CA1323644C

CA1323644C - Golf club heads

Info

Publication number: CA1323644C
Application number: CA000598170A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Felipe Artola Ugarte
Original assignee: Makser SA
Current assignee: Makser SA
Priority date: 1988-04-29
Filing date: 1989-04-28
Publication date: 1993-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2010-10-26
Also published as: DE68926182D1; AU3376989A; JPH0213481A; AU2853892A; ES2087874T3; EP0345196A3; DE68926182T2; EP0345196B1; EP0345196A2; ES2008460A6; AU664209B2

Abstract

A B S T R A C T

"IMPROVEMENTS IN GOLF CLUB HEADS"

A golf club (1), with a head or PUTTER for the specific function of putting, which includes a front face with a negative inclination; a middle section (3) inclined approximately 45?, a section which acts as a mirror with a view to lining up the stroke; an inclined edge (22) which comes from the top end of the inclined face, of the base or of a horizontal surface continuing from the inclined one, with the peculiarity of altering the angle of the said inclina tion.

Description

1 The invention refer8 to the heads of golf club~ and more ~pecifically to those called Putters~ which usually contain a series of defects for the game itself. These defects caa be summed up as follows:
- The face which i8 u~ed to ~trike the ball i8 U8Ua-lly at a positive angle of a few degree~ understanding that the ~aid face is inclined ~lightly backward3 in rela-tion to a front vertical plane. If a ~harp ~troke ~ pla-yed, that is that the club i~ stopped on the moment of impact~ an effect called 81icing of the ball i~ produced, with which the ball i~ ~iven a certain spin, which is not adviRable if wishing to ~end it io a particular direction.
- To aim the club~ that iæ to obtain the requircd alignment in relation to the hole~ the position or ~tance of the playor is deci~ive~ given that on a 6reat many occa~ion~ thi~ alignment i~ defectivç.
- ~ai~ing the club~ that i8 the so-called Back Swing, which giveR the degree of flat or upper in traditio nal putters, carries with in the danger of rai~ing the club wide, which causes slicing of the ball, thus produ-cing the fact that the ball veer~ to the right, a~ mentio ned earlier.
Usually~ both when putting and when driving~ the stroke i~ plsyod on the ball when the club is rl~ing and once that it has pa~ed the vortical point behind the ball~ that i~ when the head of the club i8 rising~ ~o that a rotation efPect~ known a~ ~pin, is given to the - ball a~ the putter ~trikes it sbove its middlc plane.
Undoubtedly, with a negativc angle on the ~triking face of the head on the ball~ the putter stroke can be , ~
;

~,............ ,. :
, 1 improved, a~ can the alignment of the ball by the effcct of this contact, with U.S. Patents N~ 467,114 DOERR~
3,085,804 PIEPER and 4,664,385 MACERA in thie se~se being known.
S However~ it mu~t be pinted out that these known pu-tters do not manage to overcome the irregularities of the green or~ in the same way~ do not prevent the ball from fading due to the said irregularities i~ the green.
- The basic objects of the pre~ent invention are:
in the flrst place, to prevent the ball from being sliced~
either by playin~ a sharp ~trolce on hitting the ball or by raising the club wide and making a back swing that moves from outward~ in, a~ well as to align the ~troke b0tter and offer fewer pos~ibilitie~ of the ball fading because of irregularities on the green.
- A second object of the invention is to obtain a suitable line in order to aim the club with complete inde-pendence of the position and stance of the player.
To achieve the first of these objectives~ the patent claims the positioning of a front face of the putter~ with a specific negative angle, based on an upper end or edge of the said face which i~ further forward than the lower edge, which makes the ball roll better, without being sliced and with less fade. This angle is between 7 and 15 degrees with re~pect to the vertical.
This negative angle of the front face can be exactly ao described~ or with the variant of forming a front face which is vertical or with a positive angle, with a projecting top edge with regard to the superficia lity of the ~aid face~ ~o that this edge is the one that , . .

. , , _ 1 323644 1 make~ impact with the ball.
To achieve the ~aid first objecti~e, based on the other variant, the patent claims the positioning of a cut area which starts its inclination from the ~tarting point of the shAft towards the other end of the ~ame, at which this inclination form~ an angle with the theoretical lon tudinal axi~ of the body of the putter.
Both innovation~ can be perfomed~ either together or independently, in a qpecific putter~ which it i~ wi~hed to put on record for the appropriate purposes, as will bo explained more fully later.
To achieve the second of the objectives of the pa-tent~ a second face is claimed, which comes from the base of the putter from which the shaft starts~ which ~hows an inclination with re6pect to the vertical~ in that this in-clination is positive with respect to the front part of the putter~ and with a value of between 40 and 50 degrees~ pre-ferably 45 degree~.
Thi~ second face is metallic~ made of ~tainle~s steel~ aluminium~ etc.~ and is polished to give a mirror effect~ 80 that it allows the player~s ~ight to be reflec-; ~ ted from the upper vertical position towards the front fa-i ce of tho putter.
Combined with thi~ inclined face~ with its mirror effect~the top edge of the front face can be equipped ; with mar~s~ for example a small rise or a notch~ 80 that the direction of the player~ si~ht can be focused towards the ball and the hole with total independence of the said i , player~s stance.
I 30 The inclined face mentioned can optionally have a .' I

,. .
,..

, ~^ 1 323644 1 built-in~ e~sentially horizontal lug starting from it~ top edge~ in which the outer edge of this lug 1~ inclined in relation to the lon~itudinal direction of the putter in order to raise it on the lnslde, the same as waæ stated earlier.
The inclined edge can form part of a fin which i~
independent of the lug but connected to it in a way capa-ble of being turnedJ with the aim that this fin can occupy different positions to thu~ vary the angle of it~ outer edge in relation to the lug and consequently to the whole of the putter. Obviously~ the turning point for the fin will be situated on the ~ide of the area where the shaft ~tart~ (the shank area), that ls on the same side a~ the golfer, so that the fin can be positioned with the anglo deaired.
The inclined face with the mirror effect can con-tain the mirror effect totally or partially~ 80 that the ~uitably polished area for thi~ purpo~e does not occupy the whole of the face. In the ~ame way~ there can be more than one of theæe areas~ for example two~ arranged on both sides of the central area.
Given the complexity of the game of golf it~elf and of the ~pecial characteristicæ of individual player~
i the poæsibilitie~ of carrying out the invention to mate-rialize a putter are varied, and to thi~ effect, and without it~ haYing any excluæive nature~ we could mentiOn the following:
A.- A putter equipped~ in accordance with the in-vention~ with a ætriking face which i~ poæitive.
3 B.- A putter, in accordance with the inYention, .1 1.
., r.
''; ' ' ', ~ ' ,' ~' ': :

_5_ 1 with a striking face which i8 vertical and is equipped on itR top edge with a projection that strike~ the ball.
C.- A putter~ in accordance with the invention~
with a positive ~triking face and a prolongation or ba~e of the said face, from which the shaft ri~es~ which is equipped with an inclined rear edge.
D.- A putter, in accordance with the invention, with a normal, negative ~trlking face and a prolongation or ba~e, which i~ equipped with an inclined rear edge.
E.- A putter, in accordance with the invention, with a Yertical ~triking face with a projecting upper edge and a prolongation or base equipped with an inclined rear edge.
F.- A putter~ in accordance with the invention~
with an inclined face with a mirror effect~ preferably metallic.
G.- A putter, in accordance with the invention, with an inclined face with a mirror effect~ preferably metallic~ which i~ equipped with a projecting lug at it~
top end~ with the rear edge of the lug being incl$ned.
H.- A putter, in accordance with the invention~
with an inclined face with a mirror effect~ preferably metallic~ which ~ B equipped with a lug that projects from its top end~ with the end of this lug receiving a fin that i~ retractable with regard to the lug in order to vary the inclination of the rear end or edge of the fin.
I.- A putter~ in accordance with the invention~
wlth each one of the variant6 F~ G~ H and I~ in that the 3 top end of the front face iB provided with projection~

1 323644 1l 1 or notche~ for alignment.
J.- A putter~ in accordance with the invention~
with an inclined ~ace without the mirrOr effect and with an inclined lug or with a retractable fin and lug.
K.- A putter, in accordance with the invention~
with the combination of varia~ts A and C, L.- A putter, in accordance with the invention, with the combination of the variants mentioned.
Obviou~ly~ and a~ can be deduced from what ha~
been described so far~ the possible combinations of the invention are innumerable~ and in fact they are all automa tically taken in by the present specification~ whether contained alone or jointly~ the negative face~ the incli-ned face with or without the mirror effect, the rear edge or surface to help improve the back swing, the lug~ the fin, etc.
In this respect~ and without it having any restric-tive nature~ a series of drawings i8 attached, which show the invention in ~ome of its different ver~ions.
Figure 1 shows a part provided with a negative face~
an inclined face with a mirror effect and a lug.
Figure 2 is a view from the right of the above.
Figure 3 repre~ent~ a side view of a putter provided with an incllned face and a lug.
Figure 4 i8 a putter with a front face with a projec ting section and an inclined face with a lug.
Figure 5 i~ a variant with the inclined face and two ~eparate mirror effect area~.
Figure 6 is a putter with a normal~ negative face and an inclined face with a mirror effect.

:
~ ' ' ~' ' "

,'. ' .
~' " .

~` 1 323644 1 Figure 7 i~ a view from the right of the above.
Figure 8 i~ a top view of a putter~ equipped with a front ootch or projection, po~itive face~ inclined face with mirror effect~ lug and fin.
Figure 9 i8 a perspective of a putter, with a positive face and inclined rear edge of its base.
Figure 10 i8 a partial perspective of a putter with a partial mirror effect area.
Figures 11 to 14 ~how four views of the putter cove 10 red by the invention, with an inclined rear face and positi ve ~triking face.
Figure~ 15 to 18 refer to another putter solution in accordance with the invention, with a rear inclined face and a negative striking face.
Figure 19 show~ a perYpective of a putter in accor-dance with the invention, which includes a front striking face, a mirror face and an inclined rear line.
In figure 1, which represe~t~ the perspective of a putter (1)~ it i~ ~hown equipped with a striking face (2) 20 which is positive, an inclined face (6) with a mirror effect on its ~urface (3)~ a lug (4) projecting from the I edge of the face (6)~ which is provlded with an inclined edge (22) at an aagle (5). In this figure, the area where the shaft ~tarts~ although not shown, i~ indicated by the 25 po~ition (26).
In figure 2~ we can ~ee the view from the right of the above~ drawing attention to the direction indicated by (M) - (N)~ along which the golfer can direct his sight ~o that it coincides with the top projection (8) on the 30 front fn~e (Z) and towardY the hole a~l a reforence. The .

"

~ 8- l 323644 1 angle (7) formed by the poQitive front face can al80 be ~een.
Figure 3 represents a putter, in accordance with the inve~ltion, with a vertical front face (12)J a mirror 1 5 effect inclined face (3) and the lug (4)~ and~ within thi~
^1 same line~ we can see~ in figure 4~ the projection (10) on the front face~ the inclined face (11) without the mirror effect and the lug (4) with its inclined ed~e (22). Thin figure illustrate~ with (9) the angle formed by the incli ned face (6) with respect to the vertical, with ~hi~ angle being approximately 45~ as ~tated earlier.
A variant in figure S shows a putter with a front - face (13) of any kind connected to an inclined face (6) by means of a central body (15) J ~0 that it provides two mirror effect areas (14) on both side6 of the central ~ec tion (15).
Another variantJ as ~hown in figures 6 and 7~ in-corporate~ only the inclined face (6) with the mirror effect (3)J any kind of front face (12)J for example nega-tiveJ and a Atraight top edge (16).
Aa regard~ flgure 8 J we point out that it illustra-te~ a putterJ which has a positive face (2), a notch (17) for alignment and an inclined mirror effect area (3).
From thi~ area ri~e~ the lug (4) and on it~ free section i~ ~ituated the fin (18l provided with an outer edge (27).
i The fin (18) turns on (19) of the lug (4) according to s I (P~ toward~ one side or the otherJ 50 that the inclination of it~ edge (27) can be altered.
The putter shown in figure 9 is equipped with front face (20) whioh iD po~itive and a baDe (~1) fro~ which the ' ~ .

-` 1 323644 _9_ j 1 ~haft ri~es at (26), with the base (21) having an inclina-tion (22).
The putter shown in figure 10 has a base (25), not ~hown whole, with an inclined face (23), which has the S mirror effect in one portion (24).
In accordance with figures 11 to 14~ a putter (28) is de~cribed which i~ equipped with a po~itive striking face ( 30) and an inclined rear face ( 29), which i~ esta-bli~hed from where the ~haft ri~es to an end point (31).
10 ~rom where a rounded area (3Z) i~ produced until it joins the ~triking face (30).
The putter shown in figure~ 15 to 18 i8 an item (33) with a striking face (34) which is at a negative angle, as can be ~pecifically seen in the side views in figs. 17 and 18. Thi~ putter (33) is also provided with the inclined rear ~ection (35) up to the point (31) and 9 from the rounded area (32) to the face (34) .
The ~utter (36) in figure 19 i~ provided with a ~triking face (39) with a positive or negative angle.
20 a face ( 38) which act~ as a mirror and an inclined wall (37) -On the other hand, a~ i8 already known, thelputter of the invention can be provided with a hollow slot or gap behind itc striking face~ ~o that it form~ a wall of 25 variable thicknes~ and front surface, which increases the stroke contact on the ball.
It is important to empha~ize~ once having described the nature and advantage~ sf this invention, its nonres-trictive character~ inasmuch as changes in the shape~ ma-30 terial or dimensions of its constituent parts will not in .

, . .

--1 o--any way alter its e~sence, a~; long as they do not mean a ~luL~tantiat ~ariation oE the whole.

.~

1 .

I

,

Claims

1. An improved golf club head for a putter comprising front face means having a negative inclination, means to obtain alignment of a shank of the club with a ball and a hole independently of a golfer's stance and means to prevent said shank from moving outward combined on one single club;
wherein said means to align the ball and hole consists of an intermediate face which is at least partially smooth and polished and mirror shiny, is recessed with respect to said front face means and wherein said intermediate face has a 40 to 50 degree incline with respect to a vertical plane and is combined with a groove or ridge placed in an upper edge of said front face means of said club head.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the means to prevent the shank from moving outward consists of an inclined edge made in a body of the shank, and an extension thereof behind the front face, wherein said inclined edge is variable and opens from a position of the golfer forming an angle with a longitudinal axis in a heel-toe direction.

3. The golf club head of claim 2, wherein the inclined edge is at a base of the head where the shank starts.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the intermediate face is made of a stainless steel material.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the intermediate face is made of aluminum.

6. An improved golf club head for a putter comprising front face means having a negative inclination, means to obtain alignment of a shank of the club with a ball and a hole independently of a golfer's stance, and means to prevent said shank from moving outward combined on one single club;
wherein said means to align the ball and hole consists of an intermediate face recessed with respect to a front face which is at least partially smooth and polished and mirror shiny, and wherein said intermediate face has a 40-50° incline with respect to a vertical plane and is combined with a groove or ridge placed in an upper edge of said front face of said club head;
wherein the means to prevent the shank from moving outward consists of an inclined edge made in a body of the shank and an extension thereof behind the front face, wherein said inclined edge is variable and opens from a position of the golfs forming an angle with a longitudinal axis in a heel-toe direction; and wherein an upper end of an intermediate face forms a horizontal lug with the inclined edge inclined in relation to a horizontal plane of the head.

7. The golf club heads of claim 6, wherein an edge of the lug accommodates a blade, which has a turning point in said lug in a plane parallel to that of the blade to vary the inclination of an edge of the blade with respect to the longitudinal direction of the head.