Golf club and practice arrangement

Abstract

A golf club has a shaft and a head attached to the shaft. The head has a ball-striking surface. An aperature is formed in the surface for allowing light to pass therethrough. A cavity is formed in the head adjacent the aperature. A light-producing insert is received within the cavity. A nonlight-producing insert is further provided for selectively replacing the light-producing insert in the cavity. A practice arrangement utilizing the golf club further includes a target which has a surface for reflecting at least a portion of a light beam produced by the light-producing insert.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A golf club, comprising: 
 a shaft;    a head attached to the shaft, said head comprising a ball striking surface, an aperature formed in the surface for allowing light to pass there through, and a cavity formed in the head adjacent the aperature;    a light-producing insert configured so as to be operably and removably received within the cavity; and    a non-light-producing insert, configured so as to be selectively received within the cavity in place of the light-producing insert.    
     
     
         2 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the non-light-producing insert is substantially equal in weight to the light-producing insert.  
     
     
         3 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the non-light-producing insert has substantially the same size, weight and weight distribution as the light-producing insert.  
     
     
         4 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein said ball striking surface comprises a translucent material disposed over said aperature.  
     
     
         5 . The golf club of  claim 1 , further comprising a prism disposed in said aperature for transmitting light produced by said light-producing insert.  
     
     
         6 . The golf club of  claim 5 , wherein said prism columnates a light beam produced by said light-producing insert such that said light beam forms a line on a surface between the head and a putting target.  
     
     
         7 . The golf club of  claim 6 , wherein a portion of said light beam produced by said light-producing insert is projected directly to, and is reflected by a surface of the target.  
     
     
         8 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein said light-producing insert comprises a prism to columnate a light beam produced by said light-producing insert to form a line on a surface between the head and a target.  
     
     
         9 . The golf club of  claim 8 , wherein a portion of said light beam produced by said light-producing insert is projected directly to, and is reflected by a surface of the target.  
     
     
         10 . The golf club of  claim 1 , further comprising a switch for allowing a user to selectively activate the light-producing insert.  
     
     
         11 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the aperature is located at an approximate midpoint of the ball-striking surface.  
     
     
         12 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein said light-producing insert comprises a battery and a laser.  
     
     
         13 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the light-producing insert and the nonlight-producing insert is secured within the cavity by a snap fit.  
     
     
         14 . A practice arrangement for putting, comprising the combination of a golf club and a target, the golf club comprising: 
 a shaft;    a putter head attached to the shaft, said putter head comprising a ball striking surface, an aperature formed in the surface for allowing light to pass there through, and a cavity formed in the putter head adjacent the aperature;    a light-producing insert configured so as to be operably and removably received within the cavity; and    a non-light-producing insert, configured so as to be selectively received within the cavity in place of the light-producing insert; and    the target comprising a surface for reflecting at least a portion of a light beam produced by the light-producing insert to provide a visual indication of orientation of the putter head relative to the target.    
     
     
         15 . The practice arrangement of  claim 14 , wherein said target comprises a surface which extends transversely to a target line defined by the light-producing insert, said surface having a plurality of regularly-spaced marks thereon.  
     
     
         16 . The practice arrangement of  claim 14 , wherein said target includes a portion configured to extend into a golf hole to secure the target in position relative to the hole.  
     
     
         17 . The practice arrangement of  claim 14 , further comprising a prism disposed in said aperature for transmitting light produced by said light-producing insert.  
     
     
         18 . The practice arrangement of  claim 17 , wherein said prism columnates a light beam produced by said light-producing insert such that said light beam forms a line on a surface between the putter head and the target.  
     
     
         19 . The practice arrangement of  claim 14 , wherein said light-producing insert comprises a prism to columnate a light beam produced by said light-producing insert to form a line on a putting surface between the putter head and the target.  
     
     
         20 . The practice arrangement of  claim 14 , wherein at least one of the light-producing insert and the nonlight-producing insert is secured within the cavity by a snap fit.