Golf club heads with means for imparting corrective action

• US 5,505,450 A
• Filed: 10/11/1994
• Issued: 04/09/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alfred O. Stuff
• Original Assignee: Alfred O. Stuff
• Inventors: Stuff, Alfred O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Steven B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, Steven B.
• Application Number:
  US08/320,460
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 273/167 J, 273/173, 273/175, 273/78, 273/77 A, 273/167H, 273/167 F, 273/169, D21/214, D21/217, D21/219, D21/220
• US Class Current: 473/329
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0425 the face insert comprising two or more different materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0445 Details of grooves or the like on the impact surface
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0462 characterised by tapering thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0487 for putters A63B53/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like

Abstract

Golf clubs are fitted with either plural grooves extending along the face in at least two non-parallel directions or with pads, or both, for purposes of achieving a variety of different corrective actions to a golf ball struck by the face.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a hosel for receiving a club shaft;

a face defining a toe portion spaced from the hosel and a heel portion adjacent the hosel wherein a sweet spot is defined between the heel and the toe portions; and

a resilient pad affixed to the face for receiving a ball striking the face, the pad having a non-uniform thickness resulting in a non-uniform resiliency for providing a corrective action to the ball when the ball strikes alternate positions of the face, the pad further having a plurality of non-parallel grooves extending along a surface of the pad generally from the heel portion to the toe portion of the face, the grooves further changing the resiliency for providing further corrective action to the ball.

2. The golf club head as recited in claim 1 wherein the grooves are tapered having a first width dimension at a pad first end transitioning to a second width dimension at a pad second end, the pad first end and the pad second end at opposing face locations, the first dimension greater than the second dimension.

3. The golf club head as recited in claim 1 wherein the grooves define bands between the grooves, the grooves separated from each other by varying dimensions thereby providing bands having varying surface areas across the face.

4. The golf club head as recited in claim 1, wherein the grooves further extend generally across the club head face.

5. A golf club head comprising:

.

a hosel for receiving a club shaft;

a face defining a toe portion spaced from the hosel and a heel portion adjacent the hosel wherein a sweet spot is defined between the heel and the toe portions;

a resilient pad affixed to the face for receiving a ball striking the face, the pad having a non-uniform thickness resulting in a non-uniform resiliency for providing a corrective action to the ball when the ball strikes alternate positions of the face;

the pad further having a first set of grooves running along a surface of the pad generally from the heel portion to the toe portion, and a second set of grooves extending along the pad surface, the second groove set generally orthogonal to the first groove set.

6. A golf club head comprising:

a hosel for receiving a club shaft;

a face defining a toe portion spaced from the hosel and a heel portion adjacent the hosel wherein a sweet spot is defined between the heel and the toe portions; and

a resilient pad affixed to the face for receiving a ball striking the face, the pad having a non-uniform thickness resulting in a non-uniform resiliency for providing a corrective action to the ball when the ball strikes alternate positions of the face, the pad further having a plurality of grooves within a surface of the pad, the grooves generally orthogonal to an imaginary plane passing through the head from the heel portion to the toe portion.

7. The club head as recited in claim 6, wherein the grooves diverge from each other across the face from a head top portion to a head sole portion.