What Has This Inventor Been Smoking?

What would be your reaction if a member of your foursome started using their putter as a pipe (probably not to smoke tobacco)?

Recently I came across USPN 6454661 titled “Golf Club with Smoking Pipe Attachment.” The patent describes the invention as:

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a golf club which incorporates a smoking means and, in particular, a smoking pipe. To that end, a standard golf club includes a hollow shaft with a golf club at one end and a rubber grip at the other. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a hole is drilled into the center of the cap of the rubber grip at the upper end of the golf club shaft. A mouthpiece assembly is inserted into this center hole within the cap of the rubber grip. This mouthpiece assembly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, includes a pipe mouthpiece, a standard pipe filter, a filter holder and a stem filter seal. The filter holder is inserted into the stem filter seal. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom parts of the stem filter seal and the filter holder are flush with each other and the top part of the filter holder extends above the top of the stem filter seal. This subassembly of the stem filter seal and filter holder are inserted into the top of the hollow golf club shaft so that the top of the stem filter seal is flush with the top of the golf club shaft. In a preferred embodiment, the rubber grip, after insertion of the subassembly, is placed over the golf club shaft. The standard pipe filter is inserted through the hole in the cap of the rubber grip and into the subassembly including the stem filter seal and the filter holder. The pipe mouthpiece is then inserted into the filter holder subassembly and over the filter holder. The present invention also includes a pipe bowl assembly which is installed in the golf club shaft at a location below the rubber grip. In a preferred embodiment, a hole is drilled through one side of the golf club assembly, preferably at least twelve inches from the top end of the golf club grip. The pipe bowl assembly includes a bowl fitting and a pipe bowl and this assembly is inserted into the hole which is drilled through the side of the golf club shaft.

Interesting use of a putter that would never have crossed my mind. Seems like something that was invented during a case of the munchies.

Dave Dawsey  – Watching Golf Technology Patents

PS – check out golf tee related posts here