to provide an improved grip which encourages a proper swing …

Patents directed to wedges do not come along every day. Even more elusive is a utility patent (rather than design patent) directed to a wedge. Still further, a wedge utility patent that the average golfer can quickly associate with an actual product on the market is even more elusive. This is why I want to share USPN 7207900 titled “Golf Club Head Weight Adjustment Member” with you. Do you recognize this wedge?…

Interesting golf grip patent applications do not come along everyday. This is why I am pleased to bring US Publication Nos. 20070082750 and 20070082748 to your attention. Both of the applications are assigned to Grip Surface Technologies and disclose the ability to give the grip a velvety feel via a unique pattern of upstanding ridges. The figures below nicely illustrate the concept…

I know that your knowledge of iron club head design has been tested in the past, but this one is a softball. So, if you don’t correctly identify these irons then you should sell your clubs! The figure below comes from a US golf club iron head design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of irons? …

This week a patent application published with a title that caught my interest, namely “Portable Case for Golf Ball Equipped with Heat Generating Device.” US Publication No. 20070082756 discloses a portable case for a golf ball equipped with a heat generating device, which can maintain elasticity of the golf ball for improving the flight distance of the golf ball, and can keep a golfer player’s body warm. (their description, not mine…) Is there really a market for such a product?

The “Test Your Knowledge” posts have quickly become among the most popular on the Golf-Patents.com blog. In the past your knowledge of iron club head design, putter design, and driver design has been tested. Now let’s revisit putter designs. How good are you at identifying a particular brand of putter when all the logos and trademarks are stripped off the club head? The figure below comes from a US putter design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand …

USPN 7,201,669 titled “Golf Club Head Having a Bridge Member and a Weight Positioning System” issued to Nike Golf on April 10, 2007. The patent is directed to a unique variation on the standard Nike SlingShot irons. The variation adds a weight that attaches to the SlingShot’s bar as seen below. Congratulations Nike! Will this product actually make it to the pro shops? …

A golf cart with lightening protection; that is an invention that every golfer should want to see at the course (whether or not in the end the invention is patentable or not). This week an application titled “Lightning Protected Golf Cart” published as US Publication No. 20070075562. The abstract of the patent application describes the invention as: A golf cart altered such that the occupants are protected against the effect of lightning strikes by an electrically conductive grid on the roof, …