WO2016138596A1

WO2016138596A1 - Golf club with adjustable face angle

Info

Publication number: WO2016138596A1
Application number: PCT/CH2015/000034
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel F. àWengen
Original assignee: Àwengen Daniel F
Priority date: 2015-03-03
Filing date: 2015-03-03
Publication date: 2016-09-09

Abstract

A golf club, in particular a driver, comprises a pivotal coupling (4, 5), by means of which the club head (2) can be rotated about a vertical rotation axis (7) in respect to the shaft axis (3) and be held in a plurality of finely grained angular positions. The angle (β) between the rotation axis (7) and the shaft axis (3) corresponds approximately to 90° minus the lie angle of the golf club, while the angle (γ) between the rotation axis (7) and a tangential surface of the club face (22) corresponds approximately to the loft angle of the golf club. This ensures that rotation axis (7) is substantially vertical to the ground for the correctly held club. Therefore, the pivotal coupling (5, 6) can be used to correct the face angle and therefore to easily correct for a player' s tendency to use the club with its club surface in closed or open position. Thus, a player can easily correct his mishits of slices or hooks without changing the loft angle or lie angle.

Description

Golf club wi h adjustable face angle

Technical Field

The invention relates to an adjustable golf club, in particular a wood. In an advantageous embodiment, the invention relates to a driver.

Background Art

Golf clubs come in a variety of different types, depending on their field of application. The most important ones are:

- "Woods" are mainly used for long-distance shots. The longest wood is typically called a "driver", which is used to launch the ball for the longest distance of the tee.

- "Irons" are more versatile and used for a variety off applications.

- "Hybrids" are a cross between a wood and an iron having the wood's long distance and higher launch, with an iron's more familiar swing.

- "Putters" are mainly used on the green to roll the ball into the cup. Each golf club has a shaft and a head. The head has a "face", which is the designated part to strike the ball. Typically, the face is substantially flat, albeit it may be slightly convex.

Important parameters of golf clubs are:

- The "loft angle", which is the angle between a tangential plate at the center of the club face of a correctly held club and the vertical direction.

- The "lie angle", which is the angle between longitudinal axis of the shaft of a correctly held club and the horizontal direction.

A non-correct loft angle leads to a shot that is too high or too low. A non-correct lie angle tends to send the ball too far to the right or to the left. However, even if both angles are correct, the player may still have a tendency to either strike the ball with a closed or with an open club face, which will cause the ball to curve to the left or right, respectively (for the right-handed golfer) , thereby producing a hook (or draw) shot or a slice (or fade) shot.

A variety of adjustable golf clubs has been proposed, where the mutual position between shaft and head can be changed according to a player's needs and individual parameters.

Typically, e.g. described in US 2013/0244805, such adjustable golf clubs comprise a coupling member between shaft and head, which allows to fasten the shaft to the head under several different rotational positions. The positions differ not only in the rotational position between head and shaft, but also lead to slightly differ^¬ ent loft and lie angles.

Even though such adjustable clubs allow to correct for various problems, a finding the correct adjustment requires great skill. Disclosure of the Invention

Hence, it is a general object of the invention to provide an adjustable golf club, in particular a wood, and even more particularly a driver, that is easier to use.

This object is achieved by the golf club of claim 1.

Accordingly, the golf club comprises a shaft defining a shaft axis as well as a head attached to the shaft. The head has a club face to strike the ball. A pivotal coupling is provided that is structured and adapted to hold the head locked in a plurality of different positions in respect to the shaft.

The coupling has a rotation axis that is arranged under a "first angle" of 26° - 40° in respect to the shaft axis. The different positions in which the head can be held in locked manner in respect to the shaft include a plurality of positions within an angular range of +/- 10°, in particular within +/- 1°. In other words, the various positions are mutually rotated about the rotation axis, and there are, within the range of +/- 10°, in particular +/- 1°, several such positions. However, this does not imply that there are necessarily positions at the limits of these ranges, i.e. at +10° and -10° for the range of +/- 10°.

This design is based on the understanding that the lie angle of a correctly held club is normally between 50° and 60° for woods, in particular between 50 - 55° for drivers, while it between 58° and 62° for hybrids and between 56° and 64° for irons.

In other words, typical lie angles are in a range of 50° - 64°. Hence, by setting the rotation axis under a first angle of 26° - 40° in respect to the shaft axis, the rotation axis can be adjusted to be basically vertical in the correctly held golf club . In this case, an adjustment of the coupling allows to selectively and easily correct a player's tendency to hold the club face in a too closed or too open position. On the other hand, adjusting the angle of the coupling will basically not affect the loft angle nor the lie angle, but only the face angle.

In particular, the first angle (i.e. the angle between the rotation axis of the pivotal coupling and the shaft axis of the shaft) should be, within an accu^¬ racy of +/- 5°, in particular +/- 2.5°, equal to 90° minus the lie angle of the golf club.

For drivers (wood 1 clubs), the lie angle is between 50 and 55°, i.e. the angle between the rotation axis of the pivotal coupling and the shaft axis of the shaft (i.e. the "first angle") should e.g. be between 33° and 42°, allowing for slight deviations from the above rule. In particular, the first angle should be between 35° and 40° .

In another advantageous embodiment, a "second angle", namely the angle between said rotational axis and a tangential plane at a center of said club face, is be^¬ tween 7 ° and 66° .

This design is based on the understanding that the loft angle of a correctly held club is normally between 7 and 34° for woods, in particular between 7 - 13° for drivers, while it between 15° and 36° for hybrids and between 15° and 66° for irons.

In particular, the second angle (i.e. the angle between said rotational axis and a tangential plane at a center of the club face) should be, within an accu^¬ racy of +/- 3°, in particular +/- 1°, equal to the loft angle of the golf club, with the loft angle being the standard loft angle of the given club.

For drivers (wood 1 clubs), the loft angle is between 7° and 14°, i.e. the second angle should e.g. be between 5° and 16°, allowing for slight deviations from the above rule. In particular, the second angle should be between 7° and 14°. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. This description makes reference to the annexed drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a top view of a golf club,

Fig. 2 shows a front view of the golf club onto the club face,

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the golf club along the club face, and

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view of a pivotal coupling .

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

Fig. 1 and 2 show a driver (wood 1) golf club having a shaft 1 and a head 2. Shaft 1 extends along an shaft axis 3 and has a handle at its upper end (not shown) , while it is connected to a first coupling member 4 at its bottom end.

First coupling member 4 is engaged by a second coupling member 5, which, in the present embodiment, is an integral part of head 2.

First coupling member 4 and second coupling member 5 together form a pivotal coupling that allows to rotate head 2 in respect to shaft 1 about a rotation axis 7 and to hold head 2 in different locked angular positions .

A possible design of pivotal coupling 4, 5 can best be explained with reference to Figs. 2 and 4.

First coupling member 4 comprises a neck 10 having an elongate opening 11 receiving the bottom end of shaft 1. A screw 12 extends into the bottom end of shaft 1 and holds it in position. Locking profiles may be provided at the end of shaft 1 and in opening 11 for securely maintaining the rotational position of shaft 1.

First coupling member 4 further comprises a body 14 having a substantially cylindrical or conical outer surface section 15 and being integrally connected to neck 10. Body 14 is rigidly connected to shaft 1 via neck 10. It is rotatably held in a sleeve 16 formed by second coupling member 5. Sleeve 16 has a substantially cylindrical or conical inner surface section 17. Outer surface section 15 of body 14 and inner surface section

17 of sleeve 16 are matched to provide a tight fit and are coaxial to rotation axis 7.

A screw 18 extends from below through a bottom section 19 of sleeve 16 and through body 14 and is anchored in a cap 21. Cap 21 is provided with an interior threading for engaging screw 18. Screw 18 forms a tightener for tightening body 14 in sleeve 16.

Instead of providing a separate cap 21 for engaging screw 18, an interior threading can be formed on the bore that receives screw 18 in body 14. In this case, the bore does not have to extend all the way through body 14, but it may be closed at its top end.

When screw 18 is released, first coupling member 4 and second coupling member 5 can be rotated in respect to each other about rotation axis 7. When screw

18 is tightened, such a rotation becomes impossible and head 2 is locked in respect to shaft 1.

Scale marks (e.g. fine lines) can be provided on the coupling members 4, 5 in order to give feedback regarding the mutual position between the two members, e.g. at the location 24 shown in Fig. 4.

In order to improve the locking behavior of the rotational coupling, body 14 and sleeve 16 may comprise contoured surfaces 20 (i.e. surfaces with surface structures, typically of a height of at least 50 μπι) that mesh with each other when screw 18 is tightened. In the embodiment of Fig. 4, these structured surfaces 20 extend perpendicularly to rotation axis 7. They are formed at the upper side of bottom section 19 and at the bottom side of body 14. The structured surfaces may e.g. contain grooves 22 extending radially in respect to rotation axis 7. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the cylindrical or conical outer surface sections 15 and 17 can be contoured as well, in particular if they are conical.

To gain full access to screw 12, screw 18 is removed, and coupling member 5 is disengaged from coupling member 4. Now, screw 12 can be inserted or removed.

As mentioned, coupling 4, 5 should be such that the different positions where head 2 can be held in locked manner in respect to shaft 1 include a plurality of, in particular at least 10, positions within an angular range of +/- 10°, in particular within +/- 1°. In other words, the coupling must provide a number of locked positions that differ by small angles only in order to finely compensate a player's habits. For example, there may be at least 21 locked positions distributed over a range of -2° to 2°, i.e. the angular difference between two closest positions is 0.2°. Ideally, there is a continuous range of locked positions. However, when contoured surfaces are used as described above, there may be a discrete set of locked positions only.

Fig. 1 shows the lie angle a of the golf club. As mentioned above, the angle β between shaft axis 3 of shaft 1 and rotation axis 7 (in the following called the "first angle") should be approximately 90° - a in order to align rotation axis 7 vertically to the ground when the golf club is held in its correct position.

The following table shows a list of club types together with a typical lie angle and the corresponding value of the first angle : club type lie angle first angle

Wood 1 (driver) 50.0° - 55.0° 35.0° - 40.0'

Wood 2 55.5° 34.5°

Wood 9 59.0° 31.0°

Hybrid 1H 58.5° 31.5°

Hybrid 7H 62.0° 28.0°

Iron 1 56.0° 34.0°

Iron 9 64.0° 26.0°

Putter 65.0° - 75.0° 15.0° - 25.0'

Fig. 3 shows the loft angle γ of the correctly held club. The loft angle is the angle between a plane 23 that tangentially touches club head 2 at the center of its club face 22 and the vertical direction.

Since rotational axis 7 should advantageously be vertical for the correctly held golf club, the angle between rotational axis 7 and tangential plane 23 should be equal to the designated loft angle γ of the club.

The following table shows a list of club types together with a typical loft angle γ and the corresponding value of the second angle:

club type loft angle second angle Wood 1 (driver) 7° - 14° 7° - 14°

Wood 2 12° - 15° 12° - 15

Wood 9 32° - 34° 32° - 34°

Hybrid 1H 15° - 17° 15° - 17°

. . .

Hybrid 7H 31° - 36° 31° - 36°

Iron 1 15° - 18° 15° - 18° Iron 9 45° - 48° 45° - 48°

Putter -1° - +6° -1° - +6°

The present invention is particularly advantageous for being used with woods, in particular with drivers, where a slightly closed or open club face may lead to substantial misses due to hook and slice shots.

However, it may also be used with other golf club types as illustrated above.

Hence, the described embodiment of a golf club, in particular of a driver, comprises a pivotal coupling 5, 6, by means of which club head 2 can be rotated about rotation axis 7 in respect to shaft axis 3 of the shaft 1 and be held in a plurality of finely grained angular positions. The first angle β between rotation axis 7 and shaft axis 3 corresponds approximately to 90° minus the lie angle of the golf club, while the angle γ between the rotation axis 7 and tangential surface 23 of the club face 22 corresponds approximately to the loft angle of the golf club. This ensures that rotation axis 7 is substantially vertical for the correctly held club. Therefore, the pivotal coupling 5, 6 can be used to easily correct for a player's tendency to use the club with its club surface in closed or open position, while the club's loft angle remains substantially unchanged.

Typically, club head 2 comprises only a single club face 22.

It must be noted that the design of pivotal coupling 5, 6 can be varied in various ways. For example, a bottom end section of shaft 1 can be bent to extend parallel to rotation axis 7, in which case this end section may directly form body 14 of the coupling. This requires, however, the use of s non-standard shaft.

The surface cover of the driver head 2 may also extend over the cap 21 to keep the vision of the golfer undisturbed. While there are shown and described presently preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and prac- ticed within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A golf club, in particular a wood, in particular a driver, comprising

a shaft (1) having a shaft axis (3),

a head (2) attached to the shaft (1) and having a club face (22) to strike a ball,

a pivotal coupling (4, 5) structured and adapted to hold said head (2) locked in a plurality of different locked positions in respect to said shaft,

characterized in that

said coupling has a rotation axis (7) that is arranged under an first angle (β) of 26° - 40° in respect to said shaft axis (3) and

said different positions comprise a plurality of positions within an angular range of +/- 10°.

2. The golf club of claim 1 wherein said first angle (β) is, within an accuracy +/- 5°, in particular +/- 2.5°, equal to 90° minus a lie angle of the golf club .

3. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein said golf club is a driver and wherein said first angle (β) is between 33° and 42°, in particular between 35° and 40°.

4. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein a second angle (γ) between said rotation axis (7) and a tangential plane in a center of said club face (22) is between 7° and 66°.

5. The golf club of claim 4 wherein said second angle (γ) is, within an accuracy of +/- 3°, in particular +/- 1°, equal to a loft angle of the golf club.

6. The golf club of any of the claims 4 or 5 wherein said golf club is a driver and wherein said second angle (γ) is between 5° and 16°, in particular between 7 and 14⁰.

7. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein said coupling (4, 5) comprises a body (14) rotatably held in a sleeve (16) and a tightener (18) for tightening said body (14) in said sleeve (16).

8. The golf club of claim 7 wherein said body (14) and said sleeve (16) comprise contoured, meshing surfaces (20) engaging each other when tightening said tightener (18), and in particular wherein said surfaces (20) extend perpendicularly to said rotation axis (7).

9. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein said tightener (18) comprises a screw (18) extending along said rotation axis (7) at least partially through a base section (19) of said sleeve (16) and said body (14) .

10. The golf club of any of the claims 7 to 9 wherein said shaft (1) is rigidly connected to said body (14) .

11. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein said different positions comprise a plurality of, in particular at least 9, locked positions within an angular range of +/- 1°.

12. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein said head (2) comprises only a single club face (22 ) .

13. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein said golf club is a wood.

14. The golf club of any of the preceding claims wherein said golf club is a driver.