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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?….

Recall my recent sarcastic post titled “Clearly the World’s Most Aerodynamic Golf Club Head”? Well, check out Nike Golf’s twist on this old concept…. Think this will be Rory’s new driver?….

I don’t find myself reading patent applications filed by Microsoft very often, but this one caught my eye. Take a look at this drawing and guess what they are trying to patent (it is golf related)…. Did you guess that Microsoft is essentially trying to patent a method of….. Perhaps “peer-to-zoom” is the next “pinch-to-zoom.” Never underestimate the value of something so beautifully simple (and logical)…..

And the winner is ____________ with his application to register the trademark ARM ANCHOR filed on November 30th. Congratulations! Do I think it will become a registered trademark? I wouldn’t hold my breath, but you can’t fault a guy for trying……

Check out the golf shoes disclosed in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20120266498 titled “golf shoe.”…. What do you think, is the listed inventor a man or a woman?…. The application goes on to explain some of the benefits (besides looking cute) as…. Heck, with those benefits maybe we will start seeing men wear high-heel golf shoes! Now the answer….

Patent applications directed to golf shirts don’t come along everyday. Check out this beauty. Would you be a purchaser?….

An inventor has received a golf figurine patent just in time for Christmas. Stop laughing; these figurines would sell. Check them out!…. I can easily imagine these beauties for sale in the gift shops of Harbour Town, Pinehurst, or any other destination golf course. Never underestimate the market for golf knickknacks!….

Clearly the golf marketing hype machine has influenced the title of this post. Check out this beauty of a club head found in USPN 5,700,208, which issued in 1997…. Surprising it never made it to the market….

Golfers are pretty gullible people but would the perception of larger grooves, even though you know they aren’t any larger, actually make you play better? Would I run any faster if I used a stopwatch that ran at half speed so it seemed like I was running twice as fast, even though I knew the stopwatch simply ticking the seconds off twice as slow? I wouldn’t bet on it…. The engineers at Cobra Golf probably know a little more about sports psychology than I do, OK a lot more, so I read one of their patent applications that published this week with an open mind. The application published as US Pub. No. 20120264537 titled “Golf Club Heads with Enlarged Grooves,” which describes the invention as…. Interesting for sure but I don’t think it would have my confidence so high that I would be zipping balls off any greens. As a true golf geek, one thing about the disclosure caught my attention; the loft examples. Wouldn’t you love to know the last time they made a set that had a 29 degree 5-iron?….

Come on, would Callaway really save money on R&D by borrowing design elements from the famous Burrow’s Golf MAC Powersphere? Of course not; well…. you decide…….. Let me start by saying that I was blown away last week by the look of the 2013 Callaway X Forged Irons; simply beautiful. Unfortunately, this week I was blown away, and not in a good way, by the iron design found in a design patent that issued as USPN D669,947. The circular “eye” in the back just screams “powersphere” to me. Check this out!

Some inventions are just way ahead of their time. Perhaps in 10 years we will all be playing golf balls that provide a readout of our last shot’s ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, carry, and roll; but I am not going to bet on it (although it would be legen-“wait-for it”-dary). This week’s amazing golf ball patent application comes from Nike, no surprise, and is directed to a golf ball that incorporates a data display on the outer surface. Yes, check this out!…. Technically feasible? Perhaps. Feasible in a performance golf ball? Unlikely. Economically feasible? Absolutely not!….

Ignore your initial gut feeling that a smoking golf ball is ridiculous and just think about how much time it could shave off a round of golf. I think Nike Golf is on to something here, although the golfers that could benefit most from it would be the ones that wouldn’t use it because it couldn’t possibly feel the same as their tour balls. Nike Golf had a patent application publish this week as US Pub. No. 20120264540 titled “Method And Apparatus For Smoke Emitting Golf Ball,” which describes the invention as…. Brilliant! Although, it does seem like the golf ball would eventually be slightly out of balance. Just prove to me that it can perform almost as good as a conventional ball and I would be happy to purchase a few dozen…..

Any chance these glasses would actually improve your game?…. While I don’t have much faith in the usefulness of these glasses, I would be happy to let my opponents wear them during a match….

Nike Golf has no shortage of interesting patent applications, I just wish some of the more unusual designs would actually make it into a product. This week they had a patent application published directed to an air channel extending through a driver from the heel side to the toe side. Regular readers of the blog know that air channels through a club head are nothing new (see THIS post and THIS post), but they generally just extend from the front to the back of the driver….. Check out this club head design!…. Sign me up, I would give it a try (although that is true of just about any unusual golf invention). My only suggestion is that the club should come with interchangeable whistles to insert into the channel to provide some feedback on club head speed. Yes Nike you are free to use that suggestion, just send me a complimentary driver!

For those of you that are too young to know what “jump the shark” means, click HERE to brush up on some classic TV history! Today a Scotty Cameron patent application published as US Pub. No. 20120252596 titled “Golf Club with Bezeled Jewelry” leading me to believe the shark has been jumped. Now before you fire off an email about me being a Cameron hater, I am not. I do actually like his products but there is simply no place for jewelry on a golf club (although Bridgestone seems to agree with Scotty, not me; see the post titled “Bridgestone Hosel Bling! What Are They Thinking”)……. Wow, can’t wait to go to the launch party and see his new grille! Sooner or later someone is going to be smart enough to bring back some classic looking iron designs filled with all of today’s technology hidden inside. Sign me up for a set of irons as beautiful as vintage Ben Hogan blades, scaled up a bit of course, hollow, and loaded with modern technology. Mark my words, the day is coming sometime in the next 3 years….

I has been a while since covering a good head cover patent. Does this one make you want to reach for the wallet?….

The new Titleist 913 driver….

At this pace Lefty may surpass Lee Trevino in career patents, a much more valuable stat than career majors! In the past I have written that Phil may have a fallback career as a club designer. This week Callaway was issued USPN 8,272,974 directed to a hybrid with the center of gravity in front of the hosel. Check it out….. Who wants to be the first reporter to stump Phil during Ryder Cup week by asking him for a technical explanation of his most recently issued patent?….

Fitting, who needs fitting? My practice has just been to buy at least 2 or 3 drivers per season and let survival of the fittest play out. In the end I think that it worked fairly well and I have kept the same driver in my bag as my gamer for at least 3 years. While this strategy is fun, especially for a golf equipment geek, it is expensive and always has you looking for the next winning lottery ticket….

How tacky do you prefer your balls? Nike Golf has eyes on allowing golfers to adjust the tackiness of their balls. Today a patent application published as US Pub. No. 20120231899 titled “Golf Ball With Adjustable Tackiness,” which describes the invention as…. I can’t decide whether this is a great idea or a crazy idea; probably because I have images floating around in my head of flies getting stuck to a tacky golf ball, and a really tacky ball landing in a bunker full of soft dry sand….

I almost fell out of my chair this morning when I realized that the following design comes from a Karsten Manufacturing Corporation (aka PING) patent that issued today as USPN D667,068. Aside from the pink driver they haven’t been known for bold designs, just nice classic looking clubs that perform. It would be nice to see them shake things up a bit….. The patent application was just filed in April along with a “request for expedited examination.” Humm, what’s the rush? Perhaps an actual product with….

There is no doubt that this invention would greatly reduce the number of golf cart related injuries, but can you imagine the number of complaints a general manager would have to field! Check it out….. Great invention, beautifully simple and effective; just don’t put it on the carts at my course!

Can you guess which major champion is the inventor of this patented club head alignment system?….

Probably not, but a pretty cool invention by Nike Golf nonetheless (even if it screams…. “much easier for a patent attorney to write than it will be to produce”). The invention is found in a patent that issued this week as USPN 8,251,837 titled “Floating Golf Ball,” which describes the invention as…. Kudos for thinking green, now prove me wrong by actually bringing it to market!….

There is no denying that this golf invention looks fun, yet totally impractical and probably dangerous…. Brilliant!….

Check out this iron invention!…. I understand that Furyk is breaking in a set of these at Bethpage this week!….

Obviously I am a golf nut. I love my clubs; some more than others. Most rarely stay in the bag for more than a year, but occasionally there is a bond that just can’t be described. I have a 3 wood that has been with me for at least 3 years and I would do just about anything for it. The club has given me the opportunity to 4 putt more par 5’s for a bogey than any golfer deserves. Even with my fondness for golf clubs I am still not sure that I would invest in a….

Check out this beauty!…. Do you think it is the short putts slowing down the group in front of you? I don’t, it is the guy not willing to just take a drop rather than spend five minutes looking for a ball in a hazard that he won’t be able to play even if it is found. It is just a golf ball, move on!….

You will definitely make a name for yourself around the links if you start using this invention; although I am not sure it is a name that you desire. Check out this “clip-on golfing wedge holster”!….

Three months ago I would have dismissed this invention as ridiculous. Since that time I took my first “on-course” lesson with the local teaching pro and another hacker. Turns out the other hacker had a tendency to flair out the toes on his rear foot and roll his back foot during the backswing. The pro had him square up his back foot and all of a sudden half his problems disappeared. That tip alone was worth the price of the lesson. After seeing such a dramatic change in a golfer based solely on foot orientation I suspect there may be some merit to the simple invention disclosed in a recently published patent application US Pub. No. 20120108352 titled “Golf Shoe Marking Device.”….

Check out the PING driver design disclosed in a patent application that published this week as US Pub. No. 20120178550 titled “Golf Club Heads with Apertures and Methods to Manufacture Golf Club Heads.”…. Do you think this will make it to the market?

I suppose every hosel is adjustable given the right tools. Check out the hosel design found in a recently published Callaway patent application (US Pub. No. 20120115632)….. Interesting, but I don’t expect to see this one on store shelves anytime soon….

Oftentimes simpler is better. Is shaft fitting one of those situations? Bridgestone recently had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20120157220 titled “Golf Club Shaft Selection Device,” which describes the invention as…. So, do you view this as an advancement or a step backward in golf club fitting? Regardless, it would be fun to try!….

This is a special post for all my female fans (I actually chuckled out loud typing that). Many fashionistas scoff at the idea that patent protection can be very valuable in the field. Fortunately Nike is full of people that are too smart to be confined to such narrow thinking. For example, Nike recently had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20120090076 titled “Convertible Golf Garment With Integrated Belt Loops.” Boring enough, right? Well, read on. The application goes on to describe the invention as…. Any chance these will be on Holly’s Christmas list?

Check this out!…. That’s right, a tribute to CaddyShack’s Danny Noonan and the “father of amateur golf” Francis Ouimet on the front page of a patent. What are the odds? OK, it might be a different Noonan and Quimet; and yes I realize it is pretty sad that I notice these things….

You have seen the pictures of the faithful caddy holding a club so the grip is against their player’s head as the pro beats balls on the range. The following training product is for all of us that can’t find someone crazy enough to carry our sticks in exchange for a percentage of our on-course earnings. You be the judge, would this golf training product help your game?…. My prediction….

Over the past year I have posted several times (HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE) about Callaway’s recent obsession with protecting aerodynamic hosel designs. After watching least 9 design patents issue and 1 utility patent application publish, I am starting to feel that there is no doubt we will be seeing such a hosel in an upcoming product. Check out one of their latest aerodynamic hosel designs containing some type of alignment feature, which issued this week in design patent USPN D662,162…… Will golfing consumers embrace it? Probably. It is something different and probably makes for good marketing material. Now they just need a catchy acronym!…..

Judging from last week’s post titled “The First Look at a PING Adjustable Driver,” there seems to be a lot of interest in the future PING product line. No worries, the following drawings come from another design patent that issued last week as USPN D661,752. Could it be the G25 driver?….

Several forums have had recent rumblings (here and here) of a new adjustable PING driver, but no pics. I don’t have pics, but the next best thing is a set of detailed drawings from a design patent that issued today. Check out what is likely to be PING’s first adjustable driver!….

First a quick question for you. Think about a straight 12 foot putt. How many degrees can your putter face be misaligned and still result in the ball dropping into the cup? The answer is at the bottom of the post. OK, now back to the science of white golf club heads. TaylorMade recently had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20120094782 titled “Contrast-Enhanced Golf Club Heads,” which describes the invention as…. Interesting. At least now I feel that a significant amount of research, not just marketing hype, may have led the trend…. This post leaves me wondering how long it will be before a manufacturer takes the risk of incorporating these concepts into their irons. Who will “jump the shark” first?….

Think THIS head cover might have served as the inspiration behind the design patent seen below?…. The drawings come from USPN D661,358 titled “Golf Putter Head Cover,” which issued this week. I suspect Cobra-Puma Golf may have an issue with this if it ever makes it to the market! Dave Dawsey – The Golf Lawyer

It would just take one Tour guy wearing these and we would see them all over. Check out this golf invention…. I can just imagine the commercial, starring Jim Furyk of course! Actually, it is not a bad idea (provided each pair of glasses came with at least 10 back-up markers)….

I would buy a few pair of these just to encourage the guys I play with to “give it a shot” when their ball is right on the edge of a hazard; then I would sit back and watch the hilarity ensue. Check out this breakthrough in golf equipment!…. Remind you of anything?….

If so, this putter may be for you!…. Mock one of these up and let me know how many putts per round it cost you….

Check out the new look of Cobra Golf (perhaps)….. Keep your traditional black club head drivers because they may become antiques….

Mizuno was granted a design patent (USPN D660390) this week that left me scratching my head wondering whether it may be a new MP product or just backward (i.e. left-handed) bad drawings of an existing product. After staring at the Mizuno website for a few minutes I gave up and came to the conclusion that it may be a new product that is in the works. See what you think….. Pretty nice, but how many golfers really have the game to play irons like that?….

A lot of golfers must like to listen to music on the course. Personally, I like the peace and quiet, mixed with the sounds of an occasional four letter word screamed from several hundred yards away. If you just can’t leave your iPod behind when you hit the links then the head cover disclosed in recently published application US Pub. No. 20120118452 may appeal to you. Check this out….

It is hard to believe it has been a year since I covered three unique hosel design patents awarded to Callaway Golf (here, here, and here). At the time I commented that it is easy to dismiss one or two wacky design patents as just something dreamt up in R&D that is unlikely to ever see the light of day in an actual product; but by the time that a third variation appears in a design patent one has to start thinking “they may be serious about bringing some of these variations to market.” One of the posts concluded with the thought that there must be some performance benefit associated with these new hosel designs, otherwise it is hard to imagine a Tour player saying “boy that fits my eye, give me one of those.” I can’t wait to learn “the rest of the story.” Well, today we learn the rest of the story…. This morning Callaway was granted USPN 8,177,659 titled “Golf Club Head with Improved Aerodynamic Characteristics.” The application was filed on January 6th and issued just over four months later by taking advantage of a “request for prioritized examination.” Such a request increases the filing fee by a factor of five, leading me to believe that it is likely that we will be seeing some variation of this aerodynamic hosel design incorporated in future products. Now don’t get me wrong, the increase in patent office fees associated with such a request is generally worth the additional costs. However, since this is the first time that I have noticed a Callaway patent issue as the result of a prioritized examination, one has to wonder what is the rush associated with securing protection for this invention…..

As an avid golfer and equipment junkie, I go through a lot of golf clubs. Not once have I thought about the negative performance impact associated with a club’s hosel, ferrule, or epoxy; probably because that is “just how it is done.” Perhaps such old-school thinking is outdated and due for a change, particularly if you are looking for the ultimate custom club. After all, club makers are always searching for every last bit of discretionary weight to give them a leg up on the competition. Since I recently read about Rickie’s $720 shaft, one has to wonder what this club would cost…. Interesting idea, but is it practical?

In my April 9th post titled “No Pink Grip for You! (maybe… someday)” I wondered why Karsten (aka PING) had not yet attempted to grab some coverage associated with pink on club heads. I speculated that one reason may be a trademark registration owned by Frankly Consulting, the company formed by former USGA Technical Director Frank Thomas, directed to the Original Pink Frankly Frog Putter…. Well, nine days later Karsten went for it and filed a trademark application seeking to protect a club head with a pink crown. To hedge their bet, they also filed a second trademark application seeking to protect a club head with a pink crown in combination with a pink shaft. Check out THIS picture and see if you can spot the abnormality…. Do you think Karsten should be allowed to register these trademarks?

Probably not, but amazing nonetheless. Golfers and their inventions never cease to amaze me. Check out this putting style found in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20120083356 titled “Method of Putting and a Putter.”…. Is it possible to make putting more difficult? This may just be the perfect marriage of shuffleboard and golf!

If the patent applications coming out of the Nike Golf R&D department are any indication, “The Oven” must be a place that welcomes unconventional thinking and ideas. How about some “adjustable dimples” as an example of unconventional thinking? Today a Nike Golf patent application published as US Pub. No. 20120108361 titled “Golf Ball with Changeable Dimples.” Check out these drawings from the application!…. Yes, that is a hand pump being used to inflate the golf ball’s dimples! The application explains…. Props to them if they can pull it off. Unfortunately my golf balls seem to find enough cart path bounces that I would be afraid of getting a flat….

Building on my three prior “Would it Work” posts (HERE, HERE, and HERE), today we turn our attention to magnets. Golf inventors seem convinced that the magical powers of magnets must be able to improve golf equipment…. So, “would it work?” My guestimate….

Building on my two prior “Would it Work” posts (HERE and HERE), today we turn our attention to a golf ball design. Specifically a golf ball containing springs and ball bearings. The design is found in USPN 6,755,753 titled “Golf Ball Having a Controlled Variable Moment of Inertia.” The patent describes the invention as…. So, “would it work?” I wouldn’t bet against the brains in the R&D department at….

Building on my prior post’s “Would it Work” topic, today we take a look at another common theme of golf club patents, specifically the topic of liquids within club heads. As I mentioned, the “Would it Work” category is directed to golf inventions that are likely to make at least half the readers say “come on, that would not work.” Today’s installment takes a look at USPN 6,641,490 titled “Golf Club Head With Dynamically Movable Center of Mass.” Check it out!…. So, “would it work?” My guestimate….

I have created a new category for the sidebar on the right. The category is titled “Would it Work.” It is the perfect place to categorize posts covering golf inventions that are likely to make at least half the readers say “come on, there is no way that would work.” The first addition to the category is a club head design revealed in USPN 5,366,222 titled “Golf Club Head Having a Weight Distributing System.” The patent describes the invention as…. So, “would it work?” My guestimate….

No explanation needed, check out this puzzle!…. The drawings come from a Nike Golf patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20120083359 titled “Golf Club Head or Other Ball Striking Device Having Adjustable Weighting Features.”…. I can just imagine the TV commercial….

Golfers need an exciting new patent infringement case to fill the void left by the settlement of the Pro V1 golf ball patent dispute. Unfortunately golf towel patent litigation isn’t quite as sexy as golf ball litigation with at least 9 figures at risk. The patent at the center of this litigation is USPN 5813080 titled “Towel Structure,” which describes the invention as…. The product at the center of the dispute is the Maxfli Dry Tech Towel. Click HERE to read the entire complaint. Is there a lesson to take away from this post? Of course! Aside from the obvious, that golf towel patent litigation is not very interesting, the lesson to learn is that if you are going to launch ANY type of product in the golf industry you MUST start with the assumption the product probably infringes at least one patent, then work to identify the sources of risk and investigate potential “design-around” alternatives.

I have commented in the past that adjustability of the golf club may be trending away from the golf club head. For instance, recent posts have covered several club manufacturers efforts at developing adjustable shaft stiffness systems (Nike Golf, TaylorMade), adjustable length systems, and even adjustable grips. It was just a matter of time before someone zeroed in on placing moveable weights within the golf club shaft. Today Nike Golf had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20120094780 titled “Device for Changing Mass Characteristics of a Golf Club.” The application describes the invention as…. Will this be the next hot adjustability selling point? Can’t you just hear the salesperson saying “the liquid-filled shaft produces too much spin, the paste-filled shaft launches the ball too low, but that gelatin-center is just right!” Dave Dawsey – The Golf Invention Attorney

Over the past five years golfers have been bombarded with various adjustable weight systems, all having a unique manufacturer specific acronym or catchy name. Like most golfers I played around with the weights on the driving range two or three times before accepting that the problem was my swing, not whether 10 grams were located closer to the toe or heel of the club head. The Mizuno “Fast Track Technology” was the most fun to play with, although it didn’t seem to force the ball into the middle of the fairway as I expected. A recent Nike Golf patent application published and gives us a look at a different spin on adjustable weights….. Tweet me (@GolfPatents) the best acronym you can come up with for this “exciting new technology,” as the marketers would say. You won’t win anything, but it may inspire me to start using Twitter…..

Over the past year and a half I have covered the attempted IP grabs at white crowns, matching crowns/shafts/grips, and colors in general related to golf club design. Most recently I covered a Cobra Golf design patent in the post titled “Will White Club Heads Still Be Around in 5 Years?”…. Interestingly Cobra has taken it a step further, as revealed in a utility patent application that published last week as US Pub. No. 20120083354. A proposed claim of the application seeks to lay claim to a golf club on which “an exposed portion” of the crown, “an exposed portion” of the shaft, and “an exposed portion” of the grip are “the same hue.” You have to love patent attorneys!…. This got me thinking, surely Karsten (aka PING) has attempted to grab some coverage associated with the color pink on club heads, right? Well, not yet. One reason may be a trademark registration owned by…. So, hopefully Bubba likes the black grip that he is currently using because if the Cobra application were to issue as a patent, which is a big IF, he may not be able to completely match his golf club’s outfit!….

It just occurred to me that I short changed Mr. Pelz in my prior post “Patents by Dave Pelz – Phil Mickelson’s Short-Game Coach.” Turns out he has 16 golf related utility patents, not the 12 previously reported. Three of the utility patents were overlooked simply due to the age of the patents, namely USPN’s 3912277, 3549300, and 3462155, while one (USPN 7,225,663) issued since the date of the original post. Two of his patents from the late 1960’s reveal some rather unusual thinking. Check out these two putter designs!…. Wow!….

Callaway Golf seems to be taking so many steps in the right direction lately that I beg them to forget that they ever thought of an articulated hosel. Great new clubs, fabulous golf balls, and an outstanding hire for the CEO position; but please just walk away from the articulated hosel concept disclosed in a patent application that published today as US Pub. No. 20120083358 titled “Golf Club Head with Articulated Hosel.” The application describes the invention as…. A worm gear has no place on a golf club! Although… it would be impressive if they could pull off the engineering to make such a connection system durable and reliable….

I can’t say that I have ever felt that keeping the ball on the tee is a challenge, but that’s just me. If you do consider it a challenge then the invention disclosed in the recently published application US Pub. No. 20120077625 may be of interest to you. Check this out…. Yep, that is a suction cup on the end of a tee. Seems like that may cost you some distance!….

Like many golfers I purchase all sorts of training products looking for that magic bullet that will make me a scratch golfer. Surprisingly, none of them have produced that result, although many have helped, at least for a week or two. A recently published patent application discloses a training product that I would buy and add to the collection of contraptions gathering dust in my trunk. The application published as US Pub. No. 20120071256 titled “Golf Swing Wrist Condition Training Device.” The invention is described as…. I like it…..

I have recently covered a Bridgestone patent directed to “ridged scorelines,” as well as a Callaway patent that focused on a groove’s “micro-edges.” Today you get to chew on a Nike invention directed to “textured” grooves. The invention is disclosed in US Pub. No. 20120071269 titled “Golf Clubs With Golf Club Heads Having Grooves Formed With Textured Surfaces,” which describes the invention as….. So, would you prefer your grooves ridged, with micro-edges, or textured? David Dawsey – An IP Attorney

Bridgestone Golf would prefer that golfers focus on changing their wedge’s bounce to suit the course conditions. They recently had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20120064997 titled “Clubhead of Iron Golf Club,” which explains….. Back in 2010 I wrote about a Nike Golf design that would allow a golfer to switch their cavity back irons to muscle backs irons. The Nike patent application discussed in the post actually issued as USPN 8133129 just last week, and perhaps unluckily for Bridgestone discloses….. It is hard to imagine that we will ever see either the Bridgestone or Nike designs on the market, but you never know in today’s competitive marketing driven golf environment…..

How often do you see a fellow golfer leave the face open at impact and push a putt? I do it all the time; at least five times more often than I pull a putt. Well, a design patent issued this week that may help golfers get the putter face square at impact. Check out this design…. Sure, connecting the shaft to the head on the toe side of the club head looks a little odd, but I could easily get past the aesthetics if it saved me a couple of strokes a round…..

I have always been a fan of SeeMore Putter Company’s products. There is a certain beauty in the simplicity of their riflescope technology. Today they were granted USPN 8,133,126 titled “Golf Club Having Alignment Markings,” which may suggest that they are considering applying the technology to more than just putters…..

Would a practice device with unusually high level of difficulty inspire you to practice more or less? Check out the device disclosed in US Pub. No. 20120058836 titled “Golf Club and Method for Use to Improve Golf Game”…. This invention seems to be an extension of a similar concept introduced long ago in practice putters…..

I love putter inventions! Just when you think you have seen everything some golfer dreams up a crazy new design that will undoubtedly eliminate the dreaded 3-putt. This week’s wild new design is found in a patent application that published today as US Pub. No. 20120058837 titled “Golf Putter with Trampoline-Effect Drumhead Striking Surface and Pendulum Plumb-Bob Peripheral Weight Distribution”….. Check it out…. I suspect we won’t see any of these at Doral this week (unless Matt Every is in the market for a new flatstick)…. Dave Dawsey – The Putter Patent Attorney

What golfer couldn’t use a little putting help? I just had my first ever putting lesson and it turns out my grip was wrong, my stroke was wrong, and my alignment was wrong, other than that everything was perfect (meaning at least I was holding a putter). A dedicated putting practice ball may just be what you need to start sinking more putts. One such ball is disclosed in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. 20120028726 titled “Golf Putting Practice Ball,” which describes the invention as…. I would buy a sleeve. Now all the inventor needs is an endorser and an infomercial on The Golf Channel!….

Eco-friendly golf ball IP seems to be hot right now. Last week I posted about Nike’s attempt to take on global warming with golf balls, and about a year ago I covered a Bridgestone patent directed to a biodegradable golf ball. What the next logical step? A biodegradable golf ball that turns into fish food, of course….. Nice idea, but the balls seem to be directed to one-shot applications, like off a cruise ship, rather than for use on the course. I wonder how big the market is for single-shot golf balls?…. David Dawsey – The Golf Invention Lawyer

Can you imagine a silent adjustable golf glove? Sounds too good to be true. Well this week a patent application published disclosing a clever dial adjustment system that may eliminate the awful sound of your playing partner removing their glove during your tee shot or putting stroke…. Great idea but success will depend on whether it provides the same level of adjustability found with the large Velcro flaps….

Proving that patent issues are relevant to the entire population (yes, even politicians), yesterday a company named EveryMD sued Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich for allegedly infringing USPN 7644122 titled “method apparatus and business system for online communications with online and offline recipients.”…. Do you think these three guys have any idea whether their campaign is carrying out the following method? Given my general disgust of everything political I never could have imagined writing about these three politicians and alleged patent infringement. Keep your eyes peeled for some upcoming “fund my patent infringement defense” dinners. This confirms it, golf is so much more interesting than politics, although I bet I could write an interesting Saturday Night Live skit about this! David Dawsey – An Apolitical Patent Attorney

What golfer hasn’t looked at their golf ball and thought…. “this ball is almost perfect, it is just missing a visible charm or jewelry piece.” Aside from myself and every golfer that I know, perhaps this is an untapped market….. Oh my! David Dawsey – The Golf Lawyer

Can you imagine a future in which your golf balls help combat global warming? Nike Golf hopes that you can. Today they had a patent application publish that will make any tree hugger breathe a sigh of relief…. Props to Nike for some pretty creative thinking! Now, will it make it to the market?…. David Dawsey – The Golf Invention Attorney

Are you ready for Bridgestone’s “Golf Ball Love” advertising campaign? Probably not, and that is OK because I just made it up in light of a Bridgestone golf ball design patent that issued today. Unfortunately the patent missed its mark (Valentine’s Day) by exactly one week. Check out this dimple pattern!…. Would your golfing buddies give you a hard time for playing this ball? David Dawsey – The Golf Invention Law Firm

In a recent post I wondered if the term “micro-edges” would become the buzz word of the future. Based upon a recently issued patent, Bridgestone Golf may be hoping that the next hot buzz word is “ridged scorelines.”…. Think you could shred some cheese on the face of that iron? Dave Dawsey – The Golf Attorney

Wow, it has been over a year since my last golf glove related post! I guess not many people are working on innovations in the field of golf gloves; kind of surprising. That changes today with an invention straight out of The Villages (the location of the inventor). The invention is disclosed in a patent application that recently published as…. Not a bad idea if you fight strangling your grip….