Perforated Golf Putter

Abstract

A golf club of the putter type has a head with a relatively small impact area and lateral extensions thereof which form deflected balance wings. The impact area of the head contains perforations forming air passages to minimize the air cushion at the moment of impact and to reduce the mass density in the impact area. Deflected balance wings and an alignment bar assist in alignment of putter face to the ball.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to golf clubs and in particular to that golf club commonly known as a putter, and a method of manufacture thereof, incorporating a novel distribution of weight and aerodynamic principles in the design of the striking or ball-engaging head of the putter.

The use of a putter in the game of golf is well known and understood. Skill in its use is a critical factor in this game, having an important relation to a golfer's score. This skill requires that the golfer have control over the direction of the travel of the ball and the distance the ball travels, beyond merely striking the ball to drive it in a forward direction. Since the putting stroke differs substantially from the other strokes of golfing, the design of a putter will also differ substantially. A putter is ordinarily swung with a pendulum-like motion striking the ball at the lowest point of its arc. At this point the putter must be balanced so that the head strikes the ball squarely to impart the desired direction of travel. The design of the entire putter head and shaft should be such that rotation of the face about the horizontal plane at the moment of impact is minimized. Furthermore, the design should enable the golfer to clearly align the face of the putter with the ball and the hole in the green, preferably by means of a visual reference point on the head of the putter. Another design consideration is the air cushion which develops between the face of the putter and the golf ball just before the moment of impact. As a putter design minimizes this air cushion, it will improve the golfer's directional control of his stroke. A further design consideration is that putting requires accurate distance control over relatively short distances. The ability to impart to a golf ball a slight counter-clockwise rotation in a vertical plane, commonly known as a top-spin, is especially desirable to the control of distance. In the design of a putter, this may be accomplished by placing the center of gravity slightly higher than the center of impact. A putter incorporating all of these design considerations will, during the putting stroke, have a balanced "feel" to the golfer, thus enabling him to utilize his golfing skills without distraction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Various designs of putters are available to provide the golfer with a putter that will enable him to improve his control over his stroke and the subsequent motion of the golf ball. The prior art discloses numerous putters of varying designs directed to physical embodiments of the solutions to one or another of the design problems stated above. Most of them are oriented to the weight=mass-balance problem. It also discloses numerous designs for golf clubs other than putters having perforated heads with air passages, a few for aerodynamic reasons and some for weight-mass-balance reasons. U.S. Pat. No. 3,037,770 discloses a putter having the center line of the shaft intersecting the center lines of the putter face. However, this patent utilizes a center of gravity below or in line with the center of impact, which tends to make the golf ball hop. U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,544 discloses the use of perforations or air passages in the heads of golf clubs for improving the aerodynamic performance of the clubs. It discloses no perforations or air passages in the impact area to improve the sensitivity of that area. U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,926 discloses the use of perforations or air passages for controlling weight and balance, but does not concern itself with the aerodynamic problem. However, the prior art does not disclose the novel design hereinafter specified.

Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide a golf club of the type generally known as a putter, in which all factors affecting balance of the club when impacting a golf ball are balanced for maximum directional and distance control of the motion of the ball.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a perforated golf putter head having air passages to minimize air resistance at the moment of impact of the putter face with the golf ball.

It is another object of this invention to provide a golf putter whose "feel" will give a sense of confidence to the golfer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a putter whose shaft does not impede the process of aligning the putter face with the golf ball for accurate directional control.

Atill another object of this invention is to provide a putter in which the center line of the shank intersects the center lines of the putter head to minimize rotation of the putter head in a horizontal plane at the moment of impact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The basic problem to which this invention is directed is alignment of the putter with a golf ball and a distant hole; striking the ball to control its movement in the direction of the hole and controlling the force at the moment of impact so that the ball travels the required distance. The present invention combines some features of the prior art, with a novel design to provide an improved putter in which solutions to the various design considerations mentioned earlier are incorporated and which meets the overall problems of putting.

In order to avoid confusion, the following terms will have in the specification and the claims, the meanings attached to them in the following definitions.

A golf club comprises three principal parts, namely, a shaft, a hosel and a head. The head of the golf club is that portion which extends laterally from the shaft at one end thereof. The hosel is that portion of the club integral with the head and to which the shaft is attached. The impact area is that surface on the face of the putter head which strikes or engages the golf ball in a putting stroke.

The head of this putter has a relatively small face in the impact area with perforations forming air flow passages which extend through the head. These perforations in the impact area minimize the air cushion at the moment of impact of the face of the head of the putter with the golf ball, thus improving the golfer's directional control of the movement of the ball. The perforations also reduce the mass density of the head at the point of impact to improve the feel of the club to the golfer. The lateral projections of the face of the head of this putter are angularly disposed to the impact area and constitute deflected balance wings. This angular deflection assists in minimizing the air cushion at the moment of impact and in the alignment of the putter head with the golf ball. The top leading edge of this putter functions as an alignment bar by furnishing a reference point for aligning the putter face with the target. The hosel and shaft of this putter are located such that their center lines intersect the center lines of the putter head, thereby minimizing rotation of the putter head about the horizontal plane at the moment of impact.

Other and further important objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specifications and accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the head and hosel of the golf club putter of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the golf club head and hosel as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the golf club head and hosel as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 1, showing an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 s a side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention having a displaced hosel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates generally the lower end of a golf putter, having a head 11, a hosel 12, extending upwardly and angularly outward from the top surface 13 of the head, and a shaft 14 (in dotted lines) as shown in FIG. 1. The putter head 11 is in the form of an integral casting and the hosel 12 is integrally formed with the head 11. The hosel 12 at its upper end is adapted to receive the lower end portion of the shaft to fit within a tapered hollow 15 and which may be secured there in a conventional fashion. The shaft 14 extends upwardly to provide a hand-engaging means for the putter 10.

The putter head 11 comprises a middle section 16 in block form sloping inwardly at its rear as illustrated in FIG. 2 and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4. Two blade-like lateral extensions angularly offset from the middle portion 16 deflected balance wings 17, 18. The middle portion 16 of the putter head 11 has an upright front surface or impact surface 19 for striking the golf ball, which is relatively flat and defined by lines 20 and 21, and perpendicular to the top surface 13 of the head 11. The right lateral balance wing 17 and left lateral balance wing 18 extend angularly to the rear as illustrated in FIG. 3 and their front surfaces 22, 23 extend angularly upward at a slight acute angle from the perpendicular as illustrated in the side elevational view of FIG. 2. Thus the body of the head 11 in its lateral dimensions is such as to provide a mass of material to the rear of and substantially co-extensive with that portion of the striking face which will in play have impact with the ball.

The end portions of the blade, which project on opposite sides of said body, are of such diminished weight that they do not injuriously affect the balance even though the ball may not be impacted at the center of the striking face.

For convenience in describing the construction of the putter head 11 of this invention, there will be designated certain center lines in order to show relative positioning of the various parts and points of the putter head 11 and hosel 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the impact surface 19 is provided with a horizontal center line 24 which defines the center of the head 11 between its laterally spaced ends 26 and 27. The intersection of center lines 24 and 25 at 28 defines the forward point of a line 29 disposed through the putter head 11 from front impact surface face 19 to rear surface 29.

The shaft 14 is provided with a center line 31 which intersects line 29 at a location between the impact surface 19 and rear surface 30 of the putter head 11. The putter head 11 is thus balanced about its integral hosel 12 between laterally spaced ends 26 and 27. The top surface 13 of putter head 11 is relatively horizontally level. Its leading edge 32 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 functions as an alignment bar by furnishing a reference point for aligning the putter 10 with the target ball. Referring to the side elevational view of FIG. 2 and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, it can be seen that the rear portion of the middle section 16 of head 11 is angularly formed to have minimal depth at the bottom 33 of head 11 and its greatest depth at the top 13. Since the putter head 11 is in the form of an integral casting having an upright resilient ball impacting surface 19 and a rear surface 30, sloping inwardly as shown in FIG. 3, the impact surface 19 is not of uniform thickness, but increases from bottom 33 to top 13. Resiliency is obtained by means of perforations 34 forming air flow passages in the impact surface 19 of the head 11. The degree of resiliency may be varied by varying the number and position of the perforations 34 on and through the impact surface 19 of the putter head 11.

The loss of weight because of the presence of perforations 34 may be compensated for by adding weight to the rear of middle portion 16 of the putter head 11, particularly near the top surface 13 for better balancing the putter head 11 during the swinging stroke.

The mass of the putter head 11 is distributed laterally with reference to the impact surface 19 so that it is symmetrical or balanced and will not have a tendency to turn or twist as a center or fulcrum on the struck ball at the moment of impact. The center line 31 of the shaft 14 passes through the centerlines 24, 25 of the head 11 so that the tendency to turn during a stroke is minimized and a pendulum effect is secured. The hosel 12 and shaft 14 connection is centered behind the impact surface 19 to impart direct straight movement of the ball.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate version wherein perforations 35 do not extend through the entire head 36. To achieve the reduction in mass density and the high center of gravity, the lower rear 37 of the head 36 is cutaway in arcuate fashion.

FIG. 6 shows another alternate version in which hosel 38 extends upwardly from top surface 13 at a more acute angle than in FIG. 1 and then curves slightly at point 39, to offset or displace the shaft 14 and improve the golfer's view of alignment bar 32.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rear surface 30 of the middle portion 16 of head 11 tapers inwardly and downwardly to concentrate the mass and weight of the club above centerline 24, so that the striking of a ball will cause the ball to roll in a straight direction with a top spin to control the distance of the roll.

Thus, the putter disclosed herein provides a club head which minimizes the common deficiencies of existing putters. Here the perforated impact area and the deflected balance wings lessen the air cushion at the moment of impact. The balancing of the club heads places the center of gravity slightly forward of and higher than the center lines to insure that the face impacts the ball cleanly for directional and distance control. The alignment bar provides a short easily visible sighting guide for the golfer.

Numerous details of construction may be varied without departing from the principles disclosed herein, and without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A golf club putter comprising in combination:

a. a head, said head comprising:

i. a middle block forming a ball impact area, said middle block having a front surface, a rear surface, a top surface, and a bottom surface; said rear surface tapering downwardly and inwardly toward said bottom surface, said middle block portion having a plurality of substantially parallel air passage perforations extending through said middle block from front to rear;

ii. lateral wings extending from opposite sides of said middle block, the front surface of said wings deflecting back from the front surface of said middle block, the bottom surface of said wings deflecting upwardly from the bottom surface of said block, said wings further tapering in thickness from the inner to the outer extremities of said wings;

b. a hosel integrally formed with said middle block; and

c. a shaft attached to said hosel.

2. A golf club as defined in claim 1 wherein said shaft has a center line intersecting the centerlines of said head.

3. A golf club as defined in claim 2 in which the club head has its mass balanced about its shaft centerline whereby by reason of the mass balancing and the location of the center of gravity, said club will normally tend to have its ball-impacting area disposed perpendicularly when the club is loosely held in impacting position.

4. A golf club as defined in claim 2 wherein the intersection of the top surface and the impact surface forms an alignment guide to assist the golfer in aligning the head with the ball and cup.

5. The golf club as defined in claim 4 wherein said hosel curves upwardly from said middle block.