Trackman Golf Ball Monitor

I have been playing golf since the age of 8 with my father, and played competitive golf in high school. I worked diligently on my swing, and one of the most helpful tools I had was a trackman. A trackman is A golfing apparatus that estimates the distance that a golf ball travels. It has a doppler radar unit, a correlating circuit, and a display. The doppler radar unit measures the doppler shift of the struck golf by translating the measured doppler shift to an estimated carry distance for the ball. The display shows the estimated carry distance. James Witler and Douglas Spike patented the trackman in 1996.

The three main claims are:

1- A golfing apparatus for determining the carry distance of a golf ball which a golfer has struck, said golfing apparatus comprising: correlating the measured Doppler shift to an estimated carry distance of the struck golf ball using a predetermined factor, said predetermined factor relating the measured Doppler shift to an observed carry distance of a previously struck golf ball.

2- A golfing apparatus for estimating the carry distance of a struck golf ball, said golfing apparatus comprising: a speed measuring mechanism having a boresight disposed at an angle in the range of zero degrees to twenty five degrees with respect to level ground wherein said speed measuring mechanism measures the speed of the struck golf ball.

3- A golfing apparatus for determining the carry distance of a struck golf ball, said golfing apparatus comprising: a correlator electrically coupled to said speed measuring mechanism whereby said correlator correlates said measured component of the speed of the struck golf ball with an empirically derived factor for use in estimating the carry distance of the struck golf ball.

The key to the claim that the trackman is not prior art lies in the mathematically driven factor that is multiplied by the Doppler shift. This unique formula for calculating the distance that a golf ball travels was unique enough to merit it a patent that is valid. In the patent, there are several citations of prior patents and how the Trackman technology differs.