The patent “Linear putter device
of a golf club” (#6659880) is a very out-of-the-box reinvention of the standard
putter used in golf. This putter is much longer than the normal putter and
requires a completely different setup for the player. Instead of holding the
putter with two hands on the handle, this device (which is much longer than a
normal putter) requires the player to hold up a shorter handle to his or her
chin and a very long lower rod that the player swings to make contact with the
golf ball. The drawing of such a device and putting stroke looks like this:
According to the patent, this
linear putter device consists of the following components:
- A lower connecting rod: A right-handed golfer grips this with his or her right hand to swing and make contact with the golf ball.
- An upper connecting rod: This rod goes from the top of the lower connecting rod to the upright rod (the handle of the putter).
- A bearing unit: This allows the lower connecting rod to swing.
- A locking member: This connects the lower connecting rod and the upper connecting rod.
- An upright rod: This component is the handle that a right-handed golfer would hold with his or her left hand.
- A movable member: This allows the player to adjust the height of the club for the player's height. The distance between the movable member and the upright rod can be adjusted arbitrarily to fit the player's height.
It appears that the inventors of
this patent believed this is a serious invention, as they go into tremendous detail
about how such a device would work. As a golfer myself, I would never want to
use this kind of putter. It would require a completely different putting stroke
than almost all golfers are used to, not to mention the question of portability
in a player’s golf club. This is truly a pretty silly patent.
Nice post Jay, timely too with the Masters starting. While this is a ridiculous patent and I doubt this method of putting would ever catch on, it is both novel and useful. Honestly, with how bad my short game is in golf, I would maybe even give it a try!
ReplyDeleteHi Jay,
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting, obviously not legal for real golf tournaments but I don't see what this replaces in a regular putter and why anyone would switch. It is very silly indeed and even though I'm not a gold player intuitively you basically are hitting with one hand and not two- so less control right?
Hi Jay,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you gave your input being a golfer yourself. It really validated that this is a silly patent. I could see why this got approved for patent status, but I don't see anybody really using this. Seems like a useless invention!
Best,
Shauray
This patent is ridiculous.. Who would want to completely change their swing and have an obnoxious putter hanging out of their bag? The creators definitely seem to be serious about it but I can't imagine that they'd have a large target audience. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHaha great stupid patent. I don't even think anybody would use that or even want to use that invention. Who could even swing like that and have that ridiculous looking putter club. Nice.
ReplyDelete