US3387845A - Golf putter - Google Patents

Description

June 11, 1968 c. G. RAUB 3,387,845

GOLF PUTTER Filed Oct. 5, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 2/ J INVENTOR CLIFFORD "Al/B J Mw um ATTORNEY Filed Oct. 5. 1965 c. G. RAUB GOLF PUTTER 3 heets-Sheet 2 PUTT APPROX. HEIGHT ABOVE olsnmcs GAUGE "UMBER cnouno AT START or swme FEET A B c o A a c o 3 l2 l2 l2 l2 2%- 2 2 7'; 2 A- l I l I 6 I5 15 15 l5 s a a i 3 z 9 2| l8 l8 l8 7 5 5 5 I2 22 22 22 a a 9 I8 28 27 2? l3 I3 24 as 3| I5 12- I5 21 as as 191'; n

so as 20 FIG. 7

mvsuron GLIFFORD 6. R408 ATTORNEY June 11, 1968 c. G. RAUB 3,387,845

GOLF PUTTER I Filed Oct. 5, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 no HE'GHT' 10 FIG 8 memes 7 VELOCITY OF CLUB- FEET PER SECOND lo q HELGHT- FIG. .9

INCHES 0 5 (o is 2'0 25 so LENGTH OF ROLL- FEET INVENTOR CLIFFORD RA UB ATTORNEY Unite States Patent 3,387,845 GOLF PUTTER Clifford G. Raul), 611 Twelve Acres Drive, Los Altos, Calif. 94622 Filed Oct. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 493,923 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-77) This invention relates to the game of golf and more specifically to a golf club known as a putter, and for a gauge means for practice with the putter.

There are many putters on the market, and many more have been designed but have never been widely available as they did not suit enough golfers for them to attain popularity.

Common characteristics of putters as presently known are: maximum weight, 02.; length, 34, 35 or 36 inches; the face of club being positioned to be vertical, or very nearly so, at impact. A few golfers use putters to be moved between the feet as though playing croquet.

It has been found that many golfers can get the ball on the green with a minimum of strokes, only to have to use many putting strokes to sink the ball in the cup. The reason seems to be the inability of the golfer to deliver the precise force of impact between the club and the ball that is required by the length of putt.

,It is generally accepted that the head of the putters in use at present must be kept close to the ground, the face normal to the desired direction of roll of the ball. The putter head must strike the ball with the required force of impact, which, if too weak the ball will not reach the hole, if too strong, the ball will not drop, but will rim the cup, or even pass directly over it.

Gauges have been proposed for use in practice to indicate the distance the putter head should be moved in putting. While such gauges undoubtedly have some use they do not eliminate any of the many variables of putting, but only through remembering from stroke to stroke how much physical energy was used starting from some datum on the gauge, finally the golfer gets a "vague idea that he must move the club head a little farther from a long putt than for a short one, but there is no criterion for the muscular effort used in moving the putter head. Each golfer can learn the feel of putting only by long experience. And his putting will vary as he becomes fatigued.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a putter that, for almost all of its use will deliver a desired putting force to the ball regardless of the weight, height, fatigue and experience of the golfer. A ball twenty feet, say, from the cup can, with the club of the present invention, be struck with the correct force to roll the ball on a smooth flat green the desired twenty feet. The club of the present invention will not, of course, without thought by the golfer, correct for slope of the green or imperfections of the green, but the question of how hard the ball must be hit for a putt of this distance is eliminated.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gauge against which the club may be positioned in practice to give the exact force of blow on the ball to propel the ball any required distance. This gauge will indicate the same stroke for the same putting distance regardless of the player using it since it is the club, not the player, that does the work.

Other and further objects and advantages will appear from the following specification taken with the accom-' panying drawing in which like characters of reference refer to similar parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a conventional putter compared to a similar view of a putter of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the head of the putter of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the head of the putter;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the putter head;

FIGURE 5 is an elevation of the practice gauge for learning to use the putter;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the gauge;

FIGURE 7 is a tabulation of test results;

FIGURE 8 is a chart comparing the height at which the club head starts the stroke vs. the velocity of the club head at the point of impact;

FIGURE 9 is a chart showing actual test results plotting the height of the club head vs. the distance of roll of the ball.

As seen in FIGURE 1 the putter of the present invention is far shorter than the putters now in use, the putter handle 10 being about twenty-seven inches long instead of the minimum 34 inches, While the length of the handle might be longer or shorter within very narrow limits it will be understood that a handle length of thirty-four to thirty-six inches, which are the lengths of present putters, is not contemplated.

Handle 10 is provided with a grip 11 at its upper end and a head 12 at its lower end. The handle is joined to the club head preferably at mid-point of the head to project substantially vertically, when the club is in use at the impact point between club and ball. The face of the club at impact is approximately vertical as with known putters. The shaft of the handle may be Slightly angled to enable the user to see the ball and the sighting surfaces, to be described below, from an eye position vertically over the ball. This slight angularity would amount to an offset of the handle of about an inch in twenty inches from the club head. The angle between club shaft and putter head is about 15% in conventional putters.

The club is grasped so that the left wrist is at approximately the extremity of the grip on the shaft when the club head is just clear of the ground at the point of impact with the ball. Holding the pivot of the left wrist stationary the club head is moved to the right (right-handed player). Since the left wrist pivot is stationary the club head swings upwardly in an arc. The club head is moved to a point to give the desired impact on the ball. This point is accurately determinable, as will be explained below, so that when the club is then permitted to swing freely pendulum-wise about the left wrist as a stationary pivot, the club head falls, to give an impact velocity to the club head adequate to the distance of putt being made.

It will be understood that letting the club head of the present invention fall freely pendulum-wise will always deliver the same blow for the same accurate back swing, and no muscular effort need be exerted to accelerate the club head. The lack of need for accurate muscular effort is entirely unlike the stroking required with a conventional putter.

In order to provide the putter of the present invention, it is necessary to provide a mass of putter head MC that is extraordinarily heavy compared to the mass of the ball MB.

It can be shown by mathematics that the velocity of the club head at the point of impact will be the same as the velocity it would have in falling the distance it from the highest point of the swing. The force g acts on the club head vertically downwardly and the vector of force to accelerate the club head is the mass of the club head times the sine of the angle between the shaft of the club and the vertical. It takes longer for the club head, swinging in its arc, to arrive at the point of impact than it would if it dropped straight down, but the velociy is the same, though the velocities are in different directions. Friction and wind resistance are ignored as they are insignificant.

Several weights of club were tried starting at 20 02., which is the weight of the putters presently in use, and

3 putter heads of 24% 02., 33 /2 02., and 43% oz. It was found that the 20 oz. club was too light to give over a nine foot putt, without requiring accurate muscular effort. The 44 oz. putter is approaching the limit of controllability.

The handle is joined to the head 12 by a squared element 13 that is of, say, an inch length. This squared portion is square with the face of the club and is preferably located with one face flush with the club face. The top of the club head 12 is flat as shown at 14 and has indicia i5, 15 spaced from each other the distance of the diameter of the ball which is shown as a dotted circle 16 in FIGURES 2 and 4. Preferably the ends of the club head beyond lines 15 and 15' are of a length equal to the diameter of the ball.

The profile of the club may be as seen in FIGURE 3 having a protuberance 17 on the rear surface to bring the center of gravity of the club downwardly to as near the point of impact between club and ball as possible.

The bottom edge of the club is generally arcuate across its bottom face as seen in FIGURES 1 and 2 so that in use the shaft may be held at a slight angle to the vertical, yet the point of impact between club face and ball will be the same as though the club were held with its handle in a vertical plane. The bottom profile of the club head is curved front to back to permit a free swing of the club past the point of impact.

The lines on the top of the club and the flats of the squared portion of the shaft immediately above the club head greatly facilitate sighting the club. The extent of the club face being preferably three ball diameters, reduces the error in positioning the club face in a plane normal to the desired line of roll of the ball.

In this application the word ball means golf ball." A different weight ball would not have any bearing on the invention, but would only change the distances that a putter, in accordance with the sub-joined claims, would propel the ball for a given backswing. In playing competitions the balls must conform to a standard. This standard is a ball weighing about 1.63 oz. and having a coefficient of restitution of about 0.8.

In FIGURES 3 and 4 additional weights 18, 18 are shown mounted on the back of the club head. Such weights are known for use on golf clubs such as drivers, but are shown here to stress the need for weight far in excess of the weight of the presently known putters.

A noted professional golfer describing the putting opertion with presently known putters, states, I take the blade back eight or nine inches, then concentrate on accelerating to and through the hitting area, in other words, the

putter, from the backstroke to the hit should pick up i speed. With the club of the present invention it is not necessary to concentrate on the acceleration. With any known club it is necessary to concentrate on accelerating the club head when used with a 34-inch long (which is the minimum length) club handle. Use of the present clubs of oz., a pendulum swing cannot be used effectively and if it is, additional impetus must be given the club head by use of accurate muscular effort on putts of over nine feet. Club A in FIGURE 7 weighed 20 02. It was used with a short handle according to element 10 of the present disclosure.

A pendulum that takes one second to perform one complete oscillation is longer than a pendulum that requires only a half second. From the text book:

where t is in seconds for a complete oscillation of pendulum L is the length of the pendulum g=32.2 ft./sec./sec. L=3.4 ft. if t=1 second.

The part of the pendulum swing with which we are concerned is only A of an oscillation. A pendulum having a 36" or three-foot length would require a little less than A of a second per quarter oscillation. A pendulum having a length of 2 feet would require a shorter time in the ratio of or about .8 so shortening the golf club from 36 (which is one present standard length) to 27 would speed up the swing to .84 sec.

Since a pendulum at its natural tempo executes the same number of oscillations per minute regardless of the weight of the bob or the distance to each side of vertical it swings, the velocity of the bob, or in this case club head, as it passes the vertical, is increased if the distance of backswing is increased, because the height to which the club head is raised increases along the arc of the swing.

Since the force available to cause the ball to roll across the green, which for the purposes of this disclosure is assumed to be perfectly flat and in perfect condition, can also be expressed in terms of the mass and velocity of the club head, it will be understood that, in this case, using a club asv disclosed, having a shaft of about twenty-seveninch length, and a club head Weighing, perhaps two pounds, the club head may be moved through an are such that the force developed by the impact of the club on the ball will propel it, say, nine feet, and the same displacement of the club head will always deliver the same impact force to give the same distance of roll of the ball on the same green. Similarly, the same club C may be displaced to a greater angle to accurately deliver a blow that will cause the ball to roll, say, twenty-seven feet. Whenever a twentyseven.-foot putt is required, it is only necessary to have memorized the distance that the club head must be displaced to give the impact required for that distance of putt, so itis not necessary to concentrate on accelerating the club head by muscular effort. The club head accelerates of its own accord dependent only on the initial displacement of the club head from the point of impact.

Each weight of club has a maximum length of putt beyond which the golfer, to add distance to the putt, must i add muscular effort to the putting stroke. From FIGURE 7 it is clear that club A with a twenty-ounce head, fails above about nine feet where club D will readily putt a ball thirty feet without muscular effort on the part of the golfer.

As stated above, the golfer must know how much back swing to use for the required distance of putt. A gauge is used in practice to develop skill in using the correct swing.

The gauge is seen in FIGURES 5 and 6, and may, for purposes of illustration be an ordinary wooden yardstick 19 bent into an arc and held bowed by a cord 20 secured at each end. Conveniently the cord may be secured at one end of the yardstick 19 and provided at a suitable distance 1 with a knot to be slipped into a notch in the other end of the yardstick 19. Feet 21 and 22 may be provided that are foldable to lie parallel to the length of yardstick 19. It is seen, then, that upon removing the string from the notch, the stick 19 will straighten out so that the device may be folded for placing in a golf bag.

While the indicia on the gauge may be expressed as i the distances to be putted, they may also be in inches of are.

In experiment with putters of the present invention, and using inches of are on the gauge to indicate the swing used, the results are tabulated in FIGURE 7:

Putter: Limit of putt (feet) A-20 oz 9 B--24 A oz. 18 C-33 /2 oz 27 D43% oz 3O Without additional muscular effort the 02. club would not propel a ball, as in putting, beyond 9 feet.

Without additional muscular efforts the 24% 02. club would not propel the ball beyond 18 feet.

Without additional muscular effort the 33 /2 02. club would not propel the ball beyond 27 feet.

The 43% oz. or almost three pound putter will propel the ball feet without additional muscular elfort.

The maximum practical swing for any such club was 36" on the arcuate scale of the gauge which gives an elevation of about 20 inches of the club head above the green.

It was necessary to use a higher number on the gauge, using club A, to get a 9 foot putt than was necessary with B, C, or D. Also, surprisingly, using a still higher number on the gauge did not add significantly to the distance.

Similarly it was necessary to use a higher number on the gauge to get an 18 foot putt with club B than with clubs C and D, but using a still higher swing did not add appreciably to the distance.

Similarly, club C required a higher number on the gauge for a 24-foot and required a yet higher swing for a 27- foot putt than club D required for putts of these distances.

In FIGURE 7 the swing of the club is measured against gauge 19 readings. The height h above the green for each swing is plotted against the velocity of the club head at impact in FIGURE 8 (calculated) and, in FIGURE 9 is plotted against the resultant distance that a standard ball rolled on a flat green that was in good condition.

From FIGURES 8 and 9 it is clear that once the distance of putt is estimated the golfer can deliver the required force of blow to the ball without muscular effort other than swinging the club to the appropriate position for that distance of putt.

Having thus disclosed my invention, I claim:

1. A golf putter having a shaft and a ball striking head presenting a fiat face lying in a plane generally parallel to the length of said shaft, said shaft having a length corresponding to the length of a pendulum having a time of oscillation approximately but not in excess of 0.84 second, the ball striking head having a weight of from 24 oz. to 48 02., whereby the club, in use, swinging as a free pendulum about the golfers Wrist as a fixed pivot will propel a standard golf ball a distance of at least 18 feet, over a flat green in good condition when swung from a position with the ball striking head raised to a height of 12 inches from the surface of the green.

2. A golf putter having a shaft and a ball striking head presenting a fiat face lying in a plane generally parallel to the length of said shaft, said shaft having a length corresponding to the length of a pendulum having a time of oscillation approximately but not in excess of 0.84 second, the ball striking head having a weight of from 33 oz. to 48 02., whereby the club, in use, swinging as a free pendulum about the golfers wrist as a fixed pivot will propel a standard golf ball a distance of 27 feet, over a fiat green in good condition when swung from a position with the ball striking head raised to a height of 18 inches from the surface of the green.

3. A golf putter having a shaft and a ball striking head presenting a flat face lying in a plane generally parallel to the length of said shaft, said shaft having a length corresponding to the length of a pendulum having a time Of oscillation approximately but not in excess of 0.84 second, the ball striking head having a weight of over 33 02., whereby the club, in use, swinging as a free pendulum about the golfers wrist as a fixed pivot will propel a standard golf ball a distance of at least 30 feet, over a flat green in good condition when swung from a position with the ball striking head raised to a height of 20 inches from the surface of the green.

4. The golf club of claim 1 in which the length of the shaft is 27 /2 inches.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,703,199 2/1929 McClure 27381 2,325,525 7/1943 Lukenbill 273-167 X 2,843,384 7/1958 Schmidt 273-167 X 3,062,549 11/1962 Duden 273- X 3,188,086 6/1965 Parmley 273-81.3 3,319,962 5/1967 Summers 27381.3 X

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

R. I APLEY, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A GOLF PUTTER HAVING A SHAFT AND A BALL STRIKING HEAD PRESENTING A FLAT FACE LYING IN A PLANE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE LENGTH OF SAID SHAFT, SAID SHAFT HAVING A LENGTH CORRESPONDING TO THE LENGTH OF A PENDULUM HAVING A TIME OF OSCILLATION APPROXIMATELY BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF 0.84 SECOND, THE BALL STRIKING HEAD HAVING A WEIGHT OF FROM 24 OZ. TO 48 OZ., WHEREBY THE CLUB, IN USE, SWINGING AS A FREE PENDULUM ABOUT THE GOLFER''S WRIST AS A FIXED PIVOT WILL PROPEL A STANDARD GOLD BALL A DISTANCE OF AT LEAST 18 FEET, OVER A FLAT GREEN IN GOOD CONDITION WHEN SWUNG FROM A POSITION WITH THE BALL STRIKING HEAD RAISED TO A HEIGHT OF 12 INCHES FROM THE SURFACE OF THE GREEN.

Images