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Yep, Hollow Rigid Spikes Are the Key to a Good Putter ? Day Four of the Week of Wild Putter Designs

By David Dawsey PE Esq

Increase bite, minimize skid, improve roll,? good concepts, but is this the putter to do it?

The design comes  from USPN 6110057 titled ?Jiro Putter,? which explains the invention as:

The instant invention is a golf putter comprising a shaft with an enlarged gripping portion at one end and a novel low profile putter head precisely positioned at the other end. The enlarged grip and putter head positioning enhances the "feel" of the putter and gives it balance similar to that of an expensive pen or a superior brush used by an artist.

According to many golf experts, it is important to get a golf ball rolling as early in the putting stroke as possible as opposed to the ball sliding or scooting over the putting green. A rolling ball will more likely follow the direction of the putting stroke rather than the direction defined by the grain of the grass, even on a slanted or downhill putting green. Also the inertia of a rolling ball is less likely to be influenced by small imperfections in the putting green's surface. To this end, the instant invention incorporates an array of hollow rigid spikes positioned on the ball striking face of the putter's low profile head. When executing the putting stroke, the spikes will tend to "bite" into the ball and immediately impart a rolling or top spin motion to the ball. The face of the putter will be in contact with the ball a fraction of a second longer than on a conventional putter giving the golfer substantially more control on putting alignments.

The enlarged grip, balanced head, and spiked face combine to produce a superior putter which prevents glancing, ricocheting, and scooting problems. The putter of the instant invention also minimizes the tendency to pull or push the ball out of alignment with a direct path to the hole. The putting confidence instilled in the user may well spill over into other aspects of the game.

The improved putter will be economical to manufacture and easy to use. Because of the reduction of putting strokes, tournament and television time will be shortened with benefits accruing to all segments of the golfing public.

Slap "Cameron" on it with a few stampings and this putter would sell! I can't help but wonder about the significance of the spikes being hollow.

Dave Dawsey  - The Putter Patent Attorney

PS ? Click HERE, HERE, and HERE to read additional posts from the ?Week of Wild Putter Designs?

Full post as published by Golf Patents on November 12, 2009 (boomark / email).