Golf putter with polished tungsten insert

Abstract

An improved golf club design is proposed wherein a light-weight alloy club head is combined with a dense club face insert to concentrate the club head weight behind the ball-striking surface. The insert is polished to a mirror finish to improve the clubs ball-striking capabilities and impart a unique appearance.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to golf putter heads possessing an insert in the ball-striking face constructed of a material different than the material comprising the putter head itself.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Golf club heads with inserts are an old field of invention, some club inventions dating to the 1880's and earlier. The recent golf putter head designs using inserts in the club's striking face have attempted to accomplish two separate goals: change the location of the center of mass or center of inertia of the club head and change the rebound characteristics of the club face when the ball strikes the club.

[0003] The Rules of Golf are interpreted in the present day to require that any putter face insert have a constant, uniform thickness of 1/8 inch or more, have a Shore A hardness of greater than 85%, and not absorb the ball's energy and then give it back (act as a spring).

[0004] Some example patents are U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,743 that teaches a thermoplastic polyurethane insert, U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,997 that teaches a putter face plate made of non-metallic materials to increase the "sweet spot", and U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,472 for a putter with a recess in the face into which is inserted or cast a resin, which hardens and is later polished. U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,831 also teaches a club head with a thermoset polyurethane material insert.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention is light-weight metal golf putter head in which is placed a heavy metal insert, cast to fit into a recess in the club striking face. The invention is a new combination of metals to put the majority of the head weight behind the ball and still meet the weight and size constraints imposed by the rules of golf.

[0006] The hitting surface of the club face insert is polished to a mirror finish to improve the contact characteristics of the club with the ball and to present a distinctive and improved appearance. In the preferred embodiment metallic tungsten is used to form the insert, which insert is so shaped as to present a perfectly flush surface with the surrounding strike face. The putter head other than the insert is titanium, in the preferred embodiment

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the golf putter.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a face side view of the golf putter.

[0009] FIG. 3 is a back side view of the golf putter.

[0010] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the golf putter.

[0011] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the putter from the face.

[0012] FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the hosel shaft of the golf putter.

[0013] FIG. 6A is a cross-section of the hosel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention is an improved golf club head design, with a metallic golf club head and a metallic insert in the striking face. Referring to FIG. 2, the invention has a hosel.sup.102 which is part of a one-piece golf club head.sup.100. The golf club head.sup.100 is shown connected via the hosel.sup.102 to a portion of the golf club shaft.sup.101, which is not part of this invention.

[0015] The hosel.sup.102 has a rectangular cross section.sup.103a,.sup.103- b as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 6A. The rectangular cross section .sup.103a,.sup.103b can be square in shape, with dimension 103a equal to 103b, or rectangular with unequal dimensions. In the preferred embodiment, the golf club head.sup.100 is made of cast or forged titanium metal.

[0016] As seen in FIG. 2, the golf club head.sup.100 has a heel.sup.104 near the hosel.sup.102 end of the golf club head.sup.100, and a toe.sup.105 at the end of the golf club head.sup.100 away from the hosel.sup.102. The golf club strike face.sup.106 is the flat portion of the golf club head.sup.100 running from toe.sup.105 to heel.sup.104. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the golf club strike face.sup.106 has an insert.sup.107 at the center of gravity of the golf club head. The insert.sup.107 is held in a recess.sup.108 machined into the golf club strike face.sup.106. The insert.sup.107 is held in place by any of several methods that will hold the insert in the recess. In the preferred embodiment, the insert is glued into the recess with an acrylic adhesive.

[0017] In the preferred embodiment, the insert.sup.107 and recess.sup.108 are roughly oval in shape and the insert.sup.107 is made of cast or forged tungsten metal alloy. The strike face surface.sup.109 of the insert is polished to mirror reflectivity. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the polishing is done by the diamond lap method. The golf club head.sup.100 possesses a back face that is shaped as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4. The back face has a ledge weight portion.sup.110 that is part of the single-piece golf club head.sup.100. The ledge weight portion.sup.110 runs from the heel.sup.104 to the toe.sup.105 of the golf club head.sup.100.

[0018] In the preferred embodiment, the polished tungsten insert.sup.107 possesses high density while simultaneously being able to take a mirror-bright polish. In the preferred embodiment, the tungsten insert.sup.107 is made of carburized tungsten. The combination of a dense metal insert.sup.107 in the area directly behind the golf club strike face.sup.106 at its center of gravity and the light weight of the titanium golf club head.sup.100 permits a new club design that concentrates the majority of the weight of the club head directly behind the ball-striking surface of the club.

[0019] In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the golf club head is a putter head.

[0020] While the present invention has been described above and a preferred embodiment of the invention has been identified, changes and substitutions of equivalent features can be made without departing from this invention. Those skilled in the art of golf club design will recognize that many variations of this described embodiment of the invention can be resorted to without leaving the boundaries of this specification and associated claims below.

Claims

What is claimed for this invention is:

1. A golf club head comprising a club head body having a striking face, the striking face having a recess within it, the club head body comprised of a relatively light-weight material, the recess having an insert disposed within it, the insert comprised of a relatively dense material, the insert held fixedly in place in the recess, the material comprising the insert capable of taking a mirror-bright polish.

2. The golf club head according to claim 1 where the club head body is comprised of a titanium alloy.

3. The golf club head of claim 1 where the insert is comprised of a carburized tungsten alloy.

4. The golf club head of claim 1 where the method of imparting a mirror-bright polish to said insert is the diamond lap method.

5. The golf club head of claim 1 where the golf club head is a putter head.

6. The golf club head according to claim 5 where the club head body is comprised of a titanium alloy.

7. The golf club head of claim 5 where the insert is comprised of a tungsten alloy.

8. The golf club head of claim 5 where the method of imparting a mirror-bright polish to said insert is the diamond lap method.