Golf Ball Retrieving Club

Abstract

A golf putter which includes a head that is of size and shape to fit into a golf cup, and has a receptacle in the bottom of the putter head that will receive and hold a golf ball. A flexible resilient tubular elastromeric member is fixed to the head on one side of the receptacle, and protrudes into the receptacle so that when the golf ball is pushed into the receptacle, the resilient member engages the ball and forces it against the opposite wall of the receptacle to hold the ball in position. The bottom surface of the putter head is tapered to expose portions of the golf ball so that the ball can be more easily removed from the receptacle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to golf putters.

2. Prior Art

In the prior art, there are a number of various types of golf putters showing individual features that are of an aid in golfing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,027 shows a golf ball retrieving club which has a receptacle into which a ball may be placed.

Various sighting lines also have been devised for use with golf putters, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,143,349. Also a sighting mark is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,963. A rounded, nonscuff golf putter is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,976, but this is a one piece casting but does not include any means for easily sighting the golf putter in position. Another sighting line on a golf club is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,954,231.

Also, U.S. Pat. No. 1,960,110 shows a golf club having a retrieving feature with a "through" hole in the club, and with a ring member that will deflect to permit the ball to pass into the hole and then the ring returns to its original size and supports the ball. The ball is removed through the top of the club head.

Also, a retriever for golf balls is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,380,526, and this comprises a holder on the outer end of the shaft which is used to engage the ball for lifting the ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The putter of the present invention discloses a putter head having a size and shape such as that it minimizes the tendency to "scuff" when used in long grass or sand, and which fits inside a golf cup to retrieve the ball easily, and has means for holding the ball in place when retrieved so that the ball can be easily removed but is held securely when it is being lifted. The putter head is designed to have a large area on its face which gives a consistent reaction between the club and ball without having the club tend to twist, even if the aim or the location where the ball and putter contact is slightly different each time.

The putter includes aiming or sighting lines for sighting the putter properly, and further is easily manufactured with these features incorporated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a golf putter made according to the present invention with the shaft broken away;

FIG. 2 is a view of the ball engaging face of the putter taken as on line 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken as on line 3--3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the underside of the golf putter made according to the present invention showing the location of a golf ball that has been retrieved with the putter; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the putter showing the position of a weight in the upper portion of the shaft to shift the center of percussion vertically to the head of the putter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A golf putter illustrated generally at 10 as shown comprises a head member 11 that is shaped to have a part circular peripheral surface 12, a ball engaging face 13 which comprises a plane surface, and a tubular shaft 14 is attached to the head in any suitable manner adjacent the heel of the putter. The head 11 has a sighting pattern indicated at 15 defined therein. The sighting pattern comprises recesses or grooves forming sighting lines, one of which is parallel to the normal direction of movement of the club during a stroke, or in other words perpendicular to the face 13, and this line is indicated at 15A. The second sighting line forms a T with the line 15A and is indicated at 15B. The second line is spaced from and parallel to the face 13. The lines can be coated with paint of contrasting appearance and the recesses protect the paint so it is not easily worn or chipped off.

The bottom of the head 11 has a hollowed out opening 17 therein which does two things. It distributes the weight of the head toward the heel, toe and rear of the head and moves the mass away from the face 13. This broadens the "sweet spot" of the putter, or in other words the area of the surface 13 across which a substantially consistent ball reaction will occur without causing a twisting of the putter as it strikes the ball.

Also a suitable weight member 23 is placed in the hollow shaft 14 near the upper end of the shaft. The position of this weight member 23 is high up in the shaft and also the weight of the member 23 is selected to move the center of percussion of the putter vertically so that the center of percussion is centered vertically on face 13.

The response of the putter is therefore optimized and the putter does not tend to twist or shift even if the ball is contacted slightly off the center of the face 13.

The cavity or opening 17 is of size to receive a golf ball indicated at 18, and the golf ball 18 is retained in the cavity with a small resilient detent member 19 that is mounted into a provided hole in the head 11 on one side only of the opening. The resilient detent member 19 makes it easy to remove a golf ball 18 once it is in place, because neither the putter head nor the ball is deformed or compressed. As can be seen in the dotted lines showing of FIG. 3, the flexible member 19 will deflect to its dotted line position when the ball 18 is in place in the cavity, and this deflection provides a force which will force the ball against the other side of the cavity 17 to hold the ball in place. The ball can be removed merely by pushing against the side of the ball indicated by the arrow 20, which tends to move the ball away from the side of the opening opposite member 19 and which tends to rotate the ball out of the opening about the line where it frictionally engages the resilient member 19 which may have a relatively high coefficient of friction.

The bottom of the putter is formed with a pair of surfaces 21 that taper downwardly from the heel and toe toward a center surface portion 22 that is vertically aligned with the sighting line 15A. The surface portion 22 provides a narrow ground contact surface for grass or sand so that there is less tendency of the putter head to scuff or be retarded by friction of grass when the putter is used adjacent the golf course green area. Thus the tapered bottom surface provides a narrow surface of contact of the putter with the grass to minimize the frictional variations that can occur.

The putter is used in a normal manner, and the sighting lines 15A and 15B are lined up so that the putter is square with the ball and with the expected line of ball travel to the cup. The line 15A is aligned with the desired path of travel of the ball, and the line 15B aids in squaring off the putter head properly for the desired stroke. Then the stroke is made, and the ball will travel a true path to the cup. The user can line up over the putter so that he is sighting down onto the putter head.

The putter head is of size so that it will fit within a standard golf cup, and it can be used for retrieving the ball 18 from the cup itself merely by sticking the putter down into the cup and pulling it back out with the ball inside the opening 17. The small flexible detent tube 19 for holding the ball in place in the opening 17 is easily installed, low in cost, and does not hold the ball so that it is difficult to remove from the putter itself. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the detent tube 19 has an end to end bore that lies substantially parallel to a plane normal to the face of the club and tangent to the bottom center surface portion 22 of the head of the putter. As shown in FIG. 3, in dotted lines, the end of the tube 19 tends to flatten and bend when the ball indicated at 18 in dotted lines in FIG. 3 is inserted into the cavity 17.

The movement of the mass toward the heel, toe and rear of the club broadens the "sweep spot" in fore and aft direction, and the addition of the weight 23 in shaft 14 moves the center of percussion vertically to proper alignment with the face 13.

The head is made of aluminum or other light material so that the necessary weight near the top of the shaft 14 to move the center of percussion is not great. The weight in the shaft may be held in place in any desired manner, for example, with a slight crimp in the shaft wall, or with adhesives. The weight also could be incorporated in the hand grip that is normally mounted on the upper end of the shaft.

The resilient tube 19 may be made of suitable elastomeric material and inserted in a provided hole in the head so that a portion of the tube 19 protrudes into the cavity 17.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A golf putter construction comprising a head and a shaft attached to said head, said head having a golf ball engaging face surface, a bottom surface, a cavity formed in said bottom surface, said cavity being defined by a peripheral wall surface of such size as to surround portions of a golf ball and being open in direction to permit entry of a golf ball into said cavity from the bottom of said head, a flexible, bendable, elastomeric resilient tubular element positioned on a portion of said peripheral wall surface of said cavity, means mounting said tubular element comprising an aperture located in said portion of said peripheral wall surface and opening to said cavity, said tubular element being retained partially in said aperture with a portion of said tubular element projecting into said cavity, said tubular element having open ends defined by a bore extending from end to end, said bore having its longitudinal axis positioned substantially parallel to a plane tangent to the bottom of said head and normal to said golf ball engaging face surface, said resilient tubular element being of such size as to engage a golf ball inserted into said cavity, said resilient tubular element being sufficiently resilient so the end thereof projecting into the cavity flattens when a golf ball is inserted into said cavity and said tubular element urges a golf ball in the cavity to engage a portion of said peripheral surface on a side of said cavity opposite from said resilient tubular element to retain a golf ball in said cavity.

2. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein the outer periphery of said golf putter head is part cylindrical and of size to fit within a golf cup.