Smart Golf Club Shaft
A unique and innovative shaft for a golf club significantly enhances stability and shock absorption during golf swings. Taking advantage of the excellent flexibility, surface strength and shock absorption of a bamboo pole, the shaft is designed following the physical structure of the bamboo pole, thus helping facilitate vibration damping and absorption, stability during golf swings, supersymmetry and balance. The shaft comprises a plurality of connectors, each of which is a solid material and connects a plurality of links into an elongated member of the present invention. The plurality of connectors may be attached to the inside wall of the elongated member when designed as a tube. By varying the positions of connectors across the elongated member, the bamboo-inspired shaft can be configured to feature desired levels of flexibility and corrective/reversible torsion at one or more points on the shaft, thus help any golf player achieve substantial performance improvements.
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 63/016,871 filed on Apr. 28, 2020.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to golf club shafts. More specifically, the present invention relates to a golf club shaft that is designed to provide stability and shock absorption during a golf swing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA golf club shaft that provides stability and shock absorption is in demand. Many golf players spend a great deal of time choosing the right shaft for their golf clubs, hoping to optimize swing performance thus maximizing their overall golf games.
The golf club shaft is an integral component of a golf club that attaches to the clubhead on one end and to a grip on the other end. Generally, when the tip of the swing plane defined by the club shaft coincides with the clubhead's center of gravity (CG), or the “sweet spot,” the golf ball can be hit farthest with greatest accuracy. However, because of variations in the design of golf clubs and in a user's skill and performance, the user does not always strike the golf ball perfectly.
Golf club manufacturers have developed various shafts that are designed to provide better performance. However, it is difficult for ordinary golfers/users to find a club with a shaft that is perfectly suited to the individual player/user.
Lightweight shafts are available that not only have bending strength but are also resistant to breaking or twisting, thereby preventing a drop in the ball's directionality due to twisting of the shaft. However, currently available shafts do not offer consistent stability, and most do not feature the shock absorption characteristics that have proven so beneficial for golfers/users who have arthritis or tendonitis. Accordingly, there is a need to develop a golf club shaft designed to provide stability and shock absorption while solving other related problems.
The present invention is intended to address problems associated with and/or otherwise improve on conventional shafts through an innovative shaft device that is designed to provide stability and shock absorption while incorporating other problem-solving features.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention offers a unique and innovative shaft for a golf club that significantly enhances stability and shock absorption during golf swings. Taking advantage of the excellent flexibility, surface strength and shock absorption of a natural bamboo pole, the shaft of the present invention is designed following the physical structure of the bamboo pole, thus helping facilitate unique features, including, but not limited to, vibration damping and absorption, stability during golf swings, supersymmetry and balance, etc. The shaft of the present invention is made of alternative materials to those traditionally used for conventional golf clubs. These materials may be (for example) Titanium & Nickel to specific doses, and memory shape materials that will be reactive to human forces. These materials and the alternate sections designed in the shaft produce superelasticity, resulting in an instant transformation from deformation to the initial shape of the shaft related to the external forces applied. The shaft comprises a plurality of connectors, each of which is a solid material and connects a plurality of links into an elongated member of the present invention. The plurality of connectors may be attached to the inside wall of the elongated member when designed as a tube with or without an exterior taper. By varying the positions of the plurality of connectors across the elongated member, the bamboo-inspired shaft of the present invention can be configured to feature desired levels of flexibility and corrective/reversible torsion at one or more points on the elongated member of the shaft, thus help any golf player and/or user achieve substantial performance improvements.
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The present invention provides a unique and innovative shaft designed for significant stability and shock absorption of a golf club during golf swings. The shaft of the present invention is made of alternative materials to those traditionally used for conventional golf shafts. The shaft is modeled after the pattern of a bamboo pole and shares some characteristics with such a pole that help facilitate unique features, including, but not limited to, vibration damping and absorption, stability during golf swings, super symmetry and balance, etc. These design features, in conjunction with specialist alternative materials such as Sorbathane, can absorb and dissipate the energy from impact, reducing forces required and further enhancing the shock absorption properties.
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Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
Claims
1. A shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings comprising:
- an elongated member;
- the elongated member comprising a plurality of links and a plurality of connectors;
- each of the plurality of connectors comprising a solid material;
- the solid material comprising varying density and stiffness from interior to the exterior; and
- the plurality of links being interconnected by one of the plurality of connectors.
2. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elongated member comprises an exterior taper.
3. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 2 comprising:
- the elongated member comprising a tip and a grip end;
- the tip being terminally positioned on the elongated member;
- the tip being connected to a golf clubhead through a hosel;
- the grip end being terminally positioned on the elongated member opposite the tip; and
- the exterior taper being formed through a gradual outside diameter (OD) decrease from the grip end to the tip.
4. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1 comprising:
- the elongated member comprising a plurality of layers; and
- the plurality of layers comprising a varying density and stiffness.
5. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 4, wherein an inner layer of the plurality of layers of the elongated member comprises a density smaller than that of outer layer of the plurality of layers.
6. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elongated member comprises a uniform three-dimensional mass distribution centered along the center of gravity (COG) thereof.
7. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of links comprises a hollow tube.
8. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of links comprises a constant outside diameter.
9. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of links comprises a constant length.
10. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of links comprises a varying length.
11. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of connectors comprises a cross-sectional area smaller than that of an adjacent link of the plurality of links.
12. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein both the plurality of links and plurality of connectors comprise a smart material.
13. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein both the plurality of links and plurality of connectors comprise a memory shape material.
14. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein both the plurality of links and plurality of connectors comprise a thermoplastic.
15. A shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings comprising:
- an elongated member;
- the elongated member being a tube;
- the elongated member comprising a plurality of connectors;
- each of the plurality of connectors comprising a solid material;
- the solid material comprising varying density and stiffness from interior to the exterior;
- the plurality of connectors being positioned inside the elongated member; and
- each of the plurality of connectors being attached to the inner wall of the tube of the elongated member.
16. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 15, wherein the distance between an arbitrary connector of the plurality of connectors and an adjacent connector has a constant value.
17. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 15, wherein the distance between an arbitrary connector of the plurality of connectors and an adjacent connector has a varying value.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 28, 2021
Publication Date: Oct 28, 2021
Inventors: Philip Andrew Scott (Sanctuary Cove), Fatiha Sahnoune (Sanctuary Cove)
Application Number: 17/242,586