Golf club head

• US 4,322,083 A
• Filed: 10/10/1979
• Issued: 03/30/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Shintomi Golf Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Shintomi Golf Company Limited
• Inventors: Imai, Sigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Application Number:
  US06/083,329
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 273/77 R, 273/77 A, 273/167-175
• US Class Current: 473/344
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like

Abstract

A golf club head in which the center of gravity of the mass thereof is located on a line perpendicular to a club face of the head and passing through a meet point prelocated on the club face.

Claims

1. A golf club comprising:

a club head;

a substantially flat club face on one side of said head, said club face being adapted to strike a golf ball;

said club face having upper and lower edges;

said club face being disposed at an angle with respect vertical when said club face is in an address position with respect to a golf ball;

said angle being a loft angle (θ

) which determines the amount of loft imparted a golf ball when it is struck by the club face;

said loft angle (θ

) being greater than zero;

said club face having a point thereon at which a golf ball will contact said club face when said club is in the address position with respect to the golf ball, said point being a meet point (M), the position of said meet point (M) being a function of the magnitude of the loft angle (θ

) of said head, such that the higher the loft angle (θ

), the closer said meet point (M) will be to the lower edge of said club face, the distance (JM) between the meet point (M) on said club face and the lower edge (J) of said club face being given as follows;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">JM=R secθ

(1-sin θ

)

where

R;

radius of standard golf ball,

θ

;

loft angle;

said club head having a mass and having a center of gravity of its mass, said center of gravity being spaced from said club face, said center of gravity, when viewed from a cross section taken in plane perpendicular to the club face, being located on a line substantially perpendicular to said club face through said meet point (M).

2. A golf club according to claim 1, said club head being a wooden club head including a wooden body section, a lower sole portion of said body section and a sole metal section formed of a metal piece fixed to the sole portion of said body section, wherein said sole metal section covers substantially the entire sole portion of said body section, wherein said sole metal section, as viewed from a cross section of said club head taken in a plane perpendicular to said club face, has certain widths along its length which widths are a function of said loft angle such that, the larger the loft angle, the greater are the widths of the sole metal section near the club face in comparison with those remote from the club face, whereby the relationship between the center of gravity and the meet point is maintained.

3. A golf club according to claim 2 wherein, at a certain loft angle, the widths of the sole metal section have a gradual, converging taper in a direction toward said club face.

4. A golf club according to claim 2 wherein, at a particular loft angle, the widths of the sole metal section have a gradual, converging taper in a direction away from said club face.