US2950919A

US2950919A - Attachment for golf clubs

Info

Publication number: US2950919A
Application number: US712158A
Authority: US
Inventors: Coin Q Cadman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-01-30
Filing date: 1958-01-30
Publication date: 1960-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 1977-08-30

Description

Aug 30, 1950 C. Q. CADMAN 2,950,919

ATTACHMENT FOR GOLF CLUBS Filed Jan. 30, 1958 ATTORNEYS ATTACHMENT FOR GOLF `CLUlBS Coin Q. Cadman, 418 W. 12th St., Silver City, N. Mex.

Filed Jan. 30, 1958, Ser. No. 712,158

7 Claims. (Cl. 273-171) This invention relates to improvements in attachments for golf clubs, and more particularly to attachments of the type designed to add weight to the head of golf clubs, commonly referred to as woods, to facilitate use of the same in the taking of practice strokes.

Proficiency in the game of golf is attained by constant practice. This is particularly true of the swing, which must be practiced to develop the proper follow-through and until the swing has become grooved. In practicing the swing, it has been found that proper follow-through may be more quickly and easily developed if the weight of the club head is increased beyond that normally used in playing the game. Various devices have been resorted to for accomplishing this purpose. Most frequently such devices have been incorporated as a part of the club head proper, thus restricting the use of the club entirely to practice swings and rendering it totally unsuitable for the ordinary playing of the game. In other cases, the devices have been designed to be removably attached to the usual playing club but have been subject to various disadvantages as a result of which they have not proven entirely satisfactory for this purpose.

In my prior Patent No. 2,715,026, issued August 9, 1955, i describe an attachment for adding weight to golf clubs, whi h has been found to be a significant advance over comparable devices of the prior art. The device of my aforesaid patent utilizes a body member which overlies and is shaped to lit the upper contours of a club 'i The body member has depending flanges at which are shaped to engage the toe surface of the club head and has an upstanding flange at the opposite extremity which receives the threaded end of a hook bolt arranged to embrace the shank of the club. By adjusting the position of a nut on the bolt the depending flanges and the hook may be drawn tightly against the opposing surfaces of the club head. The device is also provided with an upstanding threaded stud which receives and holds removable weights.

The device of the present invention represents an improvement upon the device of the aforesaid prior patent. While the latter device requires two threaded fastenings, the present invention utilizes but one, the same threaded stud being employed to tix the attachment firmly in place on the club head and to permit the changing of weights. The present device does not require a separate hook bolt but instead utilizes a plate member having an integral hooked portion. A concomitant advantage of the construction of the present invention is improved appearance and greater eye appeal.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved weighting attachment for golf clubs of the type commonly referred to as woods, whichV can be more easily and more quickly attached to or removed from the heads of such clubs and used without mutilating or otherwise marring the finish thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an attachment which is somewhat simpler in that it i11- 2,950,919 Patented Aug. so, 1960 cludes but a single fastening device and thus has fewer small and easily lost parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the aforesaid type which does not obstruct the-normal view of the club head and yet may be secured firmly to the club head even after long use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the aforesaid type which will readily accommodate a wide range of club shapes and sizes.

These and other objects of the invention and the exact manner in which such objects are accomplished will become more readily apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the invention shown attached to the head of a wood type club;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of a plate member which forms an important part of the attachment of the invention.

Briefly stated, the device of the invention comprises a first plate member that is shaped to overlie and conform to the upper curvature of a club head of the wood type and which has a rear portion twisted into a hooklike configuration which is adapted to embrace the shank of the club. A second plate member overlies the first and has at least one depending flange arranged to engage the toe surface of the club head. This plate member has a slot through which passes an upstanding stud attached to the first plate member. By this arrangement the members may be adjusted relatively along the toe-to-shank axis of the club head to permit installation of the attachment. For facilitating such movement, the upper plate member is provided with an upwardly extending ange which serves as a finger grip. Removable weights having holes therethrough may be placed on the stud, and the stud is threaded to receive a wing nut which clamps the plate members together and holds the weights in place.

Referring to the drawing, reference numeral 19 designates generally the attachment of the invention, which in Figures l through 3 is shown applied to the head of a conventional wood club l2. The upper surface 14 of the club head is convexly curved in the usual manner, and the lower surface of the club head is provided with a conventional partial sole plate 16 (Figure 3) which may be of metal. rlhe striking face of the club head may be provided with the usual insert 13 which is usually made of horn or a suitable plastic material. The convexly curved toe surface 2@ of the club merges into the similarly curved rear surface 22 which extends to the hosel or shank end 24. The club head proper may be formed of wood or equivalent material and is provided with a conventional shaft (not shown) of steel or wood which has a suitable hand grip portion at its upper end.

The attachment of the invention comprises a iirst plate member 26 formed of a relatively stiff sheet material, such as metal, and shaped to overlie and conform to the contours of the upper surface le of the club head. The plate member is substantially less in width than the ciub head so as not to obstruct or obscure the general contour of the head as viewed from above. One extremity of the plate member is twisted and curved to form a hook 23 which is adapted to embrace releasably the shank or hosel of the club as shown in Figures l and 2Q The under surface of the plate member including its hook-like portion is preferably provided with a liner (not shown) of suede, felt, rubber, plastic, or similar material to prevent marringof the club head surfaces. Extending from the upper surface of the plate member is a stud 30, which may be welded or otherwise attached to the plate member.

Overlyingfthe first plate member is a second plate member 32, which may have approximately thesame widthas the first plate member but which terminates before the hook 28, preferably in an upturned integral tinger grip 34. The opposite extremity of the second plate member is provided with a depending ilange or leg 36 which is curved (preferably both vertically and horizontally) to conform to the contours of the .toe surface of the club head. The second plate member preferably also has another depending leg or ilange 38 curved in the same manner to conform to the contours of that portion of the club head approximately at which the toe surface 20 and the rear surface 22 merge. Flanges 36 and 3S may also be` lined as described in connection with the first plate member.

Plate member 32 is provided with a slot 40 (see Figure`4) whichextends along the to-to-shank axis (that is, the axis along line 2 2 of Figure l). The stud 30 of;plate member 26 extends through the slot, and the two plate members `are thereby coupled for releative movement along the foregoing axis. In the -form shown, the secondplate member is bowed upwardly in the region around the stud 30 so that it is spaced away from the first plate member, and the material from which the second plate member is formed, for example a suitable sheet metal, is preferably resiliently compressible.

-A plurality of removable weights 42 having holes 44 therethrough are adapted to be placed over the second plate member with the stud 30 passing through the holes 44. These weights may be in the form of curved plates and in the form shown are of slightly smaller dimensions than the second plate member. If the Weights are formed with the same upwardly bowed curvature, as shown, they may be readily nested upon the second plate member.

The upper extremity of the stud 30 is threaded at 46 to receive thereon a wing nut 48. The wing nut and threadedstud serve to retain the weights on the plate members and atthe same time serve to tix the plate members together, as will be described, so as to retain the attachment as a'whole on the club.

To apply the attachment of the invention to a conventional wood club, it is simply -necessary to loosen the wing nut 4S so as to permit relative movement of thevplate.

members

26 and 32. The hooked portion 28 of plate member 26 is then placed around the shank of thezclub, and after extending the upper plate member 32 in the direction of the toe of the club (moving slot 40 on stud 30) the depending legs or

flanges

36 and 38 may be moved downwardly beside their opposing club head surfaces. The attachment is then gripped by placing a forenger on the toe side of finger grip 34 and the thumb of the same hand on the hooked portion 28, and the'ztinger grip 34 is drawn toward the hooked portion until the

flanges

36 and 38 are drawn up snugly against their opposing club head surfaces. With the desired number of weights 42 on the stud 30, the nut`48 is then .tightened -to iix the plate members rmly together and to secure the weights rmly in place. In this tightening process, the bowed portion of the upper plate member is compressed resiliently to ensure that the parts will remain rmly secured despite the stresses exerted during the swinging of the club and even yafterlong use.

With the device thus in place, the club may be utilized for practice shots without fear that the attachment of the invention will become loosened. The

anges

36 and 38 and the hooked portion 28 secure the attachment against both horizontal and vertical movement. In use, the attachment of the invention does not interfere with the normal view of the club head, and particularly 'the Striking face 18. Weights are added, removed, or interchanged by detaching the wing nut 48 from the stud 30 so that .the weights may be simply slipped on proff of the stud. Of course, when the wing nut is loosened and then tightened, -the plate members must be placed or maintained in their proper positions to ensure a snug tit of the attachment with the club head as before.

To remove the attachment, it is simply necessary t0 loosen the wing nut 4S, thereby releasing the upper plate 32 for movement, so that the .plate member may be moved toewardly a sufficient amount to release the

flanges

36 and 38. The hooked portion 28 may then be readily released from the shank 24.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that the device of the present invention operates more simply than j the device of the aforesaid prior patent, while retaining the desirable features of the latter, since only a single fastening means is employed. Moreover, by virtue of the integral construction of the hook 28 and the lower plate member 26, the eye appeal of the device is substantially improved. Further enhancement may be obtained by chrome plating the metal parts.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the `art that changes can be made in this embodiment withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is deiined in the appended claims. For example, wit-hin the broader aspects of the invention an attachment might be constructed with the depending flanges on the lower plate L member and the shank hook on the upper. Accordingly,

the foregoing embodiment is to be considered illustrative, rather than restrictive of the invention, and those moditlcations which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are included therein.

I claim:

l. An attachment for adding weight to golf cl-ubs, such as driving woods :and the like, comprising a iirst, relatively Ichin plate-like member conforming generally to l the shape of the top of a golf club, formed to extend over a major portion but less than all of said golf club top and having an extending portion shaped to releasably engage the shank portion of a club head, `a second relatively thin plate-like lmember formed to extend over :a major part but less than all of said golf club top and in planes generally parallel to said `first member and having an extremity-shaped to engage releasably the toe portioniof a club head, means coupling said plate members for relative movement I'along the toe-to-shank axis of a club head, and releasable means for ixing said plate members together to prevent s-uch movement.

2. The attachment of claim 1, said extremity of said first'plate member being twisted into a club shank embracing hook, land said extremity of said second plate member having a depending club toe engaging flange.

Y. 3. The attachment of claim 1, said second plate member having an upstanding nger grip.

4. The attachment of claim l, said coupling means comprising a stud extending upwardly from said first plate vmember and passing through a slot in said second plate'member which extends along said axis.

5. The attachment of claim 4, said fixing means comprising threads on said stud and a nut thereon over said second plate member.

6. The attachmentA of claim 5, further comprising at least'one removable weight having a hole therethrough and adapted to` liebetween said second plate member and` said nut lwith said stud passing through said hole.

7. The attachment of claim 5, said second plate member-being bowed away from the rst around said stud and being 4resiliently compressible by said nut toward the rst.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITnDsrATEs PATENTS