Golf club

• US 20100035701A1
• Filed: 07/31/2008
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daiwa Seiko Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Daiwa Seiko Incorporated
• Inventors: Kusumoto, Harunobu
• Granted Patent: US 7,931,542 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/307
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/023 adjustable angular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/54 with means for damping vibrations

Abstract

The invention provides a golf club including a clubhead including a hosel portion having an internal screw portion and a first support surface; a shaft including a neck portion having an external screw portion which screws into the first screw portion and a second support surface opposed to the first support surface, and an adjuster element adapted to be interposed between the first support surface and the second support surface when the clubhead and the shaft are screwed together by the first screw portion and the second screw portion being screwed together, wherein a center axis of an insertion portion on the internal thread is formed is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a center axis of the shaft which results when the clubhead and the shaft are screwed together.

Claims

1. A golf club comprising:

a clubhead including a hosel portion having a first screw portion and a first support surface;

a shaft including a neck portion having a second screw portion which screws into the first screw portion and a second support surface opposed to the first support surface; and

an adjuster element adapted to be interposed between the first and second support surfaces when the clubhead are fixed to the shaft by the first and second screw portions being screwed together,

wherein a center axis of an inserting area on the first or second screw portion where an internal thread is formed is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a center axis of the shaft which results when the clubhead is fixed to the shaft.

2. The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the adjuster element includes a plurality of adjuster elements which have different thicknesses, so that an attaching position in a rotating direction of the shaft to the clubhead can be selected by changing the adjuster elements.

3. The golf club according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of adjuster elements includes a reference adjuster element for setting a reference position in the rotating direction of the shaft relative to the clubhead and a plurality of angle adjuster elements for increasing or decreasing proportionally an angle of the shaft relative to the clubhead from the reference position in a predetermined ratio.

4. The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the adjuster element includes at least one adjuster element having a thickness larger than a screw thread pitch of the screw portion.

5. The golf club according to claim 1, wherein one of the hosel portion and the neck portion forms an insertion hole and the other of the hosel portion and the neck portion forms an insertion portion inserted into the insertion hole.

6. The golf club according to claim 5, wherein an insertion length of the insertion portion into the insertion hole in a state that the screw fitting of the first and second screw portions is released is set to be larger than a diameter of an opening of the insertion hole.

7. The golf club according to claim 5, wherein an outside diameter of a portion of the insertion portion where the adjuster element lies which is interposed between the first and second support surfaces when the clubhead is fixed to the shaft is formed larger than outside diameters of other portions of the insertion portion.

8. The golf club according to claim 5, wherein a vibration absorbing member which is softer than the hosel portion and the neck portion is interposed between the insertion hole and the insertion portion, respectively.

9. The golf club according to claims 1, wherein an engagement portion with which a tool used when attaching or detaching the shaft to or from the clubhead is brought into engagement is formed on the neck portion.

10. The golf club according to claim 1, wherein a space portion is formed in the hosel portion or the neck portion, so that a weight adjuster member is held in the space portion in a replaceable fashion.

11. The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the shaft has a grip attached to an end of the shaft which is opposite to an end to which the clubhead is attached, and an external shape of at least an area of the grip which is gripped is formed into a circular shape in cross section.

12. A golf club attaching and detaching system comprising:

at least one clubhead including a hosel portion;

a reference shaft including a neck portion forming a first fitting portion to be fitted to the hosel portion, a center axis of the first fitting portion and an axial center of the reference shaft being made to be oriented in the same direction;

at least one angled shaft including a neck portion forming a second fitting portion to be fitted to the hosel portion, a center axis of the second fitting portion is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to an axial center of the angled shaft; and

an angle adjusting mechanism that is used, when the angled shaft is attached to the clubhead, so that the angle adjusting mechanism is installed between the angled shaft and the clubhead fitted in the angled shaft for selecting a position in a rotating direction relative to the center axis of the second fitting portion.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the angle adjusting mechanism includes a first support surface on the hosel portion and a second support surface opposed to the first support surface on the neck portion of the angled shaft, so as to restrict a motion to a direction along the center axis of the second fitting portion by the first and second support surfaces.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one angled shaft comprises a plurality of the angled shafts having different specifications.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one clubhead comprises a plurality of heads having different specifications.

16. The system according to claim 12, wherein

the hosel portion is formed with a first screw portion and the neck portion is formed with a second screw portion which screws to the first screw portion, and

the angle adjusting mechanism includes an adjuster element which is interposed between the first and second support surfaces when the clubhead is fixed to the angled shaft by the first and second screw portions being screwed to each other.

17. A golf club comprising;

a clubhead including a hosel portion;

a shaft including a neck portion fittingly attached to the hosel portion; and

an angle adjuster element which is interposed between the hosel portion and the neck portion and which adjusts an axial center of the shaft to a predetermined angle with respect to a center axis of the hosel portion, the angle adjuster element being replaceable for the hosel portion and the neck portion.

18. The golf club according to claim 17, comprising

a plurality of the angle adjuster elements are provided, and comprise at least a reference adjuster element for aligning an axial direction of the hosel portion with the center axis of the hosel portion and an angled angle adjuster element for causing the shaft and the hosel portion to form a predetermined angle between the axial center of the shaft and the center axis of the hosel portion.

19. The golf club according to claim 17, wherein

the hosel portion of the clubhead and the angle adjuster element, and the neck portion of the shaft and the angle adjuster element each comprise a rotation preventive mechanism for preventing rotation,

the hosel portion and the neck portion comprise a dislocation preventive mechanism for preventing occurrence of dislocation therebetween, and

the clubhead and the angle adjuster element, and the angle adjuster element and the shaft each are made to be fittingly attached to each other in a detachable fashion.

20. The golf club according to claim 19, wherein the rotation preventive mechanism includes a play and looseness preventive mechanism for preventing occurrence of play and looseness in the rotation preventive portion at least either between the hosel portion of the clubhead and the angle adjuster element or between the neck portion of the shaft and the angle adjuster element.

21. The golf club according to claim 17, comprising a direction specifying mechanism for specifying an attaching direction of the shaft to the clubhead in one direction.

22. A gold club attaching and detaching system comprising:

the golf club according to claim 17,

wherein a plurality of the shafts which are different in at least one or more performances of shaft performances such as hardness, weight and length of shaft are provided, and

wherein each shaft is made to be detachably attached to the angle adjuster element or the hosel portion of the clubhead.

23. A gold club attaching and detaching system comprising:

the golf club according to claim 17,

wherein a plurality of clubheads which are different in at least one or more performances of clubhead performances such as size, weight and position of center of gravity of clubhead are provided, and

wherein each clubhead is made to be detachably attached to the angle adjuster element or the neck portion of the shaft.

24. A gold club attaching and detaching system comprising:

the golf club according to claim 18,

wherein a plurality of shafts which are different in at least one or more performances of shaft performances such as hardness, weight and length of shaft are provided, and

wherein at least one of the plurality of angle adjuster elements is secured to a distal end portion of any of the shafts.