Upon scouring Rocket Tour's website this is what I came upon (a solution): “Some of the most challenging things you do are simple little things that have severe constraints on them.The only thing he didn't like was after a few rounds he thought the head cover was "falling apart" as longer threads started to appear on the pom pom of his head cover. “Inventing is important to me, because I get a great deal of satisfaction out of solving a problem that’s never been solved before,” said Cannon, who is not a golfer, although he was a track and field star in university and carried the Olympic torch prior to the 1984 Los Angeles Games. In the late ‘70s he sold his first commercial patent for a “slotless” racing car to slot car manufacturing company Aurora for $5,000. Back in the mid-1960’s, Cannon said his first job for NASA was to plot “descent trajectories” for the Gemini space mission, so that the astronauts on board could safely time their re- entry. Department of Defense’s Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, MD. The plastic device resembles a child’s toy ring, with a flat coin-sized head that encases a bubble level that clips onto the top of the club, or grip, and includes markings to show when the club is properly aligned at a 45-degree angle.Ĭannon approached his golf invention with the same enthusiasm he did when he solved critical problems for NASA, AT&T or in his current capacity working for the U.S. that specialized in designing all manner of levels and worked with them to finalize his patent. He eventually found a manufacturer in China - HUIDE Level Instrument Co., Ltd. “When I found out that 45 degrees was the right angle, the challenge was: can you provide something that would give the average golfer that immediate feedback without it being overly complicated to use and to install on the club.”Ĭannon scoured the Web for a level that was small and light enough that he could fashion to a club, without it adversely affecting his swing. “We’ve had two different models made up and neither of those have ever come off the grip,” said Cannon, who spent $10,000 developing his BonusYards patent and manufacturing the prototypes. Cannon said the initial prototypes were designed to clip onto the shaft of the club, but he later changed it to attach to the bottom of the grip, which he added is the only area of the club the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) allows to be modified. The problem was the level was too big and heavy and it didn’t stay on the club. He went into his basement workshop and attached a carpenter’s level to a golf club that indicated when he was standing at the proper angle to the ball. The article suggested practicing in front of a square box, but Cannon thought there had to be a better solution. The Maryland, Virginia entrepreneur, and former rocket scientist for NASA who holds more than a dozen patents, from fiber optics to vacuum- sealable sandwich bags, has invented a device to help golfers launch balls further off the tee.Ĭannon hit on the idea after reading a story that detailed how a 45-degree angle - between the club and the ground - is the optimum angle for golfers to address the ball before teeing off.
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