My first substantive post... not too serious, yet educational and informative.

A historic look at patents covering the classic putters that we all know and love. Notice that these classics were / are protected by utility patents, in addition to design patents. A future post will more closely examine putter patents and whether more are filed as utility applications or design applications.

Recognize the putter shown below? This patented putter got the ball rolling for what would eventually become the Ping Golf Company. The late Karsten Solheim filed a patent application covering the PING 1A putter on March 23, 1959, which eventually issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,405 (the '405 patent). Of course, most golf enthusiasts are aware that the name "PING" was derived from the sound Solheim's putters made when striking a golf ball. In fact, the '405 patent notes that "the face plate ring[s] with a clear note if the ball is struck with a center spot of a face plate because it is believed that the face plate will vibrate at its natural frequency with maximum amplitude...."

                                                         
Probably one of the most famous mallet putters of all time is the Zebra putter by Ram, seen below. This putter was protected by a utility patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,265), as well as a design patent (D240,751). The utility patent suggests that a single line on a putter head is ineffective for lining up a putt. To solve this problem, the patent notes that providing a plurality of spaced stripes on the top of the putter head allows one to retain a better visual impression of the putter head's line of travel, which results in more consistent, straighter strokes.

Lastly, perhaps the most famous putter of recent years would have to be the Odyssey 2-Ball, seen below. The 2-Ball design and variations on its design are covered by several utility patents and design patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,471,600; 6,506,125; 6,679,782; 6,793,588; 6,905,420; D458,656; and D457,586). One of the primary features of the 2-Ball putter is the "2-Ball" alignment system. However, the "2-Ball" alignment system was not a novel idea. Back in the mid-1980s, short game guru Dave Pelz received U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,798 (the '798 patent) for his putter designs utilizing a "3-Ball" and "2-Ball" alignment system. The Odyssey 2-Ball alignment system was, in fact, taken right off the pages of the '798 patent, which the Callaway Golf Company acquired from Pelz in 2001.
 
                                                 

Please let me know if you enjoy historical perspectives such as this post.