CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the priority of provisional U.S. application serial no. 60/556,135 filed on March 22, 2004 by Glenn Edward Holmes, the entire contents and substance of which are hereby incorporated in total by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the field of golf putters and more specifically to causing a golf putter to swing on an improved line after it strikes the ball. It relates to improving both the putter alignment process and to increasing the moment of inertia of the putter head.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The act of putting a golf ball in an attempt to have it roll into a golf cup can be a very demanding task. It entails, determining the speed at which one must stroke the putt to obtain the proper rolling distance. It also relates to judging how much the ball will break in light of, among other things, that determined speed as well as the fastness, slope, grain and even dampness of the green. Once these factors have been properly determined, the golfer can then make the desired put by simply aiming the putter along the appropriate target line and executing the putt along this line with the necessary putter head speed. Even if a golfer has properly determined the above factors in selecting his target line, the putt may fail should the putter not be properly aligned with the golfer's intended ball path. The putt may also fail if the execution of the putting stroke results in an off-center hit of the face of the putter with the golf ball. Such an off-center hit causes the putter face to torque or turn, changing the intended line on which the ball was to roll. Further, such an off- center hit may result in a loss in distance of the ball's roll causing the ball to not reach the hole and/or adversely effecting the estimate of the putt's break. Accordingly, forgiving performance is a major objective of most modern putter designers, especially those targeting non-professional players. The degree of distance loss and mis-direction from a particular miss-hit is directly related to the putter planar moment of inertia ("MOI"). That is, by producing a putter having a greater MOI will reduce these adverse effects when a put is miss-hit. Another beneficial goal of putter design is producing a putter having a solid feel when a ball is struck. "Solid feel" is a subjective term, but most golfers agree, it relates to lack of vibrations when the ball is hit in the putter's sweet spot and a feeling of overall consistency in the reaction of the ball when it is struck. This consistency is important to both professional and non-professionals alike in establishing a feel for the putt's rolling distance vs. the putter head striking velocity. The present invention addresses these desirable features of a putter in that it provides a high MOI to resist torque or twisting of the club face on off center hits. It supplies this high MOI in a novel putter design that provides solid feel to the user. Further, it provides various effective alignment features. These features are provided in a putter head that is made in a one piece construction that further enhances the playability of the putter as shall be described below.

Description of Related Art The following U.S. patents were noted as being relevant: 6,796,911; 6,488,595; 6,471,600; 6,793,588; 6,679,782; 6,663,497; 6,692,378; 6,267,689; 6,746,344; and 4,688,798. The following published patent applications were noted as being relevant: 2003/0232661; 2003/0236130; 2003/0228925; 2003/0144077; 2004/0063516; 2004/0132542; 2004/0166953; 2004/0138004; 2004/0127305; 2004/0038746; 2004/0138003

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides an improved moment of inertia for a golf putter. This improvement is provided by a mass of the club that is distributed farther away from the ball impact point of the club. In particular, this mass distribution is attained by building the putter head with tabs that distribute the weight more to the sides of the putter head as well as to the rear of the putter head. The putter head also contains recesses in its center area that further enhance this weighting effect. This weight distribution creates a three dimensional weighting for an improved moment of inertia. The net result is that when a ball is not struck on a line passing through the putter head's center of gravity, it twists to a lesser degree than a putter having a lesser moment of inertia. The negative results from such a mis-hit are thereby minimized. The invention also realizes farther improvements in the prior art. In particular, it utilizes the above mentioned recesses to implement additional aiming and alignment features. In an additional embodiment of the invention, the club head is milled from a single piece of metal thereby improving the resulting feel of the putter. Additional design features enhance the "top spin" or forward roll imparted on a ball during the strike of the putter thereby improving the resulting path of the ball. Additional embodiments of the invention permit variable weight inserts to be added to the putter to allow the user to essentially customize the putter weight to fit his putting stroke and/or the conditions of the green.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a frontal view of the embodiment of the invention depicted in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top view of the embodiment of the invention depicted in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a right side view of the embodiment of the invention depicted in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an additional embodiment of the invention in which variable weights are permitted to be added to the bottom edge of the putter head; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an additional embodiment of the invention in which variable weights are permitted to be added to the side edges of the putter head; and, Figs. 7 A-D are views of an embodiment of the invention in which various dimensions of the putter head are depicted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention is directed to a golf club as illustrated in Fig. 1, and particularly to a putter 10 comprising a head 12 having a shank opening 14 for receiving a shaft 16 (shown in phantom), which may be secured to the opening 14 in a known manner (e.g. by a suitable adhesive such as epoxy resin). The head 12 has a top surface 20 which is formed with a pair of circular recesses 22 and 24. The head has a planar striking face 18 on its front edge. The remaining side edges 26 are curved in a manner that an ear shaped tab or outrigger 28 and 30 is formed on both the left and right edges of the putter head 12. The presence of tabs 28 and 30 and the recesses 22 and 24 effects the weight distribution of the putter in two advantages ways. First, the weight is distributed more towards the left and right sides of the putter thereby increasing its moment of inertia. As noted above in the discussion of the background of the prior art, such an increase in moment of inertia results in the putter head being less susceptible to turning on off-center hits. Second, the weight is distributed farther towards the rear of the putter and consequently farther from the striking face 18. This aspect of the weight distribution further increases the putter heads MOI. It also results in a greater tendency in use to strike the golf ball in a manner that creates topspin, thereby improving the rolling characteristics of the ball. In the embodiment of the invention depicted in Fig. 1, tabs 28 and 30 are formed by a series of curves along the side edges 26. The result obtained is in accordance with the United States Golf Association rules as the width of the resulting putter head at any point does not exceed the width of the striking face 18. In one embodiment of the invention the head is a single piece construction, in which the shape of the head to include the recesses and sides are formed by milling from a solid block of metal (e.g., by laser faced milling or by computer numerical control (CNC) milling, as is well known in the art). Use of a single piece of metal in this manner results in a putter that is not only esthetically pleasing to the golfer, but also results in a more solid feel. That is, it is well known in the art that consistency in a ball's reaction to being struck, as well as a lack of any perceived internal vibration, are desirable for putters. Many putters on the market today are made from a casting process which yields a putter that is inferior in terms of these "feel" characteristics. As noted above, harsh torsional vibrations from miss-hit putts, another aspect of feel to the player, are undesirable and can only be reduced by increasing putter MOI. Accordingly, the present invention enhances feel by addressing both these aspects with its design and with the solidness and consistency resulting from it being milled from a single piece of metal. In a further embodiment of the invention the metal used in the putter head is 6061 aerospace aluminum. This metal has been found to yield further improvement in the solidness and overall feel of the putter in use. In additional embodiments this metal may be colored by means of an anodization process. Adding color to the head in this manner creates not only a more durable, long lasting color result but does not adversely effect the feel of the putter. This is a consequence of the color being essentially added to the metal material itself rather than being merely distributed on the putter face. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the striking face 18 of the putter head comprises an area 60 in which one or more lines has been etched into the striking face. In a preferred embodiment this area consists of a crosshatched pattern that has been added by the milling techniques described above (e.g., laser faced milling or CNC milling). The presence of these lines creates an effect that is not unlike that produced by the groves on a golf iron. That is, they cause the face to momentarily "grip" the ball thereby imparting spin to it. Consequently, this feature results in additional top spin being imparted to the ball, thereby resulting in a truer roll of the ball. The presence of circular recesses 22 and 24 realizes an additional advantage of the invention as they are used as additional alignment features to aide the golfer. That is, in addition to a line 34 located on the top surface 20, recesses 22 and 24 are used by the golfer to align the putter 10 with his intended target line. The invention is not limited to the use of the depicted single line 34 which essentially cuts through the center of recess 22 and 24. Additional embodiments are contemplated (but not illustrated) in which additional lines either replace or are added to line 34. By way of example, Fig. 6 depicts an embodiment of the invention which employs two such alignment lines 86 and 88, parallel to each other, which run essentially tangent to both recess 22 and 24. The presence of line 34, essentially a longitudinal center line of the putter head, and circular recesses 22 and 24 creates a six point sighting or alignment system. These points are located at the intersection of line 34 and each of: the face of the putter, the front of recess 24, the rear of recess 24, the front of recess 22, the rear of recess 22, and the rear of the putter. This system creates greater flexibility for the golfer as he can make use of one or more of these six points in aligning his putt. As illustrated in the top view of the putter head 12 depicted in Fig. 5, a further embodiment of the invention comprises circular recesses 22 and 24 being circular holes which run through the entire depth of the putter head. As can be readily apparent, the removal of all material in this manner increases the beneficial effects of the weight distribution discussed above — in particular, the MOI and head's center of gravity being moved further away from the face 18. An additional alignment feature also results. In establishing their intended target line, many golfers utilize aiming points close to the ball and both in front of and behind the ball. Such aiming points may consist of a blemish on the putting green or even the grain of the putting green grass. Such golfers typically disdain the use of larger putting heads (e.g., mallet putters) as it interferes with this aiming technique. The present invention is not only amenable to this method of aiming but enhances it. That is, the circular "holes" 22 and 24 not only make sucn aiming spots behind the ball visible, but more readily enable the user to concentrate on them. In additional embodiments of the invention the bottom edge 62 of the putter head 12 has various curves to its surface. That is, and as depicted in the front view of the putter head illustrated in Fig. 2, the bottom edge has a slight crown in its middle (that is, the area below the middle of the striking face). Further, and as depicted in the side view of Fig. 4 (in a somewhat exaggerated form to emphases the feature), there exists a slight draft or taper from front (at striking face 18) to back. This taper helps prevent inadvertently stubbing the putter against the green surface while putting. Moreover it has the effect of placing the effective weight of the putter deeper in the striking face — that is, closer to the ground and accordingly, closer to the equator of the ball. As a result a more solid feel is attained on struck putts. Further, as virtually no backspin is imparted to the ball properly struck at its equator, improved rolling characteristics of the ball are attained as the various topspin enhancing features noted above are not counteracted. A still further embodiment of the invention is that the putter itself (and not just the putter head alone) is manufactured with face balanced weighting. This is defined in terms of the putter head and shaft combination yielding the following test result. When the putter is balanced at a point on its shaft (that point being between the putter head and the grip of the putter), the striking face 18 of the putter points essentially directly upward. That is, there would be no weight bias that would result in the striking face tilting appreciably to either side. This feature adds to the overall improved feel of the putter as the user in addressing his putt does not have to manipulate the putter in any way. He simply drops or places his putter onto the intended target line and (absent any unintentional turning of the putter by the user) the striking face tends to automatically align perpendicular to that line. Fig. 5 depicts a further embodiment of the invention in which additional recesses (e.g., item 72) in the putter head 12 are designed to accept weights 76. That is, a removable and adjustable weight 76 is capable of being placed into these recesses. In the embodiment of the invention depicted in Fig. 5, these weights are secured to the recesses in the bottom of the putter head 12 by means of a threaded screw 78. In alternative embodiments of the invention these recesses could alternatively be placed on the top surface of the putter head. In still further embodiments of the invention these recess could be placed on the tab portions (e.g. item 28) of the putter head in either a top or bottom position. In yet another embodiment of the invention, one or more of these variable weight recesses, can be positioned on the rear edge of the putter heau. v/eights used in such one or more rear recesses can be used singly or in combination with any of the pairs of weight inserts described herein. Fig. 6 depicts yet another alternative embodiment in which the recesses are located on each side of the putter head proximate to the striking face. As illustrated, the weights associated with these recesses comprise inserts of a material such as brass which are formed in the shape of plugs 82, 84 which can be readily threaded into the female threaded recesses 80. Thus, by way of example, a golfer may insert a 10 gram weight (e.g. item 82) into the recess 80 which is located on both sides of putter head 12. Alternatively, he may insert a heavier weight (e.g., 20 grams) which is depicted as item 84. The invention is not limited to these weight factors as additional size weights are contemplated. A further embodiment (not shown) would include the use of a simple threaded cover to cover each recess should the user not desire any additional weights to be added. This feature of the invention enables a golfer to essentially further customize the weight of his putter to accommodate his putting stroke and/or the speed of the greens. Moreover, placing additional weighting on the putter head in this manner further increases the MOI ofthe putter. By way of particular examples, the weight of the putter head depicted in Fig. 1 in which the circular recesses 22 and 24 run the entire depth of the putter head, would be approximately 362 grams. It is envisioned that a variable weight putter head of the present invention, (e.g., the embodiment depicted in Fig. 6) would be approximately 330 grams without any additional weights being inserted. Accordingly, the addition of sets of 10 gram and 20 gram weights would result in a putter head being 350 or 370 grams, respectively. These examples are merely illustrative only as the invention is not limited to these putter head and/or insert weights. Figs. 7A-D depict scaled views of an embodiment of the invention with various dimensions indicated (in inches). In particular, Fig. 7 A illustrates a top view, 7B a front view, 7C a side view and 7D a rear view respectively of an exemplary putting head according to the invention. As illustrated, the perimeter of the top view (Fig. 7A) is essentially mushroom-shaped. This shape is attained by cutting or milling the various illustrated radii of curvature from a solid block of metal. ■ This milling process yields a tab 28, 30 along each side edge, each tab extending essentially away from the center of the putter head. Circular recesses of the depicted radius are also formed in the interior section of the putter head by this milling process. The specific indicated radii of Figs. 7A-D are illustrative only as the invention is capable of being implemented with radii that fall within a range of each radius indicated. Thus, the curve having an indicated radius of Rl.288 can be implemented with a radius greater than 0.75 and less than 1.75 inches; the curve having an indicated radius of R.229 can implemented with a radius of greater than 0.10 and less than 0.35 inches; and the curve having an indicated radius of R.1974 can implemented with a radius of greater than 0.10 and less than 0.30 inches. Further, Figs. 7A-D illustrate just one embodiment as the invention is not limited to these particular dimensions, radii of curvature or to the particular overall shape of the putter head. Detailed descriptions of the preferred, and various alternative, embodiments are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner. Also, different combinations of the sub-elements of the various embodiments than those shown, claimed or described should be understood to be included in the invention as equivalent to one or more of the particular embodiments detailed herein.