Putter head with alignment indicator grid

Abstract

An improved putter head having an alignment enhancing grid pattern formed of line elements arranged generally according to the golden mean. The grid pattern includes ball-bracketing lines and a horizonatal centerline positioned therebetween that center a golf ball at address and facilitate solid contact with the ball during the stroke.

1 . A golf putter head, comprising a putter head block having having a toe portion, a heel portion, at least one planar ball-striking surface, a bottom surface, and a top surface having a visual alignment indicator, wherein either said putter head block or said visual alignment indicator includes line elements sized in accordance with the golden ratio.  
   
   
       2 . The putter of  claim 1 , wherein said visual alignment indicator is a grid comprising a plurality of lines including parallel upper and lower horizontal lines, parallel front and rear vertical lines, a horizontal centerline parallel to said upper and lower horizontal lines, a toe portion intermediate horizontal line disposed between said horizontal centerline and said upper horizontal line, a heel portion intermediate horizontal line disposed between said said horizontal centerline and said lower horizontal line, and a vertical centerline parallel to said front and rear vertical lines.  
   
   
       3 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein said horizontal and vertical lines form a grid of eight rectangles.  
   
   
       4 . The putter head of  claim 3 , wherein said rectangles include four equally-sized large interior rectangles and four equally sized small exterior rectangles.  
   
   
       5 . The putter head of  claim 4 , wherein the short sides of said small rectangles and the length y of said short sides of said large rectangles are substantially in the golden ratio.  
   
   
       6 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein said putter head block has a longitudinal axis of a center of mass, said vertical centerline includes a toe portion and a heel portion, and said toe portion of said vertical centerline is disposed above said longitudinal axis of the center of mass of said putter head block.  
   
   
       7 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein one or more of said heel and toe portions are convex.  
   
   
       8 . The putter head of  claim 7 , wherein said heel and toe portions each include an apex which intersects an extension of said vertical centerline.  
   
   
       9 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein one or more of said heel and toe portions are concave.  
   
   
       10 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein said putter head block includes a lateral axis of the center of mass, and wherein said horizontal centerline is disposed above said lateral axis of the center of mass of said putter head block.  
   
   
       11 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein said horizontal centerline and said vertical centerline intersect at a point disposed immediately above the geometric center and center of mass of said putter head block.  
   
   
       12 . The putter head of  claim 11 , wherein said point is a tangent to a shaft hole into which the a golf club shaft is installed at an angle.  
   
   
       13 . The putter head of  claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the length of said block to the width of said block is substantially that of the golden ratio.  
   
   
       14 . The putter head of  claim 2 , including upper and lower ball bracketing lines separated by a distance approximately that of the diameter of a regulation golf ball.  
   
   
       15 . The putter head of  claim 14 , wherein said horizontal centerline is evenly positioned between said upper and lower ball bracketing lines.  
   
   
       16 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein said putter head block is dome-shaped.  
   
   
       17 . The putter head of  claim 2 , wherein said putter head block is bell-shaped.  
   
   
       18 . A golf putter head, comprising: 
 a putter head block having a top surface with line elements arranged generally according to the golden mean.    
   
   
       19 . The putter head of  claim 18 , wherein said line elements form a plurality of rectangles.  
   
   
       20 . The putter head of  claim 19 , wherein said rectangles in combination include at least two lines that bracket and center a golf ball at address.