Method of golf club performance enhancement and articles resultant therefrom

• US 7,854,667 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2006
• Issued: 12/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Triple Tee Golf, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Triple Tee Golf, Inc.
• Inventors: Gillig, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti; Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US11/588,992
• Publication Number:
  US 20070099720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473287-292
• US Class Current: 473/334
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/045 Strengthening ribs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0475 with one or more enclosed cavities
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0487 for putters A63B53/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence

Abstract

The performance of a golf club is enhanced through the provision of a void space behind a face plate and above a sole portion, to decrease club weight and provide single, or combinations, of selectable weighting elements within volumetric coordinates of an orthonormal matrix about the void space and entire club. The weighted coordinates are provided in response to ball strike, flight analysis and physiologic observation of the golf strike swing. Ball backspin, trajectory, penetration hook or slice, and ballooning may be modified through the use of definable combinations of weighting strategies and sub-strategies.

Claims

1. In a virtual X, Y, Z orthonormal coordinate system in which a sole portion of a golf club is substantially congruent with a bottom-most XY plane thereof, in which a face plate of said club intersects a forward-most XZ plane of said system, and in which a heel and hosel side of said club intersects a YZ plane thereof substantially at an origin of said coordinate system, and further in which an increase in X-axis value corresponds to a direction of a toe of said club, an increase Y-axis value corresponds in direction to a rear of said club, and an increase in Z-axis value corresponds to an increase in height above said bottom-most XY plane, a golf club adjustment system, comprising:

(a) a club head having a void space behind said face plate of said club and above said sole portion thereof, said void space substantially conformal in geometry and volume to that of said club head; and

(b) two selectable golfer replaceable weighting elements in which at least one weighting element thereof is not contiguous to any part of said face plate in which a selected coordinate value upon the Y-axis in any one of said weighting elements does not equal a selected coordinate value of Y of at least a second one of said weighting elements, and at least one selected weighting element is not contiguous with any inner surface of said void space, said selectable elements comprising any two of;

(i) a weighting element secured substantially within said void space between a lower Y, lower Z coordinate, to increase backspin, to a higher Y, higher Z coordinate to decrease backspin;

(ii) a weighting element secured substantially within said void space between a lower Z coordinate, to increase trajectory, to a higher Z-coordinate to decrease trajectory;

or

(iii) a weighting element secured substantially within said void space at a lower X-coordinate, to compensate for hook, to a higher X-coordinate to compensate for slice.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, in which one or more of said weighting elements comprise a weight which is non-uniform along one or more of said X, Y or Z axes thereof.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, in which:

said selectable weighting elements further comprise;

a third weighting element.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, in which a first selected element is integral with a part of a second selected weighting element.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an enclosure over said void space of said club head.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, in which said selectable weighting elements are secured within said void space by bars, bolts, threadable bolts, or slots within a surface defining said void space, channels or foam provided about said weighting elements.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, in which said selectable weighting elements are secured within said void space by bars, bolts, threadable bolts, or slots within a surface defining said void space, channels or foam provided about said weighting elements.

8. In a virtual X, Y, Z orthonormal coordinate system in which a sole portion of a golf club is substantially congruent with a bottom-most XY plane thereof, in which a face plate of said club intersects a forward-most XZ plane of said system, and in which a heel and hosel side of said club intersects a YZ plane thereof substantially at an origin of said coordinate system, and further in which an increase in X-axis value corresponds to a direction of a toe of said club, an increase in Y-axis value corresponds in direction to a rear of said club, and an increase in Z-axis value corresponds to an increase in height above said bottom-most XY-plane, a golf club adjustment system, comprising:

(a) a club head having a void space behind said face portion of said club and above said sole portion thereof, said void space substantially conformal in geometry and volume to that of said club head;

(b) a golfer replaceable weighting element substantially within said void space between a higher Y, higher Z coordinate, to minimize ballooning, to a lower Y, lower Z coordinate to maximize said ballooning; and

(c) a golfer replaceable weighting element substantially within said void space between a lower X-coordinate, to compensate for hook, to a higher X-coordinate to compensate for slice,

wherein at least one of said weighting elements is not contiguous with any inner surface of said void space.

9. The system as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

(d) at least one of the following weighting elements, in which a selected value of X, Y or Z does not include a value of Y used in said weighting element (b), said at least one element comprising;

(i) a weighting element, substantially within said void space, between a lower Y, lower Z coordinate, to increase backspin, to a higher Y, higher Z coordinate to decrease backspin;

or

(ii) a weighting element substantially within said void space, between a lower Z-coordinate to increase trajectory to a higher Z-coordinate to decrease trajectory.

10. The system as recited in claim 9, in which any selected value of Y of said element (d) is not contiguous with any part of said face plate.

11. The system as recited in claim 9, in which said weighting element of at least one selected element is non-uniform along at least one of said X, Y or Z axes.

12. The system as recited in claim 8, in which said weighting element of said at least one of said elements (b) or (c) is non-uniform along one or more of said X, Y and Z axes.

13. The system as recited in claim 8, in which a a first selected element is integral with a second selected element.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, in which said selectable weighting elements are secured within said void space by bars, bolts, threadable bolts, or slots within a surface defining said void space, channels or foam provided about said weighting elements.

15. The system as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

an enclosure over said void space of said club head.

16. The system as recited in claim 8, in which said selectable weighting elements are secured within said void space by bars, bolts, threadable bolts, or slots within a surface defining said void space, channels or foam provided about said weighting elements.

17. A system for adjusting the performance of a golf club including a golf club head having a center of gravity and to which a virtual X,Y,Z orthonormal coordinate system may be applied such that a sole portion of a golf club substantially congruent with a bottom-most XY plane thereof, in which a face plate of said club intersects a forward-most XZ plane of said system, and in which a heel and hosel side of said club intersects a YZ plane thereof substantially at an origin of said coordinate system, and further in which an increase in X-axis value corresponds to a direction of a toe of said club, an increase Y-axis value corresponds in direction to a rear of said club, and an increase in Z-axis value corresponds to an increase in height above said bottom-most XY plane, the system comprising:

(a) at least one void space within said club head, said void space substantially conformal in geometry and volume to that of said club head; and

(b) user-replaceable weighting elements for adjusting said center of gravity about a plane defined by Y=aZ of said club head by increasing a mass of said weighting elements at a point within said plane defined by Y=aZ, where a is a scaler number,

wherein at least one of said weighting elements is not contiguous with any inner surface of said void space.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

weighting elements for further adjusting said center of gravity along said X-axis of said club head by increasing an amount of mass at a point along said X-axis within said void space.