US20060111202A1 - Golf club - Google Patents

Golf club Download PDF

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Publication number
US20060111202A1
US20060111202A1 US11/284,492 US28449205A US2006111202A1 US 20060111202 A1 US20060111202 A1 US 20060111202A1 US 28449205 A US28449205 A US 28449205A US 2006111202 A1 US2006111202 A1 US 2006111202A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
head
golf club
center
gravity
face surface
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
Application number
US11/284,492
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Kenji Kobayashi
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Endo Manufacturing Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Endo Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Endo Manufacturing Co Ltd filed Critical Endo Manufacturing Co Ltd
Assigned to K.K. ENDO SEISAKUSHO reassignment K.K. ENDO SEISAKUSHO ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: KOBAYASHI, KENJI
Publication of US20060111202A1 publication Critical patent/US20060111202A1/en
Priority to US12/396,851 priority Critical patent/US20090176596A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • 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
    • A63B53/00—Golf clubs
    • A63B53/04—Heads
    • A63B53/0466—Heads wood-type

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a golf club.
  • Golf clubs are classified roughly into a wood type, an iron type and a putter type.
  • the wood-type golf club is used to give an initially low shot and hit a long ball, while the iron-type golf club is used to give an initially high shot to hit the ball with a backspin, taking aim at a target position from above, and the putter is used on a green.
  • a pitching wedge type is used to hit a shot for giving a carry of up to about 110 yards (101 m)
  • a sand wedge type designed mainly for playing on a banker is used to hit a shot for giving a carry of up to nearly 80 yards (73 m).
  • a tilt angle of a face surface i.e., a loft angle is set at approximately 52 to 56 degrees and a tilt angle of a shaft, i.e., a lie angle is set at nearly 64 degrees.
  • each of these iron-type golf club heads there are provided a sole face acting as a ground contact surface in a lower portion thereof and a face surface acting as a golf ball hitting area in front thereof.
  • the face surface is formed with score lines and further the head is formed with a toe 9 , a heel and a hosel for fitting a shaft thereto, and a depressed portion at a rear, as disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 7-255879 along with its FIG. 1, FIG. 7.
  • a pitch-and-run shot and a pitch shot are used. These shots are golf ball hitting methods for hitting the golf ball with a larger magnitude of the backspin (a reverse spin) to give a comparatively high shot, thus stopping the golf ball on the green.
  • the pitch shot method aims at giving the golf ball a strong backspin, so that the golf ball is dropped short of a cup on the green and then immediately stopped.
  • the face surface is formed with multiple small grooves called score lines as a means for applying a backspin to a golf ball at the time of hitting it.
  • the assignee of the present application has ever filed applications (e.g., Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2003-199851) pertaining to a golf club head, in which the score lines capable of applying a strong backspin to a ball are provided on the face surface by forming score lines on the face surface by press working, and then flattening the face surface by machining or press working to thereby sharpen the edge angles of the score lines so as to make the golf ball easy to be caught in the score lines, so that an effective spin can be applied to the golf ball.
  • an object of the invention to provide a golf club having a head with a face surface formed with score lines and a shaft connected with the head, which enables a strong backspin to be applied without the aid of the face surface having the score lines.
  • a first aspect of the present invention is a golf club comprising: a head having a sole face provided in a lower portion that acts as a ground contact surface, a face surface acting as a ball striking surface, provided on a front of said head with a certain loft angle, a shaft connecting portion on one side thereof, score lines formed on the face surface of said head, and a shaft connected to said shaft connecting portion, wherein
  • a height of the center of gravity of said head is greater than a radius of a golf ball, the height of the center of gravity of said head being defined as a distance from a horizontal plane flush with the sole face of said head to the center of gravity of said head.
  • the center of gravity of the head is positioned in a higher position than the center of a golf ball at the time of hitting a shot, and thus the face surface is allow to rotate downward or clockwise due to the ball impact thus imparted, so that so-called gear effect is generated to thereby be able to accelerate the backspin of the ball.
  • a second aspect of the present invention is a golf club as set forth in the first aspect, wherein an upper protrusion and a lower protrusion are provided spacedly rearwardly of upper and lower positions of said head, respectively such that a distance between a rear end of said upper protrusion and said face surface is greater than a distance between a rear end of said lower protrusion and said face surface.
  • the height of the center of gravity of the head measured with reference to the horizontal plane flush with the sole surface of the head is arbitrarily adjustable due to the adjustment of the weight distribution between the upper and lower protrusions.
  • a third aspect of the present invention is a golf club set forth in the first aspect, wherein an upper protrusion and a lower protrusion are provided spacedly rearwardly of upper and lower positions of said head, respectively, and the lower protrusion includes a depressed portion formed on an upper surface thereof.
  • the lower protrusion decreases the weight corresponding to the depressed portion, thus enabling the position adjustment of the center of gravity of the head even more easily.
  • FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a side view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 to FIG. 6 show a first embodiment, which represents wedge types including a pitching wedge type, an approach wedge type, a sand wedge type or the like among iron-type golf clubs.
  • a shaft connecting portion 3 called a hosel is provided at one side of a head 2 having a face surface 1 provided on a front of the head, acting as a golf ball hitting surface and a proximal end of a shaft 4 is connected to the shaft connecting portion 3 .
  • a grip 5 is provided at a distal end of the shaft 4 .
  • the head 2 is formed from steel or a combination of steel and other materials. In the present embodiment, the head formed from steel is shown.
  • the head 2 is formed with a sole face 6 acting as a ground contact surface in a lower portion of the head, a heel 7 at one side of a lower portion of the head, a top 8 in an upper portion of the head and a toe 9 at the other side of the heel 7 .
  • score lines 10 formed by small grooves are arranged spacedly on the face surface 1 .
  • the face surface 1 has a loft angle ⁇ (delta) relative to a perpendicular line to a horizontal plane 6 A flush with the sole face 6 .
  • the head 2 is composed of four main weight components, i.e., a face surface portion 11 , a rear lower portion 12 , a rear upper portion 13 , and the shaft connecting portion 3 , which are integrated together to form the head 2 .
  • the face surface portion 11 essentially comprises the face surface 1 and has substantially a plate shape, including at least the face surface 1 , a forepart of the sole surface 6 , the top 8 , the toe 9 and the heel 7 .
  • the rear lower portion 12 is formed with a lower protrusion 15 that extends rearwardly of the face surface portion 11 so as to construct a rear portion of the sole face 6 .
  • An upper surface 16 of the lower protrusion 15 is arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal to the surface of the face surface 1 , at a lower position than nearly half a height A of the face surface 1 , said height A being measured with reference to the sole face 6 or a horizontal plane 6 A flush with the sole face 6 .
  • the inside of the upper surface 16 is formed with a depressed portion 17 that is formed in an undercut-shaped manner.
  • the horizontal plane 6 A of the sole face 6 is determined on the basis of a ground contact surface at the time of addressing a ball with the golf club.
  • the rear upper portion 13 is provided so as to extend from the top 8 and the toe 9 to thereby form an upper protrusion 18 rearwardly of the face surface portion 11 .
  • the upper protrusion 18 is solid and its lower surface 19 is arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal to the surface of the face surface 1 , at a higher position than nearly half the aforesaid height A of the face surface.
  • a cavity 20 is formed as a space sandwiched between the upper surface 16 and the lower surface 19 so as to extend rearwardly of the face surface portion 11 .
  • the face surface portion 11 , the rear lower portion 12 , the rear upper portion 13 and the shaft connecting portion 3 are not to be arranged with any specific or clear borderline and thus they are to be all arranged in a seamless manner.
  • a maximal backward protruding length of the upper protrusion 18 in the rear lower portion 13 i.e., a distance C between a rear end 18 A of the upper protrusion 18 and the surface of the face surface 1 is made larger than a maximal backward protruding length of the lower protrusion 15 in the rear upper portion 12 , i.e., a distance B between a rear end 15 A of the lower protrusion 15 and the surface of the face surface 1 (B ⁇ C).
  • the volume or eventually the weight of the rear lower portion 12 is made less than the volume or eventually the weight of the rear upper portion 13 .
  • a height D of the center of gravity 21 of the head 2 measured with reference to the sole face 6 or the horizontal plane 6 A of the sole face 6 is formed larger than that of the center 23 of a golf ball 22 to be hit by the face surface 1 .
  • the shortest length between the center of gravity 21 of the head 2 and the sole face 6 or the horizontal plane 6 A of the sole face 6 is greater than a radius E of the golf ball 22 . Since the golf ball 22 is required to have a diameter of 42.67 mm according to the current Golf Rules, the height (distance) D is set larger than the radius E of 21.335 mm. In the meantime, the height D does not exceed the height A of the face surface.
  • the height D may be set at 23 mm, for example. This means that the center of gravity 21 of the head 2 is raised by about 13 to 16% as compared with the conventional ones since they were in the order of 19.8 mm or 20.4 mm.
  • center of gravity 21 arranged in a nearly central portion of a width direction of the face surface 1 is arranged in a position anterior to the face surface 1 , but posterior to a distal end of the sole face 6 (i.e., a lower end of the face surface 1 ).
  • the downswing of the golf club is carried out so that the head 2 is moved in an arc orbit in a manner thrusting into the underneath of the golf ball 22 .
  • the face surface 1 contacts the golf ball 22 so as to get into the underneath thereof and then hits the golf ball 22 .
  • the golf ball 22 is caught in the edge portions 10 A of the score lines 10 to be rotated counterclockwise, so that the backspin is applied to the golf ball 22 .
  • the center of gravity 21 is allowed to be located higher than the center 23 of the golf ball 22 , and thus the face surface 1 instantaneously withdraws its sole face 6 side and raises its face surface 1 to thereby be rotated in the clockwise direction R.
  • the loft angle ⁇ (delta) is decreased and as a result, the golf ball rubbed against the face surface 1 by the rotating motion of the face surface 1 is spun up in a direction reverse to the rotation of the face surface 1 , so that the so-called gear effect is generated to accelerate the backspin.
  • the height D of the center of gravity 21 is larger than the radius E of the golf ball 22 and further the center of gravity 21 of the head 2 is provided in a position anterior to the face surface 1 .
  • the golf ball 22 is allowed to fly comparatively low at an initial stage. More specifically, an initial flying-out angle ⁇ (theta) of the golf ball 22 is diminished.
  • the golf ball 22 becomes easy to be caught in the edge portions of the score lines 10 to be able to effectively apply backspin to the same.
  • the center of gravity 21 would be located lower than the center 23 of the golf ball 22 .
  • the initial flying-out angle ⁇ would be increased so that the golf ball 22 become hard to be caught in the edge portions of the score lines 10 , thus making it difficult to apply the backspin thereto.
  • the golf ball 22 is allowed to fly initially low to fall on a green with a strong backspin being applied thereto, thereby permitting the golf ball 22 to stop at a desired fall point or in the vicinity of that point.
  • the golf club comprising: the head 2 having the score lines 10 formed on the face surface 1 and the shaft 4 connected therewith, wherein the height D from the sole face 6 of the head 2 or the horizontal plane 6 A of the sole face 6 to the center of gravity 21 of the head 2 is greater than the radius E of the golf ball 22 . Consequently, at the time of hitting the shot, when the golf ball 22 strikes the head 2 , then the face surface portion instantaneously withdraws in the sole face 6 side while it tends to erect the face and turns. Hence, the golf ball rubbed against the face surface 1 is spun up in a direction reverse to the rotation of the face surface 1 , so that the backspin can be accelerated by the so-called gear effect.
  • the upper protrusion 18 and the lower protrusion 15 are provided spacedly rearward of the upper and lower portions of the head 2 , respectively.
  • the distance C between the rear end 18 A of the upper protrusion 18 and the surface of the face surface 1 is formed greater than the distance B between the rear end 15 A of the lower protrusion 15 and the surface of the face surface 1 .
  • the center of gravity 21 in the head 2 is located on comparatively upper side, the height D from the sole face 6 of the head 2 or the horizontal plane 6 A of the sole face 6 to the center of gravity 21 of the head 2 can be arbitrarily adjusted by the adjustment of weight distribution between the upper protrusion 18 and the lower protrusion 15 .
  • the moment of inertia in a vertical direction can be increased, so that a vertical jiggling at the time of hitting the shot is reduced to be able to improve the stability of a golf ball flying direction.
  • the depressed portion 17 is formed on the upper surface 16 of the lower protrusion 15 .
  • the weight corresponding to the volume of a space inside the depressed portion 17 can be reduced in the lower protrusion 15 , so that position adjustment in the center of gravity 21 can be more easily carried out.
  • the height D is equal to or greater than 21.335 mm, and thus, the height D greater than the radius of the golf ball 22 prescribed under the current Golf Rules can be ensured.
  • the center of gravity 21 of the head 2 is provided in the position anterior to the face surface 1 .
  • an initial flying-out angle ⁇ (theta) of the golf ball 22 is decreased and thus the golf ball 22 becomes easy to be caught in the edge portions 10 A of the score lines 10 , so that even when a shot is hit at a bunker or the like with a likelihood that the score lines 10 are prone to be clogged with sands, the backspin can be applied effectively to the golf ball 22 .
  • FIG. 6 represents a second embodiment.
  • the specific gravity of a material that makes up an upper portion 2 A of the top 8 of the head 2 is selected so as to be larger than that of a material of a lower portion 2 B as the remaining portion, i.e., of the material for forming the sole face 6 and the like.
  • the height D of the center of the gravity 21 of the head 2 is greater than the radius E of the golf ball 22 .
  • materials of different specific gravities may be combined together to form the head 2 for adjusting the position of the center of gravity without contriving a form of the head.
  • the golf club according to the present invention is applicable to various golf clubs such as other iron-type or wood-type golf clubs.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
  • Golf Clubs (AREA)
US11/284,492 2004-11-25 2005-11-22 Golf club Abandoned US20060111202A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US12/396,851 US20090176596A1 (en) 2004-11-25 2009-03-03 Wedge type golf club including pitching wedge, approach wedge and sand wedge

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JPJP2004-341176 2004-11-25
JP2004341176A JP4352461B2 (ja) 2004-11-25 2004-11-25 ゴルフクラブ

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/396,851 Continuation-In-Part US20090176596A1 (en) 2004-11-25 2009-03-03 Wedge type golf club including pitching wedge, approach wedge and sand wedge

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20060111202A1 true US20060111202A1 (en) 2006-05-25

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US11/284,492 Abandoned US20060111202A1 (en) 2004-11-25 2005-11-22 Golf club

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US (1) US20060111202A1 (ja)
JP (1) JP4352461B2 (ja)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20170246517A1 (en) * 2016-02-29 2017-08-31 Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd. Iron type golf club head

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8187120B2 (en) * 2009-05-29 2012-05-29 Acushnet Company Wedge type golf club head
US9713751B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2017-07-25 Acushnet Company Wedge type golf club head
US8579729B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2013-11-12 Acushnet Company Wedge type golf club head
JP5660984B2 (ja) * 2011-07-07 2015-01-28 美津濃株式会社 アイアンゴルフクラブヘッドおよびアイアンゴルフクラブ
JP2014018211A (ja) * 2012-07-12 2014-02-03 Hitoshi Saito ゴルフクラブヘッド
USD773574S1 (en) 2015-02-12 2016-12-06 Acushnet Company Wedge golf club set
USD762792S1 (en) 2015-02-12 2016-08-02 Acushnet Company Wedge golf club head
JP6706970B2 (ja) * 2015-06-08 2020-06-10 美津濃株式会社 ゴルフクラブヘッドおよびゴルフクラブ
USD829837S1 (en) 2017-03-01 2018-10-02 Acushnet Company Wedge golf club
JP6653826B1 (ja) 2018-08-22 2020-02-26 株式会社エイエムジー フェイスマスク

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20050130766A1 (en) * 2003-10-03 2005-06-16 The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. Golf club head

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20050130766A1 (en) * 2003-10-03 2005-06-16 The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. Golf club head

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20170246517A1 (en) * 2016-02-29 2017-08-31 Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd. Iron type golf club head

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP4352461B2 (ja) 2009-10-28
JP2006149478A (ja) 2006-06-15

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: K.K. ENDO SEISAKUSHO, JAPAN

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:KOBAYASHI, KENJI;REEL/FRAME:017267/0153

Effective date: 20051111

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION