QUANTUM PUTTER
CONFORMS TO THE USGA RULES OF GOLF

... UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GOLF HOUSE BOX 708, FAR HILLS NJ 07931 USA   WWW.USGA.ORG ...

USGA DECISION #2005-1001, DATED 1/11/2006. This is in reference to the Quantum Putter, received on December 14, 2005, which you submitted for an Official Ruling. This is a standard length, blade style putter with a circular composite face insert and a semicircular insert on the back of the head for practice. The putter may be adjusted by turning the head for practice putting and playing, as well as for weight. Please be advised that the putter as submitted, has been evaluated and it has been determined that it conforms to the Rules of Golf. In advertisements of the Quantum Putter, you are authorized to make the statement... "CONFORMS TO THE USGA RULES" Sincerely, Dick Rugge, Senior Technical Director

The United States Golf Association (USGA) governs the game of golf. Below is a summary and analysis of their rules as pertains to golf putter design; for official rules, please refer to their website.

GENERAL RULES -- A club is an implement designed to be used for striking the ball and generally comes in three forms: woods; irons; and putters.  A putter is a club with a loft angle not exceeding ten degrees designed primarily for use on the putting green.  The club must not be substantially different from the traditional and customary form and make. The Club must be composed of a shaft and a head. All parts of the club must be fixed so that the club is one unit, and it must have no external attachments except as otherwise permitted by the Rules.

ADJUSTABILITY RULES -- Putters may be designed to be adjustable for weight and some other forms of adjustability are also permitted. All methods of adjustment permitted by the Rules require that: 1) the adjustment cannot be readily made; 2) all adjustment parts are firmly fixed and there is no reasonable likelihood of them working loose during a round; and 3) all configurations of adjustment conform to the Rules. The disqualification penalty for purposely changing the playing characteristics of a club during a stipulated round applies to all clubs including a putter.

LENGTH RULES -- The overall length of the club must be at least 18 inches and except for putters must not exceed 48 inches.  For putters, the measurement of length is taken from the top of the grip along the axis of the shaft, or a straight line extension of it, to the sole of the club.

ALIGNMENT RULES -- When the club is in its normal address position the shaft must be so aligned that the projection of the straight part of the shaft on to the vertical plane through the toe and heel must diverge from the vertical by at least 10 degrees (translated, this means that the Lie Angle must be no more than 80 degrees or that the Declination Angle must be no less than 10 degrees).

SHAFT RULES -- The shaft must be straight from the top of the grip to a point not more than 5 inches above the sole. At any point along its length the shaft must: 1) bend in such a way that the deflection is the same regardless of how the shaft is rotated about its longitudinal axis, and 2) twist the same amount in both directions. The shaft of a putter head may be fixed at any point in the head.

GRIP RULES -- The grip consists of material added to the shaft to enable the player to obtain a firm hold. The grip must be straight and plain in form, must extend to the end of the shaft and must not be molded for any part of the hands. If no material is added, that portion of the shaft designed to be held by the player must be considered the grip. A putter grip may have a non-circular cross-section, provided the cross-section has no concavity, is symmetrical and remains generally similar throughout the length of the grip. A putter may have two grips provided that each is circular in cross-section, the axis of each coincides with the axis of the shaft, and they are separated by at least 1.5 inches.

CLUBHEAD RULES -- The clubhead must be generally plain in shape. All parts must be rigid, structural in nature and functional. It is not practicable to define plain in shape precisely and comprehensively but features which are added for the purpose of meeting dimensional specifications or for aiming or for any other purpose are deemed to be in breach of this requirement and therefore not permitted including: 1) holes through the head, 2) transparent material added for other than decorative or structural purposes; 3) appendages to the main body of the head such as knobs or plates or rods or fins. Exceptions to the plain in shape rule may be made for putters.  Any furrows in or runners on the sole must not extend into the face.  When the clubhead is in its normal address position, the dimensions of the head must be such that the distance from the heel to the toe is greater than the distance from the face to the back.  The clubhead must have only one striking face, except that a putter may have two such faces if their characteristics are the same, and they are opposite each other.

CLUB FACE RULES -- The material and construction of, or any treatment to, the face of clubhead must not have the effect at impact of a spring, or impart significantly more or less spin to the ball than a standard steel face, or have any other effect which would unduly influence the movement of the ball. The face of the club must be hard and rigid; some exceptions being made for putters. Except for acceptable markings the face of the club must be smooth and have no degree of concavity; acceptable markings include surface roughness that does not exceed that of decorative sandblasting or fine milling. Specifications with regard to roughness, material, markings in the impact area do not apply to putters.

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