WO2004009187A1

WO2004009187A1 - Golf putter

Info

Publication number: WO2004009187A1
Application number: PCT/SE2003/001220
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leif Sundberg
Original assignee: Leif Sundberg Golf Aktiebolag
Priority date: 2002-07-23
Filing date: 2003-07-17
Publication date: 2004-01-29
Also published as: SE0202313L; AU2003246233A1; SE0202313D0

Abstract

This invention relates to a putter, comprising a club shaft (2) and a putter head (1) which comprises a first portion (3) with a hitting face (7) and a rod formed portion (4) which extends rearwardly essentially perpendicularly in relation to the hitting surface (7), wherein the shaft (2) is attached at a distance from a rearward end (20) of said rod formed portion (4).

Description

GOLF POTTER

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a putter, comprising a club shaft and a putter head which comprises a first portion with a hitting face and a rod formed portion which extends rearwardly essentially perpendicularly in relation to the hitting surface, wherein the shaft is attached at a distance from a rearward end of said rod formed portion.

PRIOR ART A putter of the above mentioned kind is known from WO 00/18476. A putter of this kind provides certain advantages compared to more conventional putters. Accordingly, it provides for prolonged and distinguish sightline to facilitate the movement along a line of the putter head, which provides for improved accuracy when putting. When putting with said putter there is produced a torque in the shaft if the putter is moved out of the sightline, which creates a momentum, i.e. torque that effects the shaft during the stroke if the putter is not correctly addressed, which the golfer can feel and thereby adjust addressing before next hit. In other words, a golfer will receive good feedback independent if the ball is hit perfectly or less good. The rod formed portion of the putter head also provides for an extended sightline, since the rod formed portion is arranged essentially perpendicularly in relation to the hitting face of the putter head. This can give the golfer a feeling of a accuracy, similar to that of a pool player since the putter is provide with a possibility to see the rod formed portion move along the sightline.

Summarizing, the known putter provides for at least some of the following advantages:

• improved and extended sightline,

• good feedback independent if the ball is hit perfectly or less good,

• an attachment that can eliminate rotation of the shaft and the putter head during the stroke.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to maintain essential advantages of the putter known from WO 00/18476 and to provide for a furthermore improved putter, facilitating improved balance, which further can increase the accuracy in relation to both length and direction during putting. The invention is characterized by what is defined in the following claims. Further advantages, as features and aspect of the invention, will become apparent by the following detailed description of one embodiment according to the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed description of an embodiment according to the invention it will be referred to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows the putter head and a portion of the shaft from above, Fig. 2 shows section II-LT of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment according to the invention,

Fig. 4 shows a second alternative embodiment according to the invention,

Fig. 5 shows a further alternative according to the invention, and

Fig. 6 shows a view seen from the front of the putter head and its attachment portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the drawings a putter head is generally referred to with reference number 1 and a club shaft with reference number 2. The putter head 1 comprises, according to this embodiment, of a first portion 3 and a rod formed portion 4. The first portion 3 is principally designed as the putter head according to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 in said WO

00/18476, which herewith is incorporated to this description by way of reference. The invention, however does not exclude others designs of said first portion 3, comprising more conventional forms.

According to the preferred embodiment showing in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 the first portion 3 comprises a front portion 5, which has a thickness of about 10 - 20 mm, preferably 12 - 16 mm, and a rearward portion 6, which extends about 20 - 30 mm at the rear of the rearward edge 5A of the front portion. This rearward portion 6, which is relatively thin (normally about 2 - 6 mm), forms an extension of the sole of the club head. A hitting face 7 is formed by the outer side of an insertion 8 (made of suitably material depending on the desired properties, e.g. plastic or metal), which is attached by means of screws 9 on the front side of said front portion 5. The rod formed portion 4 is preferably made of metal and is attached to the rearward side 5 A of the front portion 5, preferably by means of arranging the front end portion of the rod formed portion 4 having a stub formed portion 10 which is threaded in, such that the rod easily can be attached/detached to/from the first portion 3. The rod formed portion 4 preferably has a circular cylindrical form, but also other forms are possible, for example the formed that is shown in Fig. 4 in WO 00/18746. Hence, the rod formed portion 4 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention is threaded into a threaded hole 11, in the rearward side of the front portion 5 of the first portion 3. According to the embodiment in Fig. 1 the stub end 10 has such a length that its front end 19 rests against the rearward side of the insertions 8. The rod 4 (and the stub end 10) are centred in relation to a marking 8 A within this, which marking according to preferred embodiment is intended to serve as a hitting face (see Fig. 6). Furthermore it is shown that the rod 4 preferably is arranged with a sightline 27, preferably on its upper side. The rod formed portion 4 is fixed within the hole 11 by means of an attachment screw 12 which extends from the lowermost side of the putter head, through the sole to the stub end 10. Alternatively the screw 12 can extend from another direction.

The rod formed portion 4 is relatively long in a hitting direction of the putter 1 and extends according to preferred embodiment rearwardly, passed the rearward edge of the first portion, such that its rearward edge 20 is positioned rearwardly in relation to the rearward edge of the first portion. Centrally there is positioned a bore 21, arranged with threads 22 and that extends a certain distance into the rod formed portion 4. According to this embodiment the bore 21 is concentric with the stub end 10. According to the shown example the outer diameter of the rod 4 is 15 mm, and the outer diameter of the sub end is 10 mm and the inside bore 21 10 mm. It is evident however, that these measures do not in any manner delimit the invention. From an aspect of balancing however, it is an advantage that the rod 4 has a diameter exceeding 10 mm and out of a handling aspect the diameter of the rod should be less than 30 mm. According to the shown embodiment the bore 21 is formed to extend along an essentially portion of the rod 4. As a consequence a major portion of the material within the rod thereby has been removed, such that its weight will be essentially reduced in relation to its original weight, without the bore 21. According to a preferred use of the putter according to the invention the user may have access to a number of different rods 4, preferably with the same outer measurements, but with different extensions of the bore 21, such that different weights of the rod easily may be achieved.

The shaft 2 is attached in a hole 14 (preferably by means of fitting/gluing) to the front portion 5 of the club head 1, at a distance in front of the mass centre P of the integrated club head 1. The main portion 25 of the club shaft 2 has a central line 26, which is parallel with the hitting surface 7 and extends somewhat realwardly in relation to this plane. This means that the main portion of the shaft 2 and thereby its central line 26 and a sightline 27 which extends on the symmetry plane of the rod formed portion 4 are perpendicular in relation to each other. The positioning of the rod 4 and the sightline 27 substantially facilitate accurate addressing of the putter with its putter head 1. The lower portion of the club shaft 2 has a lower most end portion 30 providing an intermediate portion between the shaft 2 and the head 1. This end portion 30 preferably facilitates a certain adjustment of the angle α (see Fig. 6) between a vertical plane 29 in relation to the putter head 1 and the central line 26 of the shaft. Preferably the angle α is between 9 - 25°.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a modified embodiment according to the invention, in which many principle aspects are similar in relation to what has been described in relation to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Here the shown embodiment is such that the shaft 2 is joined with the rod formed portion 4 by means of welding. The welding is referred to by 17. Also other kind of attachments are possible, e.g. gluing in a hole in the rod 4, whereby however the hole of the bore 21 will be delimited of the shaft end 30. In more detail, the shaft 2 is attached with the rod formed portion 4 in a position above the mass centre P of the integrated club head 1. It is also shown that the bore 21 is arranged with threads 22 which extend a distance into the rod formed portion 4. Within the bore 21 there is a balancing weight 23 which is formed as a screw (having a recess 24 for a tool) with threads matching the threads 22 in the bore 21 such that the screw/balancing weight 23 can be threaded into the bore to desired position to provide desired balancing. The mass of the balancing weight 23 need not be included in the mass of the club head 1 that decides the mass centre P. The mass and the position of the balancing weight 23 within the bore can accordingly affect the resulting mass centre of the putter head which has been adjusted by means of the balancing weights 23. The main portion 25 of the club shaft 2 has a centreline 26 that is parallel with the hitting surface 7 and that is essentially in the same plane as this. This means that the main portion of the shaft 2 and thereby also its centreline 26 and a sightline 27 which extends on the upper side of the symmetry plane of the rod formed portion 4 are perpendicularly arranged in relation to each other. The direction of the extension of the main portion 25 of the shaft 2 and the sightline 27 can thereby facilitate an accurate addressing of the putter with its putter head 1. The lower most portion of the club shaft 2 has a lower most end portion 30, which is angled downwardly and rearwardly to the rod formed portion 4. Furthermore it is shown in Fig. 3 that the upper portion 25 on the shaft is attached to the lower portion 30 by means of arranging the lower portion 30 at its upper end with a stub formed device 16, which preferably is fixed within the upper portion of the shaft 25. In Fig. 4 there is shown a further modification according to the invention. Basically the same kind of embodiment is shown as in Fig. 3, with the difference that the rod formed portion 4 does not present any bore 21. Accordingly, this embodiment shows that a bore 21 is not absolutely necessary for the invention, but that it is possible to achieve the advantages according to the invention by the use of a plurality of solid, rod formed elements 4, preferably of different length and/or different material and/or diameter, in order to obtain desired balance.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a further modified embodiment which mainly is based on the same principle as the embodiment shown in Fig. 3. Consequently merely some differences according to this modified embodiment will be described. Firstly it is shown that the rod formed portion 4, according to this embodiment is arranged totally in contact with the upper surface of the rearward portion 6 of the first portion of the putter head 3. Accordingly the rod formed portion 4 according to this embodiment is supported from this rearward portion 6, which in some applications provides for a desired increased stabilization. Moreover it is shown that the stub end 10 according to this embodiment does not extend all the way to the insert 8 but is terminated at a distance from the rearward side thereof Finally it is shown in Fig. 5 that according to the invention it is possible to use a number of balancing weights 23 A, 23B. In such an embodiment, like also in others, it is possible that balancing weights of different materials can be used, such as lead, aluminium etc, in order to achieve different kind of balancing affects in a large variety to be able to adopt in a large number of different directions of desires.

In Fig. 6 there is presented an embodiment according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 seen from the front. Merely the lower most part of the club is shown, i.e. not having mounted the upper portion 25 of the shaft. It is evident from this Fig. that the lower most part of the shaft 30 at its upper end is arranged with a stub formed device 16 which is fixed within the lower most part of the shaft 25. By means of forming the lower most part 30 in for example aluminium the angle α can easily be adjusted by means of bending. Furthermore it is shown in Fig. 6 that insert 8 provides a delimiting portion of the front surface 7 of the putter head. It is also clearly presented that the marking 8 A (which preferably is coaxially positioned on the rod 4) is formed as a ring, in order to assist in addressing of the golf ball. The invention is not delimited by what has been shown above but may be varied within the scope of the following claims. For instance it is evident that different modifications that are described above can be combined in an unrestrictive manner according to the invention, e.g. that to one and the same club head there are a number of different rods where some of them present bores and others do not and that some of the rods with bores are arranged with threads and others are not. Briefly it could be said that the invention facilitates a large variety in order to fulfil considerable differences in desires which do exist among different individuals who play golf.

Claims

1. Putter, comprising a shaft (2) and a putter head (1), comprising a first portion (3) with a hitting surface (7) and a rod formed portion (4) which rod extends rearwardly, essentially perpendicularly in relation to the hitting surface (7), characterised in that the shaft (2) is attached to said first portion (3 ) at a distance from a rear end (20) of said rod formed portion (4).

2. Putter according to claim 1 , characterised in that said shaft (2) and said rod formed portion (4) are attached to said first portion (3) independently of each other.

3. Putter according to claim 2, characterised in that said rod formed portion (4) is attached to a rearward side (5 A) of said first portion (3).

4. Putter according to claim 3, characterised in that said rod formed portion

(4) is attached to said first portion (3) by means of easily detachable means (12), such that the rod formed portion (4) easily can be attached/detached, without having to attach/detach the shaft (2), wherein preferably the shaft (2) is attached onto the upper side of said first portion (3),

5. Putter according to any of claims 2-4, characterised in that the rearward edge (20) of the rod formed portion extends rearwardly, passed a rearward edge (15) of said first portion (3) of the putter head (1).

6. Putter according to any of claims 2-5, characterised in that at least one hole (21) within the rod formed portion (4) extends forwardly from the rearward edge (20) of the rod formed portion.

7. Putter according to any of claims 2-6, characterised in that said hole (21) is arranged to house at least one balancing weight (23), wherein preferably said hole (21) is arranged with threads (22) and said at least one balancing weight (23) is formed as a screw which can be threaded into desired position within the hole (21).

8. Putter according to any of the above claims, characterised in that a plurality of different rod formed parts (4) are prefabricated for easy modification of the properties of the putter head (1), by means of exchanging said rod formed portion (4) attached to the putter head (1).

9. Putter according to claim 1, characterised in that the shaft is attached to the rod formed portion between the front and the rearward end (19, 20) of the rod formed portion.

10. Putter according to claim ^characterised in that the shaft is attached to the rod formed portion in a position which is closer to, preferably substantially closer to, the front than the rearward end.

11. Putter according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that the rearward end (20) of the rod formed portion extends rearwardly, fast rearward edge (15) of the said first portion (3) of the putter head (1).

12. Putter according to claim 11, characterised in that the shaft is joined with said rearward parti portion by means of the rod formed portion.

13. Putter according to any of claims 9-12, characterised in that said rod formed portion extends into the first portion of the putter head to position away from said hitting surface.

14. Putter according to any of the claims 9 - 13, characterised in that said hitting surface (3) is formed of a front side of an insert (8), in the area of the front side of the first portion (3) of the putter head.

15. Putter according to any of the claims 9-14, characterised in that the front end (19) of the rod formed portion is arranged at a distance rearwardly in relation to the hitting surface (7).

16. Putter according to claim 15, characterised in that the front end (19) of the rod formed portion is arranged at a distance behind said insert (8).

17. Putter according to any of claims 9-16, characterised in that the shaft is joined with the rod formed portion in a position which is close to the mass centre of the putter head (1).

18. Putter according to any of the claims 9 - 17, char acteri s e d in that the rod formed portion has larger mass, preferably substantially larger mass, than the first portion (3) of the putter head.

19. Putter according to any of the claims 9 - 18, characteri s ed in that at least one hole (21) is extending forwardly in the rod formed portion from the rearward end (20) of the rod formed portion, wherein preferably said hole is arranged to house at least one balancing weight (23).

20. Putter according to claim 19, chara cteri s ed in that said at least one hole

(21) is arranged with threads (22) and that said at least one balancing weight is formed as a screw, which may be threaded into the side position in the hole.