Adjustable putter

Abstract

A golf putter comprises latitudinally elongated head having a generally rectangular hitting face against a golf ball. The head has an integral center plate extending longitudinally and rearward from the hitting face at its bottom. The center plate has a visible centerline for aiming at the ball. A ball joint for angularly fixing a shaft to the head includes a frictional sphere attached to the bottom end of the shaft. A truncated spherical socket is formed by a middle section of the head and a clamp member screw fastened to the head, whereby the shaft is locked in a truncated spherical interior wall at an adjusted angle to the head. Two swappable posts extend from the opposite side of the hitting face of the head near its latitudinal edges, each post having a centrally threaded bore and being threadedly attached to the head so that it may be replaced by a body of varying weight for plugging a void created by the threading of the post.

1 . A golf putter comprising:
 a latitudinally elongated head having a generally rectangular hitting face against a ball, the head having an integral center plate extending longitudinally and rearward from the hitting face at its bottom, the center plate having a visible center line for aiming at the ball;   a ball joint for angularly fixing a shaft to the head, the joint including a frictional sphere attached to the bottom end of the shaft, a semi-spherical recess formed in the middle of the head facing away from the hitting face less a semi-circular top opening for allowing angular adjustment of the shaft, and a clamp member having a complementary semi-spherical recess with a semi-circular top opening and screw fastened centrally to the semi-spherical recess of the head, whereby the shaft is locked in a truncated spherical interior wall at an adjusted angle to the head   two longitudinal posts extending from the opposite side of the hitting face of the head near its latitudinal edges, each the post having a centrally threaded bore;   two sets of longitudinal stacks of weight elements having incremental thickness and screw fastened to the threaded bore of the posts respectively, the weight elements being selectively added or deleted to adjust the weight of the putter locally in a plane parallel to the center plate; and   at least one elastic washer inserted between adjacent ones of the weight elements in each set concentrically thereto to provide a bounce to the putter.   
     
     
         2 . The golf putter of  claim 1 , further comprising acute edges along the boundaries of the semi-spherical recesses and semi-circular top openings of both the head and clamp member whereby the frictional sphere of the shaft in the ball joint is enhanced in clamping speed as well as clamping force. 
     
     
         3 . The golf putter of  claim 1 , wherein the weight elements are made of metal shaped into single to multiple concentric washers, the multiple washers being joined integrally to provide a visual consistency allowing a quick addition or deletion of weight into a target distribution of weight of the putter. 
     
     
         4 . The golf putter of  claim 1 , wherein the weight elements are made of composite materials including a metal and a plastic to provide an eccentric weighting for extending the planar weight adjustment to a vertical level of the putter. 
     
     
         5 . The golf putter of  claim 4 , wherein the metal is copper. 
     
     
         6 . A golf putter comprising:
 a latitudinally elongated head having a generally rectangular hitting face against a golf ball, the head having an integral center plate extending longitudinally and rearward from the hitting face at its bottom, the center plate having a visible center line for aiming at the ball;   a ball joint for angularly fixing a shaft to the head, the joint including a frictional sphere attached to the bottom end of the shaft, a semi-spherical recess formed in the middle of the head facing away from the hitting face less a semi-circular top opening for allowing angular adjustment of the shaft, and a clamp member having a complementary semi-spherical recess with a semi-circular top opening and screw fastened centrally to the semi-spherical recess of the head, whereby the shaft is locked in a truncated spherical interior wall at an adjusted angle to the head;   two swappable posts extending from the opposite side of the hitting face of the head near its latitudinal edges, each the post having a centrally threaded bore and being threadedly attached to the head so that it may be replaced by a body of varying weight for plugging a void created by the threading of the post;   two sets of longitudinal stacks of weight elements having incremental thickness and screw fastened to the head selectively through the threaded bore of the posts respectively to provide a first mode of expanded weight distribution or through the clamp member to provide a second mode of compacted weight positioning in a conventional putter head contour, the weight elements being selectively added or deleted to adjust the weight of the putter locally in a plane parallel to the center plate; and   at least one elastic washer inserted between adjacent ones of the weight elements in each set concentrically thereto to provide a bounce to the putter.   
     
     
         7 . The golf putter of  claim 6 , further comprising acute edges along the boundaries of the semi-spherical recesses and semi-circular top openings of both the head and clamp member whereby the frictional sphere of the shaft in the ball joint is enhanced in clamping speed as well as clamping force. 
     
     
         8 . The golf putter of  claim 6 , wherein the weight elements are made of metal shaped into single to multiple concentric washers, the multiple washers being joined integrally to provide a visual consistency allowing a quick addition or deletion of weight into a target distribution of weight of the putter. 
     
     
         9 . The golf putter of  claim 1 , wherein the weight elements are made of composite materials including a metal and a plastic to provide an eccentric weighting for extending the planar weight adjustment to a vertical level of the putter. 
     
     
         10 . The golf putter of  claim 9 , wherein the metal is copper. 
     
     
         11 . The golf putter of  claim 6 , wherein the weight element sets in the compact mode cooperate to align and aim the head body and assist the aiming center line of the center plate for the golfer to hit the ball consistently. 
     
     
         12 . A golf putter comprising:
 a putter head having a generally rectangular face, the head having an integral alignment plate extending longitudinally and rearward from the hitting face, the center plate having a visible aiming center line;   a shaft;   a ball joint angularly affixing the shaft to the putter head, the ball joint having a sphere attached to the bottom end of the shaft, a head recess allowing angular adjustment of the shaft; and   a clamp member having a complementary recess with a top opening, wherein the clamp member is screw fastened to the head recess, wherein the shaft is locked during use;   two longitudinal posts extending from the opposite side of the hitting face of the head near its latitudinal edges, each the post having a centrally threaded bore;   two sets of longitudinal weight elements having incremental thickness and screw fastened to the threaded bore of the posts respectively, the weight elements being selectively added or removed to adjust the weight of the putter locally in a plane parallel to the center plate.   
     
     
         13 . The golf putter of  claim 12 , wherein the sphere has a power coat to control surface roughness. 
     
     
         14 . The golf putter of  claim 12 , wherein the weight elements are formed as stacks. 
     
     
         15 . The golf putter of  claim 12 , further comprising at least one elastic washer inserted between adjacent ones of the weight elements in each set concentrically thereto to provide a bounce to the putter. 
     
     
         16 . The golf putter of  claim 15 , wherein the weight elements are formed as stacks and wherein the weight elements are made of composite materials including a metal and a plastic to provide an eccentric weighting for extending the planar weight adjustment to a vertical level of the putter. 
     
     
         17 . The golf putter of  claim 15 , further comprising surface grooves on the hitting face. 
     
     
         18 . The golf putter of  claim 12 , wherein the head recess and the complementary recess provide a double ring clamp configuration. 
     
     
         19 . The golf putter of  claim 18 , wherein the weight elements are formed as stacks. 
     
     
         20 . The golf putter of  claim 18 , wherein the weight elements are made of composite materials including a metal and a plastic to provide an eccentric weighting for extending the planar weight adjustment to a vertical level of the putter.