GOLF PUTTER HAVING AN EYE ALIGNMENT MIRROR

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a golf putter having an eye ball alignment mirror for aligning, when a golfer is in a putting position, the golfer's line of sight directly over a golf ball and in-line with a desired target. The putter head of the golf putter comprises a substantially planar ball striking face and a body portion extending rearwardly away from the ball striking face. The body portion includes an upwardly facing eye ball alignment mirror configured such that (i) the golfer's eye balls are viewable in the mirror when the golfer's line of sight is directly over the ball striking face and the golf ball at their point of contact, and (ii) the golfer's eye balls, as viewable in the mirror, are in-line with the desired target when the ball striking face strikes the golf ball. The body portion may further include forward and rearward alignment markings to facilitate aiming.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to golf clubs and, more specifically, to golf putters having an eye alignment mirror for aligning a golfer's line of sight directly over the club face and ball and in-line with a desired target.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Putting is a critical aspect of the game of golf. While each golfer tends to possess his own unique style of putting, some fundamentals are universally recognized as being essential to most successful putting techniques. For example, the putter face must strike the ball at a 90° angle to the intended direction of travel. A stance with the golfer's eyes directly over the putter face assists in striking the ball squarely and in-line towards the cup. During the act of putting, a golfer relies on his own visual perceptions to insure that his or her stance positions the putter face perpendicular to the ground and in-line with the flagstick (at the point of contact of the putter face with the golf ball). Put simply, it is well known that the golfer, when in the putting position, should position his or her eyes directly over the ball and parallel to the putting line (See generally, “How I Play Golf” by Tiger Woods, pages 28-29, Warner Books, 2001).

A variety of putter heads have been developed over the years which assist the golfer in visually determining the proper position of the putter head with respect to the ball, target line, and putting surface. Some putter head designs focus on heel and toe weighting to counter off-center hits. Many putter heads have markings, lines, grooves, or other structures that assist the golfer in aligning the ball at the “sweet spot” of the striking face and aligning the striking face perpendicular to the target line.

Exemplary prior art golf putters that disclose putter heads having integral alignment systems for aligning a golfer's line of sight directly over the club face and ball and in-line with a desired target include U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,526 to McCarthy (discloses a putter head having a pair of alignment pins of contrasting colors extending rearwardly away from and perpendicular to the putter face), U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,249 to Benson (discloses a putter head having a linear protrusion and a linear raised strip extending rearwardly away from and perpendicular to the putter face), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,430 to McCabe (discloses a putter head having linear indicia or markings at different elevations and perpendicular to the putter face). All of these golf putter alignment systems, however, do not adequately allow visual perception of the golfer's line of sight relative to the ground or putter face.

Exemplary prior art golf putters that disclose putter heads having alignment systems that utilize one or more mirrors include U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,866 to Bang (discloses a mirror mounted to coincide with a forward-looking aperture, whereby the golfer, when in a putting position, can view both the ball and the hole by looking at the surface of the mirror); U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,690 to Sharp (discloses a mirrored surface angled back from the striking surface of the putter head); U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,285 to Winslow (discloses another mirrored surface angled back from the striking surface of the putter head); U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,100 to Bacon (discloses a mirrored surface angled forward from the striking surface of the putter head); and U.S. Pat. No. 7,887,430 to Henley (discloses another mirrored surface angled forward from the striking surface of the putter head).

Accordingly, and although advances have been made over the years with respect to golf putters, there is still a need in the art for new golf putters having alternative alignment systems for aligning a golfer's line of sight directly over the club face and in line with a desired target. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides for further related advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In brief, the present invention is directed to a golf putter having an eye ball alignment mirror for aligning, when a golfer is in a putting position, the golfer's line of sight directly over a golf ball and in-line with a desired target. The putter head component of the inventive golf putter comprises a substantially planar ball striking face and a body portion extending rearwardly away from the ball striking face. The body portion of the putter head component includes an upwardly facing eye ball alignment mirror configured such that (i) the golfer's eye balls are viewable in the mirror when the golfer's line of sight is directly over the ball striking face and the golf ball at their point of contact, and (ii) the golfer's eye balls, as viewable in the mirror, are in-line with the desired target when the ball striking face strikes the golf ball. The body portion may further include forward and rearward alignment markings to facilitate aiming of the golf ball towards the desired target.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become more evident upon reference to the following detailed description and attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings are intended to be illustrative and symbolic representations of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention. For purposes of clarity, like reference numerals have been used to designate like features throughout the several views of the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating how a golfer may utilize the present invention to properly position his head and line of sight relative to a putter face and ball and in-line with a desired target.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a golf putter having an eye ball alignment mirror for aligning, when a golfer is a putting position, the golfer's line of sight directly over a golf ball and in-line with a desired target in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top view of the putter head shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a first and second side cross-sectional view of the putter head shown in FIG. 3 taken along line 4-4 (and represents alternative embodiments of the present invention).

FIG. 5 is a first side view of a golfer's line of sight directly over a golf ball, and a second view of the golfer's eyes being in-line with the golf ball and a desired target in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a first and second top view of a golf putter having an eye ball alignment mirror for aligning, when a golfer is a putting position, the golfer's line of sight directly over a golf ball and in-line with a desired target in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 an enlarged top view of a putter head in accordance with the present invention, and shows a golfer's eyes being in-line with forward and rearward alignment markings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring first to FIG. 1 a golfer is diagrammatically represented as attempting to line his putter up with the hole in which the flagstick or pin is located. One difficulty encountered by many golfers is making sure that their head is in proper position above the ball, particularly considered in a plane which is at right angles to the intended line of travel. The golfer 10 is illustrated as employing a putter 12 having a head 14 which is to strike the ball 16 so as to knock it into the cup or hole 18 in which the pin 19 is set. Assuming a perfectly flat surface, the golfer would like to move the ball 16 along the dotted line A into the cup 18. Ideally, the golfer's head should be directly above the putter head 14 and ball 16. An analog would be to properly align one's eye along the sights placed on the barrel of a rifle with the intended target. As shown in FIG. 1, the golfer's head 10a is properly above the putter head 14 and ball 16 when the imaginary lines B (from the golfer's head to the ball and face) and C (from the golfer's head to the cup) form a triangle with line A, which triangle is in a vertical plane passing through the line A. If the golfer's head 10a should move to either of the lines indicated at D and E, then any triangle including one or the other of such lines, the line A, and a line to the cup 18, would define a triangle askew to that defined by A, B and C; the golfer would not have an accurate alignment.

In view of the foregoing and with reference to FIGS. 2-7, the present invention is directed to a golf putter 12 having an eye ball alignment mirror 24 for aligning, when a golfer is in a putting position, the golfer's line of sight directly over a golf ball 16 and in-line with a desired target. In this regard, the inventive golf putter 12 comprises a shaft 13 having a grip end 15 and a distal end 17. The putter head 14 is connected to the distal end 17 of the shaft 13. As shown, the putter head 14 of the golf putter 12 comprises a substantially planar ball striking face 20, and a body portion 22 that extends rearwardly away from the ball striking face 20. The body portion 22 of the putter head 14 component includes an upwardly facing eye ball alignment mirror 24 configured such that (i) the golfer's eye balls 11a, b are viewable in the mirror 24 when the golfer's line of sight B is directly over the ball striking face 20 and the golf ball 16 at their point of contact, and (ii) the golfer's eye balls 11a, b, as viewable in the mirror 24, are in-line with the desired target 19 when the ball striking face 20 strikes the golf ball 16. The body portion 22 may further include respective forward and rearward alignment markings 26, 28 to facilitate aiming of the golf ball 16 towards the desired target 19.

More specifically, the body portion 22 may further comprise a forward alignment marking 26. As best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the forward alignment marking 26 is upwardly facing and preferably positioned between the ball striking face 20 and the eye ball alignment mirror 24. In this configuration, the forward alignment marking 26 is in-line with the desired target and the golfer's eye balls 11a, b, as viewable in the mirror, when the golf ball striking face 20 strikes the golf ball 16. As shown, the forward alignment marking 26 may be in the form of a circle or a segment of a circle.

In addition, the body portion 22 may further comprise a rearward alignment marking 28. The rearward alignment marking 28 is also upwardly facing and preferably positioned on or within the eye ball alignment mirror 24. In this further configuration, the rearward alignment marking 28 is in-line with the desired target and the golfer's eye balls 11a, b, as viewable in the mirror, when the golf ball striking face 20 strikes the golf ball 16. As shown, the rearward alignment marking 28 may be in the form of a straight line positioned perpendicular to the golf ball striking face 20, and may optionally be positioned with an upwardly facing circle (as shown in FIG. 7).

In still further embodiments and as shown in FIG. 7, the body portion 22 may further comprise a pair of see-through apertures 30 laterally positioned on either side of the eye ball alignment mirror 24. In this further configuration, the golfer is able to visually perceive the ground through the putter head 14 when taking aim. As is appreciated by those skilled in the art, the putter shaft 13 may be made of metal, wood, or a composite material such as, for example, carbon, whereas the putter head 14 is preferably made of a metal such, for example, aluminum, and the alignment mirror 24 (or other reflective surface) is preferably affixed thereon by means of a glue or other bonding agent.

While the present invention has been described in the context of the embodiments illustrated and described herein, the invention may be embodied in other specific ways or in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims

1. A golf putter having an eye ball alignment mirror for aligning, when a golfer is in a putting position, the golfer's line of sight directly over a golf ball and in-line with a desired target, comprising: a shaft having a grip end and a distal end; anda putter head connected to the distal end of the shaft, the putter head comprising a substantially planar ball striking face and a body portion extending rearwardly away from the ball striking face, the body portion including the eye ball alignment mirror, the eye ball alignment mirror being upwardly facing and configured such that (i) the golfer's eye balls are viewable in the mirror when the golfer's line of sight is directly over the ball striking face and the golf ball at their point of contact, and (ii) the golfer's eye balls, as viewable in the mirror, are in-line with the desired target when the ball striking face strikes the golf ball.

2. The golf putter of claim 1 wherein the body portion further comprises a forward alignment marking, the forward alignment marking being upwardly facing and positioned between the ball striking face and the eye ball alignment mirror, the forward alignment marking being in-line with the desired target and the golfer's eye balls, as viewable in the mirror, when the golf ball striking face strikes the golf ball.

3. The golf putter of claim 2 wherein the forward alignment marking is in the form of a circle or a segment of a circle.

4. The golf putter of claim 1 or 2 wherein the body portion further comprises a rearward alignment marking, the rearward alignment marking being upwardly facing and positioned on or within the eye ball alignment mirror, the rearward alignment marking being in-line with the desired target and the golfer's eye balls, as viewable in the mirror, when the golf ball striking face strikes the golf ball.

5. The golf putter of claim 4 wherein the rearward alignment marking is in the form of a straight line positioned perpendicular to the golf ball striking face.

6. The golf putter of claim 1 or 2 wherein the body portion further comprises a rearward alignment marking, the rearward alignment marking being upwardly facing and positioned adjacent to the eye ball alignment mirror, the rearward alignment marking being in-line with the desired target and the golfer's eye balls, as viewable in the mirror, when the golf ball striking face strikes the golf ball.

7. The golf putter of claim 6 wherein the rearward alignment marking is in the form of a straight line positioned perpendicular to the golf ball striking face.

8. The golf putter of claim 7 wherein the straight line is positioned within an upwardly facing circle.

9. The golf putter of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a pair of see-through apertures laterally positioned on either side of the eye ball alignment mirror.