Putter having an optically-based aiming system

In the game of golf, the method of improving the alignment of a putter's head with respect to a target toward which a golfer is about to direct a golf ball, said head having a front face which is used to strike the golf ball, and including the use of a battery-powered generator of radiant energy that is sufficiently light-weight as to be attachable to the shaft of the putter without significantly interfering with the natural feel of the putter, and said putter having a grip at the top of the shaft, comprising the steps of:

• a. mounting the housing of a small, light-weight, battery-operated generator of radiant energy on the shaft of a putter adjacent the putter's grip, said mounting step being done in such as way as to permit selective adjustment of the relative position of the generator housing with respect to the putter's shaft;
• b. adjusting the position of the generator housing with respect to the putter's shaft until the housing reaches a position at which a generated beam of radiant energy will be perpendicular to the front face of the putter;
• c. selectively activating the generator in order to cause a beam of radiant energy to be directed downward from the generator's housing and to impinge upon the region near the target;
• and
• d. manually rotating the generator's housing to cause the beam of radiant energy to sweep in a generally upright plane that extends perpendicularly from the front face of the putter, and the beam of radiant energy being manifested as a spot that moves as the housing is rotated, whereby the golfer may observe the location where the beam of radiant energy impinges and thereby determine whether the putter's front face is perpendicular to a line that extends from the putter's head to the target.

In the game of golf, the method of orienting the front face of a putter so that it is exactly perpendicular to an imaginary line that extends from a point on the putter's front face to a target toward which a golfer wishes to propel a golf-ball, and said putter having a head with a front face, a grip, and a shaft extending between the grip and the head, comprising the steps of:

• a. attaching to the putter's shaft adjacent the putter's grip a source of radiant energy, said source being attached in such a way that a beam of energy from said source can be focused to a relative small spot coinciding with the front face of the putter, and the attaching step being effective to cause a beam of energy generated by the source to lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the front face of the putter;
• b. holding the putter static and simultaneously rotating the source of radiant energy with respect to the putter's shaft, said rotation being accomplished about an axis that is fixed with respect to the shaft, and said rotation being accomplished to define an imaginary sighting plane that passes through the relatively small spot and projects in front of the putter's front face;
• and
• c. subsequently adjusting the orientation of the putter's face with respect to the target by incrementally rotating said face about a generally vertical axis until the imaginary sighting plane passes simultaneously through the relatively small spot and the target, whereby the putter's face will inherently be perpendicular to a line that extends between the putter's face and the target.