JP2001000606A - Golf putter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase directionality and distance precision of a hit ball in putting, and to make feeling of hitting the ball excellent. SOLUTION: A golf putter 1 includes a putter head 10 provided with a metal head body 12 made of Ti alloy and balance bodies 30 (32, 36) with a damping characteristic attached respectively to a toe part 22 and a heel part 18 of the body 12. The balance bodies 30 comprise the pair of balances 32, 36, and they are mixed body made by coagulating metal powders of tungsten or the like having a larger specific gravity than that of the Ti alloy of the head body 12 using a dumping material such as rubber and a binder. This structure makes the head 10 hard to swing (rotate) in putting, increases directionality and distance precision of a hit owing to the damping characteristic, and prevents an uncomfortable metal sound or an excessive vibration.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a putter for golf and, more particularly, to a putter which is excellent in directionality and distance accuracy of a hit ball at the time of putting and has a good hit feeling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, golf putter clubs (hereinafter, referred to as golf putter clubs)
As shown in FIG. 4 (A), a substantially elongated oval head 72 made of a metal material such as soft iron is used.
And a neck 76 connecting the main body 72 to the shaft 78.
And A sweet spot 75 is located substantially at the center of the face surface 74 of the head 72. By the way, as shown in FIG. 4B, the putter 70 is used for cupping in the ball 79 turned on on the green. At this time, the player puts the ball 79 in the vicinity of the sweet spot 75 on the face surface 74 of the head 72 so as to hit the ball 79 as shown by the solid arrow (→) in the figure.

However, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), a so-called miss shot in which the ball 79 hits the face surface 74 deviating from the sweet spot 75 frequently occurs. As a result, as shown by a broken line or an alternate long and short dash line arrow in FIG. 4B, the head 72 rotates (vibrates), so that the ball 79 deviates from the course targeted by the player and cannot be cupped in. Or it cannot reach the desired distance. In order to prevent such a miss shot, a putter head 80 as shown in FIG. 4C has been proposed. This head 80 is formed by metallurgically integrating a wide bottom portion 81 made of copper having a large specific gravity and an upper portion 82 made of a thin plate of an aluminum alloy having a small specific gravity. That is, the head 80 is a clad (laminated) material obtained by clad rolling a heated copper plate and an aluminum thin plate,
It is cut into a shape as shown in Fig. 4 (C).
(See JP-A-7-222830).

[0004] A putter 84 shown in FIG. 4D has also been proposed. The putter 84 has a head 90 which is coupled to a shaft 88 via a neck 86, and has a weight balance that is substantially T-shaped in plan view and is orthogonal to the face surface 92 behind a sweet spot 94 on the face surface 92. The adjusting section 96 is provided in a protruding manner. The balance adjusting section 96 has a predetermined length, width and thickness, and concentrates the weight on the sweet spot 94. In addition, as shown in FIG.
A line 98 that facilitates hitting the sweet spot 94 is displayed. Therefore, a ball hitting near the sweet spot 94 at the time of putting is shot along the longitudinal direction of the adjusting portion 96, so that a miss shot can be reduced.
No. 127836).

[0005]

However, the putter head 80 has a problem that the manufacturing cost by clad rolling increases and the directionality and distance accuracy of the hit ball are insufficiently improved. In the putter 84, since the shape of the head 90 is complicated, the cost is increased by either forging or casting. In addition, since the adjusting portion 96 is conspicuous, it is difficult for the player to handle and the skill is low. There was also a problem of incurring the mental burden of being injured. Further, since both of the heads 80 and 90 are made of metal only, there is a problem that an unpleasant metal sound and strong vibration are given to the player as a shot feeling when hitting a ball. The present invention solves the problems in the prior art described above, improves the directionality and distance accuracy of the hit ball at the time of putting,
It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf putter that can improve the feel at impact.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been made with the idea of mounting a vibration-damping balance body at a predetermined position of a putter head. That is, the golf putter of the present invention is characterized by including a putter head having a metal head main body and a vibration-damping balance body mounted on the main body. According to this, since the above-mentioned balance body is mounted on the putter head, it is possible to enhance the directionality and distance accuracy of the hit ball at the time of putting, and to image without unpleasant metal sound or strong vibration. It is possible to give the player a good shot feeling that fits the play.

[0007] The present invention also includes a golf putter in which the balance body is either a laminate of a metal layer and a buffer material such as rubber, or a mixture of metal powder and a buffer material such as rubber. It is. According to this, since the putter head is reliably provided with the vibration damping property, the resilience between the head and the ball at the time of putting can be suppressed, and the feeling of hitting the ball can be reliably improved. Furthermore,
The balance body, in the metal head body,
Golf putters mounted on at least one of the toe and the heel or in the vicinity thereof, the sole or in the vicinity thereof, or the back surface of the face surface or in the vicinity thereof are also included. According to this, a wide sweet area can be formed substantially at the center of the face surface, and it also leads to a lower center of gravity of the head, so that the directionality and distance accuracy of the hit ball at the time of putting can be improved, and the hit feeling is good. You can do it.

[0008] A golf putter, wherein the weight of the balance body accounts for 20% or more of the total weight of the metal head body, is also included. Further, golf putters in which the specific gravity of the balance body exceeds 1.2 times the specific gravity of the metal forming the head body are also included. According to these, the moment of inertia of the head can be increased by the balance body, and the sweet spot itself can be expanded to the sweet area.

When the weight of the balance body is less than 20% of the entire head body or when the specific gravity is less than 1.2 times the specific gravity of the metal forming the head body, the difference between the balance body and the head is reduced. This range was excluded because it became smaller and the moment of inertia of the head did not increase. still,
The upper limit of the weight ratio or the specific gravity ratio is not particularly specified by a critical numerical value, but from a practical viewpoint such as production, the weight ratio is about 50 to 60%, and the specific gravity ratio is 2 to 5%.
About twice is the standard of the upper limit. Further, the balance body,
A golf putter that can be divided into a plurality of parts and whose weight can be changed is also included. According to this, the player can easily adjust the mounting amount of the balance body so as to best fit his / her putting feeling, and can always play with stable padding.

[0010] In addition, a golf putter including a putter head and a shaft interposed between the shaft and the shaft so that the mounting angle of the putter head with respect to the shaft can be changed in a horizontal direction is included. According to this, the mounting angle of the putter head in the horizontal direction with respect to the center axis of the shaft can be changed, and in addition to the mounting of the balance body described above, the putter head is aligned with its own takeback and impact during putting. The head can be fixed as follows. Therefore, the sweet spot /
It is possible to further reliably hit the area.

[0011]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A shows a golf putter 1 according to the present invention. The putter 1 includes a shaft 2 having a grip (not shown) at an upper end, a neck (hosel) 4 fixed to a lower end thereof, and a putter head 10 coupled to the shaft 2 via the neck 4. Neck 4
As shown in FIG. 1B, a pipe portion 6 having a recessed hole 5 for fitting the lower end of the shaft 2, a deviating portion 7 extending laterally from the lower end, and a neck portion 8 hanging down from the distal end thereof
And an integral cast part having: The neck portion 8 has a female screw hole 9 formed therein. As described later, the neck portion 8 enters into the main body 12 of the head 10 and a set screw is screwed into the screw hole 9 to thereby form the neck 4. The head 10 can be adjusted to a desired angle in the horizontal direction and fixed to the shaft 2 via the shaft.

The head 10 is made of, for example, Ti-6 wt% Al-
It is composed of a metal head body 12 which is precision-cast with a 4 wt% V Ti (titanium) alloy. As shown in FIG. 1A, the main body 12 includes a face surface 14 located on the right side in the drawing,
A concave portion 16 opening upward and to the left at a substantially center of the left side surface (back face), and a heel portion (heel) 18 and a toe portion (toe) 22 located before and after the concave portion 16 are integrally provided. The heel portion 18 and the toe portion 22 have bottomed holes 2 parallel to each other.
0 and 24 are bored horizontally from the left side. The face surface 14 is slightly upwardly inclined as shown in FIG. 1 (C), and the sweet spot 1 is located near the center thereof.
5 Reference numeral 17 in FIGS. 1B and 1C indicates a sole of the head 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D, the heel 1
Cylindrical balance members 30 having vibration damping properties are inserted into the bottomed holes 20 and 24 in the toe portion 8 and the toe portion 22, respectively. The balance body 30 is divided into a flat balance (weight) 32 and a thick and large balance (weight) 36, and through holes 34 and 38 penetrate the respective centers. Balance body 30
(32, 36) is 50 to 80 vol% of tungsten (W: specific gravity 19.3) powder which is heavier than the specific gravity of the Ti alloy of the head body 12 of about 4.5, and 50 to 20 vol of rubber as a buffer material and a binder. % Is kneaded, formed into a predetermined shape, and then dried and has a vibration damping property. The balance body (mixture) 30 occupies about 30 to 60% of the weight of the putter head 10. The metal powder kneaded with the rubber or the like is not particularly limited as long as the specific gravity of the balance body 30 exceeds 1.2 times the specific gravity of the metal forming the head body 12. In addition to tungsten, stainless steel (SUS304 etc.), tantalum (Ta),
Various metals, such as lead, copper, and brass, and alloys thereof can be used.

As shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D, the toe 22
As illustrated in FIG. 2, a nut body 26 having a female screw 25 formed in advance on the bottom thereof is screwed into the bottomed hole 24 in advance. The balances 36 and 32 are inserted into the bottomed holes 24 in this order, and the screws 29 are connected through the washers 28 to the balances 33 and 3.
6 through the respective through holes 34 and 38 and screwed into the female screw holes 25 of the nut body 26. On the other hand, the balance body 30 can be mounted on the head 10 by fixing the balances 32 and 36 to the bottomed hole 20 of the heel portion 18 in the same manner. As described above, the head 10 having the balance members 30, 30 having vibration damping properties mounted on the toe portion 22 and the heel portion 18 of the main body 12.
According to the putter 1 having the above, since the moment of inertia of the head 10 is increased, the sweet spot 15 on the face surface 14 can be expanded to a wide sweet area.

[0015] Therefore, the ball is easily hit in the direction intended by the player and rolls over a desired distance, so that the ball can be easily put into the cup and the score can be increased. Moreover, since the balance body 30 has a vibration damping property, it does not generate a metallic sound or strong vibration due to a collision with a ball during putting. For this reason, the player can play with a comfortable shot feeling. Further, the balance body 30 is composed of two balances 36, 32, large and small.
, It is possible to use both or one of them, or to change according to the feeling of each player. Note that it is easy to divide the balance body 30 into three or more balances.

FIG. 2A shows a balance member 40 of a different form.
Is shown. The balance body 40 is divided into a flat balance 42 and a thick and large balance 44, and a through hole 49 penetrates the center of each. As shown in FIG. 2A, the balances 42 and 44 are made of a round metal layer 46 made of, for example, a tungsten plate, which is heavier than the specific gravity of the Ti alloy of the head body 12 of about 4.5, and made of rubber or resin. Round cushioning material layer 4
8 are alternately adhered. Such balance 4
The screw 29 is passed through each of the through holes 49 of FIG.
As shown in (C), these are inserted into the bottomed holes 20 and 24 of the heel portion 18 and the toe portion 22, and the screws 29 are screwed into the female screws 25 of the nut body 26, respectively, so that the balance body 40 is formed. , 40 can be mounted on the head 10. At this time, the leftmost metal layer 46 of the balance 42 also serves as the washer 28.

The balance 4 forming such a balance body 40
Since the metal layers 2 and 44 are obtained by alternately laminating the metal layers 46 and the cushioning material layers 48, they are easier to manufacture than the balance body 30 including the mixture bodies 32 and 36. Moreover, by adjusting the thickness of the metal layer 46 and the cushioning material layer 48, the weight ratio with respect to the head main body 12 can be easily adjusted within the range of 20% or more according to the skill of each player.
Note that the balance body 40 can be divided into three or more balances. Further, the cross-sectional shapes of the balance body 30 and the balance body 40 are not limited to the illustrated circles, but may be polygons of a quadrangle or more. In this case, the cross-sectional shapes of the bottomed holes 20 and 24 follow these shapes. By adopting a similar shape, it can be easily mounted and securely screwed.

FIGS. 2B and 2C show the main body 1 of the head 10.
2 shows a connection structure between 2 and a neck 4. As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the neck 4 has a neck portion 8 at the lower end and a head body 1.
2 is inserted into the vertical hole 19 penetrating vertically, and the bolt 27 is screwed into the female screw hole 9 in the neck portion 8 from below into the enlarged diameter portion 21 provided below the vertical hole 19. Head 10
Fixed to As shown in FIGS. 2 (B) and 2 (C), the neck portion 8 is connected to the pipe portion 6 inclined leftward in FIG. When the shaft 2 is inserted and fixed in the concave hole 5 of the pipe portion 6, the extension of the center axis of the shaft 2 is located at the center of the face surface 14 of the head main body 12, as shown in FIG. Is set so as to intersect the vicinity of the sweet spot 15.

For this reason, when fastening the bolt 27, the neck 4 is fixed with the neck portion 8 being the center of rotation and the biasing portion 7 being slightly inclined left and right in FIG. 2C. Thereby, as shown by the arrow in the figure, the mounting angle of the putter head 10 with respect to the shaft 2 in the horizontal direction can be changed. Therefore, by changing the angle of the head 10 via the neck 4 and fixing it to the shaft 2 in accordance with the habit and skill of the player, the face surface 14
And the lie angle between the sole 17 and the shaft 2 can be adjusted. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C,
By forming the vertical hole 19 and the enlarged diameter portion 21 also near the toe portion 22 on the right side in the drawing, a desired position of the putter head 10 is provided via the neck 4 at a desired position according to the dominant arm of right-handed and left-handed players. The shaft 2 can be connected.

FIG. 3A shows a state where the balance body 50 of a different form is mounted on the putter head 10. Note that, in the following, common parts and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 3A, a concave portion 56 is formed in the sole 17 of the main body 12 of the head 10 substantially near the center, and the concave portion 56 is formed of a mixture of the metal powder and rubber and the like. A sheet-shaped balance body 50 having vibration characteristics is inserted. The lower side of the balance body 50 is covered with a thin metal plate 52 flush with the sole 17, and as shown in FIG. 3B, a flat head screw 58 is screwed into the vertical female screw hole 54 from below. By doing so, the balance body 50 is mounted on the head 10.

That is, a wide balance body 50 is provided on the sole 17.
By mounting the head, the center of gravity of the head 10 can be shifted to a low position, and the sweet spot 15 can be a sweet area enlarged in the width direction or the like. For this reason, the moment of inertia accompanying the impact from the take-back during putting can be increased, and can be uniform over substantially the entire width of the face surface 14 in the width direction. Therefore, the player can hit the ball in a desired direction and distance with a relatively small force, and it is possible to perform accurate putting. In addition, since the balance body 50 has a vibration damping property, it does not generate a metallic sound and does not generate strong vibration due to a collision with a ball during putting. For this reason, the player can play with a comfortable shot feeling. In addition, balance body 5
0 can also be formed by a laminate of a thin metal layer and a buffer material layer such as rubber.

FIGS. 3 (C) and 3 (D) show a state in which the putter head 10 is further mounted with a balance member 60 having a different form.
As shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the metal powder and the rubber or the like are brought into contact with a vertical surface 64 which is a bottom surface of the concave portion 16 located on the back surface (back face) of the face surface 14 of the head main body 12. A wide and sheet-like balance body 60 made of a mixture of and having vibration damping properties is inserted into the recess 16,
It is covered with a thin metal plate 62. And a plurality of screws 6
8 through the metal plate 62 and the balance body 60,
The balance body 60 is mounted on the head 10 by screwing the screw 68 into a horizontal female screw hole 66 in the inside 2.

As described above, by mounting the wide balance body 60 on the back side of the face surface 14, the vibration caused by the collision with the ball at the time of impact during putting can be absorbed, and the unpleasant metal sound can be prevented. it can.
Moreover, since the sweet spot 15 on the face surface 14 expands to a sweet area that spreads in the width direction or the like,
The accuracy of both the directionality and distance of the hit ball at the time of putting is also improved. The balance body 60 can also be formed by a laminate of a thin metal layer and a buffer material layer such as rubber. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, it is also possible to equip the heel portion 18 and the toe portion 22 of the head main body 12 together with the balance members 30, 30 as described above. As a result, the moment of inertia of the head 10 can be further increased, and the occurrence of rotation (shake) due to the collision with the ball can be reliably suppressed. At this time, the balance 3
It is clear that only one of the balances 32 and 36 can be used for 0.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, the pair of balance members 30 (40) are attached to the heel portion 18 and the toe portion 22 of the main body 12 of the putter head 10, and the sole 1
7 can also be provided with the balance body 50. As a result, both lowering the center of gravity of the head 10 and increasing the moment of inertia during putting can be obtained more reliably. Of course, balance body 30,40,5
It is also possible to add 0 and 60 to one head 10. However, in this case, it is important to select each weight of the balance bodies 30, 40, 50, and 60 according to the skill of the player.

The putter head may be in the form of a thin plate having no recess 16 like the head 10, and in this case, the balance body 50 can be mounted on the back of the face. The head material is Ti
Not only alloys but also soft iron, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, intermetallic compounds, or various composite materials including metals can be used. In short, it is sufficient that the specific gravity of the balance body exceeds the specific gravity of these metals by 20%. The metal head body of the present invention also includes the above-mentioned composite material containing the intermetallic compound or metal. Further, the neck is not limited to the neck 4 having the deviating portion 7, but also includes a linear shape and a shape integrated with the putter head.

[0026]

According to the golf putter of the present invention described above, it is possible to improve the directionality and distance accuracy of the hit ball at the time of putting. Moreover, it is possible to give the player a good feeling of hitting the ball with the imaged hitting sound and the like without unpleasant metal sound or strong vibration. According to the putter of the sixth aspect, the mounting amount of the balance body can be easily adjusted so as to best fit the feeling of putting by the player, and it is possible to always play stable padding. Furthermore, according to the putter of the seventh aspect, the mounting angle of the putter head in the horizontal direction with respect to the center axis of the shaft can be changed. The head can be fixed to match the impact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 (A) is a partial perspective view showing a putter for golf of the present invention, (B) is a perspective view showing a neck used for the putter of (A),
(C) is a sectional view taken along line CC in (A), and (D) is a perspective view showing a balance body mounted on the putter.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing a balance body of a different form,
(B) and (C) are a back view and a plan view partially including a cross section showing the vicinity of the head in the putter of FIG. 1 (A).

3A is a back view of a putter on which a balance body of a different form is mounted, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3A, and FIG. The perspective view of the putter to which the body was mounted, and (D) is the top view.

4 (A) is a front view showing a conventional putter, FIG. 4 (B) is a schematic view showing a use state thereof, and FIGS. 4 (C) and 4 (D) are perspective views or plan views showing different forms of a conventional putter head. .

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ………… Putter for golf, 2 ………………
…… Shaft, 4 ……………… Neck, 10
... putter head, 12 ... head body, 14 ... face face, 17 ...
…………………………………………………………………………………………… the heel (heel), 22 ………………
0, 40, 50, 60: Balanced body, 46: Metal layer, 48: Buffer material layer

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A putter for golf, comprising: a putter head having a metal head main body and a vibration-damping balance body mounted on the main body. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the balance body is a laminate of a metal layer and a cushioning material layer such as rubber, or a mixture of metal powder and a cushioning material such as rubber. The putter for golf according to claim 1. 3. The balance body is attached to at least one of a toe and a heel or their vicinity, a sole or its vicinity, or a back surface of a face surface or its vicinity in the metal head body. The putter for golf according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the weight of the balance body accounts for 20% or more of the total weight of the metal head body. Golf putter. 5. The golf putter according to claim 1, wherein the specific gravity of the balance body exceeds 1.2 times the specific gravity of the metal forming the head body. . 6. The putter for golf according to claim 1, wherein the balance body can be divided into a plurality of parts, and the weight of the balance body can be changed. 7. A neck between the putter head and the shaft, the neck being capable of changing a mounting angle of the putter head with respect to the shaft in a horizontal direction. The putter for golf according to any one of the above.