Golf club

• US 8,337,319 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2009
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Sargent, Nathan, Beach, Todd P., Willett, Kraig A.
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAU, STEPHEN LUTHER
• Application Number:
  US12/646,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20110152000A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: 473/242, 473244-246, 473/248, 473/324, 473334-339
• US Class Current: 473/246
• 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 2209/023 Long, oriented fibres, e.g. wound filaments, woven fabrics, mats
• 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 53/04 Heads
• 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 53/042 the face insert consisting of a material different from that of the head
• 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 53/0487 for putters A63B53/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence

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 some embodiments, the club head has an adjustable sole piece that can be adjusted upwardly and downwardly relative to the sole of the club head, which is effective to adjust the face angle of the club head.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the club head body;

a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be positioned at a plurality of rotational and axial positions with respect to an axis extending through the sole piece, wherein the adjustable sole piece is generally triangular and can be locked on the sole at three discrete selectable positions, wherein the adjustable sole piece extends a different distance from the sole at each of the three positions; and

a releasable locking mechanism configured to lock the sole piece at a selected one of the plurality of rotational positions on the sole, wherein the locking mechanism comprises a screw adapted to extend through the sole piece and into a threaded opening in the sole of the club head body.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the combined mass of the adjustable sole piece and the locking mechanism comprises about 2 to about 11 grams.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the combined mass of the adjustable sole piece and the locking mechanism comprises about 4.1 to about 4.9 grams.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the sole comprises an adjustable sole piece receiving portion that adds about 1 to about 10 grams of additional mass to the sole compared to if the sole had a smooth, 0.6 millimeter thick, titanium wall in the place of the adjustable sole piece receiving portion.

5. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein the golf club head comprises about 3 to about 21 grams of additional mass compared to if the golf club head had a sole having a smooth, 0.6 millimeter thick, titanium wall in the place of the adjustable sole piece receiving portion, the adjustable sole piece, and the locking mechanism.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a crown at a top portion of the club head body, and wherein at least 50 percent of the crown has a thickness less than about 0.7 mm.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the club head body defines an interior cavity, and wherein a golf club head center of gravity has a head origin x-axis coordinate greater than about 2 mm and less than about 8 mm and a head origin y-axis coordinate greater than about 25 mm and less than about 40 mm where a positive y-axis extends toward the interior cavity.

8. The golf club head of claim 7, wherein the golf club head center of gravity has a head origin z-axis coordinate less than about 0 mm.

9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the sole piece is substantially rearward of the center of gravity of the club head body when the sole piece is locked at each of the plurality of rotational positions on the sole.

10. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein a golf club head moment of inertia about a head center of gravity x-axis generally parallel to an origin x-axis is between about 200 and about 500 kg·

mm² and a moment of inertia about a head center of gravity z-axis generally perpendicular to the ground, when the golf club head is ideally positioned, is between about 350 and about 600 kg·

mm².

11. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the golf club head has a volume greater than about 400 cc and a mass less than about 220 grams.

12. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the club head body;

a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be positioned on the sole at a plurality of rotational and axial positions with respect to an axis extending through the sole piece, wherein adjusting the rotational position of the sole piece can change a face angle of the golf club head between about 0.5 and about 12 degrees, wherein the sole piece is generally triangular and can be locked on the sole at three discrete selectable positions, wherein the sole piece extends a different distance from the sole at each of the three positions.

13. The golf club head of claim 12, wherein the sole piece has a convex bottom surface, such that when the sole piece is at each rotational position the bottom surface has a heel-to-toe curvature that substantially matches the heel-to-toe curvature of a leading surface portion of the sole.

14. A golf club head comprising:

a recessed cavity in a sole of the golf club head;

a platform extending downwardly from a roof of the cavity; and

a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the cavity and comprising a body having a plurality of surfaces adapted to contact the platform and being offset from each other along an axis extending through the body;

wherein the sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the cavity at a plurality of rotational and axial positions with respect to the axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said surfaces of the body contacts the platform to set the axial position of the sole piece.

15. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the platform comprises a cylindrical center post and two ears extending from opposite sides of the center post.

16. The golf club head of claim 15, wherein the plurality of surfaces comprises three pairs of surfaces, the pairs being offset from each other along the axis, and wherein the sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the cavity at three discrete rotational positions, each of which aligns one of the three pairs of surfaces with the two ears.

17. The golf club head of claim 15, wherein each ear has an arc length that is substantially the same as respective arc lengths of the plurality of surfaces.

18. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the cavity and the sole piece are each generally triangular when viewed from the bottom of the golf club head.

19. The golf club head of claim 15, wherein the sole piece further comprises a central cylindrical void that aligns with the center post of the platform when the sole piece is at least partially received within the cavity, and wherein the axis is a centerline axis of the cylindrical void, and wherein the plurality of surfaces are disposed around the cylindrical void.

20. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the body of the sole piece comprises a generally cylindrical wall that comprises of a plurality of wall sections in an angular array around the axis, wherein each wall section has an upper surface that comprises one of the plurality of surfaces adapted to contact the platform.

21. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the sole piece further comprises a bottom wall, an outer rim extending substantially axially upward from the perimeter of the bottom wall, and a plurality of ribs extending substantially radially along the upper side of the bottom wall.

22. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the sole piece has a convex bottom surface, such that when the sole piece is at each rotational position the bottom surface has a heel-to-toe curvature that substantially matches the heel-to-toe curvature of a leading surface portion of the sole.

23. A golf club comprising:

a club head body comprising hosel and a sole, the sole being positioned at a bottom portion of the club head body and comprising a recessed cavity and a platform extending downwardly from a roof of the cavity;

an adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the cavity and comprising a body having a plurality of surfaces adapted to contact the platform and being offset from each other along an axis extending through the body, wherein the sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the cavity at a plurality of rotational and axial positions with respect to the axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said surfaces of the body contacts the platform to set the axial position of the sole piece, and whereby adjusting the axial position of the sole piece can thereby change a face angle of the golf club between about 0.5 and about 12 degrees;

a releasable locking mechanism configured to lock the sole piece at a selected one of the plurality of rotational positions;

a shaft; and

a rotatably adjustable sleeve to couple the shaft to the hosel, wherein rotating the adjustable sleeve relative to the hosel can cause the shaft to extend in a different direction from the hosel, thereby changing a square loft of the golf club; and

wherein the square loft and the face angle can be adjusted independently of each other.