Golf Club

This invention relates to golf clubs, and in particular to a face balanced golf putter having a relatively wide putting face and weighted lateral and trailing portions and intermediate open or recessed areas.

Golf club heads are normally designed with a planar ball striking face which is aligned adjacent the center of gravity of the club. It is desirable to strike the ball at a point on the ball striking face which is in alignment with the direction of travel of the center of gravity. Any deviation from the optimum point of contact may cause the head to rotate, thereby reducing the applied force and the accuracy of the putt. The problem has been alleviated somewhat by incorporating internal weights in golf clubs at various locations. Arrangements incorporating additional weight in the club structure result in increased manufacturing costs. It is therefore desirable to provide a club with properly distributed weight which is more readily manufactured and at reduced cost.

The present invention is based upon the discovery that a golf club may be formed with a club head having relatively dense weighted regions and unweighted recesses which locates the center of gravity of the club at a selected elevated central location and distributes added inertial weight about the center of mass towards the heel and toe in a gradually increasing amount outboard of the center of the club. The club has a laterally extending weighted portion perpendicular to the club face and aligned with the center of mass in the direction of swing. The trailing portion balances the face of the club around the center of gravity and also provides a means for visualizing the optimum impact point on the face of the club. Weighted portions are positioned outboard of the club, and intermediate recess areas further balance the club. Visualization is enhanced by employment of an aiming spot and lines embossed in the top surface of the club.

In a particular embodiment, the invention is a golf club putter comprising a body having a heel portion and a toe portion, a striking face extending from the heel portion to the toe portion and a shaft attachment point adjacent the heel portion. The club has a pair of recesses formed therein along lateral sides of the center of the club extending rearwardly in a direction perpendicular to the face of the club head. The club has relatively dense weighted regions including a transverse portion in the front including the club face and an intersecting trailing central portion extending rearwardly of the face. Lateral weights are positioned outboard of the recesses and extend rearwardly. The club has an elevated center of mass located within the central portion where the transverse and trailing portions intersect. The mass of the weight of the club is distributed such that it decreases in the direction extending transversely and laterally from the center of mass. The major portion in the actual mass of the club extends in a lateral direction and is concentrated around the center of mass above a central horizontal plane of the club. The weight distribution causes the club to resist rotation when the ball strikes the club near the center of mass. The outboard weighted portions likewise reduce the tendency of the club to rotate. The elevation of the mass causes the ball to roll in a more consistent manner. At the same time, the weighted trailing portion of the club provides a visual indication of the location of the center of mass in the form of embossed lines. Rotation of the club is minimized when the ball is struck within the inboard boundaries of the lines.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf putter according to the present invention shown with a shaft in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the golf putter shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the golf putter;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the golf putter;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the golf putter;

FIG. 6 is a heel side elevation of the golf putter, a toe side elevation being essentially the same;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section taken along lines 7--7 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-section taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 3.

The drawings are generally to scale.

The invention is directed to a golf club as illustrated in FIGS. 1-8, and particularly to a putter 10 comprising a head 12 having a shank opening 14 for receiving the shaft 16 (shown in phantom line), which may be secured to the opening 14 in a known manner, e.g., by a suitable adhesive (e.g., epoxy resin). The head 12 has a planar striking face 18 disposed at a loft angle .phi. (FIG. 8) from the vertical. The angle .phi. is in a range of about 2.degree. and about 4.degree.. The head 12 has a sole or bottom surface 20 which has six planar areas, namely a central planar area 22, intermediate planar areas 24 and 26 outboard of the central area 22, large outboard areas 28 and 30 and trailing area 31. The head 12 has a top surface 32 which is formed with a pair of intermediate recesses 34 and 36. Curved sidewall portions 40 and 42 extend from margins of the face 18 in front of the club and meet at a cusp 46 in the rear of the club, as shown. The side adjacent or proximate the shaft 16 is known as the heel 54 and the distal or remote side is known as the toe 56.

It can be readily appreciated that the head is a single piece construction, in which the bulk of the weight is distributed as hereinafter set forth. The face 18 includes a transverse weighted portion 60 which extends from the heel 54 to the toe 56. A central trailing portion 62 intersects with the transverse weighted portion 60 and extends rearwardly of the club towards the cusp 46. Intermediate recesses 34 and 36 provide lightweight areas in the club and outboard weighted areas 64 and 66 extend from the weighted transverse portions 60 towards the rear of the club, as illustrated. In addition, a central aiming spot 70 may be located in the upper surface 32 near the face 18 generally along a center line of the club and intermediate grooves 68 for aligning and targeting the ball.

The sole or bottom surface 20 of the club has the various beveled surfaces 22-30 formed therein in order to assist the golfer in positioning the club 10 on the green or putting surface. The central area 22 allows the golfer to position the club in a horizontal plane. If, depending upon the golfer's stance, the golfer may hold the club so as to rest the sole 20 on one of the various other putting bevel surfaces including the intermediate surfaces 24 and 26 and the outboard surfaces 28 and 30. As a result, the golfer may adjust stance and grip and yet maintain a comfortable and finely adjusted position of the club. The golfer also enjoys the benefit of a relatively stable reference against which to position the putter. In addition, the trailing surface 31 of the putter provides clearance for the trailing edge on the follow through.

In accordance with the invention, the weight of the putter is predominately concentrated in the center generally CG in alignment with the aiming spot 70 and the grooves 68. The intermediate recessed areas 34 and 36 lighten the club in the regions where putting force is less important and the outboard weighted portions 64 and 66 enlarge the effective useable putter area in the face 18 and balance the club giving outboard stability and resistance to rotation when the ball is struck. The weight distribution of the club allows for a more balanced and optimized distribution of weight which assists the golfer in more accurate putting. Visualization of the proper putting stroke is facilitated by means of the trailing portion 62 and a pair of grooves 68 adjacent lateral margins thereof.

In an exemplary embodiment, the various surfaces 22-30 of the putter lie at an orientation as follows, if surface 22 is considered a horizontal plane, the surface 26 lies at an angle .rho..sub.1 of about 2.degree. with respect to 22 of the surface 24. Surface 30 lies at an angle .rho..sub.2 of about 4.degree. with respect to surface 22 as does surface 28. Finally, trailing surface 31 lies at an angle .gamma. of about 6.degree. with respect to surface 22. The surfaces 22-30 thereby provide a gradual change in the angular position of the club as desired by the golfer in a particular situation. The angles .rho..sub.1, .rho..sub.2 and .gamma. are adjustable for customer implementations.

In the exemplary embodiment, the club itself has an overall width which is in excess of about 4 inches from heel to toe and about 2 1/2 inches from the ball striking face 18 to the extreme or trailing portion of the sidewalls 40 and 42. The large size likewise adds stability and resistance to rotation and yet provides a powerful striking force for a putter.

As can be seen in the side view of FIG. 8, the top surface 32 tapers rearwardly at an angle .THETA. of about 5.degree. along a plane 33 towards the rear of the club. Thus, it can be seen that the majority of the weight of the club is concentrated in the transverse area 60 and in particular, in the area centrally of the club between the lateral grooves 68. The outboard margins of the large outboard surfaces 28 and 30 have curved portions 70 and 72 which blend with the respective sidewalls 40 and 42, as shown, for providing lateral clearance during a stroke.

The golf club 10 may be formed of cast aluminum which is thereafter machined to an appropriate finish. Other materials may, of course, be used. The overall weight of the club is in a range of about 250 to about 450 grams. The various dimensions and angles herein discussed may be adjusted for custom applications. Likewise, other weights may be chosen for custom applications.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover such changes and modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.