US20030069081A1

US20030069081A1 - Janus putter

Info

Publication number: US20030069081A1
Application number: US09/974,490
Authority: US
Inventors: Man Jung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-10-10
Filing date: 2001-10-10
Publication date: 2003-04-10

Abstract

A golf putter club comprising: a putter head having a first ball striking face formed between a toe end and a heel end; a second ball striking face formed on said toe end, said second ball striking face narrower than said first ball striking face; a shaft attached closer to the heel end of said putter head, said shaft having a grip of circular cross section, said shaft shaped to allow a player to address a ball with said second putting face by aligning said second putting face by manually rotating the putter toe counterclockwise by 90 degrees from the first gripping position when a player is in a right handed stance.

Description

BACKGROUND

The game of golf has been one of America's enduring sport pastimes. Playing golf can be a refreshing and energizing experience. In the game of golf, players hit a golf ball with clubs such as woods, putters and irons. Golf requires skill and proper equipment. Over the history of golf, the equipment has become more complex and the number of golf clubs in a golf club set has expanded. Today, each of the clubs has a particular advantage and use.

The standard course has 18 consecutively numbered holes that are playing areas leading to cups. The player tries to hit the ball into the cup. The cup is 4.5″ in diameter and is set into a green, which is a smooth surface of closely cropped grass. Golfers begin a hole using a wood or iron to drive the ball toward the hole from a tee area. Between the tee and the green lies a fairway that contains a number of obstacles such as areas of taller grass called the rough, trees, lakes, streams, sand pits (bunkers), and mounds. Players must play the course as they find it and they must play only their own ball. Once on a green, a putter can be used to putt the ball along the surface of the green toward the cup.

Sometimes a golf ball lies near the green about 1′-2′ away from the green but in 4″-5″ of rough. In this situation, a putter would best allow a golfer to make the fine adjustments in his game to direct the ball along the green. Many improvements in putters have improved the balance of the heel and toe blade putter. Yet it remains difficult for a golfer to use a putter in the rough. A traditional putter would be clumsy at best.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

To create a putter that can strike a golf ball in the rough, without requiring an additional club, while still allowing the putter to be used as a traditional putter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a golfer using a Janus putter in a right handed stance. [0005]
FIG. 2 shows a top view of a Janus putter addressing a ball. [0006]
FIG. 3 shows a front perspective view of a Janus putter. [0007]
FIG. 4 shows an orientation diagram of a Janus putter.[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a toe striking face putter also called a Janus putter. The Janus putter is of traditional configuration well known in the sport. The traditional putter has a shaft connected to a head. A grip allows a player to hold the shaft. The head has a toe end and a heel end. A first striking face is formed between the toe end and the heel end, as located in all traditional putters. Sometimes, an alignment guide allows a player to line up a mark on the head of a putter to the ball. Other putters have interesting weight distributions. A player grips the shaft and swings the putter at the ball using the first striking face. The player here uses the first putting position, also called a first putting stance. [0009]
The toe striking face putter further includes a toe end having a second flat striking face capable of hitting a golf ball when the ball is in the rough where the grass is taller. The grip and the shaft are shaped to allow a player to use the same stance to hit the ball with the second striking face. The Janus putter thus acts as an alternative to a chipper in certain situations and does not require an extra club in the bag. A player aligns the second putting face by rotating the putter toe counterclockwise by 90 degrees (to the left). The toe of the putter is wide and preferably slanted with a 0-5 degree loft for a better striking face. The word loft is well known in the art and standard golf terminology. The player is here uses the second putting position, also called a second putting stance, which is enabled by the shape and configuration of the putter head and the shaft. [0010]
FIG. 1 shows a right-handed golfer using the Janus putter. When the ball lies near the green 1′-2′ away from the green but in 4″-5″ of rough, a golfer can use the Janus putter to putt through the grass in the rough and onto the green where the grass is smooth. Another situation when a golfer would need a Janus putter is where the lie would not allow a club to reach, such as where the ball lies between two rocks. Golfers can also use the toe end of the Janus putter in areas such as the green should they desire an additional challenge of striking the ball with a smaller striking face. Also in miniature golf, a small striking face can reach a golf ball in tight areas that are created by numerous artificial obstructions. [0011]
The golfer can use the toe end to strike a ball having a lie in the rough. The toe end striking face is complementary to the normal striking face that is used on the green. To use the putter's toe striking face, a golfer prepares a swing conventionally, with the putter toe pointing away from the golfer. The golfer then rotates the putter shaft 90 degrees counterclockwise along the axis of the shaft to point the putter toe striking face towards the ball. The USGA rules of golf require a grip of a circular cross section without guide marks that can be felt. Thus, it is preferred to have a cylindrical grip of a uniform and circular cross section without guide marks that can be felt. The term ‘cylindrical’ here encompasses a slightly tapered grip where the grip has varying circular cross sectional sizing, but is basically cylindrical to a casual observer. Other grips can be employed such as the popular ergonomic grips that conform to a person's hand. [0012]
Here, the player takes a normal putter swing instead of using a chipper or iron. FIG. 2 shows the orientation of a putter toe alignment with a golf ball. A golfer sees this view when addressing the ball (preparing a swing). A player is addressing the ball when aligning the clubface to the ball in preparation for a stroke. The rules of golf do not allow a person to move, talk or stand close to or directly behind the ball or the hole when a player is addressing the ball or making a stroke. [0013]
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a golf putter showing that only a small portion of the toe end needs to be modified. Compared to an ordinary putter, the toe end is shaped to allow a ball striking face. The ball striking face can be as large as the diameter of a ball but is preferably smaller than the diameter of a ball. The toe face can be angled to allow a slight loft of up to 5 degrees to assist in the orientation of the golf putter. [0014]
FIG. 4 shows the orientation of the toe edge from a right-handed perspective. The bottom toe edge A is pointed towards the ground while the top toe edge B points away from the ground. The bottom toe edge A can be slightly smoothed or rounded in shape, like top toe edge B, to allow smooth contact with the ground in situations where bottom toe edge A contacts the ground. The second face C will be slightly slanted to the right from a right angle, due to the orientation of the shaft. The slanting of second face C shows the first striking face on the right side and the bottom surface of the putter head on the left side. The bottom surface of the putter head is usually not shown and points towards the ground when using the first striking surface. [0015]
The Janus putter head can have various shapes. It can be teardrop shaped, where the toe and heel ends merge behind the first striking surface in a semicircular shape. The teardrop is a popular club head configuration where the putter head is supposed to look like a teardrop. In actuality the popular club head configuration looks more like a semicircle when viewed from above. The putter head can also be rectangular in shape according to FIG. 1. [0016]
A stylized version can have a guideline and weight distributive strategies as seen in FIG. 3. Weight distributive strategies are old in the art and allow the putter head to have weight distributed in a beneficial non-uniform manner. Weighted inserts and recessed portions allow a club designer to create a variety of weight distributive configurations. A recessed portion behind the first striking face is shown in FIG. 4 and is also a popular configuration. These putter head shapes allow for a toe striking face capable of achieving the desired results. The simple rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 1 is the best mode, allowing minimal interference from the rough due to its slim profile. [0017]

Claims

1. A golf putter club comprising:

a. a putter head having a first ball striking face formed between a toe end and a heel end;

b. a second ball striking face formed on said toe end;

c. a shaft attached to said putter head, said shaft shaped to allow a golf player to grip the putter, said shaft shaped to allow a player to address a ball with said second putting face by aligning said second putting face by rotating the putter toe counterclockwise by 90 degrees from the first gripping position when a player is in a right handed stance, whereby the player after putting the ball on the green can later chose to rotate said putter toe clockwise by 90 degrees to address the ball with said first putting face.

2. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said second ball striking face is slanted with a 0-5 degree loft.

3. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said putter head is of a teardrop shape.

4. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said putter head is of a rectangular shape.

5. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said putter head has a recessed portion behind the first striking face.

6. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said putter head has weight distributed in a non-uniform manner by use of weighted inserts.

7. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said shaft has a tapered grip of circular cross section.

8. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said shaft has a cylindrical grip of circular cross section.

9. The golf putter club of claim 1, wherein said shaft has an ergonomic grip that conforms to a person's hand.

10. A golf putter club comprising:

b. a second ball striking face formed on said toe end, said second ball striking face narrower than said first ball striking face;

c. a shaft attached closer to the heel end of said putter head, said shaft having a uniform cylindrical grip of circular cross section, said shaft shaped to allow a player to address a ball with said second putting face by aligning said second putting face by manually rotating the putter toe counterclockwise by 90 degrees from the first gripping position when a player is in a right handed stance.

11. The golf putter club of claim 10, wherein said second ball striking face is slanted with a 0-5 degree loft.

12. The golf putter club of claim 10, wherein said putter head is of a teardrop shape.

13. The golf putter club of claim 10, wherein said putter head is of a rectangular shape.

14. The golf putter club of claim 10, wherein said putter head has a recessed portion behind the first striking face.

15. The golf putter club of claim 10, wherein said putter head has weight distributed in a non-uniform manner by use of weighted inserts.

16. The golf putter club of claim 10, wherein said shaft has a tapered grip of circular cross section.

17. The golf putter club of claim 10, wherein said shaft has an ergonomic grip that conforms to a person's hand.