Golf club, shaft, and head

United States Patent ^¹¹] 3,614,101

<td> [72]</td><td> Inventor</td><td> Charles G. Hunter S7835 Yucca Trail, Yucca Valley, Calif. 92284</td>

<td> [21]</td><td> Appl. No.</td><td> 790,602</td>

<td> [22]</td><td> Filed</td><td> Jan. 13,1969</td>

<td> [45]</td><td> Patented</td><td> Oct. 19,1971</td>

<td> [54] GOLF CLUB, SHAFT, AND HEAD 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.</td>

<td></td>

<td>_re„ , 273/80 B, 273/80 C</td>

<td> 151] Int. Cl........................................................A63b 53/02,</td>

<td> ,,_Λ A63b 53/12</td>

<td> [jUj rield of Search................... twtj on</td>

<td> 80.2-80.9,81,81.5</td>

<td> [56] References Cited</td>

<td> UNITED STATES PATENTS</td>

<td> 1,515,390 11/1924 Hubbard...................... 273/80 7</td>

<td> z,uia,/2J 10/1935 Hutchison.................... 273/80 7</td>

<td> 1,543,636 6/1925 Williamson............5...,. 273/80 7</td>

<td> i,o/J,/U8 2/1926 Hoerle.......................... 273/80 8 X</td>

<td> 1,0/0,3 JU 5/1928 Cowdery...................... 273/80 3</td>

<td> 1,6/0,531 5/1928 Cowdery...................... 273/80</td>

<td> 2,0oo,yO2 1/1937 Cross............................ 273/80</td>

<td> 2,100,307 11/1937 McMinn....................... 273/80.9</td>

<td> 2,231,847</td><td> 2/1941</td><td> Dickson et al................</td><td> 273/80.8 X</td>

<td> 2,934,345</td><td> 4/1960</td><td> Scott........................</td><td> 273/80</td>

<td> 3,083,969</td><td> 4/1963</td><td> Bills, Jr.........................</td><td> 273/80</td>

<td> 3,479,030</td><td> 11/1969</td><td> Merola.........................</td><td> 273/80</td>

<td></td><td colspan="2"> FOREIGN PATENTS</td><td></td>

<td> 470,178</td><td> 8/1937</td><td> Great Britain................</td><td> 273/80 B</td>

<td> 23,427</td><td> 1911</td><td> Great Britain................</td><td> 273/81.5</td>

<td> 3,288</td><td> 1913</td><td> Great Britain................</td><td> 273/80.6</td>

<td> 314,856</td><td> 12/1929</td><td> Great Britain................</td><td> 273/80.4</td>

<td> 347,443</td><td> 4/1931</td><td> Great Britain................</td><td> 273/80.7</td>

Primary Examiner—Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner—Richard J. Apley Attorney—Angus &amp; Mon

ABSTRACT: A golf club shaft having an axis, an inner wall and an outer wall, both axial, circular in cross section, a major portion of it adjacent to the club head tapering so as to narrow toward the head end of the shaft, the wall thickness thereby increasing. The shaft has throughout its entire length a substantially constant cross section area in planes normal to the longitudinal axis thereby providing uniform linear distribution of the shaft weight throughout its length. The shaft may be expanded beyond an extension of the taper to form a handle, to which a lightweight wrapping may be applied as a grip. A club head includes a body, a striking face on the body with an upper margin, and a hosel with a bore to receive the shaft extending below an extension of the upper margin.

<img file="US3614101A_D0001.tif" />

PATENTEDOCT 19 ιοτί

3,614,101

<img file="US3614101A_D0002.tif" />

3,614,101

GOLF CLUB, SHAFT, AND HEAD 1 his invention relates to golf clubs.

Golf clubs are used in a classical sport which has acquired years GolTclub”⁰’^’^ ^{preferences and} attitudes over th2 77 ^{Golf cIubs Wlth} drastically altered envelope configurations may as well remain uninvented, because therisk of reiec tion by customers, and by professional and sporting organiza tumty to improve golf clubs, still remaining within a physical envelope which is very similar to conventional clubs Such im proved clubs require a completely new approach to the p”ances ‘° ^{aChieVe their imp}—^d

The term “conventional” is frequently used in the snecifica of thXoSlub ofto°^f ‘° ^{deSCrfbe the enVel}°^{pe charac}'eristics 1 or tne golf club of this invention. This adjective is intended to 1ΧΤΓ ^{a C1Ub} ^^{118 a Shaft witb a} head extending laterally from it so as to deliver a blow to a ball and exert a excluded ^{Shaft at time} °^{f impact The term is U8}ed to exclude such nonconventional clubs as “croquet mallets ” It Λ. exetafe _club, .Εί «,ΞΧΧΞ*’ ·“ .c

The general opinion in the golf industry has long been that a go f club shaft should be springily flexible in ordlr to de^ver optunum power to the ball. However, this approach leads to angle relative to the shaft and to the handle during ite ac^{fUrther defleCt at lhe moment} ofi«nraev onhX m ^efleCt*°^nS fdudamentally affect the accuracy of the blow delivered to the ball, and it is nearly impossiΪρ/Γ I³?⁰^{6 Wh}° “ ^{nOt a professiona}l golfer accurately and regularly to compensate for them. ^y

The other problem with light springy shafts resides in the The k ^S7^ar X^{rength at the joint of the head} and the shift The peak shear load at this point is quite great, so that con siderable strength needs to be provided here, generally by a theM ^Cb h A°^Wn7 ³ “^h°^Sel&gt;” ^{Wbich is a tubu}lar extensfen of leXed A he Ί, 7¹° ^{which an end} of the shaft is intinn ^d' ^J\^{heavy hosel rec}l^uires an unfavorable weight distribulpaced^afromT ^{mass at a re}S^ion substantially spaced from the point of impact with the ball. The resulting “«ΞΞΓ &gt;' “» »2 a mVcS“7 ^{that 3} k^{OrTeCl the}°^{reticaI dynamic m}°del for a golf club is one wherein the head is supported bv a weightless rigid shaft, with the mass of the head substantially fenXh ^d,s.^{tr Uted} °^{Ver the head}&gt; ^and with a hosel of minimum attainabfe h θ'” ‘° ^inVention- such a dub was nc XX a : ^{eCaUSe a Sbaft having the re}9uisite strength in X hi X^dA°r^{qUe at the head end c}°uld not be made within the a haft f ^m,tS °^f Τ’ ^C*^{Ub Weight}- ^{This inve}ndon prides a shaft of requite shear and torsional strength, and which especially when provided with lightweight means for a handle 60 blies^8rit^Penah|^bStf^ah^ntlh'^y 1⁸^^{then conve}ntional shaft assemblies. It enables the hosel of the head to be lightened and its eccentnc weight reduced. This saved weight may theii eitheX be distributed over the club head further to improve the balance and power, or may be eliminated whereby to provide 65 improved results for persons who do not possess fte“physical strength to manage the greater weight ^{P y} inJoXtingΪ ^{COmprehends both s}uch a shaft, and a club ,^sba^ ^acc°rding to the invention comprises an elongated 70 tubular member having an axis and an inner and outer will ^nd°an^Pd°th^{OnS tapered adjacent t0 the head} end and they narrow as they approach the head end The wall thickness mcreases toward the head end. The LterafcrXss sectional area remains substantially constant throughout the 75 major proportion of the length of the shaft. As a result a heavier walled tube is provided at the head end to resist torsion and shear forces. The handle end, where such wall thickness is not required, has a thinner wall and a larger outer whTh ^S°J^hat 7 ^{8rfp may be formed} °^{f a} * -raPPtag which is lighter than the conventional grip. Weight saved bv expedient may be distributed oveAhe head wh«el mav he Γ^tO ‘a ^P°^Wer °^{f bl0W}- ^Furtbermore&gt; the handle may be fonned as a conical portion of the shaft, thereby providing the benefit ofa tapered grip. ^y strikina¹fo^ClUb?^ead *” ^{invention has} a body with a frlrn Λ K A ^h7u^ngu^{an Upper margin}- ^{and a hoseI} extending the^t a°nd^y’tWs^eb 7 ‘° ^{reCeive the head end} °^f seXed shaft t atherefore the head end of the inupper margl ‘° * “ ^{extension of the}

J^{he abov}e and other features of this invention will be fully comn ^{d f}L°^m *^{β fo!lowing} detailed description and the ac2q companying drawings m which:

thfSslnti^{3 Side}f^VieU' ^{Partly in cutawa}y ^cross section showing π7 ^{y preferred} embodiment of the invention;

² *? ^{a cross sect}*on taken at line 2—2 of FIG. 1· nnX¹?' ³ V 5^{rOSS section} similar to that of FIG. 2,’showing 25 ^anodler embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an axial cross section taken at line 4—4 of FIG. 33DQ*

FIG. 5 is a side elevation ofa golf club head according to the golfLrub’. “ ^an°^{ther illuStration of a} conventional type of of thSvIntinn’ ^pr,^esently Preferred embodiment and a heXd 12 Th' h T 7 a^ ^L “ ^{Comprises a shaft} ” ana a head 12. The head includes a body 13 having a striking tension 16 of th^'”^{8 an Upper margin 15 An ex}’ ³⁵ XXa J⁶ °^{f be}_u^uPP^erma’gm, comprising an imaginary line extends to the right in FIG. 1, and is a straight line

As is customary in golf club heads, a hosel 17 is formed integral with the body and extends upwardly at the angle to which it is desired to have the shaft extend relative to thelstrik⁴⁰ h_P1 ^feCX ^{The h}°^{Se haS a b}°^{re 18 therein}&gt; which bore extends referring toTheT⁰” °^{f the upper mar}gⁱⁿ· the term “below”

A shaft 7 ^d'^reCJ.^{IOn toward f}oot 19 of the club head.

A shaft 11 according to the invention has an axis 21 an outer wall 22 and an inner wall 23. The shaft has a handle end : ⁴⁵ head^ndaH^hK^{adend2S Thatp}°^{riionoftheshaftad}j^acemtothe - head end has properties specific to this inventiol, as will be that the n ^{Set be}'°^W’^{Said properties} comprising the fact that the inner and outer wall are both tapered and their tapers narrow as they extend toward the head end. The term “taper” ’ Lfe 7 ί° ^{3 Straight line taper}’ However, the taper p ferably is substantially uniform and straight line The wall th ^ad, ^e^d· ^Prefer^bly, but not necessarily, the entire length of tanerl?Ho^{CePt f}°^{r a handle t0 be} described, will similarly be |^ap! 7 ^{he present}'y preferred processes used to co™eiient tTf ^eC°^{nomic criteria wb}ich make is

Xitii a umfo™ or™ ^POrt‘?^{nS Spaced from the} head end witn a uniform cross section and wall diameter.

The haXha ^P°w ^{iOn 26} ‘^{S f}°^{rmed ad}j^acent to the handle end. bte to7nnlv^P° ^{may be USed bare}&gt; ^{but usuaIly} * ^is Arable to apply some covenng thereto, because the club often becomes wet or slippery. Preferably, the handle portion is substantially conical. This creates a wedging action with the user’s anrih^ ^{Standard c,ubs}’ ^{k is} necessary to put a relatively thick nd heavy grip onto a relatively thinner shaft. However bv using an expanded shaft as shown, it is possible to use only a nd 2Sn· · Γ «Ξη „X‘

X^d?“ '^gbt· ^{Tbls alone} can save as much as one ounce of c'ght, which weight at this location could have significant stanX°7 fT °,^{the 8}°^lfer’^{s results}’ ^aad doesT so on fabne wr^ ' ^B· ^U‘ ^{1Z,ng a Hghtergrip such as a} lightweight fabnc wrapping, it is possible to take this saved weight and apply it to the shaft near the hosel to provide greater strength at that place without greater total club weight.* ⁸ a club was not 55

3,614,101

Because of the construction of this shaft, it is possible to use lightweight materials such as aluminum alloys and thereby provide a lightweight shaft with optimum strength where needed. By increasing the shaft strength adjacent to the hosel, but still utilizing thinner walls and lighter weight materials in the remainder of the tubular shaft, it is possible to remain within accepted total club weight standards by moving certain of the weight otherwise expected to be found in the club to the head itself. This is done by taking the weight eliminated from shafts and grips, and adding it to the club head, and also by shortening the hosel length and restructuring the head, as can be appreciated by a comparison of FIGS. S and 1. Alternatively, the weight saved may be simply be eliminated. A player who does not have the strength or stamina to swing the larger club weight will find his performance improved with a lighter club of this design.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional club head 29 with a hosel 30, which hosel is substantially longer than the hosel of the present invention, and whose bore 31 stands generally above the upper margin 32 of striking face 33. It will be seen that this ²⁰hosel configuration, which is required by the various parameters of prior art conventional club heads, adds considerable eccentric weight relative to the striking face, and requires a lessening ofthe weight of the striking portion ofthe head if the total club weight is to remain within accepted limitations. The redistribution of the weight (or reduced weight) in FIG. 1 is attained principally because of the adequacy of the strength of the joint between the hosel and the club shaft (because ofthe thicker cross section at that point), the placing of the joint closer to the striking face, and the reduction of the eccentric mass of the hosel. This enables an optimum club to be developed wherein strength characteristics are provided to the shaft with a lightweight handle, lightweight shaft, and club head with optimum distribution of mass in the striking face area which may have more mass than usual, if preferred.

Still another improvement on the shaft is possible by utilizing the construction shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein inner wall 35 and outer wall 36 are provided which are basically circular in cross section just as are walls 22 and 23 in FIG. 1 However, in this embodiment, the inner wall is modified by grooves 37 which are deepest at the head end and which may either extend for the full length of the shaft or instead and preferably may taper off to zero depth farther up the shaft. This creates longitudinally extending fins 38 which, for identi- 45 cal weight, will provide additional resistance to shear and torsion deflection. They are preferably formed during an extrusion operation and of self material, as opposed to attached rodlike elements.

The shaft of this invention is best produced by drawing down a tube having initially larger inner and outer diameters. A useful technique is to begin with 1 -inch or larger tubing and draw it to a nominal thirteen-sixteenths inch in order to trim up the wall thickness and to give some initial work hardening to the material. Thereafter, the tube may be sequentially forced through a series of external forging dies with axial restraint on the tube. This causes a reduction in outer diameter, a lateral movement of the metal to create a thickening of the wall, and a reduction in inner diameter. There is permitted only negligible elongation, which is usually in the order of about one inch in an initially 44-inch-long tube, which is the reason for the thickening ofthe wall. The results of this forging operation will be appreciated from an examination of FIG. 1 wherein it will be seen that substantially uniform linear distribution of the weight is likely, and that the cross-sectional area will remain substantially uniform from station to station. Of course, manufacturing tolerances will cause some small variations in this result, but it will ordinarily not be particularly great.

There are substantial advantages in the shaft, and in a golf club including the shaft, made according to the foregoing process. For one thing, it is possible by this means to achieve a ratio of wall thickness between that of the handle end to that of the head end on the order of 1: 2 %, the wall thickness at the head end being at least 250 percent that of the wall thickness adjacent to the handle end. Similarly, it will be noted from the table below that the diameter ofthe outer wall at the handle end will be at least 225 percent that ofthe diameter of the outer wall at the head end. Such a ratio has not heretofore been attained and has severely limited the strength-weight ratio of shafts for golf clubs. By manufacturing the shaft with a forging process which substantially prevents axial growth while reducing the outer diameter, lateral metal movement with its favorable arrangement of grain structure and work hardening is secured, together with a localized thickening of the wall were cross-sectional area is most needed. The result is an optimized shaft, and optimized club-shaft assembly.

In FIG. 1, the one embodiment, related to the appended table of dimensions, has been shown. Station 0 is the handle end. The stations are in inches from that end, and the head end is station 44, the shaft thereby being 44 inches long. All other dimensions are also in inches. The club shown is a “driving iron.”

The illustrated shaft may conveniently be made with only two forging dies, and will produce shafts suitable for a wide range of “iron” and “wood” club equivalents. A piece of reduced tubing as specified at about thirteen-sixteenths inch outer diameter is reduced to form the handle portion 26, the remainder being reduced to the diameter of straight portion 41, this remainder being long enough to make the rest of the shaft. Then, starting at the proper dimension, tapered portion 40 is formed in another die. This other die may be longer or shorter as desired to make up the difference in length between the sum of the tapered portion and the handle portion, and the desired total length ofthe shaft.

If tooling cost is no object, then the full length of portions 40 and 41 will be tapered. The use of a straight portion does, however, provide significant economies.

Handle portion 26 extends from about stations 0 to 11, with a taper of around 0.030 inches/inch after a short initial tubular length about 2 inches long. The straight portion extends from about stations 11 to 19, with no taper. Tapered portion 40 extends from about stations 19 to 44 with a taper on the order of about 0.009 to 0.010 inches/inch. The tapers referred to herein are those of the outer wall. The table shows measurements of an actual shaft, and as to be expected in swaging operations, there are minor variations from point to point. The cross-sectional areas given are calculated from the actual measurements utilizing the following formula:

The dimensions are in inches and square inches as appropriate. A is the cross-sectional area; d is the outer diameter of the shaft; and t is its wall thickness.

It will be noted that the club shaft is derived from an initially uniform tube by swaging the outer diameter to a tapered shape 55 and limiting the axial growth of the material. The club is assembled by placing the shaft in the bore in the hosel and cementing it there with any suitable bonding material such as Loctite or any other suitable cement. This, too, enables one to avoid the undesirable weight of wrappings which are 50 customarily used for such purposes.

The resulting club has a lightweight shaft which may advantageously be made out of lightweight alloys such as those of aluminum, magnesium, or titanium (however, other metals, including ferrous alloys, could also be used), which has sub65 stantial resistance to bending and torsion near the head end where such effects are important, which has the major portion of the weight in the club head instead of in the club handle, and which has a suitable integral handle with a lightweight grip. Because the handle and its wrapping are so light, the 70 gross weight of the club may be made the same as that of a conventional club, but the weight saved in the handle may be placed in the head or the lower end of the shaft where it is more effective in driving the ball and resisting shear and torsion. The aluminum alloy known as 7178 can be used for the 75 shaft which is the subject of this invention. The head may be of

3,614,101 stainless steel. The result is an approach to the ideal club having a mass with its center of percussion in line with the striking face, with a lightweight, very rigid handle for swinging the club head. It has been found that clubs utilizing the shaft set forth in the table, have given performances comparable to conventional woods of approximately the same total weight, but with greater accuracy and less effort on the part of the user. Such redistribution or reduction of weight has not heretofore been possible due to shapes required to provide torsional and shear strength at the hosel, much of which is due to the greater weight of the hosel itself. This invention thereby constitutes a stride toward the ultimate objective of a theoretically optimal golf club. It is useful for the entire member of the family of clubs from those commonly known as “woods” and “irons” to the putter itself and has shown significant improvements and performance at all levels. It is evident that the dimensions may be changed, the major feature of the shaft residing in the tapered construction along a substantial axial length adjacent to the head end thereof, the term “substantial” in this regard meaning greater than 50 percent of the length of the shaft.

TABLE

Table —Continued

0.345 0.335

0.073

0.077

0.0624

0.0624

Station 0

<td> Outer</td><td> Wall</td><td> Cross Section</td>

<td> Diameter(2r)</td><td> Thickness(r)</td><td> Area(A)</td>

<td> (ins.)</td><td> (ins.)</td><td> (square ins.)</td>

<td> 0.810</td><td> 0.027</td><td> 0.0664</td>

<td> 0.810</td><td> 0.027</td><td> 0.0664</td>

<td> 0.809</td><td> 0.028</td><td> 0.0687</td>

<td> 0.785</td><td> 0.028</td><td> 0.0666</td>

<td> 0.769</td><td> 0.028</td><td> 0.652</td>

<td> 0.729</td><td> 0.030</td><td> 0.0659</td>

<td> 0.702</td><td> 0.032</td><td> 0.0673</td>

<td> 0.673</td><td> 0.0325</td><td> 0.0654</td>

<td> 0.645</td><td> 0.0335</td><td> 0.643</td>

<td> 0.616</td><td> 0.035</td><td> 0.0639</td>

<td> 0.587</td><td> 0.037</td><td> 0.0639</td>

<td> 0.568</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0648</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.562</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.554</td><td> 0.039</td><td> 0.0631</td>

<td> 0.548</td><td> 0.040</td><td> 0.0638</td>

<td> 0.532</td><td> 0.041</td><td> 0.0632</td>

<td> 0.520</td><td> 0.042</td><td> 0.0631</td>

<td> 0.510</td><td> 0.043</td><td> 0.0631</td>

<td> 0.498</td><td> 0.044</td><td> 0.0627</td>

<td> 0.487</td><td> 0.045</td><td> 0.0625</td>

<td> 0.476</td><td> 0.047</td><td> 0.0633</td>

<td> 0.466</td><td> 0.048</td><td> 0.0630</td>

<td> 0.454</td><td> 0.051</td><td> 0.0645</td>

<td> 0.444</td><td> 0.053</td><td> 0.0651</td>

<td> 0.433</td><td> 0.053</td><td> 0.0633</td>

<td> 0.423</td><td> 0.055</td><td> 0.0636</td>

<td> 0.423</td><td> 0.057</td><td> 0.0655</td>

<td> 0.403</td><td> 0.059</td><td> 0.0638</td>

<td> 0.329</td><td> 0.061</td><td> 0.0634</td>

<td> 0.382</td><td> 0.063</td><td> 0.0631</td>

<td> 0.377</td><td> 0.064</td><td> 0.0629</td>

<td> 0.377</td><td> 0.065</td><td> 0.0637</td>

<td> 0.375</td><td> 0.065</td><td> 0.0633</td>

<td> 0.368</td><td> 0.068</td><td> 0.0641</td>

<td> 0.360</td><td> 0.069</td><td> 0.0631</td>

<td> 0.352</td><td> 0.071</td><td> 0.0627</td>