US20070281796A1 - Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of intertia and lower center of gravity - Google Patents
Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of intertia and lower center of gravity Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20070281796A1 US20070281796A1 US11/421,135 US42113506A US2007281796A1 US 20070281796 A1 US20070281796 A1 US 20070281796A1 US 42113506 A US42113506 A US 42113506A US 2007281796 A1 US2007281796 A1 US 2007281796A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- golf club
- insert
- density
- hitting face
- back portion
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B53/047—Heads iron-type
- A63B53/0475—Heads iron-type with one or more enclosed cavities
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B53/045—Strengthening ribs
- A63B53/0454—Strengthening ribs on the rear surface of the impact face plate
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B53/047—Heads iron-type
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B60/00—Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
- A63B60/02—Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B2053/0491—Heads with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B53/0437—Heads with special crown configurations
Definitions
- This invention generally relates to golf clubs, and, more particularly, to muscle-back iron-type clubs.
- Perimeter weighting also provides the club head with higher rotational moment of inertia about its center of gravity. Club heads with higher moments of inertia have a lower tendency to rotate caused by off-center hits. Another recent trend has been to increase the overall size of the club heads, especially in the long irons. Each of these features increases the size of the sweet spot, and therefore makes it more likely that a shot hit slightly off-center still makes contact with the sweet spot and flies farther and straighter.
- One challenge for the golf club designer when maximizing the size of the club head is to maintain a desirable and effective overall weight of the golf club. For example, if the club head of a three-iron is increased in size and weight, the club may become more difficult for the average golfer to swing properly.
- the center of gravity of the cavity-back clubs is moved toward the bottom and back of the club head. This permits an average golfer to get the ball up in the air faster and hit the ball farther.
- the moment of inertia of the club head is increased to minimize the distance and accuracy penalties associated with off-center hits.
- material or mass is taken from one area of the club head and moved to another.
- Workability is a function of the size of the club head, the center gravity being closer to the hosel axis, the thinner sole and the reduced offset between the hosel and the hitting face. Workability is the ability to shape the shots and to control the trajectory's height.
- Muscle-back clubs generally have lower inertia and higher center of gravity than cavity-back clubs. Muscle-back clubs, such as Kenneth Smith's Royal Signet clubs and Mizuno's MP-33 irons concentrate the club's weight near the sweet spot, thereby reducing its inertia. Also since the club's weight is not moved to the perimeter or to the sole, the conventional muscle-back club does not have as large a sweet spot or low center of gravity as the cavity-back club. Some of the commercially available muscle-back clubs are using multiple materials to change the mass properties.
- the Bridgestone EC603 Pro iron clubs have a stainless steel body with a heavy tungsten insert in the lower portion of the back of the club (i.e., in the muscle portion of the club), and a urethane insert for vibration damping.
- the Bridgestone Tanbec TB-2 has a titanium body and a heavy beryllium copper insert in the lower portion of the back of the club. However, these heavy inserts reduce the inertia of the club.
- muscle-back clubs that have improved mass properties, such as higher inertia and better location of the center of gravity.
- the present invention relates to muscle-back iron golf clubs that have improved mass properties, such as lower center of gravity and higher moments of inertia.
- the present invention also relates to muscle-back golf clubs that have their mass redistributed to gain higher moments of inertia and lower the center of gravity while maintaining or improving workability.
- the present invention also relates to a method of making golf clubs from various materials.
- FIG. 1 is a front view of an iron-type golf club illustrating the definitions for the various moments of inertia
- FIG. 2 is an elevational view of an inventive muscle-back iron club
- FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the inventive club of FIG. 2 along line 3 - 3 ;
- FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the inventive muscle-back iron club
- FIG. 5 is the back side view of the club of FIG. 4 ;
- FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a cradle shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 ;
- FIG. 7 is the back side view of another inventive muscle-back iron club
- FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the club of FIG. 7 along line 8 - 8 ;
- FIGS. 9( a )-( d ) are other embodiments of the cradle and insert.
- FIG. 10 is the back side view of another inventive high rotational inertia muscle-back iron club
- FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the club of FIG. 10 along line 11 - 11 ;
- FIG. 12 is another embodiment of the inventive muscle-back portion of the club
- FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the club of FIG. 12 along line 13 - 13 ;
- FIG. 14 is a back side view of another high rotational inertia muscle-back iron club
- FIGS. 15-16 are exploded views of other embodiments of high rotational inertia muscle-back iron clubs
- FIG. 17 is yet another embodiment of the inventive muscle-back club showing a relatively large lightweight back section
- FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the club of FIG. 17 along line 18 - 18 ;
- FIG. 19 is another embodiment of the muscle-back of FIG. 17 ;
- FIGS. 20-22 are elevational views of a set of iron-type golf clubs with progressing mass properties in accordance with the present invention.
- FIGS. 23( a )-( e ) are cross-sectional views showing the representative steps of a co-forging process suitable for making the iron-type clubs in accordance with the present invention
- FIGS. 24( a )-( d ) are cross-sectional views showing the representative steps of a forging/swaging process for pre-loading an insert into an iron club suitable for making the iron-type clubs in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.
- inertia Rotational moments of inertia (inertia) in golf clubs are well known in art, and are fully discussed in many references, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,156, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
- the club head tends to rotate about an axis excessively from off-center hits.
- Higher inertia indicates higher rotational mass and less rotation from off-center hits, thereby allowing off-center hits to fly farther and closer to the intended path.
- Inertia is measured about a vertical axis going through the center of gravity (e.g.) of the club head (I yy ), and about a horizontal axis through the c.g.
- rotational inertia about the z-axis (I zz ) is measured about the axis orthogonal to both the x- and y-axis.
- the tendency of the club head to rotate around the y-axis through the c.g. indicates the amount of rotation that an off-center hit away from the y-axis causes.
- the tendency of the club head to rotate around the x-axis through the c.g. indicates the amount of rotation that an off-center hit away from the x-axis through the c.g. causes.
- Most off-center hits cause a tendency to rotate around both the x and y axes. High I xx and I yy reduce the tendency to rotate and provide more forgiveness to off-center hits.
- Inertia is also measured about the shaft axis (I aa ) shown in FIG. 1 .
- the face of the club is set in the address position, then the face is squared and the loft angle and the lie angle are set before measurements are taken. Any golf ball hit has a tendency to cause the club head to rotate around the shaft axis.
- High I sa reduces the tendency to manually rotate the face open or closed, thus reducing shot control or ball flight workability.
- High I xx and I yy can be readily achieved in cavity-back iron-type clubs due to the mass/weight of the clubs being moved to the perimeter and the sole, thereby shifting the c.g. This can now be realized in high-end muscle-back irons by improving mass properties of the club in accordance with the present invention.
- an inventive muscle-back club head 10 comprises front 12 , back 14 , crown 16 and sole 18 .
- Club head 10 also has heel 20 and toe 22 with hosel 24 connected to the club proximate heel 20 .
- the club also forms hitting face 26 on front 12 to impact golf balls.
- back 14 has upper portion 28 and lower portion or muscle portion 30 , and muscle portion 30 is relatively thicker than upper portion 28 .
- Muscle portion 30 may include the c.g. of the club head, or when the c.g. is located aft of the club head, it is closer to the thick muscle portion 30 than to thin upper portion 28 of back 14 .
- muscle portion 30 is made separate from front 12 and hosel 24 and may contain lightweight insert or chip 32 and heavyweight cradle 34 .
- front 12 and hosel 24 are made of the same or similar material and integral with each other. Front 12 and hosel 24 can be made by forging or metal casting, and each has a density that is higher than the density of lightweight chip 32 and is lower than the density of heavyweight cradle 34 .
- hosel 24 and face 12 are made from stainless steel or carbon steel (density of about 8 g/cc) or titanium (density of about 4.5 g/cc); chip 32 is made from aluminum (density of about 2.7 g/cc) or polymers (density of about 1-1.5 g/cc); and cradle 34 is made from tungsten or tungsten alloy (density of about 11-19 g/cc).
- the densities and volumes of the components are selected so that the overall size and shape of the inventive clubs are similar to conventional muscle-back clubs preferred and accepted by tour and low handicap players. It will be appreciated that other suitable materials can be used so long as the relative densities satisfy the requirements above.
- FIGS. 4-6 show that cradle 34 has pocket 36 adapted to receive chip 32 .
- Cradle 34 may also contain optional void/space 38 .
- Void 38 removes material from cradle 34 to allow the c.g. of the club head to be shifted aft of hitting face 26 in order to enlarge the sweet spot of the club. Void 38 also allows the impact to produce a sound indicating that the ball was well struck.
- Cradle 34 can be attached to front 12 by laser welding the perimeter of cradle 34 to the back of front 12 .
- the attachment of cradle 34 to front 12 can also be accomplished by other methods, such as co-forging, described below, or by screws or rivets or epoxy.
- Chip 32 can be attached to pocket 36 by interference fit, epoxy, screw(s), adhesive, etc. or a combination thereof.
- inventive club head 10 some of the mass has been shifted away from the geometric center by the placement of lightweight chip 32 proximate to the geometric center of front 12 . Also, some of the mass has been shifted aft and toward the bottom of the club by cradle 34 , which as illustrated has a thicker bottom 40 , which forms sole 18 and void 38 .
- the deployment of mass has moved the e.g. aft and lower and has increased inertia (I sa , I xx and I yy ) to be more forgiving with mishits and to provide higher trajectory, similar to a cavity-back club.
- This combination of multiple materials provides a club with improved mass properties, i.e., more forgiving of mishits and higher trajectory in a club head with size, shape, and proportion more traditional and more acceptable to tour players and low handicap players.
- the combination of these materials e.g., stainless/carbon steel hosel 24 and hitting face 26 , aluminum chip insert 32 and tungsten/tungsten alloy cradle 34 permits the club head geometry to remain substantially the same as that of a single material club, but features improved mass properties.
- FIGS. 7-9 illustrate other embodiments of front 12 , chip 32 and cradle 34 .
- Chip 32 may be substantially longer and have the shape of an elongated bar and cradle 34 may not be designed to receive chip 32 .
- both chip 32 and cradle 34 are attached directly to the back of front 12 , which has pockets sized and dimensioned to receive these two elements, as shown in FIG. 8 .
- These components can be attached via laser welding, screw(s), co-forging or any known methods.
- FIG. 9( a ) shows that cradle 34 can have a “U” shape and is sized and dimensioned to receive chip 32 in the cavity created by the “U” shape.
- chip 32 in the elongated form can be attached to cradle 34 by tongue and groove 42 and/or by screw(s) 44 , as shown in FIG. 9( b ).
- FIGS. 9( c )-( d ) show that chip 32 can be hollow to change the quality of the sound of the impact with golf balls or can be filled with yet another material 46 , such as a vibration dampener, e.g., plastic, urethane or rubber, or with high or low density materials, such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, carbon fiber, Kevlar®, etc. Material 46 allows customization of the clubs to the player's individual needs.
- a vibration dampener e.g., plastic, urethane or rubber
- high or low density materials such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, carbon fiber, Kevlar®, etc.
- Material 46 allows customization of the clubs to the player's individual needs.
- the inertia of the inventive clubs was compared to conventional single material muscle-back clubs, such as the muscle back iron-type golf clubs available from Titleist®, as shown in Table 1 below.
- the c.g. in the vertical y-direction and aft or z-direction is lower than the two comparative 3-iron clubs, and the e.g. in the shaft axis is in between the two comparative clubs.
- This data shows that the e.g. of the inventive 3-iron club is indeed lower and more aft than the single material conventional 3-iron clubs.
- the data also shows that the e.g. in the shaft axis, which measures how far the e.g. is away from the shaft or hosel axis, is comparable to those of the conventional clubs.
- the closeness of the e.g. to the shaft axis indicates better workability.
- the inventive 3-iron is more forgiving due to better e.g. in the vertical and aft directions and has comparable workability to the comparative clubs.
- the rotational inertia about the x, y and z axes and the aggregate inertia are higher than those of the two comparative clubs to reduce the tendency of the club head to rotate from mishits, and the inertia about the shaft axis for the inventive club is between those of the two comparative clubs indicating comparable workability.
- the data for the inventive 6-iron club compared to the conventional 6-irons is similar to that of the inventive 3-iron club compared to the conventional 3-irons, as discussed above.
- the data for the inventive 9-iron shows that the e.g. in the vertical direction is indeed lower and the e.g. in the shaft axis remains comparable to the conventional clubs, but the e.g. in the aft direction for the inventive club is only comparable to the conventional clubs, i.e., between the two conventional clubs.
- the inertia for the inventive 9-iron is higher in the y- and z-axis and aggregate inertia is better or higher than the conventional clubs, but the inertia about the x-axis is only higher than one of the two conventional clubs.
- the inertia about the shaft axis is higher than the conventional muscle-back clubs.
- inventive clubs enjoy better e.g. location and higher inertia while maintaining comparable workability, especially in the long and mid-irons, where the shots are harder to make.
- inventive iron clubs such as those shown in FIGS. 4-6 and described above, can be made with the following materials and proportions.
- the weight of the iron-type clubs varies throughout the set, e.g., 236, 242, 248, 254, 267, 268, 275, 283, and 287 grams for 2-iron to pitching wedge, respectively.
- the materials and volumes should be selected so that the final weight of each club meets these selected weight for each club.
- FIG. 25 shows another embodiment of the inventive club. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3-6 , in that hosel 24 and front 12 , which has a substantially uniform thickness, are formed integral to each other by forging or metal casting.
- Cradle 34 in this embodiment does not contain any void or pocket and is attached to front 12 via post 35 .
- Cradle 34 forms the lower muscle portion of club 10 .
- Post 35 may be made integral to front 12 or made integral to cradle 35 .
- Post 35 may be made separately and acts like a rivet to connect front 12 to cradle 35 .
- Post 35 may also be a threaded screw.
- One or more posts 35 may be used.
- post 35 is made integral to front 12
- cradle 34 has a corresponding hole sized to receive the post.
- the head of post 35 protrudes beyond the outer surface of cradle 34 and is flattened to affix cradle 34 to front 12 , similar to affixing by rivets.
- a vibration dampening layer 37 can be positioned between front 12 and cradle/muscle 34 to reduce the vibrations caused by impacts with golf balls.
- This vibration damping layer is generally lighter than steel, which causes the c.g. to move aft, further assisting the trajectory height.
- hosel 24 and front 12 are made from stainless steel, carbon steel, titanium or other conventional metals.
- Cradle 34 is preferably made from a high density metal, such as tungsten or tungsten nickel or tungsten nickel copper.
- Dampening layer 37 can be made from any polymeric material that can absorb vibrations, such as rubber, elastomers, urethane or nylon. Nylon is useful because it can be polished along with metals. Dampening layer 37 may also be pre-stressed, i.e., be compressed between cradle 34 and front 12 , to keep the connection between front 12 and cradle 34 a tight fit, such as by a mechanical lock, and minimizes relative movements between front 12 and cradle 34 .
- heavyweight inserts can be positioned on opposite sides of the c.g. or of the geometric center, or on opposite sides of a vertical line going through the c.g. or geometric center.
- club 10 has heavyweight toe insert 50 and heavyweight hosel collar 52 . These inserts are located on opposite corners of club 10 and are located as far apart as practicable to increase rotational inertia.
- hosel collar 52 is proximate to the hosel axis, the e.g. of the club is maintained relatively close to the hosel axis to preserve as much as possible the workability of the club.
- lightweight chip 32 is provided as discussed above.
- an optional dampener 54 can be provided, where the dampener is made from a polymeric material such as urethane or rubber.
- Back 14 of club 10 may also have other geometries, as well as other shapes for lightweight chip 32 , including steps 56 separating upper back portion 28 and muscle portion 30 .
- heavyweight hosel collar 52 can be replaced by heavyweight heel pin 58 to balance toe insert 50 shown in FIG. 14 . Since heel pin 58 is positioned lower than hosel collar 52 , the c.g. is kept low.
- hosel collar 52 , heel pin 58 and toe insert 50 can be used together. Heel pin 58 , hosel collar 52 , toe insert 50 and chip 32 can have other shapes and dimensions as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 , so long as their respective densities allow club 10 to resemble the traditional muscle-back irons in size, weight and dimensions accepted by tour players and low handicap players.
- FIGS. 17 and 18 show another embodiment of the inventive muscle-back club.
- most of the back portion including most of upper back portion 28 and muscle portion 34 , is made from a single piece of lightweight material, such as aluminum or magnesium.
- back insert 60 comprises an upper back and a muscle-back portion.
- the sole can be made from the same material as front 12 and hosel 24 .
- Front 12 and hosel 24 can be forged.
- Back insert 60 can be made by casting or forging and then affixed to the back of front 12 by laser welding or screws/rivets.
- Crown 16 can be from the top edge of front 12 bent down and over the top of back insert 60 .
- Sole 18 can be made integral with front 12 and hosel 24 , by forging or casting, if these three parts are made from the same material.
- sole 18 can be made from a relatively denser material, such as tungsten or tungsten alloys, and can be made separately and attached to back insert 60 and front 12 , via laser welding, screws/rivets, adhesive or the like. This construction allows the c.g. to be shifted aft and down. Also, this construction allows front 12 , which is relatively thin, to flex due to differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the different materials.
- back insert 60 can be separated into smaller parts separated by ribs 62 , which are made from the same material as front 12 , as shown in FIG. 19 .
- FIGS. 17 and 18 can be made by pouring molten magnesium or aluminum into a pre-heated cavity back iron, which then becomes a muscle back via molding or CNC machining process.
- the cavity back head is heated up to a temperature that relieves the difference in thermal coefficient of expansion and shrink rate, such that the pieces fit snugly together, possibly in an interference fit.
- the mass properties of the muscle-back clubs vary from the long irons to the short irons and wedges.
- the weights are shifted or moved toward the sole, heel and/or toe.
- the long irons include one or more heavy inserts in the toe region to keep the c.g. near the hosel axis for better workability.
- the mid-irons may include a heavy hosel collar and a toe insert, and an optional heel insert.
- the short irons and wedges would have a lightweight heel insert and possibly a heavy crown insert. All these clubs would have lightweight chip 32 positioned in the muscle portion 30 of the clubs, as described above.
- the long iron versions e.g., the 2-iron to the 4-iron, club 10 has lightweight chip 32 positioned in the muscle portion 30 of the clubs.
- these long-irons would have lightweight hosel collar 52 L, heavyweight toe insert 50 , heavyweight sole insert 64 , and heavyweight toe insert 58 .
- These long irons would have high rotational moments of inertia and low c.g.
- the mid-irons e.g., the 5-iron to 7-iron, would have heavyweight hosel collar 52 and heavyweight toe insert 50 for increased inertia, and lightweight heel insert 58 and lightweight chip 32 for selective placement of c.g.
- mid-irons would have mid-range inertia and mid-range e.g.
- the short irons e.g., the 8-iron to the wedges, still have would have heavyweight hosel collar 52 and heavyweight toe insert 50 for increased inertia and lightweight heel insert 58 and lightweight chip 32 for selective placement of c.g.
- These short irons would also have a heavyweight crown insert 66 to keep the c.g. relatively high.
- the short irons would have low to mid-inertia and higher c.g.
- the lightweight and heavyweight inserts can be placed at multiple locations in the club head to achieve a desired result, and the present invention is not limited to any particular combinations shown herein.
- club heads in accordance with the present invention can be made by co-forging as illustrated in FIGS. 23( a )-( e ), in addition to conventional manufacturing techniques including any of those described above.
- a forging process comprises a number of forging steps, typically 2 to 7 steps.
- the forging process is stopped at a certain stage after a rough workpiece 70 that roughly resembles the final product is formed, as shown in FIG. 23( a ), which in this case is a muscle-back iron.
- the forging process is preferably interrupted at this point, and a cavity 72 is machined into workpiece 70 , for example by a computer numerically controlled machine (CNC), as shown in FIG. 23( b ).
- CNC computer numerically controlled machine
- Insert 74 is then placed into cavity 72 , as shown in FIG. 23( c ).
- Cavity 72 is sized and dimensioned to wrap around insert 74 without leaving any significant void between the insert and the workpiece after the process is completed.
- Insert 74 can be a heavyweight or lightweight insert, discussed above, and insert 74 may comprise multiple materials, such as a polymeric dampener 76 for vibration dampening and a lightweight chip 78 for altering mass properties.
- insert 74 has rounded-off or chamfered shoulders 80
- workpiece 70 has matching protrusions 82 .
- FIGS. 24( a )-( d ) Another method for attaching the inserts, such as chip 32 to the club head is by swaging and preloading, as shown in FIGS. 24( a )-( d ).
- a rough workpiece 70 is forged or cast and a cavity 72 is cut from the workpiece, as shown in FIG. 24( a )-( b ) similar to the co-forging process described above.
- insert 84 is formed by any known process. Insert 84 has a lock grove 86 and rib 88 and is machined to fit into cavity 72 .
- Workpiece 70 is then cold worked or swaged, e.g., by bending, to form a single joint or part.
- insert 84 is preloaded when rib 88 is pressed against the back of front 12 of the club and insert 84 slightly bends at lock grove 86 . This bending force conforms insert 84 to cavity 72 and pre-stresses insert 84 . This pre-loading reduces the noise made between these two parts during dynamic loadings or impacts, and compensates for any loose fit, such as thermal expansions or tolerances of the two different metals.
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
- Golf Clubs (AREA)
Abstract
Disclosed herein are muscle-back iron golf clubs that have improved mass qualities to provide higher rotational moments of inertia and lower center of gravity while retaining the workability of muscle-back irons and the size, shape and dimensions preferred by tour players and low handicap players.
Description
- This invention generally relates to golf clubs, and, more particularly, to muscle-back iron-type clubs.
- Individual iron club heads in a set typically increase progressively in face surface area and weight as the clubs progress from the long irons to the short irons and wedges. Therefore, the club heads of the long irons have a smaller face surface area than the short irons and are typically more difficult for the average golfer to hit consistently well. For conventional club heads, this arises at least in part due to the smaller sweet spot of the corresponding smaller face surface area.
- To help the average golfer consistently hit the sweet spot of a club head, many golf clubs are available with cavity-back constructions for increased perimeter weighting. Perimeter weighting also provides the club head with higher rotational moment of inertia about its center of gravity. Club heads with higher moments of inertia have a lower tendency to rotate caused by off-center hits. Another recent trend has been to increase the overall size of the club heads, especially in the long irons. Each of these features increases the size of the sweet spot, and therefore makes it more likely that a shot hit slightly off-center still makes contact with the sweet spot and flies farther and straighter. One challenge for the golf club designer when maximizing the size of the club head is to maintain a desirable and effective overall weight of the golf club. For example, if the club head of a three-iron is increased in size and weight, the club may become more difficult for the average golfer to swing properly.
- In general, the center of gravity of the cavity-back clubs is moved toward the bottom and back of the club head. This permits an average golfer to get the ball up in the air faster and hit the ball farther. In addition, the moment of inertia of the club head is increased to minimize the distance and accuracy penalties associated with off-center hits. In order to move the weight down and back without increasing the overall weight of the club head, material or mass is taken from one area of the club head and moved to another.
- One solution has been to take material from the face of the club, creating a thin club face. Examples of this type of arrangement can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,972, 5,967,903 and 6,045,456.
- However, professional tour players and low handicap players, who can consistently hit the balls on the club's sweet spot, prefer muscle-back type clubs for the visual effect of a smaller head and better workability. Workability is a function of the size of the club head, the center gravity being closer to the hosel axis, the thinner sole and the reduced offset between the hosel and the hitting face. Workability is the ability to shape the shots and to control the trajectory's height.
- Muscle-back clubs generally have lower inertia and higher center of gravity than cavity-back clubs. Muscle-back clubs, such as Kenneth Smith's Royal Signet clubs and Mizuno's MP-33 irons concentrate the club's weight near the sweet spot, thereby reducing its inertia. Also since the club's weight is not moved to the perimeter or to the sole, the conventional muscle-back club does not have as large a sweet spot or low center of gravity as the cavity-back club. Some of the commercially available muscle-back clubs are using multiple materials to change the mass properties. For example, the Bridgestone EC603 Pro iron clubs have a stainless steel body with a heavy tungsten insert in the lower portion of the back of the club (i.e., in the muscle portion of the club), and a urethane insert for vibration damping. Similarly, the Bridgestone Tanbec TB-2 has a titanium body and a heavy beryllium copper insert in the lower portion of the back of the club. However, these heavy inserts reduce the inertia of the club.
- Hence, there remains a need for muscle-back clubs that have improved mass properties, such as higher inertia and better location of the center of gravity.
- The present invention relates to muscle-back iron golf clubs that have improved mass properties, such as lower center of gravity and higher moments of inertia.
- The present invention also relates to muscle-back golf clubs that have their mass redistributed to gain higher moments of inertia and lower the center of gravity while maintaining or improving workability.
- The present invention also relates to a method of making golf clubs from various materials.
-
FIG. 1 is a front view of an iron-type golf club illustrating the definitions for the various moments of inertia; -
FIG. 2 is an elevational view of an inventive muscle-back iron club; -
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the inventive club ofFIG. 2 along line 3-3; -
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the inventive muscle-back iron club; -
FIG. 5 is the back side view of the club ofFIG. 4 ; -
FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a cradle shown inFIGS. 4 and 5 ; -
FIG. 7 is the back side view of another inventive muscle-back iron club; -
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the club ofFIG. 7 along line 8-8; -
FIGS. 9( a)-(d) are other embodiments of the cradle and insert; -
FIG. 10 is the back side view of another inventive high rotational inertia muscle-back iron club; -
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the club ofFIG. 10 along line 11-11; -
FIG. 12 is another embodiment of the inventive muscle-back portion of the club; -
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the club ofFIG. 12 along line 13-13; -
FIG. 14 is a back side view of another high rotational inertia muscle-back iron club; -
FIGS. 15-16 are exploded views of other embodiments of high rotational inertia muscle-back iron clubs; -
FIG. 17 is yet another embodiment of the inventive muscle-back club showing a relatively large lightweight back section; -
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the club ofFIG. 17 along line 18-18; -
FIG. 19 is another embodiment of the muscle-back ofFIG. 17 ; -
FIGS. 20-22 are elevational views of a set of iron-type golf clubs with progressing mass properties in accordance with the present invention; -
FIGS. 23( a)-(e) are cross-sectional views showing the representative steps of a co-forging process suitable for making the iron-type clubs in accordance with the present invention; -
FIGS. 24( a)-(d) are cross-sectional views showing the representative steps of a forging/swaging process for pre-loading an insert into an iron club suitable for making the iron-type clubs in accordance with the present invention; and -
FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention. - Rotational moments of inertia (inertia) in golf clubs are well known in art, and are fully discussed in many references, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,156, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. When the inertia is too low, the club head tends to rotate about an axis excessively from off-center hits. Higher inertia indicates higher rotational mass and less rotation from off-center hits, thereby allowing off-center hits to fly farther and closer to the intended path. Inertia is measured about a vertical axis going through the center of gravity (e.g.) of the club head (Iyy), and about a horizontal axis through the c.g. of the club head (Ixx), as shown in
FIG. 1 . Although not shown, rotational inertia about the z-axis (Izz) is measured about the axis orthogonal to both the x- and y-axis. The tendency of the club head to rotate around the y-axis through the c.g. indicates the amount of rotation that an off-center hit away from the y-axis causes. Similarly, the tendency of the club head to rotate around the x-axis through the c.g. indicates the amount of rotation that an off-center hit away from the x-axis through the c.g. causes. Most off-center hits cause a tendency to rotate around both the x and y axes. High Ixx and Iyy reduce the tendency to rotate and provide more forgiveness to off-center hits. - Inertia is also measured about the shaft axis (Iaa) shown in
FIG. 1 . First, the face of the club is set in the address position, then the face is squared and the loft angle and the lie angle are set before measurements are taken. Any golf ball hit has a tendency to cause the club head to rotate around the shaft axis. High Isa reduces the tendency to manually rotate the face open or closed, thus reducing shot control or ball flight workability. High Ixx and Iyy can be readily achieved in cavity-back iron-type clubs due to the mass/weight of the clubs being moved to the perimeter and the sole, thereby shifting the c.g. This can now be realized in high-end muscle-back irons by improving mass properties of the club in accordance with the present invention. - As shown in
FIGS. 1-6 , an inventive muscle-back club head 10 comprisesfront 12, back 14,crown 16 and sole 18.Club head 10 also hasheel 20 andtoe 22 withhosel 24 connected to the clubproximate heel 20. The club also forms hittingface 26 onfront 12 to impact golf balls. As more clearly shown inFIGS. 2 and 3 , back 14 hasupper portion 28 and lower portion ormuscle portion 30, andmuscle portion 30 is relatively thicker thanupper portion 28.Muscle portion 30 may include the c.g. of the club head, or when the c.g. is located aft of the club head, it is closer to thethick muscle portion 30 than to thinupper portion 28 ofback 14. - In accordance with the present invention,
muscle portion 30 is made separate fromfront 12 andhosel 24 and may contain lightweight insert orchip 32 andheavyweight cradle 34. In a preferred embodiment,front 12 andhosel 24 are made of the same or similar material and integral with each other.Front 12 andhosel 24 can be made by forging or metal casting, and each has a density that is higher than the density oflightweight chip 32 and is lower than the density ofheavyweight cradle 34. In one example,hosel 24 andface 12 are made from stainless steel or carbon steel (density of about 8 g/cc) or titanium (density of about 4.5 g/cc);chip 32 is made from aluminum (density of about 2.7 g/cc) or polymers (density of about 1-1.5 g/cc); andcradle 34 is made from tungsten or tungsten alloy (density of about 11-19 g/cc). The densities and volumes of the components are selected so that the overall size and shape of the inventive clubs are similar to conventional muscle-back clubs preferred and accepted by tour and low handicap players. It will be appreciated that other suitable materials can be used so long as the relative densities satisfy the requirements above. -
FIGS. 4-6 show thatcradle 34 haspocket 36 adapted to receivechip 32.Cradle 34 may also contain optional void/space 38.Void 38 removes material fromcradle 34 to allow the c.g. of the club head to be shifted aft of hittingface 26 in order to enlarge the sweet spot of the club.Void 38 also allows the impact to produce a sound indicating that the ball was well struck. -
Cradle 34 can be attached tofront 12 by laser welding the perimeter ofcradle 34 to the back offront 12. The attachment ofcradle 34 tofront 12 can also be accomplished by other methods, such as co-forging, described below, or by screws or rivets or epoxy.Chip 32 can be attached topocket 36 by interference fit, epoxy, screw(s), adhesive, etc. or a combination thereof. - In
inventive club head 10, some of the mass has been shifted away from the geometric center by the placement oflightweight chip 32 proximate to the geometric center offront 12. Also, some of the mass has been shifted aft and toward the bottom of the club bycradle 34, which as illustrated has a thicker bottom 40, which forms sole 18 andvoid 38. The deployment of mass has moved the e.g. aft and lower and has increased inertia (Isa, Ixx and Iyy) to be more forgiving with mishits and to provide higher trajectory, similar to a cavity-back club. - This combination of multiple materials provides a club with improved mass properties, i.e., more forgiving of mishits and higher trajectory in a club head with size, shape, and proportion more traditional and more acceptable to tour players and low handicap players. The combination of these materials, e.g., stainless/
carbon steel hosel 24 and hittingface 26,aluminum chip insert 32 and tungsten/tungsten alloy cradle 34 permits the club head geometry to remain substantially the same as that of a single material club, but features improved mass properties. -
FIGS. 7-9 illustrate other embodiments offront 12,chip 32 andcradle 34.Chip 32 may be substantially longer and have the shape of an elongated bar andcradle 34 may not be designed to receivechip 32. Instead, bothchip 32 andcradle 34 are attached directly to the back offront 12, which has pockets sized and dimensioned to receive these two elements, as shown inFIG. 8 . These components can be attached via laser welding, screw(s), co-forging or any known methods. Alternatively,FIG. 9( a) shows thatcradle 34 can have a “U” shape and is sized and dimensioned to receivechip 32 in the cavity created by the “U” shape. Furthermore,chip 32 in the elongated form can be attached to cradle 34 by tongue andgroove 42 and/or by screw(s) 44, as shown inFIG. 9( b).FIGS. 9( c)-(d) show thatchip 32 can be hollow to change the quality of the sound of the impact with golf balls or can be filled with yet anothermaterial 46, such as a vibration dampener, e.g., plastic, urethane or rubber, or with high or low density materials, such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, carbon fiber, Kevlar®, etc.Material 46 allows customization of the clubs to the player's individual needs. - The inertia of the inventive clubs, e.g., the club shown in
FIGS. 4-6 , was compared to conventional single material muscle-back clubs, such as the muscle back iron-type golf clubs available from Titleist®, as shown in Table 1 below. -
TABLE 1 Center of Gravity and Moments of Inertia Inventive MB club A MB club B Inventive MB club A MB club B Inventive MB club A MB club B 3-Iron 3-iron 3-iron 6-Iron 6-iron 6-iron 9-Iron 9-iron 9-iron CG Ground Y (mm) 18.6 19.0 19.8 18.6 18.7 19.9 18.8 19.0 19.6 CG Shaft Axis (mm) 33.5 34.3 32.1 34.0 34.8 31.7 34.0 35.0 32.9 CG Depth Z (mm) 6.0 6.0 5.2 8.2 7.7 7.6 10.7 11.3 10.1 Inertia CG X 47.3 43 45 55.3 49.2 54.1 69.5 65.1 71.8 Inertia CG Y 204.4 190 189 222.1 198.9 207 254.2 226.9 241.5 Inertia CG Z 240.1 223 225 255.0 227.3 240.6 280.3 246.7 267.6 Inertia Total X + Y + Z 318.9 296 297 342.6 306 322 384.7 341 368 Inertia Hosel Axis 423.3 435 387 484.4 485.8 427.4 548.5 537 512.1 - For the inventive 3-iron, the c.g. in the vertical y-direction and aft or z-direction is lower than the two comparative 3-iron clubs, and the e.g. in the shaft axis is in between the two comparative clubs. This data shows that the e.g. of the inventive 3-iron club is indeed lower and more aft than the single material conventional 3-iron clubs. The data also shows that the e.g. in the shaft axis, which measures how far the e.g. is away from the shaft or hosel axis, is comparable to those of the conventional clubs. As discussed above, the closeness of the e.g. to the shaft axis indicates better workability. In other words, the inventive 3-iron is more forgiving due to better e.g. in the vertical and aft directions and has comparable workability to the comparative clubs.
- The rotational inertia about the x, y and z axes and the aggregate inertia are higher than those of the two comparative clubs to reduce the tendency of the club head to rotate from mishits, and the inertia about the shaft axis for the inventive club is between those of the two comparative clubs indicating comparable workability.
- The data for the inventive 6-iron club compared to the conventional 6-irons is similar to that of the inventive 3-iron club compared to the conventional 3-irons, as discussed above.
- The data for the inventive 9-iron shows that the e.g. in the vertical direction is indeed lower and the e.g. in the shaft axis remains comparable to the conventional clubs, but the e.g. in the aft direction for the inventive club is only comparable to the conventional clubs, i.e., between the two conventional clubs. The inertia for the inventive 9-iron is higher in the y- and z-axis and aggregate inertia is better or higher than the conventional clubs, but the inertia about the x-axis is only higher than one of the two conventional clubs. The inertia about the shaft axis is higher than the conventional muscle-back clubs.
- It can be concluded from the above data that the inventive clubs enjoy better e.g. location and higher inertia while maintaining comparable workability, especially in the long and mid-irons, where the shots are harder to make. The inventive iron clubs, such as those shown in
FIGS. 4-6 and described above, can be made with the following materials and proportions. -
Parts Materials Volume Percent Hosel 24 and Front Stainless steel 48-77% 12, including hitting face 26Chip 32Aluminum 1-6 % Cradle 34 Tungsten 51-17% - The weight of the iron-type clubs varies throughout the set, e.g., 236, 242, 248, 254, 267, 268, 275, 283, and 287 grams for 2-iron to pitching wedge, respectively. In one embodiment, the materials and volumes should be selected so that the final weight of each club meets these selected weight for each club.
-
FIG. 25 shows another embodiment of the inventive club. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment ofFIG. 3-6 , in thathosel 24 andfront 12, which has a substantially uniform thickness, are formed integral to each other by forging or metal casting.Cradle 34 in this embodiment does not contain any void or pocket and is attached tofront 12 viapost 35.Cradle 34 forms the lower muscle portion ofclub 10.Post 35 may be made integral tofront 12 or made integral tocradle 35.Post 35 may be made separately and acts like a rivet to connectfront 12 to cradle 35.Post 35 may also be a threaded screw. One ormore posts 35 may be used. Preferably, post 35 is made integral tofront 12, andcradle 34 has a corresponding hole sized to receive the post. The head ofpost 35 protrudes beyond the outer surface ofcradle 34 and is flattened to affixcradle 34 tofront 12, similar to affixing by rivets. Additionally, avibration dampening layer 37 can be positioned betweenfront 12 and cradle/muscle 34 to reduce the vibrations caused by impacts with golf balls. This vibration damping layer is generally lighter than steel, which causes the c.g. to move aft, further assisting the trajectory height. - In this embodiment,
hosel 24 andfront 12 are made from stainless steel, carbon steel, titanium or other conventional metals.Cradle 34 is preferably made from a high density metal, such as tungsten or tungsten nickel or tungsten nickel copper. Dampeninglayer 37 can be made from any polymeric material that can absorb vibrations, such as rubber, elastomers, urethane or nylon. Nylon is useful because it can be polished along with metals. Dampeninglayer 37 may also be pre-stressed, i.e., be compressed betweencradle 34 andfront 12, to keep the connection betweenfront 12 and cradle 34 a tight fit, such as by a mechanical lock, and minimizes relative movements betweenfront 12 andcradle 34. - To further improve or increase the rotational inertia of the inventive clubs while maintaining workability, heavyweight inserts can be positioned on opposite sides of the c.g. or of the geometric center, or on opposite sides of a vertical line going through the c.g. or geometric center. As shown in
FIG. 10 ,club 10 hasheavyweight toe insert 50 andheavyweight hosel collar 52. These inserts are located on opposite corners ofclub 10 and are located as far apart as practicable to increase rotational inertia. Additionally, sincehosel collar 52 is proximate to the hosel axis, the e.g. of the club is maintained relatively close to the hosel axis to preserve as much as possible the workability of the club. To balance or counter heavyweight inserts 50, 52,lightweight chip 32 is provided as discussed above. As shown inFIG. 11 , an optional dampener 54 can be provided, where the dampener is made from a polymeric material such as urethane or rubber. Back 14 ofclub 10 may also have other geometries, as well as other shapes forlightweight chip 32, includingsteps 56 separatingupper back portion 28 andmuscle portion 30. - To maintain the c.g. as low to the ground as possible,
heavyweight hosel collar 52 can be replaced byheavyweight heel pin 58 to balancetoe insert 50 shown inFIG. 14 . Sinceheel pin 58 is positioned lower thanhosel collar 52, the c.g. is kept low. Alternatively,hosel collar 52,heel pin 58 andtoe insert 50 can be used together.Heel pin 58,hosel collar 52,toe insert 50 andchip 32 can have other shapes and dimensions as shown inFIGS. 15 and 16 , so long as their respective densities allowclub 10 to resemble the traditional muscle-back irons in size, weight and dimensions accepted by tour players and low handicap players. -
FIGS. 17 and 18 show another embodiment of the inventive muscle-back club. In this embodiment, most of the back portion, including most ofupper back portion 28 andmuscle portion 34, is made from a single piece of lightweight material, such as aluminum or magnesium. As shown, back insert 60 comprises an upper back and a muscle-back portion. The sole can be made from the same material asfront 12 andhosel 24.Front 12 andhosel 24 can be forged. Back insert 60 can be made by casting or forging and then affixed to the back offront 12 by laser welding or screws/rivets.Crown 16 can be from the top edge offront 12 bent down and over the top ofback insert 60.Sole 18 can be made integral withfront 12 andhosel 24, by forging or casting, if these three parts are made from the same material. Alternatively, sole 18 can be made from a relatively denser material, such as tungsten or tungsten alloys, and can be made separately and attached to backinsert 60 andfront 12, via laser welding, screws/rivets, adhesive or the like. This construction allows the c.g. to be shifted aft and down. Also, this construction allowsfront 12, which is relatively thin, to flex due to differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the different materials. Alternatively, back insert 60 can be separated into smaller parts separated byribs 62, which are made from the same material asfront 12, as shown inFIG. 19 . - The embodiment of
FIGS. 17 and 18 can be made by pouring molten magnesium or aluminum into a pre-heated cavity back iron, which then becomes a muscle back via molding or CNC machining process. The cavity back head is heated up to a temperature that relieves the difference in thermal coefficient of expansion and shrink rate, such that the pieces fit snugly together, possibly in an interference fit. - In another embodiment of the present invention, the mass properties of the muscle-back clubs vary from the long irons to the short irons and wedges. In general, in the long irons, the weights are shifted or moved toward the sole, heel and/or toe. Preferably, the long irons include one or more heavy inserts in the toe region to keep the c.g. near the hosel axis for better workability. The mid-irons may include a heavy hosel collar and a toe insert, and an optional heel insert. The short irons and wedges would have a lightweight heel insert and possibly a heavy crown insert. All these clubs would have
lightweight chip 32 positioned in themuscle portion 30 of the clubs, as described above. These various combinations allow the golf club designers multiple degrees of freedom to customize a set of forgiving muscle-back clubs to a player's particular needs. - In one example, as shown in
FIGS. 20-22 , the long iron versions, e.g., the 2-iron to the 4-iron,club 10 haslightweight chip 32 positioned in themuscle portion 30 of the clubs. However, these long-irons would havelightweight hosel collar 52L,heavyweight toe insert 50, heavyweightsole insert 64, andheavyweight toe insert 58. These long irons would have high rotational moments of inertia and low c.g. The mid-irons, e.g., the 5-iron to 7-iron, would haveheavyweight hosel collar 52 andheavyweight toe insert 50 for increased inertia, andlightweight heel insert 58 andlightweight chip 32 for selective placement of c.g. These mid-irons would have mid-range inertia and mid-range e.g. The short irons, e.g., the 8-iron to the wedges, still have would haveheavyweight hosel collar 52 andheavyweight toe insert 50 for increased inertia andlightweight heel insert 58 andlightweight chip 32 for selective placement of c.g. These short irons would also have aheavyweight crown insert 66 to keep the c.g. relatively high. The short irons would have low to mid-inertia and higher c.g. - The lightweight and heavyweight inserts can be placed at multiple locations in the club head to achieve a desired result, and the present invention is not limited to any particular combinations shown herein.
- As mentioned above, club heads in accordance with the present invention can be made by co-forging as illustrated in
FIGS. 23( a)-(e), in addition to conventional manufacturing techniques including any of those described above. A forging process comprises a number of forging steps, typically 2 to 7 steps. In co-forging, the forging process is stopped at a certain stage after arough workpiece 70 that roughly resembles the final product is formed, as shown inFIG. 23( a), which in this case is a muscle-back iron. The forging process is preferably interrupted at this point, and acavity 72 is machined intoworkpiece 70, for example by a computer numerically controlled machine (CNC), as shown inFIG. 23( b). Aninsert 74 is then placed intocavity 72, as shown inFIG. 23( c).Cavity 72 is sized and dimensioned to wrap aroundinsert 74 without leaving any significant void between the insert and the workpiece after the process is completed.Insert 74 can be a heavyweight or lightweight insert, discussed above, and insert 74 may comprise multiple materials, such as apolymeric dampener 76 for vibration dampening and a lightweight chip 78 for altering mass properties. Preferably, insert 74 has rounded-off or chamferedshoulders 80, andworkpiece 70 has matchingprotrusions 82. Wheninsert 74 is positioned withincavity 72, the forging process continues and the material ofworkpiece 70 is hammered down overinsert 72, as shown inFIG. 23( d). The material fromprotrusion 82 is designed to fit on top ofchamfered shoulders 80 to mechanically lock the insert within the workpiece, which becomes a muscle-back club, as shown inFIG. 23( e). When apolymeric dampener 76 is included ininsert 74, preferably swaging steps are used to avoid melting the dampener. Swaging is a known metal-forming technique in which the metal is plastically deformed to its final shape using high pressures. Swaging is similar to forging, except that the metal is cold worked or warm work. - Another method for attaching the inserts, such as
chip 32 to the club head is by swaging and preloading, as shown inFIGS. 24( a)-(d). First arough workpiece 70 is forged or cast and acavity 72 is cut from the workpiece, as shown inFIG. 24( a)-(b) similar to the co-forging process described above. Next, insert 84 is formed by any known process.Insert 84 has alock grove 86 andrib 88 and is machined to fit intocavity 72.Workpiece 70 is then cold worked or swaged, e.g., by bending, to form a single joint or part. During this swaging step, insert 84 is preloaded whenrib 88 is pressed against the back offront 12 of the club and insert 84 slightly bends atlock grove 86. This bending force conformsinsert 84 tocavity 72 and pre-stresses insert 84. This pre-loading reduces the noise made between these two parts during dynamic loadings or impacts, and compensates for any loose fit, such as thermal expansions or tolerances of the two different metals. - While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the invention disclosed herein fulfill the objectives stated above, it is appreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art. Therefore, it will be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and embodiments, which would come within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims (30)
1. A muscle-back iron-type golf club comprising a hosel, a hitting face and a back portion, wherein the hosel and the hitting face are made integral with each other and the hitting face has a substantially uniform thickness, and wherein the back portion is made from a material having a higher density than a material of the hosel and the hitting face and the back portion is attached to the back of the hitting face to form the golf club.
2. The golf club of claim 1 , wherein the back portion forms a muscle-back of the golf club.
3. The golf club of claim 1 , wherein the back portion defines a pocket.
4. The golf club of claim 3 , wherein the pocket is formed between the hitting face and the back portion and the pocket is interior to the golf club.
5. The golf club of claim 3 , wherein the pocket is sized and dimensioned to receive a lightweight insert having a density less than a density of the hosel and the hitting face.
6. The golf club of claim 5 , wherein the lightweight insert is positioned proximate to the geometric center of the hitting face.
7. The golf club of claim 5 , wherein the lightweight insert overlaps the geometric center of the hitting face.
8. The golf club of claim 4 , wherein the pocket is filled with a lightweight-material insert having a density less than the density of the hosel and the hitting face.
9. The golf club of claim 8 , wherein the pocket is filled with a vibration dampening material.
10. The golf club of claim 1 further comprising a post connecting the hitting face to the back portion.
11. The golf club of claim 10 , wherein the post is made integral to the hitting face and the back portion defines a hole sized to receive the post and wherein a head of the post is flattened to secure the back portion to the hitting face.
12. The golf club of claim 11 further comprising a dampening layer between the hitting face and the back portion.
13. The golf club of claim 12 , wherein the dampening layer is prestressed.
14. An iron-type golf club comprising a hosel, a hitting face and a back portion, wherein the back portion comprises an upper portion and a lower muscle portion, said muscle portion being substantially thicker than the upper portion, wherein the golf club further comprises at least two heavyweight inserts having higher density than a density of the hitting face and a density of the back portion and wherein the heavyweight inserts are located on opposite sides of a vertical line through the geometric center of the hitting face.
15. The golf club of claim 14 , wherein one of the heavyweight inserts is located proximate to the shaft axis.
16. The golf club of claim 15 , wherein said heavyweight insert is a hosel collar.
17. The golf club of claim 15 , wherein said heavyweight insert is a heel insert.
18. The golf club of claim 15 , wherein one of the other heavyweight inserts is a toe insert.
19. The golf club of claim 14 further comprising a lightweight insert having a density lower than the density of the hitting face and the density of the back portion, wherein the lightweight insert is positioned within the muscle portion.
20. The golf club of claim 14 further comprising a lightweight insert having a density lower than the density of the hitting face and the density of the back portion, wherein the lightweight insert is positioned within the heel of the golf club.
21. The golf club of claim 14 further comprising a lightweight insert having a density lower than the density of the hitting face and the density of the back portion, wherein the lightweight insert is a hosel collar.
22. The golf club of claim 14 further comprising a third heavyweight insert located proximate to a crown of the golf club.
23. An iron-type golf club comprising a hosel, a hitting face and a back portion, wherein the back portion comprises an upper portion and a lower muscle portion, said muscle portion being substantially thicker than the upper portion, wherein the golf club further comprises:
at least one heavyweight insert having higher density than a density of the hitting face and the back portion and wherein the heavyweight insert is located proximate to the sole of the golf club,
at least one lightweight insert having a density lower than the density of the hitting face and the back portion and wherein the lightweight insert overlaps the geometric center of the golf club.
24. A method for forging a golf club head comprising the steps of:
a. forging a workpiece into a rough shape, so that said rough shape resembles the golf club head;
b. interrupting the forging process;
c. machining a cutout in the workpiece;
d. placing an insert in the cutout, wherein said insert is made from a material different from the material of the workpiece; and
e. working the workpiece and insert into the golf club head so that the insert is locked with the golf club head.
25. The method of claim 24 , wherein step (e) comprises additional forging.
26. The method of claim 24 , wherein step (e) comprises swaging.
27. The method of claim 24 , wherein the cutout in step (c) comprises a cavity.
28. The method of claim 24 , wherein the insert in step (d) comprises chamfered shoulders.
29. The method of claim 28 , wherein after step (e) the material of the workpiece covers the chamfered shoulders.
30. The golf club of claim 3 , wherein the back portion has a “U” shape.
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/421,135 US20070281796A1 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2006-05-31 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of intertia and lower center of gravity |
JP2007144017A JP5689214B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2007-05-30 | Muscle back golf club with large moment of inertia and low center of gravity |
US12/546,591 US7976403B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2009-08-24 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity |
US13/180,497 US8206237B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2011-07-11 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/421,135 US20070281796A1 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2006-05-31 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of intertia and lower center of gravity |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/546,591 Division US7976403B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2009-08-24 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20070281796A1 true US20070281796A1 (en) | 2007-12-06 |
Family
ID=38790958
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/421,135 Abandoned US20070281796A1 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2006-05-31 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of intertia and lower center of gravity |
US12/546,591 Active US7976403B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2009-08-24 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity |
US13/180,497 Active US8206237B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2011-07-11 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity |
Family Applications After (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/546,591 Active US7976403B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2009-08-24 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity |
US13/180,497 Active US8206237B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2011-07-11 | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US20070281796A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP5689214B2 (en) |
Cited By (58)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20090298615A1 (en) * | 2008-06-02 | 2009-12-03 | Moon Seok Jin | Forged iron head and golf club having the same |
US20100056296A1 (en) * | 2008-08-04 | 2010-03-04 | Tomio Kumamoto | Golf club head |
US20100178999A1 (en) * | 2007-07-25 | 2010-07-15 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf Club Heads With Augmented Side Surfaces And Weighting, And Related Methods |
USD627410S1 (en) * | 2010-05-05 | 2010-11-16 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head |
US20100323816A1 (en) * | 2009-06-23 | 2010-12-23 | Takashi Nakano | Iron-type golf club head |
US20110028235A1 (en) * | 2009-07-29 | 2011-02-03 | Takashi Nakano | Golf club head |
US20110070970A1 (en) * | 2009-09-21 | 2011-03-24 | Wu Wan | Customizable golf club head with a chamber for adjustable weight component(s) |
US7922604B2 (en) * | 2006-07-21 | 2011-04-12 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Multi-material golf club head |
USD643491S1 (en) | 2011-01-18 | 2011-08-16 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head |
US20130130831A1 (en) * | 2009-06-11 | 2013-05-23 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US8657700B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2014-02-25 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US8690710B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2014-04-08 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US8753230B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2014-06-17 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics |
US8821307B2 (en) | 2011-03-14 | 2014-09-02 | Sri Sports Limited | Golf club head |
US8821313B1 (en) * | 2012-09-14 | 2014-09-02 | Callaway Golf Company | Iron-type golf club head |
US8870682B2 (en) | 2006-07-21 | 2014-10-28 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Multi-material golf club head |
US8911302B1 (en) * | 2012-10-29 | 2014-12-16 | Callaway Golf Company | Iron-type golf club head |
US8926451B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2015-01-06 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US9017186B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2015-04-28 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club heads with multiple density weighting and methods of manufacturing the same |
US9079080B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2015-07-14 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US9089748B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2015-07-28 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US20160008871A1 (en) * | 2014-07-14 | 2016-01-14 | Chi-Hung Su | Manufacturing method of a weight parts integratedly connected with a forged golf club head |
US20160184669A1 (en) * | 2011-11-28 | 2016-06-30 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US9387370B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2016-07-12 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US20160243413A1 (en) * | 2015-02-19 | 2016-08-25 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US9517392B2 (en) | 2013-07-30 | 2016-12-13 | Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd. | Iron-type golf club head |
US20160375320A1 (en) * | 2015-02-19 | 2016-12-29 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
USD780274S1 (en) | 2015-09-25 | 2017-02-28 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Badge for a golf club head |
US9586104B2 (en) | 2006-07-21 | 2017-03-07 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Multi-material golf club head |
US9616303B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2017-04-11 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US9623296B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2017-04-18 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
CN106575335A (en) * | 2014-09-12 | 2017-04-19 | 英特尔公司 | Returning to a control transfer instruction |
US9884231B2 (en) | 2011-03-09 | 2018-02-06 | Acushnet Company | Multi-material iron type golf club head |
US20180133568A1 (en) * | 2014-11-26 | 2018-05-17 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with cavities and related methods |
US20180280768A1 (en) * | 2011-11-28 | 2018-10-04 | Acushnet Company | Golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10220275B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2019-03-05 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10343035B2 (en) | 2014-11-26 | 2019-07-09 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with cavities and inserts |
US10357697B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2019-07-23 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10391370B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2019-08-27 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10398951B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2019-09-03 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10434389B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2019-10-08 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US20190321694A1 (en) * | 2015-12-08 | 2019-10-24 | Acushnet Company | Golf club having improved sound properties |
US10463933B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2019-11-05 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10722767B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2020-07-28 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10792542B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2020-10-06 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc | Golf club head having a stress reducing feature and shaft connection system socket |
US10843050B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2020-11-24 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Multi-material iron-type golf club head |
US10881926B1 (en) * | 2019-07-29 | 2021-01-05 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron golf club head |
US10960278B2 (en) | 2017-09-22 | 2021-03-30 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Putter golf club head with elastomer fill |
US20210128998A1 (en) * | 2013-07-22 | 2021-05-06 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with sole cavity ports and related methods |
US20210154536A1 (en) * | 2013-05-06 | 2021-05-27 | Acushnet Company | Supported iron set |
US11045696B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2021-06-29 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron-type golf club head |
US11065513B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2021-07-20 | Acushnet Company | Set of golf club heads and method of manufacture |
US20210362010A1 (en) * | 2016-09-30 | 2021-11-25 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Golf club head |
US20220168615A1 (en) * | 2020-10-30 | 2022-06-02 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head with insert |
US11420098B2 (en) * | 2013-03-15 | 2022-08-23 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron type golf club head and set |
US11771961B2 (en) | 2020-09-14 | 2023-10-03 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head with lattices |
US11786787B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2023-10-17 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Golf club head |
US11918867B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2024-03-05 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
Families Citing this family (56)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8267808B2 (en) * | 2006-10-25 | 2012-09-18 | Acushnet Company | Golf club with optimum moments of inertia in the vertical and hosel axes |
US8753219B2 (en) | 2007-09-13 | 2014-06-17 | Acushnet Company | Set of golf clubs |
US8157673B2 (en) | 2007-09-13 | 2012-04-17 | Acushnet Company | Iron-type golf club |
US8062150B2 (en) * | 2007-09-13 | 2011-11-22 | Acushnet Company | Iron-type golf club |
US9072949B2 (en) * | 2008-12-18 | 2015-07-07 | Nike, Inc. | Golf clubs and golf club heads having interchangeable rear body members |
US10737149B2 (en) * | 2008-12-18 | 2020-08-11 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf clubs and golf club heads having interchangeable rear body members |
US8491414B2 (en) * | 2009-05-29 | 2013-07-23 | Acushnet Company | Wedge type golf club head |
US8579729B2 (en) | 2009-05-29 | 2013-11-12 | Acushnet Company | Wedge type golf club head |
US9713751B2 (en) | 2009-05-29 | 2017-07-25 | Acushnet Company | Wedge type golf club head |
US8157670B2 (en) * | 2009-08-06 | 2012-04-17 | Nike, Inc. | Golf club head or other ball striking device having face insert material |
JP2012065803A (en) * | 2010-09-22 | 2012-04-05 | Sri Sports Ltd | Iron type golf club head |
JP5654849B2 (en) * | 2010-11-17 | 2015-01-14 | ダンロップスポーツ株式会社 | Iron type golf club head |
US20120196703A1 (en) * | 2011-01-27 | 2012-08-02 | Nike, Inc. | Iron-Type Golf Club Head Or Other Ball Striking Device |
US9504887B2 (en) * | 2011-03-09 | 2016-11-29 | Acushnet Company | Multi-material iron type golf club head |
US8454453B2 (en) | 2011-03-09 | 2013-06-04 | Acushnet Company | Multi-material iron type golf club head |
US8608586B2 (en) * | 2011-09-01 | 2013-12-17 | Richard E. Parente | Golf putter |
JP6022778B2 (en) * | 2012-02-29 | 2016-11-09 | ダンロップスポーツ株式会社 | Golf club head |
US9044653B2 (en) | 2012-06-08 | 2015-06-02 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron type golf club head |
US8911304B1 (en) | 2012-09-14 | 2014-12-16 | Callaway Golf Company | Weighted iron-type golf club head |
US9005048B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2015-04-14 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with port structures, tuning elements, and related methods |
US9937395B2 (en) * | 2013-11-12 | 2018-04-10 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club |
US9492722B2 (en) | 2013-11-12 | 2016-11-15 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club |
US9427633B2 (en) * | 2013-12-31 | 2016-08-30 | Nike Inc. | Iron-type golf clubs and golf club heads |
JP6086898B2 (en) * | 2013-12-31 | 2017-03-01 | ナイキ イノベイト セー. フェー. | Golf club and golf club head |
US9295887B2 (en) * | 2013-12-31 | 2016-03-29 | Nike, Inc | Iron-type golf clubs and golf club heads |
KR102221320B1 (en) | 2014-02-17 | 2021-03-03 | 카스턴 매뉴팩츄어링 코오포레이숀 | Golf club heads with arcuate port structures and tuning elements, and related methods |
US10420991B2 (en) | 2014-02-17 | 2019-09-24 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with insert and related methods |
US11097168B2 (en) | 2014-02-20 | 2021-08-24 | Parsons Xtreme Golf, LLC | Golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads |
US10729949B2 (en) * | 2014-02-20 | 2020-08-04 | Parsons Xtreme Golf, LLC | Golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads |
US10022601B2 (en) * | 2016-04-04 | 2018-07-17 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golfl club heads with cavities and inserts and related methods |
US20160296808A1 (en) * | 2014-10-08 | 2016-10-13 | Acushnet Company | Golf club head with improved center of gravity |
USD762792S1 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2016-08-02 | Acushnet Company | Wedge golf club head |
USD773574S1 (en) | 2015-02-12 | 2016-12-06 | Acushnet Company | Wedge golf club set |
US20160243412A1 (en) * | 2015-02-19 | 2016-08-25 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10130851B2 (en) | 2015-09-22 | 2018-11-20 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club heads with varying impact responses and related methods |
US10695629B2 (en) * | 2016-04-04 | 2020-06-30 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with cavities and inserts and related methods |
JP6711175B2 (en) * | 2016-06-30 | 2020-06-17 | 住友ゴム工業株式会社 | Iron type golf club head |
USD829837S1 (en) | 2017-03-01 | 2018-10-02 | Acushnet Company | Wedge golf club |
US10052534B1 (en) * | 2017-03-23 | 2018-08-21 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
JP6931187B2 (en) * | 2017-07-13 | 2021-09-01 | 住友ゴム工業株式会社 | Iron type golf club head |
KR102657844B1 (en) | 2018-02-26 | 2024-04-15 | 카스턴 매뉴팩츄어링 코오포레이숀 | Multi-material iron golf club heads |
US11235212B2 (en) * | 2018-02-26 | 2022-02-01 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Multi-material iron golf club head |
USD859547S1 (en) | 2018-04-17 | 2019-09-10 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head |
CN108905114A (en) * | 2018-08-27 | 2018-11-30 | 南京佑天金属科技有限公司 | A kind of glof club head |
KR20210062041A (en) | 2018-09-17 | 2021-05-28 | 카스턴 매뉴팩츄어링 코오포레이숀 | Multi-step forging method |
USD888172S1 (en) | 2018-09-26 | 2020-06-23 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head |
US10835787B1 (en) * | 2018-11-15 | 2020-11-17 | Cobra Golf Corporation | Golf club with perimeter face machining |
US11253758B2 (en) | 2019-04-26 | 2022-02-22 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Forged iron head |
US11400351B2 (en) | 2019-05-10 | 2022-08-02 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club |
US11458374B2 (en) | 2019-05-10 | 2022-10-04 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club |
US11413510B2 (en) | 2019-05-10 | 2022-08-16 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club |
US11351429B2 (en) | 2019-05-10 | 2022-06-07 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club |
USD928895S1 (en) | 2019-12-18 | 2021-08-24 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head |
US11130023B1 (en) * | 2020-05-29 | 2021-09-28 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Golf club head |
US11351427B1 (en) * | 2021-03-12 | 2022-06-07 | Acushnet Company | Hollow co-molded iron with inner lightweight portion |
JP2023011377A (en) * | 2021-07-12 | 2023-01-24 | 住友ゴム工業株式会社 | golf club head |
Citations (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4420156A (en) * | 1982-03-22 | 1983-12-13 | Pepsico, Inc. | Iron-type golf clubs |
US4811950A (en) * | 1986-07-31 | 1989-03-14 | Maruman Golf Co., Ltd. | Golf club head |
US4928972A (en) * | 1986-07-09 | 1990-05-29 | Yamaha Corporation | Iron club head for golf |
US4992236A (en) * | 1990-01-16 | 1991-02-12 | Shira Chester S | Method of making a golf club head and the article produced thereby |
US5439223A (en) * | 1992-04-02 | 1995-08-08 | Kobayashi; Kenji | Golf club head |
US5658208A (en) * | 1994-12-02 | 1997-08-19 | Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd. | Golf club head |
US5967903A (en) * | 1997-10-20 | 1999-10-19 | Harrison Sports, Inc. | Golf club head with sandwich structure and method of making the same |
US6045456A (en) * | 1997-01-23 | 2000-04-04 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Golf club with improved weighting and vibration dampening |
US20010001771A1 (en) * | 1998-02-09 | 2001-05-24 | Peters Michael R. | Correlated set of golf clubs |
US20020095762A1 (en) * | 1997-06-16 | 2002-07-25 | Hitoshi Takeda | Method for manufacturing golf club |
US20030228928A1 (en) * | 2002-06-07 | 2003-12-11 | Masanori Yabu | Golf club head |
US20030236134A1 (en) * | 2002-06-20 | 2003-12-25 | Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd. | Iron type golf club head |
US20050054458A1 (en) * | 2003-09-05 | 2005-03-10 | Chen Ming T. | Tri-weight correlated set of iron type golf clubs |
US20050119066A1 (en) * | 2003-09-19 | 2005-06-02 | Nike | Golf club head having a bridge member and a damping element |
US20060293114A1 (en) * | 2003-09-05 | 2006-12-28 | Chen Ming T | Tri-weight correlated set of iron type golf clubs |
US7273418B2 (en) * | 2005-04-14 | 2007-09-25 | Acushnet Company | Iron-type golf clubs |
US7316623B2 (en) * | 2004-03-01 | 2008-01-08 | Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd. | Golf club head |
Family Cites Families (25)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1444842A (en) * | 1921-06-29 | 1923-02-13 | Horton Mfg Co Inc | Golf club |
JPS58165873A (en) * | 1982-03-27 | 1983-09-30 | マルマンゴルフ株式会社 | Iron head of golf club |
JPS6045363A (en) * | 1983-08-20 | 1985-03-11 | 住友ゴム工業株式会社 | Golf club head |
JPS63154187A (en) * | 1986-12-19 | 1988-06-27 | 株式会社 遠藤製作所 | Head for golf club |
US4852880A (en) * | 1988-02-17 | 1989-08-01 | Endo Manufacturing Co., Ltd | Head structure for gold clubs |
JPH05277214A (en) * | 1992-04-02 | 1993-10-26 | Endo Seisakusho:Kk | Golf club head |
JPH06205859A (en) * | 1993-01-08 | 1994-07-26 | Yamaha Corp | Club head for golf |
US5885170A (en) * | 1996-03-12 | 1999-03-23 | Kabushiki Kaisha Endo Seisakusho | Iron-type golf club head production method therefor |
JP3022316B2 (en) * | 1996-04-04 | 2000-03-21 | 住友ゴム工業株式会社 | Iron club head |
US5833551A (en) * | 1996-09-09 | 1998-11-10 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron golf club head |
JP3582812B2 (en) * | 1997-06-16 | 2004-10-27 | 株式会社遠藤製作所 | Golf club manufacturing method |
JP3932233B2 (en) * | 1998-12-31 | 2007-06-20 | 信幸 御船 | Golf club head |
JP2000254263A (en) * | 1999-03-11 | 2000-09-19 | Endo Mfg Co Ltd | Iron golf club |
US6482104B1 (en) * | 1999-04-05 | 2002-11-19 | Acushnet Company | Set of golf clubs |
JP2001161870A (en) * | 1999-12-10 | 2001-06-19 | Mizuno Corp | Golf club head |
US6431993B1 (en) * | 2000-02-23 | 2002-08-13 | The Nirvana Group, L.L.C. | Golf club hosel interface having bendable section for customizing lie and face angles |
JP2002165908A (en) * | 2000-09-21 | 2002-06-11 | Endo Mfg Co Ltd | Iron golf club |
US6849005B2 (en) * | 2002-01-22 | 2005-02-01 | Rife Guerin Dubose | Iron type golf club |
JP3925360B2 (en) * | 2002-08-30 | 2007-06-06 | ブリヂストンスポーツ株式会社 | Golf club head |
US20050014573A1 (en) * | 2003-07-14 | 2005-01-20 | Michael Lee | Golf iron |
JP2005052401A (en) * | 2003-08-05 | 2005-03-03 | Teruo Takei | Iron club head for golf |
US6921344B2 (en) * | 2003-08-13 | 2005-07-26 | Acushnet Company | Reinforced golf club head having sandwich construction |
JP2005065929A (en) * | 2003-08-22 | 2005-03-17 | Adom Golf:Kk | Golf club |
JP2005211271A (en) * | 2004-01-29 | 2005-08-11 | Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd:The | Golf club head |
US7351159B2 (en) * | 2006-02-10 | 2008-04-01 | Fu Sheng Industrial Co., Ltd. | Complex hosel structure for a golf club head having a high degree of vibrational absorbability and elastic deformability |
-
2006
- 2006-05-31 US US11/421,135 patent/US20070281796A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2007
- 2007-05-30 JP JP2007144017A patent/JP5689214B2/en active Active
-
2009
- 2009-08-24 US US12/546,591 patent/US7976403B2/en active Active
-
2011
- 2011-07-11 US US13/180,497 patent/US8206237B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4420156A (en) * | 1982-03-22 | 1983-12-13 | Pepsico, Inc. | Iron-type golf clubs |
US4928972A (en) * | 1986-07-09 | 1990-05-29 | Yamaha Corporation | Iron club head for golf |
US4811950A (en) * | 1986-07-31 | 1989-03-14 | Maruman Golf Co., Ltd. | Golf club head |
US4992236A (en) * | 1990-01-16 | 1991-02-12 | Shira Chester S | Method of making a golf club head and the article produced thereby |
US5439223A (en) * | 1992-04-02 | 1995-08-08 | Kobayashi; Kenji | Golf club head |
US5658208A (en) * | 1994-12-02 | 1997-08-19 | Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd. | Golf club head |
US6045456A (en) * | 1997-01-23 | 2000-04-04 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Golf club with improved weighting and vibration dampening |
US20020095762A1 (en) * | 1997-06-16 | 2002-07-25 | Hitoshi Takeda | Method for manufacturing golf club |
US5967903A (en) * | 1997-10-20 | 1999-10-19 | Harrison Sports, Inc. | Golf club head with sandwich structure and method of making the same |
US20010001771A1 (en) * | 1998-02-09 | 2001-05-24 | Peters Michael R. | Correlated set of golf clubs |
US20030228928A1 (en) * | 2002-06-07 | 2003-12-11 | Masanori Yabu | Golf club head |
US20030236134A1 (en) * | 2002-06-20 | 2003-12-25 | Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd. | Iron type golf club head |
US20050054458A1 (en) * | 2003-09-05 | 2005-03-10 | Chen Ming T. | Tri-weight correlated set of iron type golf clubs |
US20060293114A1 (en) * | 2003-09-05 | 2006-12-28 | Chen Ming T | Tri-weight correlated set of iron type golf clubs |
US20050119066A1 (en) * | 2003-09-19 | 2005-06-02 | Nike | Golf club head having a bridge member and a damping element |
US7316623B2 (en) * | 2004-03-01 | 2008-01-08 | Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd. | Golf club head |
US7273418B2 (en) * | 2005-04-14 | 2007-09-25 | Acushnet Company | Iron-type golf clubs |
Cited By (95)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8491412B2 (en) | 2006-07-21 | 2013-07-23 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Multi-material golf club head |
US8870682B2 (en) | 2006-07-21 | 2014-10-28 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Multi-material golf club head |
US7922604B2 (en) * | 2006-07-21 | 2011-04-12 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Multi-material golf club head |
US9586104B2 (en) | 2006-07-21 | 2017-03-07 | Cobra Golf Incorporated | Multi-material golf club head |
US9079080B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2015-07-14 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US20100178999A1 (en) * | 2007-07-25 | 2010-07-15 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf Club Heads With Augmented Side Surfaces And Weighting, And Related Methods |
US9623296B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2017-04-18 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US8753230B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2014-06-17 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics |
US8690710B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2014-04-08 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US9975013B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2018-05-22 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US9849354B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2017-12-26 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US8657700B2 (en) | 2007-07-25 | 2014-02-25 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club head sets with varying characteristics and related methods |
US20090298615A1 (en) * | 2008-06-02 | 2009-12-03 | Moon Seok Jin | Forged iron head and golf club having the same |
US7867105B2 (en) * | 2008-06-02 | 2011-01-11 | Moon Seok Jin | Forged iron head and golf club having the same |
US8864603B2 (en) * | 2008-08-04 | 2014-10-21 | Sri Sports Limited | Golf club head |
US20100056296A1 (en) * | 2008-08-04 | 2010-03-04 | Tomio Kumamoto | Golf club head |
US9089748B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2015-07-28 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US9539475B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2017-01-10 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US10960280B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2021-03-30 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US11766595B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2023-09-26 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US20130130831A1 (en) * | 2009-06-11 | 2013-05-23 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US9878222B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2018-01-30 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US10265591B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2019-04-23 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US10434389B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2019-10-08 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US8951143B2 (en) * | 2009-06-11 | 2015-02-10 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods |
US9017186B2 (en) | 2009-06-11 | 2015-04-28 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Club heads with multiple density weighting and methods of manufacturing the same |
US8348786B2 (en) | 2009-06-23 | 2013-01-08 | Sri Sports Limited | Iron-type golf club head |
US20100323816A1 (en) * | 2009-06-23 | 2010-12-23 | Takashi Nakano | Iron-type golf club head |
US8663028B2 (en) * | 2009-07-29 | 2014-03-04 | Sri Sports Limited | Golf club head |
US20110028235A1 (en) * | 2009-07-29 | 2011-02-03 | Takashi Nakano | Golf club head |
US20110070970A1 (en) * | 2009-09-21 | 2011-03-24 | Wu Wan | Customizable golf club head with a chamber for adjustable weight component(s) |
USD627410S1 (en) * | 2010-05-05 | 2010-11-16 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head |
US10843050B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2020-11-24 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Multi-material iron-type golf club head |
US11045696B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2021-06-29 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron-type golf club head |
US11478685B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2022-10-25 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron-type golf club head |
US11865416B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2024-01-09 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club head having a shaft connection system socket |
US11351425B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2022-06-07 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Multi-material iron-type golf club head |
US10792542B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2020-10-06 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc | Golf club head having a stress reducing feature and shaft connection system socket |
US11364421B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2022-06-21 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Golf club head having a shaft connection system socket |
US11771964B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2023-10-03 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Multi-material iron-type golf club head |
USD643491S1 (en) | 2011-01-18 | 2011-08-16 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head |
US9884231B2 (en) | 2011-03-09 | 2018-02-06 | Acushnet Company | Multi-material iron type golf club head |
US8821307B2 (en) | 2011-03-14 | 2014-09-02 | Sri Sports Limited | Golf club head |
US9669272B2 (en) | 2011-03-14 | 2017-06-06 | Dunlop Sports Co., Ltd. | Golf club head |
US10391370B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2019-08-27 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US9616303B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2017-04-11 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US9387370B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2016-07-12 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10398951B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2019-09-03 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10071292B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2018-09-11 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US20180280768A1 (en) * | 2011-11-28 | 2018-10-04 | Acushnet Company | Golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10888917B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2021-01-12 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10220275B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2019-03-05 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US11065513B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2021-07-20 | Acushnet Company | Set of golf club heads and method of manufacture |
US11504589B2 (en) * | 2011-11-28 | 2022-11-22 | Acushnet Company | Set of golf club heads and method of manufacture |
US11918867B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2024-03-05 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US20210339095A1 (en) * | 2011-11-28 | 2021-11-04 | Acushnet Company | Set of golf club heads and method of manufacture |
US8926451B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2015-01-06 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US9616304B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2017-04-11 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US10722767B2 (en) | 2011-11-28 | 2020-07-28 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US20160184669A1 (en) * | 2011-11-28 | 2016-06-30 | Acushnet Company | Co-forged golf club head and method of manufacture |
US8821313B1 (en) * | 2012-09-14 | 2014-09-02 | Callaway Golf Company | Iron-type golf club head |
US8911302B1 (en) * | 2012-10-29 | 2014-12-16 | Callaway Golf Company | Iron-type golf club head |
US11420098B2 (en) * | 2013-03-15 | 2022-08-23 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron type golf club head and set |
US11883723B2 (en) * | 2013-05-06 | 2024-01-30 | Acushnet Company | Supported iron set |
US20210154536A1 (en) * | 2013-05-06 | 2021-05-27 | Acushnet Company | Supported iron set |
US20210128998A1 (en) * | 2013-07-22 | 2021-05-06 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with sole cavity ports and related methods |
US11684836B2 (en) * | 2013-07-22 | 2023-06-27 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with sole cavity ports and related methods |
US9517392B2 (en) | 2013-07-30 | 2016-12-13 | Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd. | Iron-type golf club head |
US20160008871A1 (en) * | 2014-07-14 | 2016-01-14 | Chi-Hung Su | Manufacturing method of a weight parts integratedly connected with a forged golf club head |
CN106575335A (en) * | 2014-09-12 | 2017-04-19 | 英特尔公司 | Returning to a control transfer instruction |
US20180133568A1 (en) * | 2014-11-26 | 2018-05-17 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with cavities and related methods |
US10343035B2 (en) | 2014-11-26 | 2019-07-09 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with cavities and inserts |
US10894193B2 (en) * | 2014-11-26 | 2021-01-19 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with cavities and related methods |
US20160375320A1 (en) * | 2015-02-19 | 2016-12-29 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US20160243413A1 (en) * | 2015-02-19 | 2016-08-25 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10188917B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2019-01-29 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10478681B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2019-11-19 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10463933B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2019-11-05 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10357697B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2019-07-23 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US11478684B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2022-10-25 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US9750993B2 (en) * | 2015-02-19 | 2017-09-05 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10881924B2 (en) | 2015-02-19 | 2021-01-05 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
US10004957B2 (en) * | 2015-02-19 | 2018-06-26 | Acushnet Company | Weighted iron set |
USD780274S1 (en) | 2015-09-25 | 2017-02-28 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Badge for a golf club head |
US10821335B2 (en) * | 2015-12-08 | 2020-11-03 | Acushnet Company | Golf club having improved sound properties |
US20190321694A1 (en) * | 2015-12-08 | 2019-10-24 | Acushnet Company | Golf club having improved sound properties |
US20210362010A1 (en) * | 2016-09-30 | 2021-11-25 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Golf club head |
US11602679B2 (en) * | 2016-09-30 | 2023-03-14 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Golf club head |
US11786787B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2023-10-17 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Golf club head |
US11511168B2 (en) | 2017-09-22 | 2022-11-29 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Putter golf club head with elastomer fill |
US10960278B2 (en) | 2017-09-22 | 2021-03-30 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Putter golf club head with elastomer fill |
US11497972B2 (en) | 2019-07-29 | 2022-11-15 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron golf club head |
US10881926B1 (en) * | 2019-07-29 | 2021-01-05 | Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. | Iron golf club head |
US11771961B2 (en) | 2020-09-14 | 2023-10-03 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head with lattices |
US20220168615A1 (en) * | 2020-10-30 | 2022-06-02 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head with insert |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20090318244A1 (en) | 2009-12-24 |
US8206237B2 (en) | 2012-06-26 |
US20110269571A1 (en) | 2011-11-03 |
US7976403B2 (en) | 2011-07-12 |
JP2007319687A (en) | 2007-12-13 |
JP5689214B2 (en) | 2015-03-25 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US8206237B2 (en) | Muscle-back iron golf clubs with higher moment of inertia and lower center of gravity | |
US7485049B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US20220008794A1 (en) | Golf club head | |
US7192362B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US8182359B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US7186188B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US7371190B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US7192361B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US7232377B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US8133133B2 (en) | Forged iron-type golf clubs | |
US8317635B2 (en) | Iron-type golf clubs | |
US7815523B2 (en) | Variable density golf club | |
US6904663B2 (en) | Method for manufacturing a golf club face | |
US8235833B2 (en) | Transitioning hollow golf clubs | |
JP3145480U (en) | Changing hollow type golf club | |
US8480506B2 (en) | Golf club head with top line insert | |
US20080300065A1 (en) | Golf Club Heads and Methods to Manufacture Golf Club Heads | |
EP2432571B1 (en) | Multi-component golf club head | |
US20230049304A1 (en) | Golf Club Head With Hollow Stress-Reducing Features |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: ACUSHNET COMPANY, MASSACHUSETTS Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:GILBERT, PETER J.;JORGENSEN, DOUGLAS C.;REEL/FRAME:017697/0599 Effective date: 20060525 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |