Golf club

• US 8,147,350 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2011
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Beach, Todd P., Greaney, Mark V., Wright, Ian C., Willett, Kraig A., Sargent, Nathan T., Johnson, Matthew D., Zimmerman, Gery M.
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAU, STEPHEN LUTHER
• Application Number:
  US13/077,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20110190072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 369 Days
• Field of Search: 473/288, 473/307, 473/309, 473244-246, 473/248
• US Class Current: 473/307
• 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 2209/02 with reinforcing fibres, e.g. carbon, polyamide fibres
• 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 53/026 loft angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• 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 53/045 Strengthening ribs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0454 Strengthening ribs on the rear surface of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0458 with non-uniform 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 53/06 adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like

Abstract

A golf club comprises a shaft, a club head, and a connection assembly that allows the shaft to be easily disconnected from the club head. In particular embodiments, the connection assembly includes a removable hosel sleeve that allows a shaft to be supported a desired predetermined orientation relative to the club head. In this manner, the shaft loft and/or lie angle of the club can be adjusted without resorting to traditional bending of the shaft. In another embodiment, the club head has an adjustable sole that can be adjusted upwardly and downwardly relative to the strike face of the club head, which is effective to adjust the face angle of the club head.

Claims

1. A golf club assembly comprising;

a club head having a hosel defining an upper opening, the club head also having a sole defining a lower opening in communication with the upper opening;

a shaft having a lower end portion;

a shaft sleeve mounted on the lower end portion of the shaft and adapted to be received in the upper opening of the club head, the shaft sleeve having a lower end portion defining a threaded opening; and

a screw having a screw head and an externally threaded screw shaft extending from the screw head, wherein the shaft sleeve can be releasably secured to the club head by inserting the screw through the lower opening and tightening the screw into the threaded opening of the shaft sleeve, the screw head having an inclined surface configured to bear against another inclined surface in the club head when the screw is tightened into the threaded opening, the screw shaft has a distal end portion comprising external threads configured to engage the threaded opening and a necked down portion between the distal end portion and the screw head, the necked down portion having an outer diameter that is less than a thread minor diameter of the distal end portion.

2. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a washer disposed on the screw shaft, the washer defining the another inclined surface in the club head.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the inclined surface of the screw head is curved and tapers in a direction extending from screw head to the screw shaft.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the hosel defines a hosel axis and the shaft sleeve is configured to position the club shaft along a shaft axis that is angularly offset from the hosel axis.

5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the inclined surface of the screw head is configured to contact the another inclined surface in the club head through 360 degrees around a longitudinal axis of the screw shaft when the shaft axis is angularly offset from the hosel axis.

6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shaft sleeve has a mass of about 5 g to about 8 g.

7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shaft sleeve has a mass of about 6 g to about 7 g.

8. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising an outer sleeve disposed on the shaft sleeve, the outer sleeve having a first anti-rotation feature configured to engage a corresponding anti-rotation feature on the shaft sleeve and a second anti-rotation feature configured to engage a corresponding anti-rotation feature that is fixed relative to the hosel.

9. A golf club assembly comprising;

a club head having a hosel defining an upper opening, the club head also having a sole defining a lower opening in communication with the upper opening;

a shaft having a lower end portion;

a club shaft sleeve mounted on the lower end portion of the shaft and adapted to be received in the upper opening of the club head, the shaft sleeve having a lower end portion defining a threaded opening; and

a screw having a screw head and a screw shaft extending from the screw head, the screw shaft having a distal end portion comprising external threads configured to engage the threaded opening and a necked down portion between the distal end portion and the screw head, the necked down portion having an outer diameter that is less than a thread minor diameter of the distal end portion, wherein the shaft sleeve can be releasably secured to the club head by inserting the screw through the lower opening and tightening the screw into the threaded opening of the shaft sleeve.

10. The assembly of claim 9, further comprising a washer disposed on the screw shaft, the washer having an inclined surface that is non-perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the screw shaft, the screw head having an inclined surface that is non-perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the screw shaft and configured to bear against the inclined surface of the washer when the screw is tightened into the threaded opening of the shaft sleeve.

11. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the inclined surface of the screw head is curved and tapers in a direction extending from screw head to the screw shaft.

12. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the hosel defines a hosel axis, the shaft sleeve is configured to position the club shaft along a club shaft axis that is angularly offset from the hosel axis, and the screw shaft defines a longitudinal axis that is aligned with the club shaft axis and angularly offset from the hosel axis when tightened into the threaded opening of the shaft sleeve.

13. A golf club assembly comprising;

a club head having a hosel defining an upper opening, the hosel defining a hosel axis extending through the upper opening, the club head also having a sole defining a lower opening in communication with the upper opening;

a club shaft having a lower end portion defining a club shaft axis;

a shaft sleeve mounted on the lower end portion of the shaft and adapted to be received in the upper opening of the club head, the shaft sleeve having a lower end portion defining a threaded opening, wherein the shaft sleeve, when inserted into the upper opening, supports the shaft relative to the club head such that the club shaft axis is angularly offset from the hosel axis; and

a screw having a screw head and an externally threaded screw shaft extending from the screw head and defining a longitudinal axis, wherein the shaft sleeve can be releasably secured to the club head by inserting the screw through the lower opening and tightening the screw into the threaded opening of the shaft sleeve such that the longitudinal axis of the screw shaft is aligned with the club shaft axis and angularly offset from the hosel axis.

14. The assembly of claim 13, further comprising an outer sleeve disposed on the shaft sleeve, the outer sleeve having a first anti-rotation feature configured to engage a corresponding anti-rotation feature on the shaft sleeve and a second anti-rotation feature configured to engage a corresponding anti-rotation feature that is fixed relative to the hosel.

15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the outer sleeve has through bore that defines a longitudinal axis that is angularly offset from the hosel axis.

16. The assembly of claim 14, wherein when the anti-rotation features of the outer sleeve are not engaged with the other anti-rotation features, the outer sleeve is rotatable relative to the shaft sleeve to position the outer sleeve at one of a plurality of discrete angularly spaced rotational positions relative to the shaft sleeve, each discrete position of the outer sleeve being effective to adjust the tilt of the club shaft relative to the hosel axis.

17. The assembly of claim 13, wherein the shaft sleeve, when inserted into the upper opening, can support the club shaft at one of a plurality of possible angular positions that are angularly offset from the hosel axis, and the screw is configured such that the longitudinal axis of the screw shaft can align with the club shaft axis in each of the angular positions of the club shaft.

18. The assembly of claim 17, further comprising a washer disposed on the screw shaft, the washer and the screw head having mating surfaces that are configured to contact each other through 360 degrees around the longitudinal axis of the screw shaft in each of the angular positions of the shaft.

19. The assembly of claim 13, further comprising at least one weight port formed in the club head and at least one weight configured to be retained at least partially within the weight port.

20. The assembly of claim 19, wherein the at least one weight port comprises at least two weight ports formed in the club head and the at least one weight comprises at least two weights, each of which is configured to be retained at least partially within one of the weight ports.

21. The assembly of claim 13, wherein the sole comprises an adjustable sole having an adjustable sole angle.

22. A golf club assembly comprising;

a club head having a hosel defining an upper opening, the club head also having a sole defining a lower opening in communication with the upper opening;

a club shaft having a lower end portion;

a shaft sleeve mounted on the lower end portion of the shaft and adapted to be received in the upper opening of the club head, the shaft sleeve having a lower end portion defining a threaded opening;

an outer sleeve disposed on the shaft sleeve and a through bore extending from an upper opening of the outer sleeve to a lower opening of the outer sleeve, the outer sleeve having a first anti-rotation feature configured to engage a corresponding anti-rotation feature on the shaft sleeve and a second anti-rotation feature configured to engage a corresponding anti-rotation feature that is fixed relative to the hosel; and

a screw having a screw head and an externally threaded screw shaft extending from the screw head, wherein the shaft sleeve can be releasably secured to the club head by inserting the screw through the lower opening and tightening the screw into the threaded opening of the shaft sleeve;

wherein when the shaft sleeve is secured to the club head, a first longitudinal axis is defined by the through bore of the outer sleeve, and a second longitudinal axis is defined by the upper opening of the hosel, wherein the first longitudinal axis is tilted relative the second longitudinal axis.

23. The assembly of claim 22, wherein the shaft sleeve extends all the way through the through bore when secured to the club head.

24. The assembly of claim 23, wherein the shaft sleeve extends all the way through the through bore at a constant angle that is angularly offset from the second longitudinal axis.

25. The assembly of claim 22, wherein the outer sleeve has a portion extending above the hosel that has a constant thickness.