US 6,348,014 · Granted 2002-02-19
The Adjustable-Weight Putter That Lets Golfers Fine-Tune Their Swing
Imagine a golf putter where you can swap out weights inside the club head to shift where the weight sits — kind of like tuning a skateboard. This patent describes a putter with removable weights held in place by rubber rings, so golfers can customize how the club feels and performs without buying a whole new set.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a putter head design with multiple holes drilled into the back that hold interchangeable weights. Each weight has grooves around its edge where rubber retaining rings grip it securely in place. What's protected here is the specific combination of the receiving holes, the weights with their grooved design, the rubber rings that lock them in, and the tool hole that lets you insert and remove the weights by hand — the whole system for adjusting a putter's weight distribution.
Why it matters
This patent matters because it solves a real problem in golf equipment design: not every golfer swings the same way, and not every putter feels right out of the box. By making weights removable and repositionable, a single putter head can be tuned to different preferences without manufacturing dozens of variations. This kind of customization can improve a golfer's consistency and comfort, which translates directly to better performance.
Real-world use
A golfer struggling with their putting stroke could pop out the weights from their putter head using a tool, shift them to a different position, and snap them back in — all in minutes, without visiting a pro shop or buying a new club.
Original USPTO abstract
A golf putter head and weight adjustable arrangement include a putter head body, the putter head body having a plurality of receiving holes respectively extended to a back side wall thereof in direction perpendicular to a face panel thereof, and a plurality of weights fitting the receiving holes and selectively fastened to the receiving holes to adjust the location of the center of gravity of the putter head body, the weights each having at least one annular locating groove around the periphery thereof, at least one rubber retaining ring respectively mounted on the at least one annular locating groove and adapted to secure the respective weight to the receiving holes of the putter head body, and a rear tool hole adapted to receive a hand tool being used to carry the weights in and out of the receiving holes of the putter head body.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,348,014
- Filing date
- 2000-08-15
- Grant date
- 2002-02-19
- Assignee
- Chih Hung Chiu
- Inventor(s)
- CHIU CHIH HUNG
- CPC class
- A63B53/065
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