Golf putter

Abstract

A golf putter includes a club head with an elongated main body, and a resilient sheath enclosing the main body. The sheath has a front covering portion which covers a front side wall of the main body and which has an upright ball contacting surface adapted to be in contact with a golf ball. The ball contacting surface is formed with at least one groove that extends along a longitudinal direction of the main body. A club shaft has a lower end extending through the sheath, and is mounted on the main body of the club head.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 091211135, filed on Jul. 22, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a golf putter, more particularly to a golf putter having a club head covered with a resilient sheath which is formed with a groove on the side that is used to strike a golf ball.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] A golf putter is a golf club that is used during a game of golf for striking a golf ball so that it rolls into a hole. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional putter 1 which includes an elongated club head 11 and a club shaft 12 fixed to the club head 11. The club head 11 includes a longitudinally extending main portion 111 made of metal. The main portion 111 has an upright ball contacting face 114 which is inlaid with an oval-shaped resilient block 115 that is typically made of resin, such as epoxy resin.

[0006] Since the resilient block 115 does not encompass the entire ball contacting face 114, a rim part of the main portion 111 on the ball contacting face 114 that borders the resilient block 115 might undesirably hit the golf ball 10 when the putter 1 is in use, thus resulting in uncontrolled rolling movement of the ball 10 and a shorter distance of rolling movement of the ball 10. Moreover, the club head 11 has a relatively wide bottom wall with a flat extension 112 to help it stand uprightly and stably on a ground surface. The flat extension 112 lowers the weight center of the club head 11 such that the club head 11 usually hits a lower part of the golf ball 10 to cause counter-rotation of the ball 10. Therefore, the conventional putteri is not satisfactory in terms of control of both the route and the distance of rolling movement of the golf ball 10.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a golf putter which allows a golfer to have a stable control in both the route and the distance of rolling movement of a golf ball.

[0008] Accordingly, the golf putter of the present invention includes a club head and a club shaft. The club head includes an elongated main body which has an upright front side wall extending along a longitudinal direction of the mainbody. The club head further includes a sheath which is made of a resilient material and which encloses the main body. The sheath has a front covering portion which covers the front side wall and which has an upright ball contacting surface adapted to be in contact with a golf ball. The ball contacting surface is formed with at least one groove that extends in the longitudinal direction of the main body. The club shaft has a lower end extending through the sheath and mounted on the main body of the club head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a conventional golf putter;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a partly-sectioned side view of the conventional golf putter to illustrate how it can be used to strike a golf ball;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a partly-sectioned side view of a preferred embodiment of the golf putter of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a partly-cutaway exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; and

[0014] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0015] Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the preferred embodiment of the golf putter 2 according to the present invention is shown to include club head 8 and a club shaft 7 connected to the club head 8.

[0016] The club head 8 includes an elongated main body 3, a sheath 4, a bottom cap 6, and a weight member 5. The main body 3 is formed integrally from a metal composite which is based on lead (Pb) and which incorporates trace amount of metal selected from the group consisting of tin (Sn), bismuth (Bi), copper (Cu), arsenic (As), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and iron (Fe). The main body 3 includes a longitudinal main portion 32 extending along the length thereof and having an upright and generally straight front side wall 321, and a pair of weight mounting portions 31 which project rearwardly from the main portion 32 and which are spaced-apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the main body 3. The front side wall 321 is slightly inclined in a downward and forward direction. Each of the weight mounting portions 31 is generally wedge-shaped and has an inclined surface 311 which extends rearwardly and downwardly from a top wall 322 of the main portion 32. Each of the weight mounting portions 31 is formedwitha cavity 313 which has abottom opening 315 formed on a bottom surface 312 of the main body 3. The top wall 322 is formed with a mounting bore 323 for mounting an insert end 711 of the club shaft 7.

[0017] The sheath 4 is formed from a resilient plastic material, such as an ABS resin or polyethylene plastic available from DUPONT, under the trade name of SURLYN. The sheath 4 substantially encloses the main body 3, and has an open bottom side to expose the bottom surface 312 of the main body 3 so as to permit access to the cavities 313 via the bottom openings 315. The sheath 4 includes an upright and generally straight front covering portion 41 which covers the front side wall 321 of the main body 3 and which has an outer ball contacting surface 410 adapted to be in contact with the golf ball 20 when the putter 2 is in use. The ball contacting surface 410 is formed with a plurality of parallel longitudinal grooves 411 which extend along the longitudinal direction of the main body 3 and a plurality of rows of inclinedgrooves 412 extending from the longitudinal grooves 411. The sheath 4 further has a top covering portion 42 which covers the top wall 322 of the main portion 32 and the inclined surfaces 311 of the weight mounting portions 31. The top covering portion 42 is formed with a rectangular hole 421 registered with the mounting bore 323 to permit extension of the insert end 711 of the club shaft 7 therethrough. The sheath 4 has a bottom rim 44 formed on its bottom side along a periphery thereof. A metal skin layer 80 is formed over an outer wall surface of the sheath 4 by electroplating so as to provide the club head 8 with an enhanced aesthetic effect.

[0018] The weight member 5 is in the form of a rectangular metal block, and is received removably in the cavity 313 of a selected one of the weight mounting portions 31.

[0019] The bottom cap 6, in the form of an elongated metal plate, is disposed on the bottom side of the sheath 4 so as to be surrounded by the bottom rim 44, and is fastened detachably to the bottom surface 312 of the main body 3 using a pair screws 60 for covering the bottom openings 315 of the cavities 313.

[0020] The club shaft 7 includes a lower section 71 formed with the insert end 711 which is inserted into the mounting hole 323 through the rectangular hole 421 in the sheath 4 and which is mounted on the main body 3 of the club head 8. The club shaft 7 further has an upper section 72 inserted into a tubular end 712 of the lower section 71 opposite to the insert end 711.

[0021] During manufacture, the main body 3 and the weight member 5 are formed separately from metal material. The main body 3 is then disposed in a mold. The sheath 4 is formed integrally from the aforementioned polymeric material, such as ABS resin or PE, to enclose the main body 3 in the manner described above. Then, the metal skin layer 8 is formed over the outer wall surface of the sheath 4 via a conventional electroplating process. After placing the weight member 5 in a selected one of the cavities 313, the bottom cap 6 is fastened to the bottom surface 312 of the main body 3 with the use of the screws 60. The bottom cap 6, after being fastened to the main body 3, is flush with the bottom rim 44 of the sheath 4. Finally, the club shaft 7 is assembled to the club head 8 by coupling the insert end 711 to the main body 3 at the mounting bore 323 to complete the assembly of the golf putter 2. As an option, the putter 2 may contain no weight member in each of the cavities 313 to vary the weight center according to the user's requirement.

[0022] In use, the ball contacting surface 410 of the front covering portion 41 of the sheath 4 confronts the golf ball 20 and is slightly inclined in the downward and forward direction when the bottom cap 6 is disposed horizontally on a ground surface.

[0023] Since the front side wall 321 of the main body 3 is entirely covered by the sheath 4, the golf ball 20 can in general circumstances not contact the relatively rigid surface of the metal main body 3, but instead contacts the resilient ball contacting surface 410 of the sheath 4. As such, the distance and the route of the golf ball 20 can be more precisely controlled. Moreover, with the provision of the grooves 411, 412 on the ball contacting surface 410, traction with the golf ball 20 is enhanced, and the contact time between the golf ball 20 and the surface 410 can be prolonged. This further facilitates the control in the route of rolling movement of the golf ball 20, and lengthens the distance of the rolling movement.

[0024] While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A golf putter comprising:

a club head including an elongated main body which has an upright front side wall extending along a longitudinal direction of said main body, said club head further including a sheath which is made of a resilient material and which encloses said main body, said sheath having a front covering portion which covers said front side wall and which has an upright ball contacting surface adapted to be in contact with a golf ball, said ball contacting surface being formed with at least one groove that extends in the longitudinal direction of said main body; and

a club shaft having a lower end extending through said sheath and mounted on said main body of said club head.

2. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said main body has at least one weight mounting portion which is formed with a cavity and which has a weight member received in said cavity.

3. The golf putter as claimed in claim 2, wherein said main body has a bottom surface, said cavity having a bottom opening formed in said bottom surface, said sheath having an open bottom side which permits access to said cavity, said club head further including a bottom cap mounted removably on said bottom surface of said main body for covering said bottom opening of said cavity, said weight member being received removably in said cavity.

4. The golf putter as claimed in claim 3, wherein said ball contacting surface of said sheath inclines downwardly and forwardly when said bottom cap is disposed horizontally on a ground surface.

5. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said club head further includes a metal skin layer formed over said sheath by electroplating.

6. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said main body has a bottom surface and is formed with a pair of weight mounting portions which are opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction of said main body, each of said weight mounting portions being formed with a cavity that has a bottom opening formed in said bottom surface, said sheath having an open bottom side that permits access to said cavities via said bottom openings, said club head further including a weight member received removably in said cavity of a selected one of said weight mounting portions, and a bottom cap mounted removably on said bottom surface of said main body for covering said bottom openings of said cavities.