Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH CORRECTIVE CONFIGURATION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to golf equipment and more particularly, relates
to
a novel golf club head designed to impart spin to a ball.
The field of golf clubs is replete with many structures designed to improve or
render easier the hitting of a golf ball. Included among the proposals in the
art are golf
club heads with means for imparting a corrective spin or action to a golf ball
when
struck by the golf club. Thus, for example, U.S. Patent 5,354,059 issued to
Alfred O.
Stuss, October 11, 1994, discloses a golf club head having plural grooves
extending
along their face in at least two nonparallel directions for the purpose of
achieving a
variety of different corrective actions to golf balls struck by the face of
the club. The
grooves are more specifically adapted to control backspin and skidding and
also to
compensate for toe and heel shots. U. S. Patent 5,090,703 issued to Angelo
Koumarianos, February 25, 1992, discloses a golf club in which the ball
engaging face
of the club head has a rectangular central opening through which sand can pass
during
a stroke while the club is used as a sand wedge. Upper and lower flat rim
surfaces are
dimensioned, angled and spaced so as to contact the golf club at intermediate
portions
between the outer and inner edges of the rim surfaces. U.S. Patent 4,165,076
issued to
Richard Cella, August 21, 1969, discloses a golf club having a blade face
formed with
a longitudinal edge which has a normal ball striking component of the golf
club
located above the center line of the ball in blade striking position and is
thus capable
on proper alignment with the ball of causing the latter to roll with minimal
deviation
-1-
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
towards its target. On the reverse side of the blade there is provided a
secondary ball
striking edge located below the center line of the ball.
Many of the prior art structures are directed specifically towards a putter
type
of club to be used on or around the green. As will be appreciated, it is
desirable to
provide a golf club wherein the risk of hooking or slicing the golf ball is
minimized
and particularly when used by the average golfer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an obj ect of the present invention to provide a golf club
which
provides a desired spin to the golf ball when struck thereby.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved golf
club
head which may be utilized to impart backspin to the ball.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf
club
which comprises a shaft and a club head, the club head having a toe portion, a
heel
portion, a sole, a front face defined by a bottom edge adjacent to the sole,
first and
second side edges adjacent the heel and toe portions respectively of the club
head, and
a top edge, the front face having a recessed portion extending substantially
between
the first and second side edges.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf club
comprising a shaft and a club head, the club head having a toe portion, a heel
portion,
a sole, a front face defined by a bottom edge adj acent the sole, a heel side
edge and a
toe side edge adj acent the heel and toe portions respectively of the club
head, and a top
edge, the front face having a recessed portion defined by a first front face
portion
-2-
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
extending rearwardly from a position proximate the sole towards the back face
with
respect to a plane extending between the sole and the top edge, and a second
front face
portion extending rearwardly from a position proximate the top edge towards
the back
face with respect to the plane, the front face having a protuberance extending
substantially parallel to the sole, the protuberance having a generally convex
configuration and being located proximate the top edge, the protuberance
extending
substantially between the heel side edge and the toe side edge.
The golf club of the present invention may take any conventional form and
method of manufacture insofar as the connection between the club head and the
shaft.
The unique features lie in the particular configuration of the front face of
the club
head. As such, there may be provided conventional means for securing the club
head
to a shaft by means of a suitable hosel and the shaft may be formed of any
suitable
material such as graphite, stainless steel, etc. A suitable handle may be
provided on
the end of the shaft as is conventional.
Similarly, the front face may be provided with suitable friction imparting
means
such as relatively small grooves and/or a rough surface on the face.
Although the front face may take various configurations in terms of the
overall
size and shape, the front face is preferably of a generally conventional
outline. It is,
however, preferred that the front face be sized such that the ball will
complete close to
a full rotation on the front face. As such, it would have a surface length
approximating
at least the circumference of a golf ball which is normally approximately 44
mm.
Thus, a surface height of between 35 - 55 mm would be appropriate.
-3-
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the
accompanying drawings illustrating embodiments thereof, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head according to the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a front elevational view thereof;
Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the golf club head illustrating the
motion
imparted to a golf ball upon impact with the club head;
Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a left-hand golf club according to the
present invention having a configuration similar to that of the right-hand
golf club
head of Figures 1 to 3;
Figure 5 is a side elevational view of a left-hand golf club having a modified
recessed portion on the front face thereof;
Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
Figure 7 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
Figure 8 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
Figure 9 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
-4-
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
Figure 10 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
Figure 11 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
Figure 12 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
Figure 13 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of a recessed
portion on the front face of the club head;
Figure 14 is a front elevational view of a still further embodiment of a golf
club
head according to the present invention; and
Figure 15 is a front elevational view of a still further embodiment of a golf
club
head according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Refernng to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters
thereto,
there is illustrated in Figure 1 a golf club head generally designated by
reference
numeral 10 and which golf club head 10 is connected to a shaft 12 by means of
a
hosel 14 in a substantially conventional manner.
Golf club head 10 includes a bottom sole 16 which extends between the club
head toe generally designated by reference numeral 18 and the club head heel
generally designated by reference numeral 20. Club head 10 also includes a top
edge 22, a side edge 24 at toe 18 and a side edge 26 at heel 20.
-5-
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
Club head 10 also has a front face generally designated by reference
numeral 28 and a back face 30. Front face 28 includes a plurality of grooves
32 in a
substantially conventional arrangement.
Front face 28, as may be best seen in Figure 3, has a recessed portion which
S extends inwardly towards back face 30 with respect to a plane extending
between top
edge 22 and sole 16. In the illustrated embodiment of Figure 3, the recessed
portion is
of a generally concave configuration.
In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, there is provided a protuberance 34 which
is of a generally convex configuration and which is located proximate top edge
22 and
extends in a line generally parallel to sole 16. Protuberance 34 extends from
toe side
edge 24 to a point proximate heel side edge 26.
In use, a golf ball 38, as best seen in Figure 3, when hit in a conventional
manner with club head 10 such that a lower portion of front face 28 contacts
golf
ball 38, will cause golf ball 38 to «roll up» front face 28 and due to the
grooves 32
1 S and/or other conventional friction creating means, will impart a spin as
indicated by
arrows 3 6. It will be noted that as golf ball 3 8 reaches a point adj acent
top edge 22, it
will contact protuberance 34 which will further accelerate the rotation of
golf ball 3 8
prior to its separation from club head 10.
As previously mentioned, the distance between sole 16 and top edge 22
preferably approximates the circumference of a golf ball - i.e. approximately
44 mm.
As will be seen from Figure 3, the spin imparted to the golf ball is that
normally
-6-
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
referred to as «backspin» which normally implies that the ball will attain a
greater
height and stop relatively quickly upon impact with the ground.
Various configurations for the recessed portion are possible and reference
will
now be made to Figures 4 to 15 illustrating some of the possible embodiments
according to the present invention.
In Figure 4, there is illustrated a club head 10 which is of a left-hand
configuration, but otherwise identical to that shown in Figures 1 to 3. As
shown in
this figure, front face 28 is of a concave outline and has a curvature as
indicated by
arrow 40 which is of a substantially uniform radius.
In the embodiment of Figure 5, front face 28 has a first lower arcuate segment
indicated by arrow 44 which is of a first radius and a second upper arcuate
segment
indicated by arrow 46 of a differing larger radius compared to the lower
segment.
In the embodiment of Figure 6, golf club head 10 has a recessed portion which
is opposite to that shown in Figure 5 - i.e. there is a first lower arcuate
segment
indicated by arrow 48 having a larger radius compared to a second lower
arcuate
segment indicated by arrow 50 which has a smaller radius.
In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 7, golf club head 10 has a lower
arcuate
segment indicated by arrow 54 which connects to an upper straight or flat
segment
indicated by arrow 56.
In the embodiment of Figure 8, golf club head 10 has a lower straight segment
shown by arrow 60 which merges with an arcuate upper segment indicated by
arrow 62.
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
Figure 9 illustrates an embodiment wherein golf club head 10 has a lower
straight segment indicated by arrow 66 which connects to an upper straight
segment
indicated by arrow 68, with the angles between the segments being designated
by
angle .
In the embodiment of Figure 10, golf club head 10 has a lower relatively short
straight or flat segment indicated by arrow 72 and an upper relatively long
straight or
flat segment indicated by arrow 74.
Figure 11 illustrates a reverse embodiment to that shown in Figure 10 - there
is
provided a lower relatively long straight segment indicated by arrow 78 and a
shorter
upper straight or flat segment indicated by arrow 80.
Figure 12 illustrates an embodiment wherein golf club head 10 has a front
face 28 which is formed of five straight or flat segments 84, each segment 84
being of
a substantially identical height.
In Figure 13, the arrangement is similar to that of Figure 12 in that golf
club
head 10 has a front face 28 defined by ten relatively short straight or flat
segments 88 -
when the segments become small enough, this configuration approaches the
concave
configuration previously described in Figure 4.
Variations of the above embodiments are illustrated in Figures 14 and 15. In
the embodiment of Figure 14, there is provided a pair of triangularly shaped
flat
sections 92 divided by a concave portion 94 which extends diagonally across
front
face 28 of golf club head 10 from proximate the point of juncture of sole 16
and heel
_g_
CA 02261925 1999-02-08
side edge 26 to a point proximate the point of juncture of top edge 22 and toe
side
edge 24.
The reverse configuration is illustrated in Figure 15 wherein flat sections 96
are
separated by a concave portion 98 which extends diagonally upwardly from
proximate
the point of juncture of toe side edge 24 and sole 16 to proximate the point
of juncture
of top edge 22 and heel side edge 26.
It will be seen from the above that many different arrangements are possible
to
provide a recessed portion within front face 28. These embodiments are
intended for
illustration of the possibilities and it will be understood that further
modifications may
be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
-9-
