Golf Club with Adjustable Shaft

Abstract

A golf club adjustable for use by right handed or left handed golfers is provided comprising a club head defining a club head cavity and a ball striking face. The golf club further includes a shaft and a club head connecting mechanism disposed within or proximate the club head cavity and connectable to the club head and to the shaft, the club head mechanism being adjustable to facilitate translation of the vertical orientation of the shaft relative to the club head, in a plane parallel to a striking surface, while the shaft remains connected to the club head, and angle of the striking surface with respect to the ground remains unchanged.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to provisional application No. 61/741,421, filed on Jul. 20, 2012, for Golf Putter with Adjustable Shaft.

STATEMENT RE

Federally Sponsored Research/Development

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to golf clubs that are adaptable for use by left handed or right handed golfers and conformable to the height and stance of a golfer by providing a shaft that is adjustable relative to the club head.

BACKGROUND

Golfing is a sport that is played worldwide. From the great plains of America to the sands of the Middle East, to the Pacific Islands, men, women and children of all ages and skill levels have found enjoyment playing golf.

Clubs used by golfers vary in size, shape and characteristics. In many cases the differences in golf clubs are asserted to correlate to superior performance such as longer drives, straighter shots, or better putts. While the truth of those claims may be questionable at times, it is generally accepted that golfers of different sizes, and having different swings, or stances may be able to improve their game by using golf clubs that are better suited to their particular size, swing, stance, strength, etc. However, as golf clubs may be expensive, it is not practical for golfers to maintain multiple sets of golf clubs having different lengths, shafts angles, or other structural features. As such, adjustable golf clubs can offer significant advantages.

Others have previously suggested golf clubs having adjustable features. However, those clubs have been known to suffer from various limitations, such as difficulties in making adjustments during the course of a game of golf. As a result, a golfer may have difficulty in comparing the results of different club head adjustments. Other shortcomings can arise from the location of the adjustable mechanism. For example, where the adjustable mechanism is disposed along the club shaft, then any adjustment of the shaft angle could preclude a straight angle between the grip and the club head, affecting the swing balance and other performance factors.

One example of a prior adjustable golf club is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,486,823, issued to Allen, wherein there is included a pivot joint between the shaft and putter club head, the pivot joint disposed located on top of the putter head. Another example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,918, which discloses a pivotal connection between a club shaft and putter head to allow adjustment of the shaft relative to the putter head. This adjustment, however, only allows limited rotation, which is dependent on the loosening and tightening of dual screws against a spherical lower end tip portion of a shaft which rides in a recess in the club head proximate the end thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,063 discloses another adjustable putter, having a two part shaft that includes a pivot joint for angular adjustment of the putter shaft located proximate the putter head. The putter may be made suitable for use by either left or right handed golfers, but first the shaft must be removed from a hosel so that the position of the shaft relative to the putter head may be reversed. Furthermore, a tool is required to affect any adjustment at all.

Accordingly, there is a need for an adjustable club that will preferably allow for adjustment of structural characteristics of the club, but would do so while also retaining the feel and other desirable characteristics of the club head. This would facilitate a better comparison of a performance with different adjustments, without introducing additional differences in club feel, balance, etc. that make it difficult to evaluate the adjustment in isolation.

The present invention is directed to an adjustable club head that provides the advantages of adjustability, using a convenient and simple adjustment mechanism that retains the basic feel and club characteristics, withstanding such adjustments.

The present invention allows adjustments such as the orientation of the shaft relative to the club head over a wide range of angles, which may be useful to tweak the golf club to accommodate a particular stance or swing, or for a much greater adjustment to allow the club to be used by both right handed and left handed golfers. Moreover, in accordance with some of the embodiments of the present invention, such adjustments may be easily made in course of a game of golf, without the need for tools or for disconnecting the shaft from the club head. The adjustments, including change from right handed to left handed orientation, may be implemented while maintaining the same striking face on the golf club and without the need to introduce angle variations along the length of the shaft that might otherwise change the feel of club that is used.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A golf club adjustable for use by right handed or left handed golfers is provided comprising a club head defining a club head cavity and a ball striking face. The golf club further includes a shaft and a club head connecting mechanism, disposed within or proximate the club head cavity and connectable to the club head and to the shaft, the club head mechanism being adjustable to facilitate selective translation of the vertical orientation of the shaft relative to the club head, in plane parallel to the striking face, while the shaft remains connected to the head.

In one embodiment the connecting mechanism is operative to selectively translate the relative orientation of the shaft and the club head between left handed and right handed orientations, independent of any tools and/or a need to disconnect the shaft from the club head. Further, the club head may utilize the same ball striking surface whether disposed in left handed and right handed orientations.

In one embodiment the club head may be formed as triangular in shape, with the ball striking face defining at least one side of the triangle. The second and third sides of the triangular club head may join to form an apex rearward of the ball striking face, at about the horizontal center of the club head striking face.

The club head may define a center of gravity in the club head cavity, wherein the shaft is connected to the club head. The shaft may remain connected to the club head, proximate the club head center of gravity, as the shaft is translated between right handed and left handed orientations.

The club head defines a lower surface, such as flat lower surface, such that the club head is self-supporting along the lower surface.

In one embodiment, the lower surface maintains the angle of the striking face perpendicular to a field of play so that changing the angle of the shaft relative to the club head does not change the angle of the striking face with respect to the ground. The triangular, horizontal plane of the club head thus remains parallel to the ground throughout play, minimizing the risk of a missed putt.

In one embodiment the lower surface curves inwardly towards the striking face to minimize the grounding of the club head when striking a ball. However, the golf club may continue to be self-supporting on the club head notwithstanding lower surface curves.

The connecting mechanism may be implemented in various forms. In one implementation the connecting mechanism comprises at least one locking member having an engageable locking surface, wherein the shaft is selectively engageable to the locking surface for maintaining the shaft and the locking member in a fixed relative position. The shaft is disengageable from the locking member as to be translatable between left handed and right handed orientations independent of any need to disconnect the shaft from the club head.

In another embodiment, the locking mechanism may include a first and second locking members, each having an engageable locking surface, and each disposed within a cavity defined by the club head. A terminal end of the shaft is disposable between the locking members, with sides that are each engageable to one of the locking members. The connecting mechanism may be engaged to the shaft to maintain the shaft in a fixed position between the locking members. Should a golfer choose to adjust the angle of the shaft with respect to the club head, loosening the connecting mechanism disengages the terminal end of the shaft (both sides) from the locking surfaces, allowing the user to pivot the shaft into a new vertical position. The connecting mechanism may then be reengaged to maintain the shaft in a new fixed position between the locking plates.

In yet another embodiment, the connecting mechanism may be implemented as an arcuate member extending proximate the cavity and having a plurality of apertures disposed along an arcuate surface. The club head is rotatable relative to the arcuate member such that a pin or aperture extending through the club head may be in selective alignment with one of the arcuate member apertures. As such, the shaft may rotatable relative to the arcuate member, for locking engagement of the club head to the arcuate member at one of the apertures in the arcuate member. A spring loaded pin or other similar fasteners may be connected to the club head, or to the arcuate member to facilitate the locking engagement and disengagement of the club head and the connecting mechanism, without the need for tools and without the need for disengagement of the shaft from the club head.

The golf club may be a putter, having a shape that is triangular in a horizontal plane. The front striking face may define one side of a triangle, and a first and second non-striking face may define a second and third side of the triangle. The non-striking faces may also define an apex that is positioned rearward of and centered with the striking face.

The locking mechanism is arranged so that the shaft is adjustable in a plane parallel the striking face. The angle of the shaft relative to the club head may be adjustable from about 30 degrees to about 150 degrees above the horizontal plane of the club head, to allow use by left or right handed golfers. The vertical position of the shaft may be adjustable relative to the club head in 10 degree increments.

The shaft may be connectable to the club head proximate a center of gravity defined by the club head. This may allow the club to be self-supporting. A lower surface defined by the club head may additionally curve inwardly toward the striking face in order to prevent grounding of the golf club as a golfer strikes a ball.

The golf club may include additional features that aid the golfer. For example the golf club may include an indicator along the horizontal plane of the club head and normal to the striking face to aid alignment of a club head and golf ball. The indicator may be a ridge, or a divot or a flush line of a color contrasting with the color of the club head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a golf club head and shaft in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled club head and shaft shown at FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the club head and shaft of the invention taken along like 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the club head and shaft illustrating the range of pivot of the shaft with respect to the club head;

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of a club head and shaft of the invention with an alternative connecting mechanism;

FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of a club head and shaft of the invention with another alternative connecting mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the club head and shaft of the invention taken along shown at FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of the club head and pivot shaft of the invention with yet another alternative connecting mechanism including an arcuate surface;

FIG. 8A is a sectional view of a connecting mechanism taken along line 8A-8A of FIG. 8 showing a hand retractable locking member engaged in the shaft;

FIG. 9 shows a sectional view of the club head and shaft of FIG. 8 taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8 showing the shaft engaged to an arcuate surface formed on the club head;

FIG. 10 illustrates the adjustability of the shaft angle with respect to the club head for various sized individuals; and

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate the adjustability of the shaft with respect to the club head to accommodate both right and left handed golfers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For a detailed understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an exemplary adjustable golf club in accordance with this invention. The golf club includes a shaft 10 having an upper end gripping portion 11 (not pictured) and a lower terminal end 12 connected to a club head 20. The club head 20 defines a lower surface 23 and includes a striking face 21, and two non-striking surfaces 22, which define a triangle in a horizontal plane. The club head and club shaft may be made of various materials such as steel, graphite, nickel or any other materials that are suitable for use in the construction of golfing apparatuses. The club head 20 may additionally be coated with an anodizing aluminum material that would prevent harsh reflection on such parts.

As shown in FIG. 1, the club head 20 may also include such features as an alignment indicator 25. The alignment indicator 25 is situated perpendicularly to the striking face 21 of the club head 20 and aids a golfer in lining up the horizontal center of the striking face 21 with a ball that he is preparing to strike with it. This indicator may be a ridge, a protrusion, a flush mark that contrasts the color of the club head 20, or any other feature that visibly indicates the horizontal center of the striking face 21 to a golfer. Another feature may be a shaft angle indicator 26. The shaft angle indicator may lay next to the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20 in a position parallel to the striking face 21, so that it indicates the angle at which the shaft 10 is locked relative to the club head 20. The angle indicator may be ridged, or slotted, or marked in any manner that allows the user to quantify the angle of the shaft 10 with respect to the club head 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 is disposable within a cavity 24, also defined by the club head 20, so that it is adjustable in a vertical plane parallel to the striking face 21. In a preferred embodiment, the shaft 10 may be disposed at a position directly rearward of the horizontal center of the striking face 21. This location contributes to the balance across the club head 20 and may allow a golfer to achieve a more accurate shot because the weight distribution across the striking face 21 is not interrupted or made irregular by the weight imbalance typical of traditional designs where a shaft is connected directly to and off center of a striking face.

In one embodiment, the lower surface 23 maintains the angle of the striking face perpendicular to a field of play so that changing the angle of the shaft relative to the club head does not change the angle of the striking face 21 with respect to the ground. Thus the club head remains parallel to the ground throughout play, minimizing the risk of a missed putt.

Various embodiments of a connecting mechanism may be employed to lock the shaft 10 at an angle relative to the club head 20. FIG. 1 for example shows an embodiment of a connecting mechanism which includes two locking members 31, each featuring a locking surface 41 having ridges 42 arranged in an annular pattern around a hole 32. These locking surfaces 41 are meshable to a corresponding first and second side of the lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10, which may also feature ridges 42 arranged in an annular pattern around a hole 32. The ridged terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 is disposable between the locking members 31 which are disposed within the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the shaft 10 may be locked into an angular position with respect to the club head 20 by securing it to the locking members 31 with a screw 33. The exemplary screw 33 of FIG. 1 is seen to have a forward, circular non-threaded portion 34 which is mateable with the aligned holes 32 in the locking members 31 and lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10. The screw 33 also has a threaded rear portion 35 having internal threads for receiving the threads of an aperture 37 in the club head 20. The screw 33 may engage the locking members 31 and lower terminal end 12 of the shaft by pressing a rearward locking member 31 into engagement with the shaft 10, the shaft 10 pressed further into engagement with a forward locking member 31 until the shaft is secured in a locked angular position. The screw may further have a head 36 that is tool engageable.

In one embodiment, the screw 33 may be a thumb screw, or has a head 36 having wings or a hinge that allows a golfer to engage the screw by hand. This gives the golfer the ability to control the pressure at which the locking members 31 engage the lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10, by hand, so that adjustment may be made independent of a need to use tools. Instead, a golfer may manually control the pressure of the engagement, for example increasing pressure by tightening the screw to lock the shaft 10 into engagement with the locking surfaces 41, or decreasing pressure to disengage the shaft 10 from the locking surfaces 41 by loosening the screw to allow for adjustment of the angle of the shaft 10 with respect to the club head 20. This gives the golfer the ability to selectively control the pressure at which the shaft 10 is engaged within the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. In particular, it allows a golfer to selectively adjust the holding pressure on the shaft 10 so that the shaft 10 is rotatable when not locked into an angular position, but may also be held firmly enough to minimize translation of the shaft while engaged in a locked angular position during play.

FIG. 2 shows the terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 disposed within the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. The dotted lines in FIG. 2 represent some of the different angles that the shaft 10 may be locked into relative to the club head 50. In some embodiments, the shaft 10 may be adjusted in a range from about 30 degrees above the horizontal plane of the club head 20 to about 150 degrees above the horizontal plane of the club head 20. This wide range of adjustment allows the golf club to be adaptable for use by left or right handed golfers and conformable to the height and stance of a golfer. In a preferred embodiment, the shaft 10 is adjustable in ten (10) degree increments.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a club head 20 and shaft 10 of the invention taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, wherein it is more clearly shown how a connecting mechanism maintains locking plates 31 and a terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 in a locked angular position.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the locking members 31 and terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 are aligned to receive the forward, circular non-threaded portion 34 of the screw 33 in FIG. 2. The forward, circular non-threaded portion 34 of the screw 33 defines an axle that allows the terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 to maintain a pivotal connection within the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. Indeed, it is shown that the forward, circular non-threaded portion 34 of the screw 33 is long enough to be further mateable with an aperture 39 in the club head 20 that extends beyond and is aligned with the holes 32 in the locking members 31 and lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10.

Space 38 is also shown rearward of the locking member 31 in FIG. 3. The space 38 is large enough to allow room to disengage the locking members 31 from the lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 independent of a need to remove the connecting mechanism from the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. Instead, this space 38 allows a golfer to release just enough pressure on the locking members 31, by turning the screw 33 for example, to disengage the locking members 31 from the shaft 10 while the forward non-threaded portion of the screw 33 remains engaged to shaft 10 and aperture 39 in the club head, thus allowing adjustment of the shaft 10 independent of a need to disassemble the golf club. This feature ensures that loosening the screw 33 to adjust the angle of the shaft 10 relative to the club head 20 may be done while the shaft 10 maintains a pivotal connection within the club head 20. In particular, it allows a golfer to avoid the difficulty and inconvenience of disassembling the golf club in order to adjust it. It facilitates easy adjustment of the golf club, and further ensures that there is no risk that fully removed parts may be lost, damaged or become difficult to reinsert and reengage during the course of adjustment.

FIG. 3 also shows the manner in which a lower surface 23 defined by the club head 20 may be configured to curve inwardly toward the striking face 21 to minimize grounding of the club head 20 when striking a golf ball.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the golf club showing an embodiment of the lower terminal end 12 and a locking member 31 disposed in the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. The dotted lines show various angles to which the shaft 20 may be adjusted relative to the club head 20. In some embodiments, the shaft 10 may be adjusted in a range from about 30 degrees above the horizontal plane of the club head 20 to about 150 degrees above the horizontal plane of the club head 20. This wide range of adjustment allows the golf club to be adaptable for use by left or right handed golfers and conformable to the height and stance of a golfer.

Each of the embodiments of this invention is suitable for easy, and repeated readjustment of the angle of the shaft 10 relative to the club head 50 as desired by a golfer. In particular, the embodiments described below allow a golfer to make adjustments to the golf club independent of a need to use tools and/or the need to disassemble the golf club. This avoids the risk of losing or damaging disassembled parts and further avoids the risk of encountering experiencing difficulty reengaging the parts of the golf club during the course of adjustment. The following descriptions include various alternative embodiments of the connecting mechanism and locking member offered to illustrate, rather than limit, some of the ways to achieve these purposes.

FIG. 5, for example shows an alternative connecting mechanism that includes only one locking member 31 meshable with the lower terminal end of the shaft 12. An embodiment having only one locking member 31 may further facilitate the ease with which a golfer can repeatedly adjust the angle of the shaft 10 with respect to the club head 20 because it reduces the number of parts that must be meshed in order to lock the shaft 10 into its angular position. This embodiment still allows the shaft 10 to be repeatedly and selectively adjusted to suit the needs of an individual golfer in his or her unique approach of a golf ball, while maintaining the shaft 10 in a securely locked angular position within the club head 20 during play. In one embodiment, a screw 33 having a winged head, or hinged head, or even a thumb type screw may be used to engage the locking member 31 and lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10. This allows a golfer to quickly and easily adjust the shaft 10 with respect to the club head 20, independent of a need to use any tools. Instead he or she may simply twist the screw 33 to control the holding pressure on the shaft 10 by hand.

FIG. 6 shows yet another alternative connecting mechanism that further facilitates the ease with which a golfer may adjust the angle of the shaft 10 with respect to the club head 20, independent of a need to use any tools. The embodiment of FIG. 6 includes a locking member 31 having a pin 45 that is securely mateable with any of a number of apertures 43 evenly spaced at intervals 44 along the lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10. The apertures 43 may be spaced so that the lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 is lockable in equal intervals with respect to the club head 20. In one embodiment, for example, the apertures 43 may be spaced so that the shaft 10 is lockable in ten (10) degree intervals. In one embodiment, a screw 33 having a winged head, or hinged head, or even a thumb type screw may be used to engage the locking member 31 and lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10. This allows a golfer to quickly and easily adjust the shaft 10 with respect to the club head 20, independent of a need to use any tools. Instead he or she may simply twist the screw 33 by hand.

The screw shown in both FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 affords the golfer the ability to selectively control the pressure at which the shaft 10 is engaged within the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. With respect to FIG. 6, the hand-engageable screw allows a golfer to selectively adjust the holding pressure on the shaft 10 so that the shaft 10 is rotatable when the pin 45 is not engaged with an aperture 48 disposed along the arcuate surface 47, but is also held firmly enough to minimize translation of the shaft while engaged in a locked angular position during play.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the club head and shaft of the invention taken along shown at FIG. 6, and it shows a space 38 located rearward of the locking member 31. The space 38 is large enough to allow room to disengage the locking members 31 from the lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 independent of a need to remove the connecting mechanism from the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. Instead, this space 38 allows a golfer to simply release just enough pressure on the locking members 31 to disengage the shaft 10 while the forward non-threaded portion of the screw 34 remains mated with the connecting mechanism, thus allowing adjustment of the shaft 10 independent of a need to disassemble the golf club. This ensures easy adjustment of the golf club, and further ensures that there is no fear, for example, that fully removed parts may be lost, damaged or become difficult to reinsert and reengage during the course of adjustment.

In FIG. 8, yet another embodiment of the invention shows a connecting mechanism that is implemented as an arcuate member having a plurality of apertures 48 disposed along an arcuate surface 47. The shaft 10 is adjustable relative to the arcuate surface 47 such that a pin 49 extending through the club head may be in selective alignment with one of the arcuate member apertures. As such, the shaft 10 is rotatable relative to the arcuate member, for locking engagement of the club head to the arcuate member at one of the apertures in the arcuate surface 47. An exemplary pin 49 is shown, which is a hand retractable plunger pin that is spring loaded to be removably and securely mateable to any of the apertures 48 of the arcuate surface 37. A spring loaded pin or other similar fasteners may also be connected to the club head, or to the arcuate member to facilitate the locking engagement and disengagement of the club head and the connecting mechanism without the need for tools and without the need for disengagement of the shaft from the club head.

The shaft 10 of FIG. 8 is shown to be pivotally connected to the club head 20 by way of a screw 33 that is mateable with both an aperture 37 in a cavity 24 defined by the club head 20 and an aligned hole 32 in the terminal end 12 of the shaft 10. This gives the golfer the ability to selectively control the pressure at which the shaft 10 is engaged within the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20. In particular, it allows a golfer to selectively adjust the holding pressure on the shaft 10 so that the shaft 10 is rotatable when the pin 49 is not engaged with an aperture 48 disposed along the arcuate surface 47, but is also held firmly enough to minimize translation of the shaft while engaged in a locked angular position during play. This is further facilitated by configuring the shaft 10 to maintain contact with a vertical face of the arcuate surface 47 while the shaft is locked in an angular position. This may ensure in particular that the pin 49 remains securely mated to any of the chosen holes 48 during play.

FIG. 8A shows a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 8 of the exemplary hand retractable locking member, or plunger pin, disposed in the shaft 10. A plunger 49a may be pulled back by hand, engaging the springs 49b within the body of the plunger pin to retract the pin 49 from its engagement in any of the apertures 48 disposed along the arcuate surface 47 of FIG. 8. The hand retractable plunger pin may be either lockable or non-lockable. That is, when the plunger 49a is pulled back by hand, the pin 49 may either lock in its retracted position until adjustment of the shaft 10 has been made, or the golfer may continue to manually retract the pin 49 by pulling on the plunger 49a until adjustment to the shaft 10 has been made and the pin 49 is released to engage with one of the apertures 48 disposed along the arcuate surface 47 to maintain a new angular position. Using a spring loaded pin such as this allows a golfer to quickly and easily translate the shaft 10 with respect to the arcuate surface 47 and club head 20, independent of any need to use any tools. This embodiment furthermore ensures that the shaft 10 remains pivotally connected within the cavity 24 defined by the club head 20 so a golfer need not struggle with fully disconnecting the shaft from the golf club in order to adjust the angle of the shaft relative to the club head 20.

FIG. 9 shows a sectional view of this preferred embodiment, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 8, wherein the pin 49 is engaged with an aperture 48 disposed along the arcuate surface 47. The apertures 48 may be spaced so that the lower terminal end 12 of the shaft 10 is lockable at 10 degree increments with respect to the club head 20.

FIG. 10 illustrates the adjustability of the shaft 10 with respect to the club head 20 for individuals of various heights. For example, there is illustrated an adjustment for a tall golfer 61, where it may be desirable to adjust the shaft 10 to an angle that ranges from about 70 degrees to about 90 degrees with respect to the club head 20. For tall, left-handed golfers, this angle may be about 90 degrees to about 110 degrees with respect to the club head 20. For a medium height golfer 62, it may be desirable to adjust the shaft 10 to a range of about 50 degrees to about 70 degrees with respect to the club head 20, or about 110 to about 130 degrees for medium height, left-handed golfers. For a short golfer, or a child golfer, 63 it may be desirable to adjust the shaft 10 in a range from about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees with respect to the club head 20 or about 120 to about 150 degrees for short or child, left-handed golfers.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate the adjustability of the shaft with respect to the club head for right 64 and left 65 handed golfers. Adjustment of the shaft 10 to a position between about 30 and 90 degrees relative to the club head may be suitable for use by right handed golfers. Similarly, adjustment of the shaft 10 to a position between about 90 and about 150 degrees may be suitable for use by left handed golfers.

There has herein been disclosed a golf club that is adjustable to the most suitable position for a specific golfer. Advantages of the golf club include: a shaft adjustable relative to a club head, allowing individuals of various body types to adapt the angle of the shaft to the club head for ease of stance; a mechanism which controls shaft angle that may be completely enclosed within the club head; the shaft centered on the head which provides improved balance of the head; the bottom and rear of the head contoured to minimize grounding of the club when putting; maximum conformity of the club to the most comfortable and correct putting position of the player; ability to lock the club face into any position to suit the particular stance and height of the golfer; rotation of the shaft permitting use by either right or left-handed golfers; and the triangular head providing superior balance and alignment to the club when putting.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of adjusting a club shaft relative to a club head while maintaining a pivotal connection between the two. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.

Claims

1. A golf club adjustable for use by left handed or right handed golfers, comprising:

a) club head defining a ball striking face;

b) a shaft; and

c) a club head connecting mechanism connectable to the club head and

to the shaft, the connecting mechanism being adjustable to facilitate selective translation of the vertical orientation of the shaft relative to the club head, in a plane parallel to the striking face, while the shaft remains connected to the head.

2. The golf club as recited in claim 1, wherein the connecting mechanism is operative to translate the relative orientation of the shaft and the club head independent of any need for tools.

3. The golf club as recited in claim 2, wherein the club head defines a common ball striking face for any relative orientation of the shaft and the club head.

4. The golf club as recited in claim 3, wherein the connecting mechanism is operative to the translate the relative orientation of the shaft and the club head between left handed and right handed orientations, independent of any need to disconnect the shaft from the club head.

5. The golf club as recited in claim 4, wherein the club head defines a club head cavity, and wherein the connecting mechanism is disposed within the club head cavity, rearward of the ball striking face, at about the horizontal center of the club head.

6. The golf club as recited in claim 5, wherein the club head is triangular in a horizontal plane, the ball striking face defining one side of the triangle.

7. The golf club as recited in claim 6, wherein the club head further defines second and third sides that join to form an apex rearward of the striking face, at about the horizontal center of the club head striking face.

8. The golf club as recited in claim 6, wherein the club head defines an equilateral triangle.

9. The golf club as recited in claim 5, wherein the club head defines a center of gravity and wherein the shaft is connected to the club head proximate a club head center of gravity.

10. The golf club as recited in claim 9, wherein the shaft remains connected to the club head proximate the club head center of gravity as the shaft translated between the right handed and left handed orientations.

11. The golf club as recited in claim 10, wherein the club head remains in a constant orientation to an adjacent ground area when the shaft translates between the right handed orientation to the left handed orientation.

12. The golf club as recited in claim 11, wherein the club head defines a lower surface.

13. The golf club as recited in claim 12, wherein the golf club is self-supporting along the lower surface.

14. The golf club as recited in claim 12, wherein the lower surface maintains a constant angle of the ball striking face with respect to a field of play while the connecting mechanism facilitates selective translation of the vertical orientation of the shaft relative to the club head.

15. The golf club as recited in claim 12, wherein the lower surface curves inwardly toward the striking face to minimize grounding of the club head when striking a ball.

16. The golf club as recited in claim 5, wherein the connecting mechanism comprises:

a) at least one locking member, the locking member having an engageable locking surface;

b) wherein the shaft is selectively translatable relative to the locking surface, and engageable to the locking surface for maintaining the shaft and the locking member in a selected relative position; and

c) wherein the shaft is disengageable from the locking surface so as be translatable between right handed and left handed orientations, independent of a need to disconnect the shaft from the club head.

17. The golf club as recited in claim 4, wherein the connecting mechanism comprises:

a) a retractable locking member disposed along the shaft, proximate a club head;

b) an arcuate surface connected to and extending from the club head, the arcuate surface defining a plurality of locking member receiving apertures disposed therein; and

c) wherein the shaft is translatable relative the arcuate surface, and the locking member is selectively engageable to one of the plurality of apertures to fix the orientation of the shaft relative to the club head, independent of any need to disconnect the shaft from the club head.

18. The golf club as recited in claim 2, wherein the angle of the shaft relative to the club head is selectively translatable from 30 degrees to 150 degrees above the horizontal plane of the club head.

19. The golf club as recited in claim 18, wherein the shaft is selectively translatable relative to the club head in 10 degree increments.

20. The golf club as recited in claim 1, wherein the club head defines a guide grove disposed parallel to the striking face along the horizontal plane of the club head for indicating the angle of the shaft relative to the club head.

21. The golf club as recited in claim 7 wherein the club head is a putter club head.