Golf Putter Head with Maximized Fore-Aft Weighting and Vertical Sweetspot

Abstract

This invention maximizes the distribution of mass of the club head to the front and back of the club head to maximize the sweetspot vertically. Mass is concentrated in front and back bars. Mass is minimized in between the bars by use of light weight tubes, one at the heel and one at the toe, that connect the front and back bars to each other. A screw inside each tube cinches the bars against the tubes. A hosel is on the heel tube. The lie of the club is adjustable by loosening the heel side cinching screw which allows the heel tube to turn against the bars. Forward press is adjustable by loosening set screws and turning the bent golf shaft in the hosel. Weights can be added and removed within the tubes to adjust the club head weight.

Claims

1. A golf club comprising a club head, a golf shaft, and a golf shaft attaching means attaching the golf shaft to the head, in which said club head comprises a. a front bar, at the front of the club head, disposed from heel to toe, with a ball striking surface on the front-facing side, with tube cinching means, and tube locating means near each end, b. a back bar, at the back of the club head, disposed from heel to toe, with tube cinching means, and tube locating means near each end, c. a heel tube, toward the heel of the club head, spanning between the front and back bars, positioned on the bars by the tube locating means, and held against the bars by cinching means, d. a toe tube, toward the toe of the club head, spanning between the front and back bars, positioned on the bars by the tube locating means, and held against the bars by cinching means, e. the front bar and back bar, in the plan view, appear to be at right angles to the heel and toe tubes.

2. A golf club of claim 1 wherein the cinching means includes an elongated cinching member inside each tube, connecting to the bars, to cinch the bars against the tubes.

3. A golf club of claim 1 wherein the tube locating means is a recess in the bar, into which the tube fits.

4. A golf club of claim 1 wherein the golf shaft attaching means is located on the heel tube.

5. A golf club of claim 4 wherein the golf shaft attaching means comprises (a) a golf shaft receiving tube, and (b) a means of fixing the golf shaft receiving tube to the heel tube.

6. A golf club of claim 5 wherein the means of fixing the golf shaft receiving tube to the heel tube is a ring on the heel tube.

7. A golf club of claim 4 wherein the golf shaft is fixed in the golf shaft receiving tube by a retaining means which allows the shaft to be turned and fixed in a new position.

8. A golf club of claim 7 wherein the retaining means is one or more set screws in the golf shaft receiving tube, such that the tightened set screws press against the golf shaft.

9. A golf club of claim 2 in which club head lie is adjusted by loosening the elongated cinching member at the heel of the club head, revolving the club head about the heel tube, and then retightening the elongated cinching member.

10. A golf club of claim 8 wherein the golf shaft has a bend near the golf shaft receiving tube, and an adjustment of forward press is made by loosening the set screws, turning the golf shaft in the golf shaft receiving tube, and re-tightening the set screws.

11. A golf club of claim 2 wherein the elongated cinching member has mass added detachably to it.

12. A golf club of claim 1 wherein the bars are made of a dense material such as steel, and the tubes are made of light material such as carbon fiber composite.

13. A golf club of claim 4 wherein the golf shaft attaching means allows the golf shaft to be unfixed, turned to consumer preference, and fixed again.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0016] FIG. 1 Perspective view of the club head.

[0017] FIG. 2 Sectioned plan view, showing the bottom half of the club head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following describes the preferred embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, the putter head 10 has two stainless steel bars, front bar 12 and back bar 14, deployed to the front and back of the putter head, parallel to each other. Each bar has a cross-section 20 mm by 10 mm and a length of 100 mm. The 20 mm sides face forward and backward, so the golfer sees the 10 mm side from above. These bars are separated and fixed by two 15 mm diameter round carbon fiber composite tubes 18 (the heel tube) and 20 (the toe tube). The tubes have a wall thickness of around 1 mm. The carbon fiber composite tubes contact the bars on the 20 mm inward facing sides of the bars, near the ends of the bars. The tubes should be parallel to each other and perpendicular to the bars. The carbon fiber composite tubes have a length of 80 mm to create a near square club head. The front bar acts as the club face 16, where the ball is struck.

[0019] Seen in FIG. 2, the ends of tubes 18 and 20 are located on the bars 12 and 14 by 1 mm deep grooves 24 in the bars. M5 cap screws 26 and 28 are used to cinch the bars against the tubes. The cap screws pass through the longitudinal central axes of the tubes. The cap screw heads are located in counterbores on the back of bar 14 so the heads do not stick out beyond the surface of the bar. The cap screws are screwed into blind threaded holes in front bar 12. Loft for the club face 16 is created by machining the shallow grooves and threaded holes at a 2 degree angle rather than perpendicular to the club face. The overall depth of the head from club face to the back of the back bar is almost 100 mm.

[0020] Back on FIG. 1, a 2 cm long metal ring 22 is installed over the carbon fiber composite tube 18. Adhesive fixes the ring to the tube. Before installing ring 22, weld to it a socket 28, perpendicular to the ring, to accept a golf shaft 30. Fasten the golf shaft in the socket with two M4 set screws 32. Set screws 32 sit in thickened spots on socket 28 to create enough threads. Ring 22 and socket 28 could also be created as one by casting. The golf shaft 30 should have a bend 34 just above the socket to get the golf shaft’s main axis (located above the bend) to pass through the club head about halfway between the heel and toe tubes. The putter head looks and works better if ring 22 is positioned closer to the front bar than to the rear bar. The set screws 32 allow the adjustment of the forward press by the golfer. The forward press is the position of the golfer’s hands to the golfer’s left or right. Loosening bolt 26 allows the putter head to rotate about the axis of the tube 18, giving the golfer a convenient way to adjust the lie of the club. The lie and forward press should be adjusted on a flat level surface. If the lie or forward press won’t stay set, the metal contact surfaces can be roughened or friction granules can be applied.

[0021] The front and back bars of the preferred embodiment have straight flat lower surfaces and are designed to be adjusted by the golfer to sit flat on a level surface at address. Golf greens, however, are hardly ever level. Therefore the golfer cannot always rest the head flat on the green. There are ways to deal with this that become evident upon using the preferred embodiment. Nevertheless, some golfers may want the putter head to touch the ground in the traditional way. Blade putters touch the grass under the middle of the blade. The front bar of the preferred embodiment could serve as resting point similar to a blade putter, by adding a bulge under the middle of the front bar and/or elevating the back bar. Another modification to the preferred embodiment for resting on sloped greens is to add a strut that extends into the centralized area of the head and descends downward below the head about ⅛ inch. If the strut is added to the toe carbon fiber tube, the strut has the added benefit of being adjustable up and down, because the tube is rotatable when loosened.

[0022] A more expensive and slightly improved embodiment uses tungsten carbide front and rear bars, whose higher density provides more rotational inertia through greater concentration of mass to the front and rear than does steel, and also provides greater scratch resistance for maintaining appearance.

[0023] Another modification that might please some golfers is to make the front and back bars into a traditional shape. One or both bars can have a flange or lip that sticks out from the lower part of the bar. The front bar would have the flange stick out toward the rear of the head. The back bar could have flange facing forward or backward. This would lower the center of gravity and sacrifice some rotational inertia.

[0024] An alteration to the preferred embodiment (not shown) could use caps in or on the ends of the tubes, with a threaded hole for a short screw going through the bar at each end rather than one long screw through the tube. This sacrifices the important feature of adding and subtracting weights inside the tubes by the consumer, but it could slightly increase the distribution of mass to the front and back of the club head.