System of golf club performance enhancement and articles resultant therefrom

• US 8,142,308 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2010
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• 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:
  US12/968,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20110081987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 468 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473287-292
• US Class Current: 473/324
• 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 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0437 with special crown configurations
• 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 3×

3×

3 X, Y, Z orthonormal coordinate system comprising 27 volumetric coordinates in which a face plate of a golf club head intersects a forward-most XZ plane of said system, in which a heel and hosel side of said golf club head intersects a YZ plane thereof substantially at an origin of said coordinate system, and further in which an increase in X-axis value from X1 to X3 corresponds to a direction of a toe of said golf club head, with each of X1, X2 and X3 representing one third of said golf club head in the X-axis;

an increase Y-axis value from Y1 to Y3 corresponds in direction to a rear of said golf club head, with each of Y1, Y2 and Y3 representing one third of said golf club head in the Y-axis; and

an increase in Z-axis value from Z1 to Z3 corresponds to an increase in height above a bottom-most XY plane, with each of Z1, Z2 and Z3 representing one third of said golf club head in the Z-axis;

a golf club adjustment system comprising;

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

(b) two selectable golfer replaceable weighting elements secured within said void space, wherein at least one weighting element thereof is not contiguous to any part of said face plate, and 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 wherein at least one selected weighting element is recessed within said void space and disposed at a position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, in which said at least one selected weighting element disposed at said position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2 has a coordinate of Y2.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, in which said at least one selected weighting element disposed at said position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2 has a coordinate of Y1.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, in which said at least one selected weighting element disposed at said position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2 has a coordinate of Y3, and is recessed from a surface of said voice space at a rear-most XZ plane.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, in which one or more of said weighting elements is non-uniform along one or more of said X, Y or Z axis thereof.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a third weighting element.

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

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

9. 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.

10. In a virtual 3×

3×

3 X, Y, Z orthonormal coordinate system comprising 27 volumetric coordinates in which a face plate of a golf club head intersects a forward-most XZ plane of said system, and in which a heel and hosel side of said club head intersects a YZ plane thereof substantially at an origin of said coordinate system, and further in which an increase in X-axis value from X1 to X3 corresponds to a direction of a toe of said club head, with each of X1, X2 and X3 representing one third of said club head in the X-axis;

an increase in Y-axis value from Y1 to Y3 corresponds in direction to a rear of said club head, with each of Y1, Y2 and Y3 representing one third of said club head in the Y-axis; and

an increase in Z-axis value from Z1 to Z3 corresponds to an increase in height above a bottom-most XY-plane with each of Z1, Z2 and Z3 representing one third of said club head in the Z-axis;

a golf club adjustment system comprising;

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

(b) a golfer replaceable weighting element 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 recessed within said void space disposed at a position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2.

11. The system as recited in claim 10 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 of said weighting element in (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.

12. The system as recited in claim 11, in which any selected value of Y of said weighting element in (d) is not contiguous with any part of said face plate.

13. The system as recited in claim 10, in which said weighting element of said at least one of said elements in (b) or (c) is non-uniform along one or more of said X, Y and Z axes.

14. The system as recited in claim 10, in which a first selected element is integral with a second selected element.

15. The system as recited in claim 10 further comprising:

an enclosure over said void space of said club head.

16. The system as recited in claim 10, 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 3×

3×

3 X, Y, Z orthonormal coordinate system comprising 27 volumetric coordinates may be applied such that a face plate of said club head intersects a forward-most XZ plane of said system, and in which a heel and hosel side of said club head intersects a YZ plane thereof substantially at an origin of said coordinate system, and further in which an increase in X-axis value from X1 to X3 corresponds to a direction of a toe of said club head, with each of X1, X2 and X3 representing one third of said club head in the X-axis;

an increase Y-axis value from Y1 to Y3 corresponds in direction to a rear of said club head, with each of Y1, Y2 and Y3 representing one third of said club head in the Y-axis; and

an increase in Z-axis value from Z1 to Z3 corresponds to an increase in height above a bottom-most XY plane, with each of Z1, Z2 and Z3 representing one third of said club head in the Z-axis;

the system comprising;

(a) at least one void space within said club head, said void space substantially conformal in geometry 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 recessed within said void space and disposed at a position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, in which said at least one selected weighting element disposed at said position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2 has a coordinate of Y2.

19. The system as recited in claim 17, in which said at least one selected weighting element disposed at said position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2 has a coordinate of Y1, and is not contiguous to said face plate.

20. The system as recited in claim 17, in which said at least one selected weighting element disposed at said position having a coordinate of X2 and a coordinate of Z2 has a coordinate of Y3, and is recessed from a surface of said voice space at a rear-most XZ plane.