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....<< MORE >>

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?....<< MORE >>

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!<< MORE >>

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!....<< MORE >>

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.....<< MORE >>

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....<< MORE >>

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!<< MORE >>

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....<< MORE >>

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

The new Titleist 913 driver....<< MORE >>

Over the years I have posted a few times about IP issues surrounding the Ryder Cup®, so it seems timely to revisit the topic. Back in 2007 I posted "Don’t Use the Ryder Cup® Trademark Without Approval of the PGA of America; They Will Sue!", containing my vow that once my game finally comes around I will not be joining The PGA of America! Then in 2010 I wrote an article for the UK Patent Office titled "The Ryder Cup®, Intellectual Property, and the IP Ryder Cup"....<< MORE >>

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?.... << MORE >>

Earlier this month Karsten Manufacturing Corporation (aka PING) filed a trademark application for the mark ________. Think it is an acronym or an abbreviation for....? My money is on....<< MORE >>

To set the scene a bit, my partner and I are playing Sunday in a season long 2-man team tournament. I believe the match was all square when we get to the 13th hole, a nice par 5. My second shot goes a little off course and rolls down into a pond that is being renovated. The ball rolls right to the bottom of the pond into a section between two large mini-ponds and is sitting nicely on some slick smelly old pond mud. My playing partner quickly pulls out his phone expecting comedy to ensue. I could feel the three guys standing at the top of the pond praying that I would (a) slip and fall, (b) sink in the mud up to my knees, or (c) at least get covered in mud when I hit the shot. To put it another way, no one was rooting for me to hit a good shot. I was about 85 yards from the green and had to get the ball up about 20 feet just to get out of the pond. The mud was slick and I knew if I had any lower body movement I was going to end up on my butt covered in stinky pond mud. I may have closed my eyes as I took a big stiff arm swing trying not to move my feet. Any guesses as to the outcome? Watch the video!....<< MORE >>

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....<< MORE >>

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.... << MORE >>

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.... << MORE >>

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!<< MORE >>

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

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!....<< MORE >>

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

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

Any guesses on what Cobra Golf may have in store? It doesn’t take a genius to come up with some pretty good guesses of what a <<____>> may look like! Nonetheless, I hope they surprise me.....<< MORE >>

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....<< MORE >>

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!....<< MORE >>

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”!.... << MORE >>

Staring into my crystal ball, with a little help from trademark applications filed by Callaway Golf in the past few months, I predict.... I was hoping they would just cut ties with the RAZR brand and come up with something totally new signaling a fresh start; however the ____________ application has piqued my curiosity....<< MORE >>

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.”....<< MORE >>

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?<< MORE >>

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....<< MORE >>

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!....<< MORE >>

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? << MORE >>

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.... << MORE >>

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....<< MORE >>

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!..... << MORE >>

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?....<< MORE >>

Callaway Golf recently filed trademark applications for the marks.... What could it be?....<< MORE >>

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!....<< MORE >>

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?....<< MORE >>

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<< MORE >>

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)....<< MORE >>

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?....<< MORE >>

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.... << MORE >>

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

Trademark office records suggest....<< MORE >>

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?....<< MORE >>

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....<< MORE >>

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.....<< MORE >>

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?<< MORE >>

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?<< MORE >>