Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
78 pending office actions • 7 art units • 27 examiners • 0 of 78 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 227 patents granted in the last 365 days
ACUSHNET Company has 78 pending office actions in the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These actions are concentrated among only 27 distinct examiners, which represents a high level of examiner density. Furthermore, the work is focused within just 7 distinct art units, suggesting that the company's technology is highly specialized and reviewed by a small group of USPTO divisions.
STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN is the busiest examiner for the company, handling 11 pending office actions. This significant concentration of 11 actions with a single examiner, combined with the fact that 78 actions are spread across only 27 examiners, allows the prosecution team to develop deep familiarity with specific examiner preferences. The involvement of only 7 distinct art units further reinforces this concentrated strategy. Practitioners can likely leverage their experience with this small group of examiners and art units to achieve more predictable outcomes for the company's mechanical engineering portfolio.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 19 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 19 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 + other | 1 (1%) |
| §103 only | 20 (26%) |
| §102 only | 3 (4%) |
| §112 only | 5 (6%) |
| Double-patenting only | 10 (13%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 7 (9%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 32 (41%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 11 | 39.2% | +35.5% |
| PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 11 | 83.0% | +15.5% |
| PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 10 | 42.8% | +16.3% |
| GORDEN, RAEANN | 9 | 82.9% | -5.0% |
| LEGESSE, NINI F | 5 | 68.6% | +15.3% |
| HUNTER, ALVIN A | 5 | 85.7% | +2.8% |
| SIMMS JR, JOHN ELLIOTT | 4 | 65.3% | +12.5% |
| PRANGE, SHARON M | 2 | 54.2% | +46.6% |
| WALTER, AUDREY BRADLEY | 2 | 80.9% | +23.9% |
| BALDORI, JOSEPH B | 2 | 44.9% | +30.1% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18493006 | GOLF CLUB DAMPING | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 23d overdue |
| 18541332 | GOLF CLUB HEAD AFT BODY CONSTRUCTION | HUNTER, ALVIN A | 17d overdue |
| 18507077 | GOLF CLUB HAVING A DAMPING ELEMENT FOR BALL SPEED CONTROL | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 2d overdue |
| 18226106 | TITANIUM ALLOYS AND GOLF CLUB HEADS COMPRISING THE SAME | GORDEN, RAEANN | 28d |
| 18635935 | GOLF CLUB HEAD | HUNTER, ALVIN A | 55d |
| 19007019 | DIMPLE PATTERNS FOR GOLF BALLS | GORDEN, RAEANN | — |
| 18982174 | DIMPLE PATTERNS FOR GOLF BALLS | GORDEN, RAEANN | — |
| 18916006 | GOLF BALL | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18441387 | GOLF CLUB HEAD INCLUDING A REMOVABLE WEIGHT | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 25d overdue |
| 18465951 | GOLF CLUB HEAD HAVING SPRING MASS DAMPING ELEMENTS | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 24d overdue |
| 17863351 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED INERTIA PERFORMANCE | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 10d overdue |
| 18475731 | ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR WITH TRACTION SYSTEM | NGUYEN, BAO-THIEU L | 8d overdue |
| 18346026 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED STRIKING FACE | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 4d overdue |
| 18397532 | GOLF BALL PRINTING SYSTEM | CULLER, JILL E | 28d |
| 18623248 | GOLF CLUB FACE INCLUDING VOIDS | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 42d |
| 18482392 | MULTI-MATERIAL GOLF CLUB HEAD | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 76d |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18441387 | GOLF CLUB HEAD INCLUDING A REMOVABLE WEIGHT | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 25d overdue |
| 18465951 | GOLF CLUB HEAD HAVING SPRING MASS DAMPING ELEMENTS | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 24d overdue |
| 18493006 | GOLF CLUB DAMPING | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 23d overdue |
| 17863351 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED INERTIA PERFORMANCE | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 10d overdue |
| 18346026 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED STRIKING FACE | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 4d overdue |
| 18507077 | GOLF CLUB HAVING A DAMPING ELEMENT FOR BALL SPEED CONTROL | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 2d overdue |
| 18630946 | GOLF BALL HAVING SPHERICAL TRIANGLE SEGMENTED DIMPLE PATTERN | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 15d |
| 18598566 | COLOR-SHIFTING FORMULATIONS AND GOLF BALLS INCLUDING SAME | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 15d |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3711 | 33 |
| 3732 | 6 |
| 2853 | 2 |
| 3636 | 1 |
| 3682 | 1 |
| 1717 | 1 |
| 3700 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19413441 | GOLF SHOE WITH TRACTION ELEMENTS | KAVANAUGH, JOHN T | 3732 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 09, 2025 |
| 19405173 | GOLF SHOE HAVING COMPOSITE PLATE IN MIDSOLE FOR PROVIDING FLEX AND STABILITY | PRANGE, SHARON M | 3732 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 01, 2025 |
| 19389260 | HIGH-SPEED GOLF BALL HANDLING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM | FERGUSON SAMRETH, MARISSA LIANA | 2853 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2025 |
| 19357452 | GOLF SHOE WITH SPRING PLATE | SMITH, HALEY ANNE | 3732 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 14, 2025 |
| 19203599 | GOLF BALL | JORDAN, MORGAN T | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 09, 2025 |
| 19033153 | GOLF BALLS HAVING REDUCED DISTANCE | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | — | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 21, 2025 |
| 19007019 | DIMPLE PATTERNS FOR GOLF BALLS | GORDEN, RAEANN | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 31, 2024 |
| 18989121 | GOLF SHOE WITH SUPPORT STRUCTURE | MANGINE, HEATHER N | 3732 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 20, 2024 |
| 18989268 | GOLF BALL COMPOSITIONS | BRINDLEY, TIMOTHY J | 3636 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 20, 2024 |
| 18982174 | DIMPLE PATTERNS FOR GOLF BALLS | GORDEN, RAEANN | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 16, 2024 |
| 18978219 | GOLF BALL WITH INTEGRALLY-RELATED ALIGNMENT FEATURES | MISIASZEK, AMBER ALTSCHUL | 3682 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 12, 2024 |
| 18977442 | DIMPLE PATTERNS FOR GOLF BALLS | GORDEN, RAEANN | — | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 11, 2024 |
| 18977395 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TERAHERTZ TOMOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF GOLF BALLS | FAYE, MAMADOU | — | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 11, 2024 |
| 18963302 | INTERNALLY DAMPED GOLF CLUB HEAD | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | — | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 27, 2024 |
| 18958569 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE | DENNIS, MICHAEL DAVID | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18953492 | GOLF BALL DIMPLE CONSTRUCTED OF RADIAL CHANNELS | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 20, 2024 |
| 18948918 | SET OF GOLF CLUB HEADS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | — | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 15, 2024 |
| 18947980 | GOLF BALL ALIGNMENT AID AND METHOD OF FORMING SAME | SIMMS JR, JOHN ELLIOTT | — | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18920599 | ADJUSTABLE BOUNCE WEDGE | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | — | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 18, 2024 |
| 18915909 | GOLF BALL | LEGENDRE, CHRISTOPHER RYAN | — | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18916006 | GOLF BALL | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18916238 | GOLF BALL | LEGESSE, NINI F | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18915741 | GOLF BALL | WALTER, AUDREY BRADLEY | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18915943 | GOLF BALL | WALTER, AUDREY BRADLEY | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18915813 | GOLF BALL | LEGESSE, NINI F | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18915976 | GOLF BALL | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2024 |
| 18905353 | GOLF CLUB HEAD INCLUDING A REMOVABLE WEIGHT | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 03, 2024 |
| 18901342 | METHOD OF FORMING A GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED INERTIA PERFORMANCE | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 30, 2024 |
| 18895759 | DUAL CORE GOLF BALL INCORPORATING A SOLID SPHERICAL INNER CORE COMPONENT THAT IS IMMOVABLY CENTERED WITHIN THREE OUTER CORE COMPRESSION MOLDABLE PARTS AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 25, 2024 |
| 18893636 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CAPTURING A GOLF SWING AND FITTING A GOLFER | HSU, RYAN | — | §101§102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 23, 2024 |
| 18893293 | MULTI-LAYER GOLF BALLS WITH INCREASED INTERLAYER ADHESION | SIMMS JR, JOHN ELLIOTT | — | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 23, 2024 |
| 18830243 | LASER CONTRASTED GOLF CLUB HEAD AND MANUFACTURING PROCESS | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | — | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 10, 2024 |
| 18826270 | NON-CONFORMING GOLF BALLS MADE FROM PLASTICIZED THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALS | GORDEN, RAEANN | — | §102DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 06, 2024 |
| 18821333 | HIGH-PERFORMANCE METAL-WOOD GOLF CLUB HEAD | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 30, 2024 |
| 18816917 | MULTI-MATERIAL GOLF CLUB HEAD | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | — | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 27, 2024 |
| 18811975 | HOLLOW CO-MOLDED IRON WITH INNER LIGHTWEIGHT PORTION | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | — | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 22, 2024 |
| 18796812 | TITANIUM ALLOYS AND GOLF CLUB HEADS COMPRISING THE SAME | GORDEN, RAEANN | 3711 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2024 |
| 18789760 | GOLF BALL HAVING AT LEAST ONE RADAR DETECTABLE MARK | GORDEN, RAEANN | 3711 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 31, 2024 |
| 18779397 | WEDGE GOLF CLUB FITTING SYSTEM | ZHANG, YINGCHUAN | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 22, 2024 |
| 18779493 | GOLF CLUB HEAD INCLUDING AN INSERT | HUNTER, ALVIN A | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 22, 2024 |
| 18779436 | SUPPORTED IRON | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 22, 2024 |
| 18772987 | GOLF CLUB HEAD AFT BODY CONSTRUCTION | HUNTER, ALVIN A | — | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 15, 2024 |
| 18759586 | Iron with Sole Slot | HUNTER, ALVIN A | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 28, 2024 |
| 18741890 | LAUNCH MONITOR FOR DYNAMIC GOLF OBJECT INCLUDING BACKING MARKER AND PRIMARY FLUORESCENT MARKER | WEISS, NICHOLAS J | 3711 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 13, 2024 |
| 18741758 | WEDGE GOLF CLUB FITTING SYSTEM AND METHOD | LEGESSE, NINI F | 3711 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 12, 2024 |
| 18679007 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH BALL SPEED CONTROL | GORDEN, RAEANN | 3711 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 30, 2024 |
| 18667774 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH VARIABLE FACE THICKNESS | GORDEN, RAEANN | 3711 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 17, 2024 |
| 18648309 | IMPROVED SHAFT FOR GOLF CLUB | BALDORI, JOSEPH B | 3711 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 26, 2024 |
| 18644855 | GOLF CLUB HAVING A DAMPING ELEMENT FOR BALL SPEED CONTROL | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 3711 | §103DP | Final Rejection | 41d | Pending | Apr 24, 2024 |
| 18635935 | GOLF CLUB HEAD | HUNTER, ALVIN A | 3711 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 55d | Pending | Apr 15, 2024 |
| 18630946 | GOLF BALL HAVING SPHERICAL TRIANGLE SEGMENTED DIMPLE PATTERN | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | 15d | Pending | Apr 09, 2024 |
| 18623248 | GOLF CLUB FACE INCLUDING VOIDS | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 3711 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 42d | Pending | Apr 01, 2024 |
| 18598566 | COLOR-SHIFTING FORMULATIONS AND GOLF BALLS INCLUDING SAME | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 3711 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 15d | Pending | Mar 07, 2024 |
| 18441387 | GOLF CLUB HEAD INCLUDING A REMOVABLE WEIGHT | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 3711 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 25d overdue | Pending | Feb 14, 2024 |
| 18422874 | CO-FORGED GOLF CLUB HEAD AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE | STANCZAK, MATTHEW BRIAN | 3711 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 25, 2024 |
| 18398041 | SHAFT FOR GOLF CLUB | BALDORI, JOSEPH B | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 27, 2023 |
| 18397532 | GOLF BALL PRINTING SYSTEM | CULLER, JILL E | 2853 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 28d | Pending | Dec 27, 2023 |
| 18541332 | GOLF CLUB HEAD AFT BODY CONSTRUCTION | HUNTER, ALVIN A | 3711 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 17d overdue | Pending | Dec 15, 2023 |
| 18507077 | GOLF CLUB HAVING A DAMPING ELEMENT FOR BALL SPEED CONTROL | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | 2d overdue | Pending | Nov 12, 2023 |
| 18501944 | GOLF CLUB HEAD HAVING SUPPORTED STRIKING FACE | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 3711 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 03, 2023 |
| 18495536 | MULTI-MATERIAL GOLF CLUB HEAD | LEGESSE, NINI F | 3711 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 26, 2023 |
| 18493006 | GOLF CLUB DAMPING | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | 23d overdue | Pending | Oct 24, 2023 |
| 18382672 | DIMPLE PATTERNS FOR GOLF BALLS | SIMMS JR, JOHN ELLIOTT | 3711 | §112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 23, 2023 |
| 18487977 | GOLF CLUB FITTING SYSTEM AND METHOD | LEGESSE, NINI F | 3711 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 16, 2023 |
| 18482392 | MULTI-MATERIAL GOLF CLUB HEAD | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 3711 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 76d | Pending | Oct 06, 2023 |
| 18475731 | ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR WITH TRACTION SYSTEM | NGUYEN, BAO-THIEU L | 3732 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | 8d overdue | Pending | Sep 27, 2023 |
| 18367148 | SYSTEM FOR PAINTING GOLF BALLS | THOMAS, BINU | 1717 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 12, 2023 |
| 18465960 | GOLF CLUB HAVING A DAMPING ELEMENT FOR BALL SPEED CONTROL | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 3711 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 83d | Pending | Sep 12, 2023 |
| 18465951 | GOLF CLUB HEAD HAVING SPRING MASS DAMPING ELEMENTS | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 3711 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 24d overdue | Pending | Sep 12, 2023 |
| 18237284 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH ABRASION RESISTANT STRIKING FACE | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 23, 2023 |
| 18226106 | TITANIUM ALLOYS AND GOLF CLUB HEADS COMPRISING THE SAME | GORDEN, RAEANN | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | 28d | Pending | Jul 25, 2023 |
| 18346026 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED STRIKING FACE | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 3711 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 4d overdue | Pending | Jun 30, 2023 |
| 18328297 | GOLF CLUB HEADS HAVING CONSTANT BLADE LENGTH | ELLIOTT, ANDREW JAMES | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | 19d | Pending | Jun 02, 2023 |
| 18132470 | GOLF SHOE HAVING OUTSOLE WITH ALL-SURFACE TRACTION ZONES | PRANGE, SHARON M | 3732 | §112 | Final Rejection | 27d | Pending | Apr 10, 2023 |
| 18296928 | Golf Club Head Assembly for Interchangeable Golf Club Shafts | SIMMS JR, JOHN ELLIOTT | 3700 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 06, 2023 |
| 17897057 | MULTI-MATERIAL GOLF CLUB HEAD | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 3711 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 26, 2022 |
| 17863351 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED INERTIA PERFORMANCE | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 3711 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 10d overdue | Pending | Jul 12, 2022 |
| 17713464 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED INERTIA PERFORMANCE | PASSANITI, SEBASTIANO | 3711 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 05, 2022 |
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