Lately the golf patent litigation scene has been a little slow. Perhaps that has changed with an exciting case filed this week concerning golf clubs that I did not know existed. OK, exciting may be a bit of a stretch, but did you know that there is a market for golf clubs that you don’t swing?

Check out THIS website to learn about the Swingless® golf club. Also, click HERE to read the Complaint that explains the bizarre relationships among the parties of the lawsuit.

The patents at issue are USPN 5522594 titled “Ballistic Impeller Golf Club;” 5816927 titled “Variable Range Device For A Ballistic Impeller Golf Club;” 5924932 titled “Ballistic Impeller Golf Club;” and 6139440 titled “Cartridge holder For A Ballistic Impeller Golf Club.” That’s right…. a ballistic impeller golf club! One of the patents describes the invention as:

A golf club for impelling a golf ball without swinging. The club uses expanding gas generated by an exploding charge to move a piston having an attached strike plate against a golf ball, impelling the ball down the fairway toward the green. The club is prepared for use by inserting an explosive charge and cocking the firing mechanism. The club is fired by placing the head of the club a short distance behind the ball, aiming the ball by aligning the striking plate with the ball, releasing a safety, and triggering the firing mechanism.

I have to admit, it would be fun to have one of those clubs in the bag to play around with when a round is going slow.

Dave Dawsey  - Monitoring Golf Lawsuits