Golf Club

Abstract

A golf club with a shaft entering the head near the heel but with the center of gravity in line with the shaft, a striking face extending on both sides of the shaft and an airfoil contour around the shaft, all contributing to a neutral stick effect eliminating twisting of the club during swing and impact with the ball.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to golf club woods as contrasted with irons having enlarged heads with sole bottoms and front striking faces of any pitch. The heads may be composed of wood, metal, plastic, or combinations thereof and the shafts may be steel, aluminum, fiberglass, wood, or any such stiff structural material.

PRIOR ART

Golf clubs woods meeting United States Golf Association specifications must have the shaft entering the head at the heel of the head and not more than about 3/8 inch forwardly of the heel. This places the head and striking face forwardly of the shaft and provides an L-shaped member with its striking leg extended at substantially right angles from the shaft leg. When an L-shaped member is grasped at the end of one leg and swung to strike a side face of the other leg against an object, the shaft leg will tend to rotate or twist turning the striking face backward. In a golf club, this results in shanking or slicing. Further, the striking face of a conventional wood head golf club is about flush with the shaft and the mass and weight of the head are well behind the shaft. This also causes the shaft to rotate during the golf swing and open up the striking face.

Thus, heretofore known golf clubs woods were all of the right-angle lever type with striking faces and weight distribution such that the club had turned during swing and impact causing shanking and slicing of the ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now eliminates the twisting or turning of a golf club head during the golf swing and impact of the ball and provides a neutral stick effect. According to this invention, the shaft enters the club head at the heel to conform with Golf Association specifications but the club head has its striking face forwardly of the shaft and extending on both sides of the shaft together with a weight distribution such that the center of gravity of the head is in line with the shaft. In addition the club head contour is extended up on the shaft to provide an airfoil which will keep the club face forward for striking the ball squarely. The forward golf swing moves the club head at great speeds and the airfoil shape automatically properly aligns the club head to squarely present the striking face to the ball since wind resistance against an improperly positioned head will tend to straighten out the head to correctly present the stroking face to the ball.

The neutral stick effect is obtained by having the striking face forwardly of the shaft and extending on both sides of the shaft but with the weight of the head so distributed that the center of gravity is in line with the shaft. The resulting effect is the same as if the ball were struck by the tip end of the shaft.

It is then an object of this invention to provide a golf club eliminating twisting or rotation of the club head during the golf swing and during impact with the ball.

Another object of the invention is to provide golf clubs with enlarged heads so positioned and balanced as to provide a neutral stick effect.

A further object of the invention is to provide golf club woods of any pitch with enlarged heads receiving the shafts near the heels thereof to meet specifications but having the striking face forwardly and on both sides of the shaft and the weight distributed to provide a center of gravity in line with the shaft.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a wood-type golf club with an airfoil head tending to straighten out the head during the down swing for presenting the striking face squarely to the ball.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the right angle lever effect of golf clubs.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description of the single sheet of drawings which show the preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

fig. 1 is a longitudinal view of a conventional wood-type golf club with the shaft resting on pegs and showing the position assumed by the head when the shaft is free to rotate.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating a golf club of this invention and showing the position of the head when the shaft is free to rotate.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the head portion of a golf club of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view with parts in plan taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the club head taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred illustrated golf club 10 of this invention shown in FIGS. 2--5 includes a conventional shaft 11 with a conventional grip 12 at one end thereof and the novel head 13 of this invention at the other end thereof. The head 13 has a sole or bottom 14, a top 15 and a front striking face 16. The bottom 14 and top 15 extend rearwardly from the striking face 16 and converge to a rim 17 extending around the rear of the head from the outer edge or toe 18 of the striking face as shown in FIG. 3, 4, and 6 to the heel 19 of the head. An integral stem 20 extending upwardly from the top 15 of the head at the heel 19 thereof merges into the top 15 along a zone line 21 extending from the heel 19 to the top of the striking face 16.

The stem or shank 20 extends from the top of the head around the shaft for a considerable distance up the shaft, such as for example about 3--4 inches.

The stem 20 has a teardrop or airfoil contour with a rounded front nose portion 22 aligned with the striking face 16 and sloping backwardly therefrom to the shaft and with converging side faces 23 meeting at a thin edge 24 behind the shaft. As shown in FIG. 6 this edge 24 slopes outwardly from the shaft to the rim 17 at the heel 19 of the head.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the centerline CL of the shaft 11 passes through the shank or stem 20 centrally between the side faces 23 thereof near the rounded nose 22 thereof and enters the head 13 near the heel 19 of the head as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the distance D between the periphery of a shaft on a centerline CL and the heel 19 of the head will be sufficiently small (3/8 inch or less) to meet rules specifications. However, it will also be noted that the striking face 16 of the head has a considerable portion rearwardly of the centerline of the shaft, and the width of the striking face extends on both sides of the shaft from the toe 18 to the heel 19.

It will also be noted from FIG. 6 that the striking face 16 of the head is forwardly of the centerline CL of the shaft as is the nose portion 22 of the stem or shank 20. It will further be noted that although much of the volume of the head and stem is rearwardly of the shaft, much of the mass is actually ahead of the shaft. The fore and aft weight distribution of the head and stem is such that when the shaft is mounted on a pair of pegs 25, as shown in FIG. 2, and the club 10 is free to rotate, the striking face 16 of the head 13 will be positioned on top or facing upwardly.

In the conventional prior art wood-type golf club 26 shown in FIG. 1, the head 27 extends at substantially right angles outwardly from the shaft. When the shaft of such a club is mounted on the pegs 25 and the club is free to rotate, the club head 27 will always extend downwardly from the shaft and present the striking face 28 below the shaft and at right angles to the striking face 16 of the club 10.

FIGS. 1 and 2 thus illustrate the contrast in the center of gravity of the club of this invention over the prior art and also show how the prior art club is substantially a right-angle lever with the striking leg always tending to rotate the shaft leg and open up the face of the club causing shanking and slicing.

The weight distribution and shape of the club head 13 with its stem or shank 20 of this invention is such that there is no tendency to rotate or twist the shaft during the golf swing and at impact with the ball. As a result, the striking face 16 is presented squarely to the ball. Further, the airfoil contour of the stem 20 coupled with the streamlined contour of the head 13 cooperate to straighten out the club head on the down swing. The contour when properly presented to the airstream, of course, decreases wind resistance and gives a proper "feel" to the golfer greatly enhancing the chances of obtaining a good, clean drive.

From the above descriptions, it will therefore be understood that this invention provides a golf club of the wood-type which eliminates the right-angle lever effect of the heretofore known clubs and provides an airfoil contour to correct positioning of the club head on the downswing.

Although I have herein set forth my invention with respect to certain specific principles and details thereof, it will be understood that these may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the hereunto appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A wood-type golf club which comprises a head having a front striking face of desired pitch, a heel, a bottom wall, a top wall, said top and bottom walls extending rearwardly from the striking face and converging to a rim edge, an integral stem on said head extending upwardly from said top wall at said heel, said stem having an airfoil contour with a nose lying in a plane passing through the striking face and a trailing edge sloping from the upper end of said stem toward said rim edge, a shaft secured in said stem and head near the heel of the head, the distance between the periphery of said shaft and the opposing face of said heel along a line perpendicular to the shaft being not more than about 3/8 inches, said striking face of the head extending on both sides of the shaft centerline, and the center of gravity of said head and stem being substantially aligned with the centerline of the shaft to provide a neutral stick swing effect for the club.