Hand held golf ball compression and sphericity tester

Abstract

This invention is a hand held apparatus used to measure the hardness, or compressibility, of a golf ball and also the sphericity, or roundness, of the ball. The apparatus is small enough to be carried in the typical golf bag and easily fits in the normal hand, thus enabling the user to use the apparatus anywhere. A golf ball is inserted into the apparatus and the ball is automatically centered between two opposing plates. One plate is attached to a calibrated spring while the other plate is attached to a screw, which will be used to drive the associated plate against the ball. The screw will be hand turned until a sensing mechanism will be actuated and thus indicate to the user to stop turning. Each ball being tested will be subjected to the same force and therefore compressed an amount determined by it's own hardness. The amount the ball is compressed is related to the commonly accepted ratings found on today's golf balls and the user will be able to read a compression rating directly from a scale located on the body of the apparatus. This invention will also provide capability to measure the diameter of the ball. By measuring the diameter on several axes, the sphericity of the ball can be determined. Obviously, a ball that is sufficiently “out of round” will not fly true.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.