Few golfers have the skill to reliably hit a golf ball onto a golf green from a distance. A golfer's fairway shot will typically land in the vicinity of the green. The golfer will use a wedge to hit the golf ball onto the green and then a putter to putt the ball into the hole. In this situation, a golfer will often carry his or her wedge and putter to the ball, place the putter on the ground while using the wedge to strike the ball, then place the wedge on the ground while using the putter to strike the ball. There are several inherent risks with this process, including inadvertently leaving a club behind, stepping on a club, and dirtying the club, particularly the grip. Furthermore, golfers may be inconvenienced by repeatedly bending down to place or retrieve golf clubs on the ground.
Golf club holders have been developed to address some of these problems. Many golf club holders support golf clubs in a head-up, grip-down orientation. Supporting golf clubs in this orientation may not be ideal for golfers, as they may need to retrieve their clubs by bending down to reach the grip or grasping the possibly dirty club head. Furthermore, if the golf club holder is not securely fastened to the club, the golfer may need to retrieve the holder separate to retrieving the club and the holder may not remain securely attached during storage and transportation. Other golf club holders support golf clubs in a head-down, grip-up orientation, which facilitates retrieving clubs by grasping the grip. Such golf club holders may support a golf club by engaging the club head. Golf club holders designed to support golf clubs in a head-down, grip-up orientation may maintain their position by having a portion of the holders driven into the ground. With certain golf club holders, a golfer may press the head of the club down into or against the golf club holder to drive the holder into the ground. However, the golfer must either withdraw the holder from the ground by manually pulling on the holder or pulling on the club and relying upon friction between the shaft and the holder to withdraw the holder as well.
Offset putters provide unique challenges which many golf club holders are not designed to address. Unlike standard putters, the club head in an offset putter is offset from the axis of the shaft. When addressing a golf ball, the axis of the shaft is directed at the ball and the head rests behind the ball. In some offset putters, the hosel (i.e., the part of the club head into which the shaft fits) is bent to create this offset position and a straight shaft is attached to the hosel. In other offset putters, the shaft itself is bent to locate the head in an offset position. Under current United States Golf Association rules, the shaft of the club must be straight from the top of the grip to a point not more than five inches (127 mm) above the sole (i.e., the bottom of the club head), therefore, any bend in the shaft of a USGA legal club is restricted to the lowest five inches of the club. Golf club holders developed to hold traditional golf clubs may not be capable of holding offset putters which include bent shafts or bent hosels.
It was realized by the inventor that improvements in golf club holders are needed to accommodate offset putters, to provide the ability to insert and withdraw a portion of the golf club holder into the ground while only grasping the club grip, and to provide other advantages.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds