Golf club with improved performance

• US 8,858,357 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2013
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Golden, Charles E., Harvell, Christopher D.
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAU, STEPHEN LUTHER
• Application Number:
  US13/973,415
• Publication Number:
  US 20130344979A1
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• Field of Search: 473244-248, 473/288, 473/307, 473/309, 473/345, 473/349
• US Class Current: 473/307
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0412 Volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0441 with visual indicators for aligning the golf club
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/42 Devices for measuring, verifying, correcting or customising the inherent characteristics of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like, e.g. measuring the maximum torque a batting shaft can withstand

Abstract

A golf club head with an improved Moment of Inertia (MOI) is disclosed herein. More specifically, the present invention relates to a golf club head with a releasable hosel mechanism that is leaner and more lightweight, it allows a significant amount of weight to be saved from the hosel portion of the golf club head and used to improve Center of Gravity (CG) location of the golf club head; which contributes to the improvement of the MOI of the golf club head.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a striking face portion, defining a striking face plane, positioned at a forward portion of said golf club head;

a body portion, connected to an aft portion of said striking face, positioned at a rearward portion of said golf club head; and

a hosel portion, defining a hosel bore axis, positioned at a heel portion of said golf club head, adapted to connect to a shaft;

wherein said hosel portion forms a hosel sub-element, said hosel sub-element has a total mass of less than about 50 grams;

said hosel sub-element, defined by an intersection of a first plane and a second plane, contains a portion of said clubhead from said first plane to the very heel of said clubhead from top to bottom, and from said second plane to the very front of said clubhead from top to bottom,

said first plane is parallel to both said hosel bore axis and said striking face plane, and is offset 15 mm towards said rear portion of said golf club head from said hosel bore axis in a Z_HBA direction;

said Z_HBA is defined as an axis perpendicular to a hosel bore axis in a front to rear direction, and

said second plane is parallel to said hosel bore axis and perpendicular to said striking face plane, and is offset 12 mm towards a toe portion of said golf club head from said hosel bore axis in a X_HBA direction;

said X_HBA is defined as an axis perpendicular to said hosel bore axis in a heel and toe direction;

wherein said hosel releasably connects said shaft to said golf club head, and

wherein said golf club head has a Moment of Inertia (MOI) about a Y-axis of greater than about 460 kg*mm²;

sand Y-axis runs vertically across said golf club head in a crown to sole direction.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said total mass of said hosel sub-element has a mass of less than about 45 grams.

3. The golf club head of claim 2, wherein said total mass of said hosel sub-element has a mass of less than about 44 grams.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said Moment of Inertia (MOI) of said golf club head about said Y-axis is greater than about 475 kg*mm².

5. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein said Moment of Inertia (MOI) of said golf club head about said Y-axis is greater than about 485 kg*mm².

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein a CG height distance along a Y-axis, CG_Y, measured from a ground, is less than about 30 mm.

7. The golf club head of claim 6, wherein said CG height distance along a Y-axis, CG_Y, measured from a ground, is less than about 29 mm.

8. The golf club head of claim 7, wherein said CG height distance along a Y-axis, CG_Y, measured from a ground, is less than about 28 mm.