US20140113736A1

US20140113736A1 - Putter Head Having A Finish That Matches A Green

Info

Publication number: US20140113736A1
Application number: US14/061,907
Authority: US
Inventors: Michael Dill
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-10-24
Filing date: 2013-10-24
Publication date: 2014-04-24

Abstract

A golf club head is presented, the golf club head having a top surface, a front surface, a back surface, a first side surface, a second side surface and a bottom surface. The top surface has a matte green finish, an alignment mark, and an opening for mating with a shaft, wherein the matte green finish reduces distraction of a user during a golf swing.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/717,681, filed on Oct. 24, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The game of golf has become increasingly popular. Golfers use multiple different golf clubs while playing a round of golf, each golf club having a specific purpose. The most common set of men's clubs is: a driver, usually numbered a 1-wood regardless of actual loft, which varies from 8° up to 13°; a fairway wood, typically numbered a 3-wood and lofted about 15° (though 2- and 4-woods are sometimes seen); a matched set of seven numbered irons from 3 through 9, a pitching wedge or “10-iron”; a sand wedge; and a putter. The above set is only 12 clubs; these (or equivalent hybrid substitutes) are found in virtually every golf bag. To this, players typically add two of the following: another fairway wood, often a 5-wood lofted around 18° to allow other options besides long irons in the 180-250 yard range; and a hybrid, typically lofted for similar distance as a 3- or 4-iron and usually replacing instead of supplementing those clubs in the bag, and/or an additional wedge, usually either a gap wedge lofted near 52° to fit between the modern pitching and sand wedges in loft, or a lob wedge, typically lofted around 60°, used for tight approach shots from the rough or sand.
Woods are long-distance clubs, meant to drive the ball a great distance down the fairway towards the hole. They generally have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed. Historically woods were made from persimmon wood although some manufacturers—notably Ping—developed laminated woods. In 1979, TaylorMade Golf introduced the first metal wood made of steel. Even more recently manufacturers have started using materials such as carbon fiber, titanium, or scandium. Even though most “woods” are made from different metals, they are still called “woods” to denote the general shape and their intended use on the golf course. Most woods made today have a graphite shaft and a mostly-hollow titanium, composite, or steel head, of relatively light weight allowing faster club head speeds. Woods are the longest clubs and the most powerful of all the golf clubs. There are typically three to four woods in a set which are used off the tee box and, if on a long hole, possibly for the second or even third shot. The biggest wood, known as the driver, is often made of hollowed out titanium with feather-light shafts. The length of the woods has been increasing in recent decades, and a typical driver with a graphite shaft is now 45.5 inches (115.6 cm) long. The woods may also have very large heads, up to 460 cm³in volume (the maximum allowed by the USGA in sanctioned events; drivers with even larger club head volumes are available for long-drive competitions and informal games). The shafts range from regular to extra-stiff depending upon each player's preference.
An iron is a type of club used in the sport of golf to propel the ball towards the hole. Irons typically have shorter shafts and smaller club heads than the woods, the head is made of solid iron or steel, and the head's primary feature is a large, flat, angled face, usually scored with grooves. Irons are used in a wide variety of situations, typically from the teeing ground on shorter holes, from the fairway or rough as the player approaches the green, and to extract the ball from hazards, such as bunkers or even shallow water hazards.
Irons are the most common type of club; a standard set of 14 golf clubs will usually contain between 7 and 11 irons, including wedges. Irons are customarily differentiated by a number from 1 to 10 (most commonly 3 to 9) that indicates the relative angle of loft on the clubface, although a set of irons will also vary in club head size, shaft length, and hence lie angle as the loft (and number) increase. Irons with higher loft than the numbered irons are called wedges, which are typically marked with a letter indicating their name, and are used for a variety of “utility” shots requiring short distance and/or a high launch angle.
Wedges are a sub-class of irons with greater loft than the numbered irons (generally starting at 47°-48° of loft, above the 9-iron's 44°-45°, and other features such as high-mass club heads and wide soles that allow for easier use in tricky lies. Wedges are used for a variety of short-distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy “utility” shots, such as hitting the ball onto the green (“approach” shots), placing the ball accurately on the fairway for a better shot at the green (“lay-up” shots), or hitting the ball out of hazards or rough onto the green (chipping). There are five types of wedges, with lofts ranging from 45° to 64°: pitching wedge (PW, 48-50°), gap wedge (GW, also “approach”, “attack”, “utility”, or “dual” wedge, typically 52-54°), sand wedge (SW, 55-56°), lob wedge (LW, 58°-60°), and ultra lob wedge (sometimes called the “flop wedge” or FW, 64°-68°).
Present in some golfers' bags is the chipper, a club designed to feel like a putter but with a more lofted face, used with a putting motion to lift the ball out of the higher grass of the rough and fringe and drop it on the green, where it will then roll like a putt. This club replaces the use of a high-lofted iron to make the same shot, and allows the player to make the shot from a stance and with a motion nearly identical to a putt, which is more difficult with a lofted iron due to a difference in lie angle.
Most chippers have a loft greater than 10 degrees, which is the maximum loft permitted by the Rules of Golf for a club to be classed as a putter, so these clubs are actually classed as irons. To be legal for sanctioned play, a chipper cannot have any feature that is defined in the rules as allowable only on putters, e.g. two striking faces or a flat-topped “putter grip”. This disqualifies many chipper designs, but there are some USGA-conforming chippers, and non-conforming designs can still be used in non-sanctioned “informal” play.
A putter is a club used in the sport of golf to make relatively short and low-speed strokes with the intention of rolling the ball into the hole. Putting is a very demanding task, requiring concentration, eye-hand coordination and skill. Putting is differentiated from the other clubs (typically irons and woods) by a club head with a very flat, low-profile, low-loft striking face, and by other features which are only allowed on putters, such as bent shafts, non-circular grips, and positional guides.
Putters are generally used from very close distances to the cup, generally on the putting green, though certain courses have fringes and roughs near the green which are also suitable for putting. While no club in a player's bag is absolutely indispensable nor required to be carried by strict rules, the putter comes closest. It is a highly specialized tool for a specific job and virtually no golfer is without one.

SUMMARY

Conventional golf clubs such as those explained above suffer from a variety of deficiencies. One very common reason golfing is such a challenge is that the golfer, during the act of swinging the golf club, will have one or both of their eyes unconsciously follow the club head during at least a part of the swing. This takes the focus off the golf ball. In order to hit accurate golf shots it can be critical for the golfer to keep one or both eyes on the ball.
The design of most golf club heads tends to distract the golfer. Golf club heads have elaborate shapes, bold designs elements and are often made of shiny metal or stark white finishes, all of which fight the ball for attention.
Embodiments of the invention significantly overcome such deficiencies. A golf club head is presented, the golf club head having a top surface, a front surface, a back surface, a first side surface, a second side surface and a bottom surface. The top surface has a matte green finish, an alignment mark, and an opening for mating with a shaft, wherein the matte green finish reduces distraction of a user during a golf swing. The front surface includes an insert.
Note that each of the different features, techniques, configurations, etc. discussed in this disclosure can be executed independently or in combination. Accordingly, the present invention can be embodied and viewed in many different ways. Also, note that this summary section herein does not specify every embodiment and/or incrementally novel aspect of the present disclosure or claimed invention. Instead, this summary only provides a preliminary discussion of different embodiments and corresponding points of novelty over conventional techniques. For additional details, elements, and/or possible perspectives (permutations) of the invention, the reader is directed to the Detailed Description section and corresponding figures of the present disclosure as further discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a top view of the golf club head in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the golf club head in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the golf club head in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the golf club head in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a first side view of the golf club head in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a second side view of the golf club head in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing embodiments of the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.
The preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the particular embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements. While the following description references a putter head, the application is not limited to only a putter head, but also includes other types of golf club heads including, but not limited to, driver heads, iron heads, wedge heads, chipper heads as well as putter heads.
Putting is the most precise aspect of the game of golf. The putter must be designed to give the golfer every technical advantage including smooth stroke, good glide, sweet impact, and bounce-less topspin ball launch as well as every technique advantage including perfect fit as to shaft angle and length.
The design of the putter's club head has undergone radical change in the last 20-30 years, as have many club types. The putter was originally a forged iron piece very similar in shape to the irons of the day. Through attempts to lower the center of gravity of the club head, it evolved into a shorter, thicker head slightly curved from front to rear (the so-called “hot dog” putter). The introduction of investment casting for club heads allowed drastically different shapes to be made far more easily and cheaply than with forging, resulting in several design improvements. First of all, the majority of mass behind the clubface was placed as low as possible, resulting in an L-shaped side profile with a thin, flat clubface and another thin block along the bottom of the club behind the face. Additionally, peripheral weighting, or the placing of mass as far away from the center of the clubface as possible, increases the moment of inertia of the club head, reducing twisting if the club contacts the ball slightly off-center and thus giving the club a larger “sweet spot” with which to contact the ball. Newer innovations include replacing the metal at the “sweet spot” with a softer metal or polymer compound that will give and rebound at impact, which increases the peak impulse (force per millisecond) imparted to the ball for better distance.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-6, a particular embodiment of a design of a golf club head 10, in this example a putter head, in accordance with the present invention is shown. Putter head 10 includes a top surface 12 which is green in color and has a matte finish. While top surface 12 is described as having a matte green finish, other surfaces of the putter head could also have a similar finish as the top surface. Top surface 12 also features an alignment mark 14 for aiding the golfer in lining up the putt. Putter head 10 additionally includes a hole 16 for a shaft (not shown). The alignment mark 14 may be white in color. Putter head 10 also includes an insert 18 in the front surface which is used to strike the ball. The insert may be a polymer material or the like and may also be white in color.
The use of the green matte finish tends to make the putter head blend in with the putting surface and not be a distraction to take the golfer's focus off the ball. The putter head also has a high Moment Of Inertia (MOI), great balance and soft feel for providing a consistent putting experience. Accordingly, by way of the presently designed putter head, a more accurate and consistent putting experience is provided.
The matte green finish for the golf club head can be provided in one or more ways. The golf club head may be formed from material having a matte green color. The golf club head may be dipped in a green material proving a coating (e.g., an epoxy or gel coat material) over at least a part of the golf club head. The golf club head may be painted or stained to have a green finish. For existing golf club heads the matte green finish may be applied as a decal or sticker (permanent or removable) over at least a part of the club head.
Unless otherwise stated, use of the word “substantially” may be construed to include a precise relationship, condition, arrangement, orientation, and/or other characteristic, and deviations thereof as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, to the extent that such deviations do not materially affect the disclosed methods and systems.
Throughout the entirety of the present disclosure, use of the articles “a” or “an” to modify a noun may be understood to be used for convenience and to include one, or more than one of the modified noun, unless otherwise specifically stated.
Elements, components, modules, and/or parts thereof that are described and/or otherwise portrayed through the figures to communicate with, be associated with, and/or be based on, something else, may be understood to so communicate, be associated with, and or be based on in a direct and/or indirect manner, unless otherwise stipulated herein.
Although the methods and systems have been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, they are not so limited. Obviously many modifications and variations may become apparent in light of the above teachings. Many additional changes in the details, materials, and arrangement of parts, herein described and illustrated, may be made by those skilled in the art.
Having described preferred embodiments of the invention it will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating these concepts may be used. Accordingly, it is submitted that that the invention should not be limited to the described embodiments but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club head comprising:

a head having a top surface, a front surface, a back surface, a first side surface, a second side surface and a bottom surface;

wherein at least a portion of said head has a matte green finish, wherein said matte green finish reduces distraction of a user during a golf swing.

2. The golf club head of claim 1 further comprising an alignment mark disposed along said top surface of said head.

3. The golf club head of claim 1 further comprising an insert disposed along said front surface of said head.

4. The golf club head of claim 1 further comprising an opening for mating with a shaft.

5. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said head comprises a putter head.

6. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said head comprises an iron head.

7. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said head comprises a wood head.

8. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said head comprises a wedge head.

9. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said head comprises a chipper head.

10. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said head is comprised of material having a matte green finish.

11. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said head is covered in a material having a matte green finish.

12. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said head is painted with a material having a matte green finish.

13. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said head is covered with a decal having a matte green finish.

14. The golf club head of claim 13 wherein said decal is removable.