1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf putters and especially to a putter directed to compensate for movement of the wrist of a golfer at the moment of impact in his swing.
In the past, studies have been made and theories generated concerning the principles involved in accurately putting a golf ball in which three principles consistently emerge. These principles include the body being maintained still during the putt and having the golf head pass through the ball's position in the direction of the target, and finally, that the distance be met accurately. A great variety of putters have been provided for improving the distribution of weight of the putting head and shaft, as well as correcting the various visual problems in hitting the golf ball in the proper manner. The present putter on the other hand differs in that it addresses itself to the specific problem of compensating for minute degrees of unwanted wrist movement, in than even with such movement the ball will be struck toward the target as long as the entire club head is advanced in that direction. The invention is no substitute for the skill of the golfer, but is designed to recognize the problems by bringing together the anatomical physiology with the physics of golf putting.
A number of prior patents deal with golf clubs having concave or convex surfaces on the striking face, but most of these deal with a convex face or bulge in the woods to prevent hooks and slices by controlling the spin of the golf ball when driving a ball long distances. The principles however used in golf clubs to control the spin is of no benefit in putters in which there is no spin inasmuch as the ball does not leave the ground and is only hit short distances. Typical of the prior patents dealing with surfaces to control spin is U.S. Pat. No. 2395837 for a golf club and method of manufacturing the same; U.S. Pat. No. 1,657,473 for a golf club and U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,667 for a golf club head having a plastic striking face insert bonded to the club head material and method for making same. In addition, prior art golf clubs have taught spherical club heads, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,527 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,297. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,665,909 a cylindrical putter head is provided for hitting a golf ball to provide a ball engaging surface convex in one plane but not in a plane perpendicular to that plane. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 1,615,038 is a golf club putter having a flat face in its middle portion which then curves backwardly. It has also been suggested to use concave surfaces on clubs, but these have been prohibited under Professional Golf Association rules. Mathematical theory would indicate that the curve upon a striking face of a putter head should be circle to accomplish the intended purpose of compensating for unwanted wrist rotation. However, the application of a circular curve will not adequately address the problem of unwanted wrist movement because anatomical physiology teaches that the wrist does not move in the horizontal or vertical plane as the center of a perfect circle, due to the articulations of the carpal bones. The ligaments binding the wrist, more nearly approximate an ellipse. Therefore, the compensatory curves upon the striking surface of the putter head must be an ellipse. The present invention on the other hand brings together a golf putter having predetermined curvatures on its driving face along with other features which in combination provide compensation for minute degrees of unwanted wrist movement.