Putter club head with an adjustable radial face

Abstract

A putter club head having an adjustable radial face. The club head having a recessed area formed in a front surface for receipt of the adjustable radial face formed by an impact surface insert. The radial impact surface insert has a frontal surface that works in combination with a radial recessed area to cause an immediate golf ball roll upon impact. The radial impact surface insert is releasably secured to the recessed area of the putter club head, allowing ease of substitution. The radial impact surface insert can vary in materials of construction, wherein a golfer can employ the radial impact surface insert to accommodate various golfing conditions while maintaining a single putter club.

Claims

1. A golf putter club head comprising: a club head member having an upper surface, a lower surface, a front surface, and a rear surface; a recessed area formed in said front surface, said recessed area having a negative loft and at least one aperture extending from said recessed area to said rear surface; a radial impact surface insert constructed and arranged to reside in said recessed area, said radial impact surface insert maintaining said negative loft between said upper surface and said lower surface; and a fastener positioned on said rear surface and extending through said aperture securing said radial impact surface insert to said recessed area; wherein negative loft of said recessed area is constructed and arranged to provide forward golf ball upon impact.

2. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said recessed area includes a support wall having an angle between 1 and 5 degrees to provide said negative loft.

3. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said negative loft is about 2 degrees.

4. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said lower surface is presented at an angle of about 91 to said front surface.

5. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said radial impact surface insert includes a foil positioned between said radial impact surface insert and said recessed area providing a tactile sound when a golf ball is impacted.

6. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said radial impact surface insert is constructed of a polymeric material.

7. The golf putter club head according to claim 6 wherein polymeric material is polybutylene.

8. The golf putter club head according to claim 6 wherein said polymeric material has a 45% rebound at 84 shore A hardness.

9. The golf putter club head according to claim 6 wherein said polymeric material has a 85% rebound at 95 shore A hardness.

10. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said radial impact surface insert has an upper thickness greater than a lower thickness.

11. The golf putter club head according to claim 10 wherein said radial impact surface insert upper thickness is about 0.150 inches and said lower thickness is about 0.124, with a center of radius of about 0.875 inches from a side of the club head.

12. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said radial impact surface insert includes a plurality of grooves spaced apart about 0.031 inches having a depth of about 0.015 inches deep.

13. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said radial impact surface insert includes ten parallel disposed grooves along a length of the insert.

14. The golf putter club head according to claim 1 wherein said radial impact surface insert is shaped to allow unidirectional placement within said recessed area.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] FIG. 1 is a front plane view of a golf putter of the instant invention;

[0028] FIG. 2 is a bottom plane view thereof;

[0029] FIG. 3 is a top plane view thereof;

[0030] FIG. 4 is a back end view thereof;

[0031] FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view thereof;

[0032] FIG. 6 is a cross sectional front end view thereof;

[0033] FIG. 7 is a front end view of the radial impact surface insert;

[0034] FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the radial impact surface insert;

[0035] FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the radial impact surface insert; and

[0036] FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the radial impact surface insert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0037] Although the invention will be described in terms of a specific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art that various modifications, rearrangements and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims appended hereto.

[0038] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, set forth is a putter club head 10 having a front surface 14, also known as the face of the club head. The front surface 14 is further defined by a toe section 12 along a distal end of the club head 10, and a heel portion 16 along a proximal end of the club head 10. The club head 10 includes an upper surface 18 and a lower surface 20. The lower surface may also be referred to as the club head sole. A hosel 22 extends from the upper surface 18 of the club head 10 for attachment to a shaft, not shown, insertable into a socket 24.

[0039] The lower surface 20 of the club head 10 may be conventional, or may include an adjustable weight 26 along the toe 12 of the club head, as well as an adjustable weight 28 along the heel 16 of the club head. In the preferred embodiment, the toe section 12 of the lower surface 20 has a radius R1 of about 14.75.

[0040] The upper surface 18 can be of most any design, but in a preferred embodiment includes a cavity 30 with a reduction from the upper surface 18 into step down layers 32 and 34. The use of the cavity 30 is arguably a design that provides a superior balance over a block type club head. A hosel 22 is offset from the frontal surface 14. The shaft, not shown, is typically constructed from steel to provide a stronger, more consistent feel on the greens. The shaft may also be constructed from graphite.

[0041] Although not limited by the specification, in a preferred embodiment, the length L of the club head 10 is about 4.5 inches, the width W of the club head 10 is about 1.125 inches, and the height H is about 1 inch.

[0042] A radial impact surface insert 40 is centrally disposed between the toe portion 12 and the heel portion 16 of the club head 10. The insert 40 has an upper edge 42, a lower edge 44, a front upper edge 46, a front lower edge 48, a rear upper edge 50 and a rear lower edge 52. It is noted that the shape of the insert 40 forms a unidirectional placement into a recess 60. The radial impact surface insert 40 may be removed and replaced with an insert 40 having different impact characteristics, with the shape of the recess 60 and insert 40 assuring correction positioning. The insert 40 is secured to the club head 10 by the use of fasteners 54, 56, which are positioned through apertures 82 and 84. The fasteners 54 and 56 have keyed access for ease of removal using an Allen type wrench, and are accessible from the cavity 30 side of the club head 10. The fasteners 54 and 565 maintain the insert 40 along the front surface 14 of the club head 10.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 6, the club head 10, having a front face 14 with a recess 60, is constructed and arranged to receive the radial impact surface insert 40. The recess 60 has a support wall 62 having an angular shape illustrated by thickness T1, which is greater than thickness T2. The angle of the lower surface 20 in relation to the front surface 14 is provided by a radial of about 91; with the angle of the front surface 14 to be between 1 and 5 degrees with a preferred embodiment about 2 degrees.

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 7-10, the impact surface insert is preferably constructed of an 85% rebound material at 95 shore A hardness along a distal end 70 and proximal end 72. The center section 74 has a 45% rebound material at 85 shore A hardness of approximately inch in width. The frontal face of the insert 40 has a plurality of grooves 76 with about a 0.031 inch spacing between the grooves 76. In the preferred embodiment, there are ten grooves 76 that run parallel to the length of the club head 10. Of the ten grooves, there is one centerline groove 61 with five grooves 63 located above the centerline groove 61 and four grooves 65 located beneath the centerline groove 61. A spacing ridge 78 is placed around the edge of the insert 40, forming a ridge having about a 0.060 inch width. The depth of the grooves 76 is approximately 0.015 inches, plus or minus 0.002 inches. The height H2 of the insert 40 is approximately 0.718 inches. As shown in FIG. 6, the thickness T1 of the insert wall back 62 is greater along the top than along the bottom, as defined by thickness T2.

[0045] The thickness T3 of the insert 40 along the upper edge is about 0.150 inches, and the thickness T4 of the insert 40 along the lower edge is about 0.124. The thickness between T3 and T4 provides a reverse loft, which causes an immediate golf ball roll upon impact. The insert 40 has a center of radius about 0.875 inches from a side of the club head 10, with a radius R1 of about 10.000.

[0046] FIG. 10 illustrates the back surface 80 of the insert 40 with sockets 82 and 84 for receipt of threaded fasteners 54 and 56. The sockets 82 and 84 are threaded so as to receive threaded fasteners and allow for ease of insert and substitution. In one embodiment, the impact surface insert 40 is constructed from a polymeric material, preferably polybutylene having a shore hardness, for soft impact, and is best used with hard golf balls and greens rated between 11 and 13. An insert 40 having a mid-range softness, such as polybutylene having a 45% rebound material at 84 shore A hardness in the middle 0.5 inch area of the insert 40, and 85% rebound material at 95 shore A hardness on each end portion of the insert 40. The mid-range insert would be used for greens rated around 10. A tour insert would have a harder feel and, thus, for use on greens rated 8 to 9. The rear surface 80 may include a foil that can provide a tactile feel and distinguishable sound. In an alternative embodiment, the impact insert 40 may be made of metal, such as 6061 aluminum, which would have the same usage as a tour insert and preferably for use with greens rated 8 to 9. It should be noted that a critical factor to this invention is the radial shape of the insert 40, best illustrated by FIG. 8, showing the thickness T3 to be greater than the thickness T4.

[0047] All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary, and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

[0048] The term coupled is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The term about means, in general, the stated value plus or minus 5%. The use of the term or in the claims is used to mean and/or unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternative are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and and/or.

[0049] The terms comprise (and any form of comprise, such as comprises and comprising), have (and any form of have, such as has and having), include (and any form of include, such as includes and including) and contain (and any form of contain, such as contains and containing) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a method or device that comprises, has, includes or contains one or more steps or elements, possesses those one or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Likewise, a step of a method or an element of a device that comprises, has, includes or contains one or more features, possesses those one or more features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more features. Furthermore, a device or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.