Balanced putting trainer device

Abstract

A golf club has a shaft with a proximal end and a distal end. A golf club head is attached to the distal end of the shaft. The head has a leading ball-striking face, and a trailing edge with a striking axis defined generally perpendicular to the striking face and a transverse axis defined generally parallel to the striking face. The head includes a polymer insert having a transversely extending face portion and a generally cylindrical portion extending rearwardly therefrom along the striking axis. The face portion has a transverse width greater than the generally cylindrical portion. A metal shell has a body portion surrounding the cylindrical portion and a perimeter ridge extending around the perimeter of the face portion of the polymer insert such that the perimeter ridge of the metal shell and a face portion of the polymer insert cooperate to define the ball-striking face of the golf club head.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A golf club comprising: 
 a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end;    a club head attached to the distal end of the shaft having a leading ball striking face and a trailing edge, the ball striking face having a perimeter shape, a width and a height associated therewith, a striking axis being defined from the ball striking face to the trailing edge and a transverse axis defined perpendicular to the striking axis, the club head comprising: 
 a metal portion having a forward face and a trailing edge, the forward face having a perimeter ridge defining the perimeter of the striking face and a recessed central area, a generally cylindrical bore being defined from the forward face to the trailing edge, the bore being generally aligned with the striking axis; and  
 a polymer insert having a generally cylindrical portion filling the bore in the metal portion and a face portion filling the recessed central portion of the metal portion and defining the remainder of the striking face, the face portion having a perimeter shape generally similar to the perimeter shape of the ball striking face such that the perimeter ridge has a generally constant width, the face portion having a transverse width greater than the cylindrical portion such that the polymer insert has a generally T-shaped horizontal cross section.  
   
     
     
         2 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the face portion has a generally constant thickness.  
     
     
         3 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the face portion has a thickness of approximately {fraction ( 1 / 8 )} inch.  
     
     
         4 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a viscoelastic material.  
     
     
         5 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer has a hardness greater than the hardness of golf ball.  
     
     
         6 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer has a hardness less than the hardness of a golf ball.  
     
     
         7 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the metal portion is aluminum.  
     
     
         8 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the head has an upper surface with a pair of visible parallel lines disposed thereon, the lines being generally parallel to the striking axis and spaced apart by the width of a golf ball.  
     
     
         9 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the club is face balanced.  
     
     
         10 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the club head has a lower surface and the shaft has weight of 300 to 500 grams added centered on a distance between 17 and 25 inches from the lower surface of the club head.  
     
     
         11 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the head is a mallet style putter head.  
     
     
         12 . A golf club comprising: 
 a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end;    a golf club head attached to the distal end of the shaft, the golf club head having a leading ball striking face and a trailing edge with a striking axis defined generally perpendicular to the striking face and a transverse axis defined generally parallel to the striking face, the head comprising: 
 a polymer insert having a transversely extending face portion and a generally cylindrical portion extending rearwardly therefrom along the striking axis, the face portion having a transverse width greater than the generally cylindrical portion; and  
 a metal shell having a body portion surrounding the cylindrical portion and a perimeter ridge extending around the perimeter of the face portion of the polymer insert such that the perimeter ridge of the metal shell and the face portion of the polymer insert cooperate to define the ball striking face of the golf club head.  
   
     
     
         13 . A golf club comprising: 
 a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; and    a golf club head attached to the distal end of the shaft, the golf club head comprising: 
 a body having a generally planar ball striking face and an opposed trailing edge interconnected by upper and lower surface extending therebetween, the ball striking face having a metal perimeter and a polymer central portion; and  
 a generally cylindrical polymer central core extending from the polymer central portion of the ball striking face to the trailing edge of the body.