Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIELD OF THE lNvL-~LION:
The present invention relates to improvements in golf clubs, and in
particular to irons and drivers.
BACKGROUND OF THE lNv~NLlON:
Golf equipment companies have, over the years, introduced a large
assortment of new products. Interestingly enough, however, there has
been little actual improvement in the average distance that balls are
hit, and although golf scores have improved over the years, there is
authority for the view that this has been for the most part, a function
of improvements in the skill of professional golfers, rather than in
their equipment.
Manufacturers have made most of their contribution in their
selection of the materials that are employed in equipment manufacture.
As a result of advances in materials technology, metal "woods",
composite shafts, and beryllium-copper club heads, have all entered the
market place. A number of these recent innovations, however, are simply
recycled ideas, and in any case, few have had any demonstrable effect on
an average or recreational player's ability to play the game.
Considerable efforts have nevertheless been expended over the years
to produce and promote more functional golf club designs.
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Putter design evolution has proceeded along incredibly diverse
lines, and it seems in general that the approach has been as much
artistically driven, as by the desire to empirically experiment with
functional performance. In any case, advances (or more accurately,
"changes"), in putter designs have followed an entirely independent
evolution from technological efforts to improve irons and drivers. This
divergence has had a great deal to do with the fact that putters on the
one hand, and irons/drivers on the other, perform fl]n~me~tally
differently. The axiom that "form follows function" (at least to the
extent that function is understood in a given state of the art), is
clearly reflected in the divergent and mutually independent evolutions
of these two fl]n~mentally different schools of club design. Flex
points, torque characteristics, and the like are not material
considerations in putter designs, Moreover, the putter stoke is very
short and controlled, so that concern over striking the "sweet spot" do
not arise.
Metal woods were introduced to the game in 1896, by the Standard
Golf Company of Sunderland, England. That company manufactured a line
of all]minl]m-headed fairway woods. Owing to their durability, aluminum-
headed woods continued to be popular with driving range operators.
Composite shafts, like graphite-over-steel are another example of
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the various attempts that have been made for the purpose of improving
iron and driver performance, and much is made of their putative
advantages in the promotion of modern golf equipment sales. The
combination of such materials for club shafts of greater consistency and
strength, was, however, actually introduced in the late 1920's, when the
US Golf Manufacturing Company in Westfield, Massachusetts, produced a
club with a shaft having an inner core of steel, a second layer of
hickory, and an outer layer of bamboo. Even then, US Golf's advertising
asserted a guarantee of "10 to 25 yards more on your drive".
Shafts made of fibreglass or aluminum appeared in the 1960's. The
Shakespeare Golf Company claimed to be on to something with its
fibreglass shafts, and promoted their sales on the basis that the shafts
had good feel and sprang into the hitting area with a little extra kick.
Even better materials are now available for use in shafts. They provide
the advantageous kick that is associated with fibreglass, but their
torque characteristics - that is the way the club head and shaft twist
on contact with the ball - is more consistent than was the case in the
above mentioned fibreglass shafts.
In addition, with these more modern materials, the timing of the
kick of the club head into the ball is not the problem it once was with
the earlier exotic shaft materials. Shaft consistency is another area
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of progress. Improved technology means that tolerances are so closely
matched that a player can get the same feel throughout an entire set of
clubs. Better manufacturing techniques also mean that the flex point,
that point of the shaft that provides the "kick", is consistently
distributed throughout an entire set of clubs.
It is not unheard of for a set of beryllium copper irons retail for
as much as $1400.00. Most manufacturers tout the softer "feel" of the
copper club face. Yet it was in 1955 that the MacGregor Golf Company
introduced the copper-faced iron with pretty much the same sales pitch,
claiming that the softer copper plating enabled "the club head to
literally 'grab' the ball and throw it accurately toward the cup".
Accordingly, when the historical perspective of club design is
thoroughly ~mi ned, it is clear that advertising initiatives
notwithstanding, there has been little of any really substantive
innovation in the basic design of golf club irons and drivers for quite
some time. All that can be really said, is that refinements in new,
more durable, materials help to ensure that today's mass produced golf
equipment will last longer and be of more consistent quality than might
have been possible.
Today's golf clubs are generally advertised to be better balanced,
and the evolution of improvements in club weight distribution has
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actually been the promising line taken in iron and driver club
innovation. One of the more recent developments in innovative golf club
design is the relatively new perimeter weighting of iron club heads.
Traditional irons have compact club-heads with the weight massed
behind the hitting area. Perimeter-weighted irons are "cavity backed",
with the weight distributed around the edges of the club head. This
engineering technique is of great advantage to the high- and middle
range handicapper. The "sweet spot" is much larger, and it's much
easier to get the ball consistently airborne.
Many professionals now use perimeter-weighted irons, although
others claim that perimeter weighting limits the variety of shots that
can be played with these clubs. Their argument is that it's more
difficult to move the ball from left to right, or come right to left,
with these irons. Some also claim that because the irons are designed
to get the ball airborne, it can be difficult to hit a low shot when the
circumstances require.
Perimeter-weighted metal woods are also very much in current
favour. The larger sweet spot associated with their perimeter-weighted
construction, means less loss of distance on off-centre hits.
The ultimate question, however, always turns on whether or not all
of these changes make any substantive difference in a golfer's
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performance.
In 1987, the Unites States Golf Association conducted driving-
distance surveys at the US Open and compared them to driving distances
at the 1966 US Open, What gives this test more credibility than most is
that, in 1966 and 1987, the tests where conduct at the same US Open
site, the Olympic Club in San Francisco. Conditions were virtually
identical: the games top players, under championship pressure, trying
to manoeuvre the golf ball around the same course. The average driving
distance of both groups - some twenty years apart - was the same.
In 1989 the USGA conducted a survey at the US Open at Oak Hill
Country Club to determine if players using metal woods drove the ball
farther than player using persimmon woods. The survey included eighty-
nine players who used metal drivers, and sixty-six using wood drivers.
The drives were measured on Oak Hill golf course's rain-soaked fairways,
which provided almost no roll.
Drives were measured on two holes each day. Again, the average
driving distance was 251.8 yards. Players using wood drivers hit the
ball an average 252.5 yards, and the longest drive of 295 yards was done
with a wood driver.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for further
improvements in golf-club head designs.
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SUMMARY OF THE lN Vhr~ llON:
The present invention is believed to facilitate a golfer's control
over the desired, or intended force couple alignment between the iron or
driver and the golf ball.
In its geneeral broad aspects, the present invention relates to a
golf club which comprises: an elongated shaft; an iron or driver club
head having a centre of mass and including: a lofted club face having
a sweet-spot; a toe; a heel; and a top, bottom and back. The elongated
shaft has a longitl]~in~lly extending centre-line axis, which is aligned
in intersecting relation with a line connecting the sweet-spot and said
centre of mass. It is characteristic of clubs according to the present
invention, that with the shaft laid out on a flat, level reference
surface, (such as a table top), with the club head extending in
otherwise unsupported relateion over the edge of that surface, the
natural balance of the club will then rotate the club head so that the
face thereof then positions itself upwardly in a generally level
orientation, as measured at right angles to the loft of the club face.
This then differs from conventional drivers and irons that invariably
orient themselves with the toe of the club head pointing downwardly to
the ground, in such a test.
For the purposes of the present invention, the sweet spot is that
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sport, (or more generally that portion or area), of the club face that
is intersected by an imaginary straight line that is a tangent to the
arc through which the centre of the club head's mass is designed to be
swung (with the arc, in general terms, being a function of shaft and
hosel length).
In a preferred form, the above described golf club according to the
present invention has the centre-line axis aligned in intersecting
relation with the line connecting the sweet-spot and the centre of mass,
in leading relation to the centre of mass.
Clubs according to the pressent invention may or may not involve
the usse of an interconnecting hosel, which if employed, would extend
intermediately between the shaft and the club head. In the case where
a hosel is not employed, the shaft can, for example, simply extend into
the body of the club head (eg through a bore formed therein to
accomodate the shaft).
If a hosel is employed, it may take the form of a straight, simple,
interconnecting hosel, of the type that is well known in the art. On
the other hand, and in accordance with a particularly preferred
embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a golf club which
comprises: an elongated shaft; an iron or driver club head having a
face including a sweet-spot, toe, heel and back; and, in particuclar an
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offsetting hosel for interconnecting the shaft and the club head. The
elongated shaft has a longitudinally extending centre-line axis and is
interconnected in offset club-face-leading relation, (through the
offsetting hosel), to the club head. More specifically, the centre-line
axis is aligned in generally centred, intersecting relation with the
sweet-spot.
In accordance with the present invention, therefore, the
longitudinally extending centre-line axis of the shaft extends from
where the shaft is joined to the hosel, towards the ball-side of the
club face, and a golfer can sight along this imaginary extension of the
shaft so as to "triangulate" an alignment between the sweet spot of the
club face and the ball. The resultant alignment is one which tends to
minimize the amount of torque that is transmitted to the shaft, when the
club head strikes the ball. In addition, the offsetting hosel
arrangement means that the shaft leads the mass of the club head during
the forward (or power) stroke (ie as opposed to the backstroke). The
fact that the club head's mass trails further behind the shaft in the
"offset hosel" embodiment, with the mass of the club head equally
distributed about the centre-line axis of the shaft means that the
inertial forces that are exerted on club head through the forward stroke
actually tend to keep the shaft "torque-neutral" and thus help to keep
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the club face aligned. This further aids in the use of the club, as
compared with the prior art where the lack of that balance tends to
"open" the club face of more conventional iron and driver club head
designs.
This facility is especially advantageous in the case of the more
massive, low loft clubs ( eg "big bertha" drivers, and "one", "two",
"three" and even "four" irons.
The attendant advantages are important in the sense that it may
improve some combination of accuracy/distance for recreational players.
Perhaps even more importantly, however, is that for many golfers "grip
and wrist strength" can be material issues in the selection and use of
irons or drivers - particularly in the case of massive drivers and low-
loft irons where torque places its greatest demands on a player's wrist
and grip.
Wrist and grip strength (often being a function of age, gender,
arthritic debilitation, etc.) are not essentially elements that properly
reflect a players true level of skill, and certainly should not be a
prerequisite for recreational enjoyment of the game. It is ironic,
therefore, that the very clubs which are generally intended to
facilitate "long game" play, are those which, heretofore, have placed
the greatest torque demands on the wrist and grips of players who are
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more disadvantaged in terms of "long game" play, as compared to those
who are possessed of greater brute strength and at least to that extent,
are better equipped to deal with the higher torque that is developed in
the use of these "long game" clubs. The facilitation of torque-
management in accordance with the present invention is therefore
believed to offer a more "level playing field" for players who cannot
exert the brute force that is sometimes necessary to counter the torque
that can result when a club head is brought into contact with a ball.
Moreover, because less wrist strength needs to be brought to bear, the
swing as a whole can be more relaxed, which may in turn help to improve
a golfer's overall performance.
Also, with the shaft in effect "leading" the club head (and
particularly so in the case of the "offset hosel" embodiment, described
hereinabove), through the power stroke of the player's swing, the
tendency is actually for the mass of the club head to pull the club face
into proper alignment.
Preferably, the club head has an elongated face to back dimension,
that is aerodynamically tapered at the back.
Also, it is preferred that the hosel itself have a tear-dropped
cross section, with the rounded portion of the cross-section on the
power stroke leading edge and the tapering portion at the trailing edge.
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DET~TT.T~'n DESCRIPTION OF THE lNv~NLION:
INTRODUCTION TO THE DRAWINGS:
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a golf club driver,
showing the club face, and the offset hosel extending from the
top of the club head;
Figure 2 is a side-elevation view of the same club head as is
depicted in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a top-plan view of the club head that is
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 is a side elevation view of a club acording tothe
presnt invention without the off-setting hosel exemplified in
the preceding figures; and,
Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the club illustrated
in Figure 4.
As depicted in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, there is shown
a golf club comprising an elongated shaft 1 (only the portion of the
shaft adjacent the hosel 2 is depicted, and that is shown in phantom in
all three of the Figures). The club further comprises a driver
(sometimes referred to in the sport as a "wood", notwithstanding the
material that it actually constructed from) club head 3 including: a
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club face 4 having a sweet-spot 5; a toe 6; a heel 7; and a top 8,
bottom 9 and back 10. The offsetting hosel 2 interconnects the shaft 1
with the club head 3. The offset is such that the elongated shaft 1
(which has a longitudinally extending centre-line axis 11) is
interconnected in offset club-face-leading relation - through the
offsetting hosel 2 - to the club head 3. More specifically, the centre-
line axis 11 is aligned in generally centred, intersecting relation with
the sweet-spot 5.
As shown particularly in Figure 1, the hosel 2 is joined to the top
8 of the club head at a point thereon that is spaced inwardly from the
heel 7 of the club head 3.
Referring now to the embodiment as depicted in Figures 4 and 5,
there is also illustrated a golf club 20 comprising: an elongated shaft
21; an iron or driver club head 22 having a centre of mass and
including: a lofted club face 23 having a sweet-spot 24; a toe 25; a
heel 26; and a top 27, bottom 28 and back 29; wherein said elongated
shaft 21 has a longitudinally extending centre-line axis 30.
More particularly, however, Figures 4 and 5 depict a golf club 20
which comprises an elongated shaft 21 with a longitudinlly extending
centre-line axis 30. An iron or driver club head 22, has a generally
homogeneous construction and includes: a lofted club face 23; a toe
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25; a heel 26; and, a top 27, a bottom 28 and, a back 29.
Club head 22 has a vertical plane of symmetry (represented in
"edge-on" perspective by line "A", in Figure 5), extending through club
face 23 to back 29, and from top 27 to bottom 28. Club face 23 has a
horizontal plane (represented in "edge-on" perspective by line "B" in
Figure 5), running from toe 25 to heel 26, and intersecting vertical
plane (line A) at right angles along a line of intersection (see line
"D" in Figure 4) laying on the abovementioned vertical plane (see line
A). The longitn~ln~lly extending centre-line axis 30 of elongated shaft
21, intersects at a point (point "E" in Figure 4) along the line of
intersection (line "D").
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