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Latest patent filings: An adjustable golf ball and more

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It’s been a little more than a month since we last had a look at the major OEM’s patent filings.

Last time we looked at designs from TaylorMade, Ping, Titleist, and Nike. In this installment, we have some truly interesting contraptions, including some inspired (or insane, depending on your view) efforts, including an adjustable golf ball.

We’ll also take a look at what Ping, TaylorMade, and Callaway are up to. Keep reading for our June survey of patent activity.

Ping: Driver

Ping-Turbulator-Wood-

As David Dawsey of Golf-Patents.com writes, crown turbulators are a type of golf club technology that, in short, increase both club head speed and ball speed. In a study associated with another Ping club featuring turbulator technology, ball speed was more than 1 mph faster compared to an identical club sans turbulator.

Need more details? Check out the illustration and explanation below:

 

Turbulator-2

 

[0057] FIG. 29 shows a schematic view based on actual airflow visualization experiments of airflow over the club head 100 without turbulators, and FIG. 30 shows a schematic view based on actual airflow visualization experiments of airflow over the same club head with the turbulators 400. In FIG. 29, the streamlines representing airflow approach the club had 100 and are diverted over the club face toward the leading edge. The streamlines traverse over the leading edge 112 and flow over the crown 110. However, the airflow becomes detached from the crown 110 at the separation region 120, and creates a turbulent wake 122 over a substantial section of the crown 110. This turbulent wake 122 increases the drag thereby reducing the speed of the club head 100. Referring to FIG. 30, the ridges 401-408 are positioned downstream of the leading edge 112 and upstream of the separation region 120 of FIG. 29. Accordingly, the flow remains attached on a substantial portion of the crown 110 as is shown by the streamlines in FIG. 30. Therefore, the separation region 120 is moved farther aft on the crown 110.

More about this filing here.

Nike: Putter

Nike-putter-adjustable-face

 

Nike was granted a patent May 29th for a putter with an adjustable face. In contrast to putters that have had various faces that a golfer could effectively snap in, Nike’s new design features an “adjustable ball striking face insert [that] may be rotatably mounted within the putter head.

Further, the filing indicates “in some arrangements, the insert may be finely adjustable to alter the loft angle of the putter head.”

Read the full filing here.

TaylorMade: Club Face

Screen shot 2014-06-03 at 12.37.41 PM

TaylorMade was granted a patent May 8th for a golf club “with cover having roughness pattern. As the filing states, “The face plate comprises a lay-up of multiple, composite prepreg plies.”

In other words, it seems a sublayer of the club’s face is, essentially, woven, in order to precisely control face thickness. The filing indicates past difficulty with variable-thickness composite plates and presents TMag’s fiber technology as the solution.

Detail of the face structure below.

Screen shot 2014-06-03 at 12.42.13 PM

 

Read the full filing here.

Callaway: Adjustable Shaft/Hosel

Screen shot 2014-06-03 at 3.36.48 PM

According to a recent filing, Callaway is exploring “An adjustable shaft and hosel assembly allows for dependent and independent adjustment of a golf club’s face angle, loft angle, and lie angle.”

The filing lays out in great detail the ways in which technology in question allows greater adjustability than current adjustable drivers.

Read the full filing here.

Ping: Club Face Plates

Screen shot 2014-06-03 at 4.16.45 PM

Ping has been granted a patent for “golf club face plates with internal cell lattices and related methods.” This seems similar to the TaylorMade layered face mentioned earlier.

This from the filing indicates the concern with mass redistribution that all manufacturers share: “The ability to alter or redistribute mass at or around locations of high stress and/or of limited thickness in a golf club head, however, has to be balanced with respect to structural resilience considerations.”

If the previous indicates areas of concern, then this portion of the filing suggests the upside in such technologies: “Considering the above, further developments in terms of weight redistribution will advance the playability characteristics of golf club heads.”

Read the full filing here.

Nike: Adjustable Golf Ball

Screen shot 2014-06-03 at 4.23.58 PM

This is a real thing: Nike is developing a “golf ball with adjustable tackiness.” The filing also contains some of the greatest patent sketches of all time, including a golf ball in a microwave.

For the how and why of adjusting a ball’s tackiness, it’s worth quoting from the filing at length:

A golf ball is provided that includes a coating. The coating is designed to allow a golfer to modify or increase the tackiness of the coating. The coating changes tackiness when exposed to a soaking material. A method of determining a desirable length of soak is also disclosed.

Golf balls as typically constructed usually cannot be modified by the user to change their properties. In some cases, the lack of modifiability is due to a desire to prevent the user from changing the ball’s properties in such a way that they no longer conform to USGA regulations. However, in other cases, it may be desirable to allow a user to modify the properties of the golf ball to enhance play, particularly when the ball is not being used in a competitive environment.

Among the obstacles that are faced by golfers is moisture on the course. Often the moisture takes the form of dew or rain on the grass and rain or other precipitation falling from the sky. This moisture can wet the ball and the club face. When there is moisture between the ball and club, the ball is likely to slip while in contact with the club more than when golfing in a dry situation. This slipping may cause the ball to have reduced spin after impact and may otherwise negatively affect the flight path of the ball.

In addition, other changes to a golfer’s clubs may affect the degree of slip between the ball and the club. For example, if a new set of clubs is used, the surface of a new club face may have a reduced friction because it has not been used heavily and become abraded. Further, if a golfer begins to use a club with a different groove profile, the coefficient of friction of the club face may be reduced.

When these types of changes occur, it can cause a golfer to become flustered and mishit the ball to an even greater degree than caused by the equipment or conditions. Minimizing these effects may be helpful in the golfer having a pleasant golfing experience.

Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide a ball where the user can adjust the tackiness depending on the equipment and weather conditions.

Read the full filing here.

Nike: Automatic Club Setting and Ball Flight Optimization

Screen shot 2014-06-03 at 4.30.30 PM

As though the microwavable ball isn’t outlandish (or perhaps brilliant) enough, Nike is also working on a golf club that adjusts automatically.

This filing, too, is worth quoting at length:

[The filing concerns] Systems, methods, and computer readable media for changing and controlling settings … Such setting adjustment systems may alter one or more of: lie angle, loft angle, face angle, shaft stiffness, shaft kickpoint location, weighting, weight positioning, face flexibility, maximum face flex location, etc.

These systems and methods may use various types of information to determine the appropriate settings, such as: ball launch monitor data, swing path data, weather input data, course condition input data for a location of play, course design input data for a location of play, daily course layout input data for a location and a time of play, golfer past performance data (e.g., recent past performance, past performances at the location of play, past performance during an ongoing round of golf (i.e., on earlier played holes), etc.), current adjustable club setting information, and information indicating specific holes to be played.

Read the full filing here.

Callaway: Adjustable Driver

Screen shot 2014-06-04 at 10.37.49 AM

In a filing that shows the Big Bertha II design, Callaway also includes sketches of this club with an adjustable sliding weight that allows golfers to move the center of gravity low and forward (like TaylorMade’s SLDR driver) or low and rearward (like Ping’s G25 driver). This technology is significant because of its affect on a club’s moment of inertia, which is a measure of a club’s forgiveness.

The marketplace is currently divided between the benefits of a driver with a low and forward CG, which reduces spin and can allow for more carry distance and roll, and one with a rearward CG, which improves the consistency of ball speed on off-center hits and leads to a higher launch, given the same loft. With this technology, a golfer could fit themselves to a blend of low-spin performance and forgiveness that makes sense for their game at that time.

Read the full filing here.

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GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. SPSM

    Jun 5, 2014 at 1:22 pm

    Somebody please stop Nike.

  2. Mike

    Jun 5, 2014 at 8:48 am

    Golfer: “@#$%^, it’s starting to rain. Quick, find a microwave and zap these Nikes. You know I’m going to lose spin off these wet clubfaces.”

    Caddy: “Uh, why don’t you just land it a couple of yards shorter?”

  3. RG

    Jun 4, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    Bet those Nike balls will be hot…

  4. Fred

    Jun 4, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    I bet those new Nike balls come in a mesh pouch with a string and a paper tag. “Try the all-new Nike Tee Bag!” the ad will say, and a million dudes will adjust their junk absentmindedly.

  5. RAT

    Jun 4, 2014 at 4:36 pm

    I have already tried the cooking of the RZN ball and no doubt this was the idea from Nike all along when they designed the ball..But not sooo fast ,it’s much harder to do than you think..You over cook it and the cover melts, under cook it and it dumbs the ball won’t travel well flys like a dying quail!! They should drop this idea because everyone will try it even in tourny’s..Must be a way to id these better yet don’t make them..

  6. LorenRobertsFan

    Jun 4, 2014 at 3:54 pm

    Hey Nike, did you forget about the flop Odyssey had? Flip Face.. But this will probably do better if it comes to market. The open area in the middle of the Odyssey putters looked ugly. This appears more seamless

  7. Double Mocha Man

    Jun 4, 2014 at 3:42 pm

    I think Nike’s idea is pretty tacky.

  8. paul

    Jun 4, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    I like callaways idea the most. I love the big bertha, and love the sldr. So lets put em together.

  9. Richard L Cox III

    Jun 4, 2014 at 12:43 pm

    talk about “straight out of The Oven.”

    (ba-dum-cha)

  10. tim

    Jun 4, 2014 at 12:35 pm

    I can just picture Nike’s campaign, “Microwave Technology”.

    • TJ

      Jun 5, 2014 at 10:25 am

      Nike The Oven
      Nike The Microwave

      Nike The Barbecue?

      This stuff writes itself

  11. Danny

    Jun 4, 2014 at 12:19 pm

    Lol Nike tries way too hard to be noticed

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Equipment

Cobra launches new limited-edition Darkspeed ‘season opener’ driver

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Cobra Golf has today introduced a new limited-edition Darkspeed season opener driver in celebration of golf’s first major.

The new Darkspeed season opener limited edition driver combines a unique colorway with azaleas on the sole and Augusta green highlights for a festive, spring feel.

The driver comes paired with a matching limited edition head cover and a Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black shaft in choice of X, S, or R flex and 9- and 10.5-degree loft options.

The Cobra Darkspeed season opener driver is available in X and LS models and retails for $649. It is available now on cobragolf.com.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/29/24): Mint Miura MB 101 irons

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a set of Mint Miura MB 101 irons.

From the seller: (@Citixen): “MINT Miura MB 101 5-PW KBS $1700 + Shipping. Miura MB 101 irons 5-PW with KBS C-Taper Lite X Stiff shafts +0.5″, Standard Loft and Lie. Mint condition, includes magnetic head-covers.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Mint Miura MB 101 irons

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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