Abstract: Embodiments of shaft plugs for golf clubs and methods to manufacture golf clubs with shaft plugs are generally described herein. Other embodiments of shaft plugs may be described and claimed.
Abstract: The present invention is directed to a set of golf clubs comprising long irons, mid-irons and short irons. The irons have a progressive horizontal CG location. Preferably, the long and MID irons have a CG located between about 1 mm and 3 mm towards the hosel and the short iron CG is located between about 3 mm and 4 mm toward the hosel. Further the irons have a substantially constant blade width with progressively decreasing scoreline width.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 28, 2016
Date of Patent:
February 13, 2018
Assignee:
Acushnet Company
Inventors:
Marni Ines, Jonathan Hebreo, Michael E. Franz, Eduardo Mendoza
Abstract: A golf club incorporating an interchangeable shaft system includes a shaft, a shaft sleeve, a club head. The shaft sleeve is coupled to an end of the shaft and is received in a hosel included in the club head. The shaft sleeve is removably coupled to the club head. Hosel and shaft sleeve alignment features provide discrete orientations between the shaft and club head.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 24, 2016
Date of Patent:
January 30, 2018
Assignee:
Acushnet Company
Inventors:
Gery M. Zimmerman, Jonathan Hebreo, Adrian L. Stanescu, Helene Hipp, Marni Ines, Stephanie Luttrell, Thomas Orrin Bennett, Stephen S. Murphy
Abstract: The present invention relates to an iron-type golf club head having a lightweight hosel and a high, toe-ward located center of gravity. The golf club head preferably includes a hollow body with a hosel and an interior mold line that extends into the hosel and is separated from a shaft bore by a solid barrier that does not include any through-holes. An upper portion of the body may include a pocket to hold a high-density weight, and the hosel wall may include multiple through-bores to further lighten the hosel. The golf club head may also include one or more internal ribs extending from the hollow interior of the body into the interior of the hosel.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 13, 2016
Date of Patent:
January 9, 2018
Assignee:
Callaway Golf Company
Inventors:
Irina Ivanova, Joshua D. Westrum, Scott R. Manwaring, Matthew T. Cackett, Brooks Roche, Bradley C. Rice, William C. Watson, Sean P. Griffin
Abstract: A counter-balance grip system for a golf putter that allows for counter-balancing in the three degrees-of-freedom of relevant putter motion. A main balance-weight body is attached to the end of a putter shaft and allows for axial and radial asymmetric internal balance weighting about the putter shaft. The main balance-weight body has an upper balance-weight body and a lower balance-weight body. The lower balance-weight body is used to achieve the asymmetric internal balance weighting in both a single-grip option and a split-grip option; the upper balance-weight body also being used to achieve the asymmetric internal balance weighting in the split-grip option. Either a plurality of internal balancing weights could be used or the main balance-weight body could be machined asymmetrically. Each of the plurality of internal balancing weights has a different length, mass, and/or density, allowing for the dynamic balancing of the putter.
Abstract: The present invention is directed to a selectable weight assemblies for insertion into a golf club shaft. An embodiment of the selectable weight assembly includes a plug, a sleeve, a socket, a primary weight, and a bushing coaxially assembled in order along a major axis corresponding to the central axis of the golf shaft interior. The plug includes a flange and threaded shaft, the flange including a circumferential lip portion operative to contact the upper surface of the shaft and provide a positive lock for securely keeping the selectable weight assembly secured to the golf club. The threaded shaft extends downwardly and distally from the flange section. The sleeve section is adjacent the plug and substantially cylindrical, with an opening extending therethrough. The sleeve further includes at least one slot extending longitudinally generally in the same direction as the primary axis, facilitating radial expansion of the sleeve.
Abstract: The present invention relates to an iron-type golf club head having a hollow body cavity, a hosel with a shaft-receiving bore that communicates with the hollow body cavity to form a continuous cavity structure, and a center of gravity located closer to the toe than to the heel. The iron-type golf club head preferably includes a face component with a striking face and a rear extending sole portion, and may also include supporting ribs within the continuous cavity structure, a hosel cutout covered by a cover made from a lower-density material than that of the hosel, and through-holes extending through a wall of the hosel.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 24, 2016
Date of Patent:
December 26, 2017
Assignee:
Callaway Golf Company
Inventors:
Joshua D. Westrum, Irina Ivanova, Scott R. Manwaring, Brooks Roche, Bradley C. Rice, William C. Watson, Broadus Perry Wall, Jr.
Abstract: An adjustable shaft and hosel assembly allows for dependent and independent adjustment of a golf club's face angle, loft angle, and lie angle. The adjustable shaft and hosel assembly comprises a shaft sleeve, a hosel portion, a tubular adjustment piece having non-parallel upper and lower surfaces, and a retention feature that provides an engagement between the tubular adjustment piece and the shaft sleeve to prevent the tubular adjustment piece from becoming detached from the shaft sleeve.
Abstract: The disclosure describes a flexible tubular grip for a golf club, particularly a putter, having the tubular portion formed of relatively soft elastomer with a closure or end cap molded therewith or pre-cured and attached over the end of the tubular portion. The end cap has a raised ridge extending about a portion of the end cap periphery and may have a raised discrete central portion, both of which absorb impact when the club is dropped into a golf bag.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
April 14, 2016
Date of Patent:
December 19, 2017
Assignee:
EATON CORPORATION
Inventors:
Stephen James Davis, LingYu Hsu, Rita Chang, Jack Kao
Abstract: A golf club head comprising a crown with an edge support structure and a flexible, conformal weight sized to fit within the edge support structure is disclosed herein. The edge support structure preferably is disposed on an internal surface of the crown so that the conformal weight is invisible when the golf club head is viewed at address. The conformal weight can be removed to adjust the vertical center of gravity of the club head, and preferably is oriented in a front-to-back direction along the club head's X-axis. The conformal weight preferably is composed of a high-density polymeric material with a specific gravity ranging from 1.8 to 4.2.
Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a novel fiber-reinforced epoxy resin material having improved strength. The fiber-reinforced epoxy resin material of the present invention comprises a cured product of an epoxy resin composition and a reinforcing fiber, wherein the epoxy resin composition comprises a novolac type epoxy resin as an epoxy resin component, and the cured product of the epoxy resin composition has a swelling ratio in a range from 20 mass % to 44 mass % in methyl ethyl ketone.
Abstract: A golf club includes a tubular shaft, a golf club head affixed to a first end of the tubular shaft, and a grip abutting a second end of the shaft. The golf club further includes an adjustable counterbalance that is insertable within a hollow recess of the grip. The adjustable counter balance includes an elongate member adapted to be secured to the tubular shaft, and a movable weight. The movable weight is selectively transitionable between a first, unlocked state that permits translation of the weight along the elongate member, and a second locked state that restrains the weight from free translation.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 7, 2015
Date of Patent:
November 28, 2017
Assignee:
Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
Inventors:
Brian Kammerer, David N. Franklin, John Hatfield
Abstract: A system for optimizing weight distribution of a golf club including a weight receiving grip, the weight receiving grip configured to be affixed to a proximal end of a golf club shaft, wherein the weight receiving grip comprises a generally tubular member comprising a shaft bore configured to surround a proximal portion of the shaft, wherein the weight receiving grip comprises a weight retention portion at a proximal end of the weight receiving grip, the weight retention portion configured to engage a weight member, a grip expanding tool configured to deflect a portion of the weight receiving grip facilitating installation or removal of the weight members from the weight receiving grip.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 19, 2015
Date of Patent:
November 28, 2017
Assignee:
Acushnet Company
Inventors:
Scott A. Knutson, Dustin A. Barksdale, Donald S. Bone
Abstract: A key includes an out of round cross section which rotates to expand a compression unit in a golf club shaft. The top of the key has an extension which moves in a slot within the compression unit to define the maximum active and inactive positions.
Abstract: A golf club incorporating an interchangeable shaft system includes a shaft, a shaft sleeve, a club head. The shaft sleeve is coupled to an end of the shaft and is received in a hosel included in the club head. The shaft sleeve is removably coupled to the club head. Hosel and shaft sleeve alignment features provide discrete orientations between the shaft and club head.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 10, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 14, 2017
Assignee:
Acushnet Company
Inventors:
Christopher D. Harvell, Stephen S. Murphy
Abstract: A golf club head comprising an adjustable weighting feature including a tube extending from the crown to the sole of the golf club head is disclosed herein. More specifically, a golf club head formed from three pieces, namely a first piece comprising a face, a crown portion, a sole portion, and a hosel, a second piece comprising a rear end, a crown portion, and a sole portion, and a tube, wherein these pieces are welded to one another, is disclosed herein. Each of these pieces may be separately cast, forged, or formed from a metal material such as stainless steel, titanium alloy, and aluminum alloy.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 17, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 14, 2017
Assignee:
Callaway Golf Company
Inventors:
Joshua D. Westrum, James A. Seluga, Patrick Dawson, Sean P. Griffin
Abstract: A golf club head comprises a sole, a recessed sole port in the sole; and a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the sole port and comprising a central body having a plurality of contact surfaces adapted to contact the sole port and being offset from each other along a central axis extending through the central body of the sole piece. The sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the sole port at five or more rotational and axial positions with respect to the central axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said contact surfaces of the central body contacts the sole port to set the axial position of the sole piece. The sole port and/or the sole piece can be generally pentagonal in shape.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
January 22, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 14, 2017
Assignee:
Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
Inventors:
Nathan T. Sargent, Joseph Reeve Nielson, Matthew David Johnson, Matthew Greensmith, Todd P. Beach, Michael Franz
Abstract: A set of golf clubs with a plurality of at least two combinations of different lengths of a minimum of three golf clubs in each combination having progressive lofts that are matched to provide identical swing characteristics requiring unique loft and club length progressions to provide consistent yardage spacing between irons within a combination and between combinations. Each club in a combination is further defined by the shaft having an equal length; an identical swing weight, an identical grip weight and an identical head weight.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 20, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 14, 2017
Assignee:
LYTLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Abstract: A set of iron type golf club heads comprising a plurality of iron type golf club heads, the plurality of iron type golf club heads comprising a long iron, a mid iron, and a short iron; wherein each of the plurality of iron type golf club heads comprise a striking face, and wherein each of the plurality of iron type golf club heads comprise a plurality of grooves formed in the striking face extending generally from a heel side of the striking face towards a toe side of the striking face; wherein the plurality of grooves of each of the plurality of iron type golf club heads comprise an edge radius, wherein the edge radius of the plurality of grooves of the long iron is greater than the edge radius of the plurality of grooves of the short iron.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 25, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 7, 2017
Assignee:
Acushnet Company
Inventors:
Marni Ines, Jonathan Hebreo, Michael E. Franz