CA2111272C

CA2111272C - Golf putter with face plate insert

Info

Publication number: CA2111272C
Application number: CA002111272A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Glenn H. Schmidt; Richard C. Helmstetter
Original assignee: Callaway Golf Co
Current assignee: Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp
Priority date: 1993-01-19
Filing date: 1993-12-13
Publication date: 1999-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 2013-12-13
Also published as: NO940179D0; DE69402885T2; AU7034296A; ATE152359T1; BR9400125A; AU669945B2; AU693042B2; KR940018110A; PE6095A1; CA2111272A1; NO940179L; ES2101437T3; EP0608128B1; DE69402885D1; HUT68983A; CN1095304A; DK0608128T3; IL108357A; FI940247A0; EP0608128A1

Abstract

A golf putter for use with a putter shaft supporting a head, the head comprising a putter body having a heel, toe, and hole defining a bottom wall, and a front wall, the body elongated between the heel and toe, and; the body having at least one recess projecting forwardly toward a plane defined by the front wall; and the body having a second recess sunk in the front wall, there being a non-metallic face plate having a periphery received in the second recess and bonded to the body.

Description

BAC~GRO~ND OF TH~ lN V~h l'lON ~ 7 2 ?

This invention relates generally to golf putters, and more particularly to enhanclng putter stability when the putter is maneuvered to address and stroke a golf ball on a golf green.
It ls commonly found that golf putters tend to twist in re6pon6e to their placement downwardly on a green in ball addressing position. Such twisting result~ in mls-alignment of the putter front face relative to the ball, and requires one or more re-alignment adjustments. Putters can also twlst during back-swlng away from the ball, and forward striking toward and~with the ball, one cause of such twisting being putter bottom surface variable engagement with the turf during such swlnging and stroking.
There is need for lmproved means to reduce or eliminate these mis-alignment effects, as referred to, ae well as need to improve the overall performance of gol~ putters.

SU~HARY 0~ T~K lhV~NllON

It ie a ma~or ob~ect of the inventlon to provide an improved putter head so constructed as to reduce or eliminate the mis-alignment problem as referred to.

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Baslcally, the improved putter of the present invention comprises, in combination:
a) a putter body having a heel, toe, and sole defining a bottom wall, and a ball striking front face, the body elongated between the heel and toe, and b) the body having at least one recess pro~ecting forwardly toward a plane defined by the front wall, c) and the body having a second recess sunk in the front wall, there being a non-metallic face plate having a periphery received in the second recess and bonded to the body.
It is another ob~ect to provide a control rail pro~ecting downwardly from the bottom wall, the rail being elongated in a direction between the heel and toe to engage the turf as the putter is placed downwardly on a golf green, and in a manner to stabilize the head against twi6t during the head downward placement. As will be ~een, the rail is typically 6paced rearwardly fro~ the front face defined by the non-metallic front face along the ma~or length of the rail. The r~11 also ha~ a narrow bottom surface along its length, that sur~ace being flat in front to rear direction width~lse o~ the rail. The rail bottom surface has substAntially uni~orm width along the ma~ority of the rail length, the rail ext~n~ng lengthwise below the middlQ of the putter body bet~een the heel and toe, and below the non-metallic face plate. The rail weight adds to antl-twist peripheral weighting marked by use o~ the non-metallic face plate.

2 1 1 1 '~ -It i8 another ob~ect of the invention to provide the control rail with a frontward facing surface which tapers downwardly and rearwardly to merge with forward extent o~ the rail bottom surface; and the rail also has a rearward facing surface which tapers downwardly and forwardly to merge with rearward extent of the rail hollow sur~ace. Such surfaces engage the turf in ~uch m~nner, during head stroking, to result in forces tending to elevate the head to prevent digging of the putter into the turf; and such surfaces typically extend equidlstantly toward the toe and heel, from the said region of the head and rail, 80 that twisting forces due to turf engagement are counter balanced.
Yet another ob~ect is to provlde a rail as referred to, which i~ curved, i.e., extends in a curved plane along the rail length, thereby to provide turf engaging rail support points that are not all in a line, 80 that stability against tilt of the head results from rail blting into the turf as the head is placed downwardly in position, ~ddressing the ball.
Ihese and other ob~ects and advantages o~ the invention, as well ~ the details of an illustrativQ
embodiment, will be nore rully understood from the ~ollowing specirlcation and drawings, in which:

DRA~ING DES~K~ ON

Fig. l is a rrontal elevation showing a putter head incorporating the invention:

~-- 2 1 1 1 2 ~ ~

Fig. 2 is a section ta~en on llnes 2-2 of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 ie an enlarged fragmentary section, taken on llnes 3-3 of Flg. 2:
s Fig. 4 18 a bottom plan vlew taken on llnes 4-4 of Flg. l;
Flg. 5 18 a vlew like Fig. 4, showing a modification; and Fig. 6 i6 a front elevation taken on llnes 6-6 of Fig. 5.

~RT~T~.Rn DESCRIPTION

In Figs 1-4 of the drawings, the putter head 10 has a body ll deflning a 601e 12, front ball striking face or surface 13, heel 14, and toe 14a. A
shaft 16 is connected to the body and extend~ upwardly, a8 shown. ~he head may be metallic, and typically consists of brass. The body i8 elongated between the heel and toe, as shown.
In accordance with one aspect o~ the invention, a rail 20 pro~ects downwardly from the bottom wall 12a Or the sole, the rail 20 being elongated in a direction between the heel and toe to engage the turf 21 of the putting green and pro~ecta downwardly into the turr, as shown in Fig. 3, in a manner to stabilize the head for resisting twist a~ ln either or both twist directions (indlcated by arrows 22 and 22a ln Flg. 4) as the putter sole is placed downwardly, on the green turf. See also the golf ball 21112'~2 24 in Fig. 2, in front Or face 13, the rail received in the turf tending to maintain the head face 13 squared relative to the ball, ~ust prior to stroking of the head by manual swing of the shaft 16. See Fig. 3.
As shown, the elongated rail is spaced rearwardly from the front face 13, beneath the upright head front plate 23, Sor eubstantially balanced support of the head. The head has a bottom and rearward flange 25 pro~ecting rearwardly from lower extent of body 11, to define the sole bottom wall 12a, as seen in Fig. 3.
The bottom wall includes bottom wall extent 12a' frontwardly of the rail, and bottom wall extent 12a "
rearwardly of the rail. In the example, the front-to-rear width wl, of 12a' is substantially less than the front-to-rear width w2 of 12a", and typically, w2, is ~~~
two to six times wl. Bottom wall extent 12a' is typically flat in a front-to-rear direction, and shallowly downwardly convex in a h~el-to-toe direction (see Fig. 1): and bottom wall extent 12a" is also shallowly downwardly convex, similar to 12a', as in Fig. 1.
Rail 20 has ~ bottom surface 28 exten~ng along the rail length, that surface typically having constant, or substantially constant width, and being rlat or substantially flat in a front to rear direction, widthwise Or the rail. Such width ~hould b~e between 1/8 and 3/8 ~nche~ and the rail should pro~ect below the sole surface by an amount "t" where t decreases toward the toe, and also decreas~s toward the heel, from a mid-point 28a, along the rail length (see 2111~ ~2 Flg. 1). The ~Y~r~m amount Ht" should be between 1/16 and 1/8 inch, 80 as to effectively seat into the green turf at the mid region of the head, without exten~ng too deeply into the turf 80 as to impede head stroking.
Rail bottom surface 28 has greater curvature, than the curvature of sole 12 in a toe to heel direction to merge with the sole at 28c and 28d.
Further, the rail 20 has frontwardly facing surface 29 which tapers downwardly and rearwardly (see Fig. 3) B0 as to slide over the turf as the head is stroked, the impact of the turf against the tapered surface 29 tending to lift the putter head and prevent or minimize digging o~ the head further into the turr as the head is stroked. Surface 29 merges with surface 28 along a rounded edge 30, to enhance these effects.
Likewise, the rail 20 ha~ a rearwardly facing surface 31 which tapers downwardly and forwardly (see Fig. 3) to merge with ~urface 28 along a rounded edge 32. Surfaces 31 and 32 enable rearward sliding o~ the jutter over the green turf as the head is swung backwardly relative to the golf ball, ten~ng to prevent or ~in~ize dlgging of the head into the turf during the back-stroke.
Note that the rail middle extent extends lengthwise below the middle Or the putter, i.e., the ~sweet spot" region 32 Or plate 23 directly rearwardly of the ball; also, the rail extends fro~ that ~iddle extent toward the heel and toward the toe to equal, or substantially egual extents, where~y rail engagement with the turf during the back and forward ~trokes is 211 ~.272 '."_ the same toward the toe and toward the heel (from the rail middle extent) to minlmize twisting o~ the putter head as it is stroked.
In Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the putter shaft 16 i~
affixed to the body 11 to pro~ect downwardly between heel 14 and the arcuate heel end 23c of plate 23. The body 11 defines or contains a shaft receiving bore 40 wherein the shaft lower end 16a i~ ~oined to the bore, as by adhe~ive, at 41. The bore intersects the bottom surface of the heel at 14', as seen in Figs. 1 and 4;
and the shaft end may al60 extend almost to the bottom surface between the heel and end 28d of the rail.
Flller 48 fills space between the lower core of the shaft and the surfaces 12 and 28. Note that bore 40 extends upright and the shaft extends upwardly from that bore.
It will be noted that in Flgs. 1-4, the rail lengthwise extent defines a flat, upright plane 50 extending between the toe and heel, forwardly of the shaft bore 40. See Fig. 4. Such a straight rail allows some pivoting or tilting of the head forwardly or rearwardly, as indicated by lines 51 and 52 in Fig.
2. To eliminate or reduce such capacity for tilting, i.e., to help maintain the head ~n upright position as seen in Fig. 2, w$th face 13 ~quarely addressing ths ball, the rall may be formed to be lengthwise curved, to provide e~h~nced support ~or the putter bodv on the tur~, l.e., ~3-polnt~ support, ln effect. See for example the curved plane 55 of the rail 56 in Fig. 5, and such curvature nay take various forms. Three r .
2lll272 points of support, out of allgnment, are seen at A, B
and C, in Fig. 5. Such a rail 56, otherwise like the above described rail 20, provide~ all of the advant~ge~
of rail 20, plus the added, anti-pivot support ~or the putter body as described. Note that the front lnclined surface of rail 56 has variable 6pacing from the ~all-striking surface 113 of the putter head.
Note also in Figs. 5 and 6 that the putter shaft 116 now extends at angle c~< relative to vertical, where c~c i8 between 10' and 30-; and that the shaft lowermost extent 116a is recessed in a correspondingly angled bore 140 in head forwardly offset extent 111_ at the heel 114. Bore 140 is now forward of the curved plane 56, the latter being convex forwardly toward the plane of flat face 113, whereby turf is engaged by the convex forward edge of the rail, otherwise having sectlonal shape, as in Fig. 3, to slide or glide over the turf, which acts to urge the head upwardly out o~ the turf during a putting stroke.
Referrin~ again to Figs. 1-4, the putter body has at least one recess 150 pro~ecting forwardly toward a plane defined by front wall or face 13. Recess 150 opens rearwardly, as seen in Fig. 2. The body also has a second recess 151 sunk in the front wall, ~nd 1~
sized to closely receive the periphery 23~ of the plate 23, which 18 non-~otallic. The periphery 23~ may be bonded to the body inner wall 152 bo~ rece~ 151.
The plate seats ~g~ t a body looping shoulder 153, facing forwardly at the bottom o~ reces~ 151. The rear side 23e of plate 23 openly faces shoulder 1537 and the 21~ 1272 .,.~ .
plate may be ov~l, as shown, with rounded, convex opposite ends 23_ and 23c, and ~traight top wall 23h.
Face plate 23 typically consists of synthetic resin, and defines ball-striking surface 23~, forwardly of recess 151. Also, it has uniform thickness and i8 preferably substantially transparent, to present viewing of alpha-numeric characters 160 (the word "LABEL" being merely representative) identifying the golfer or manufacturer, or other entity. Characters 160 may define a monogram, internally of the plastic material and vie~wable from the front of the plate.
As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the body defines a third recess 170 sunk in the front wall, rearwardly of recess 151, and to a depth greater than that of 151.
Recess 170 periphery ~ntersects the first recess 150, as shown. The peripher~es of the three recesses are stepped, as at 150', 151', and 170', as seen in Fig. 3, inwardly of the rail 20. Thus, ball impact force transmitted to the pl~tic face plate 23 is in turn transmitted to the metal body by the periphery of the face plate, in the plane of the rail, i.e., ball-striking forces on the plate 33; and turf forces on tho rail, during stroXing, are concentrated at lower region 180 of the head, where head forward momentum acts, for balance. Use o~ lightweight plastic for plate 23 also enables peripheral weight concentration of h_ad metal, to resist twist of the head, during stroking.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A golf putter for use with a putter shaft supporting ahead, the head comprising, in combination:
a) a putter body having a heel, toe, and sole defining a bottom wall, and a front wall, the body elongated between the heel and toe, and b) the body having at least one recess projecting forwardly toward a plane defined by the front wall, c) and the body having a second recess sunk in said front wall, there being a non-metallic face plate having a periphery received in said secondrecess and bonded to said body.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said face plate has a rearward side exposed to said first recess.

3. The putter of claim 1 wherein said face plate consists of synthetic resin and defining a ball-striking surface forwardly of said first recess.

4. The putter of claim 3 wherein said face plate has substantially uniform thickness.

5. The putter of claim 4 wherein said face plate is substantially transparent.

6. The putter of claim 4 wherein the said face plate is substantially transparent, and including a monogram carried by said face plate rearwardly of afront face defined thereby and viewable through the transparent material of saidface plate.

7. The putter of claim 2 wherein the body defines a third recess sunk in said front wall to a depth greater than said second recess and which peripherally intersects said first recess in rearwardly spaced relation to the periphery of said face plate.

8. The putter of claim 1 wherein said face plate has a first end portion convex toward said toe, and a second end portion convex toward said heel.

9. The putter of claim 8 wherein said face plate has a straight top edge elongated between said heel and toe, and intersecting said convex end portions.

10. The putter of claim 1 including a shaft bore inset body spaced from said recess and from said face plate.

11. The putter of claim 10 including a putter shaft received in said bore.

12. The putter of claim 11 wherein said bore intersects said sole bottom wall proximate said heel.

13. The putter of claim 1 including a rail projecting downwardly from said bottom wall below the level of said face plate, the rail being elongated in a direction between the heel and toe to engage the turf as the putter is placed downwardly on golfing green for stabilizing the head against twist during said downward placement.

14. The putter of claim 13 wherein the rail is spaced rearwardly from said front face along the major length of the rail.

15. The combination of claim 14 wherein the rail has a bottom surface extending along the rail length and which is substantially flat in a front-to-rear direction widthwise of the rail.

16. The combination of claim 15 wherein the rail has a frontward face surface along its length, and which tapers downwardly and rearwardly to merge with forward extent of the rail bottom surface, the rail also having a rearward face surface which tapers downwardly and forwardly to merge with rearwardly extent of the rail bottom surface.

17. The combination of claim 1 wherein the putter body is metallic and the face plate is non-metallic, the rail also being metallic.

18. The combination of claim 17 wherein the body has an L-shaped cross section in upright planes normal to the length direction of the rail, the rail projecting below said L-shaped cross sections and spaced rearwardly from said front face.

19. The combination of claim 15 wherein the rail extends below the material of the putter body between the heel and toe, directionally lengthwise, the rail bottom surface having substantially uniform width along the majority of itslength.

20. The combination of claim 19 wherein said width is between 1/8"
and 3/8".

21. The combination of claim 20 wherein the rail bottom surface width is about 5/16" along its length.

22. The combination of claim 15 wherein the rail defines an upright plane which extends between the heel and toe and is flat.

23. The combination of claim 22 wherein the rear flat bottom surface is downwardly convex along the rail length in a direction between the heel and toe of the head.

24. The combination of claim 15 wherein the rail defines an upright plane which extends between the toe and heel and which is curved, whereby the rail bottom surface is curved along its length to provide enhanced putter body support on the turf.

25. The putter of claim 1 wherein the body has an additional recess extending outwardly from said one recess directly rearwardly of the face plate proximate the periphery thereof.

26. A golf club for use with a shaft supporting a head, the head comprising in combination:
a) a body having a heel, toe and sole defining a bottom wall, and a front wall, the body elongated between the heel and toe, and b) the body having at least one recess originating from a rear portion of the body and projecting forwardly toward a plane defined by the front wall, c) the body having a second recess sunk in said front wall, there being a face plate which is non-metallic and having a periphery received in said second recess and bonded to said body, said plate having a forward surface and said second recess extending rearwardly from a plane defined by said forward surface, d) there being structure on the body forming a shaft-receiving bore spaced from each recess and from said face plate.

27. A golf club head for use with a supporting shaft, the head comprising:
(a) a body having a heel, toe and sole defining a bottom wall, and a front wall, the body being elongated between the heel and toe, and (b) the body having at least one first recess originating from a rear portion of the body and projecting forwardly toward a plane defined by the front wall, (c) the body having a second recess sunk in said front wall, there being a face plate having a periphery received in said second recess and bonded to said body, said plate having a forward surface and said second recess extending rearwardly from a plane defined by said forward surface, and (d) there being structure on the body for supporting a shaft spaced from each recess and from said face plate.