GB2399294A

GB2399294A - Golf putter of open frame construction

Info

Publication number: GB2399294A
Application number: GB0305395A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Douglas Boyd Buchanan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-08
Filing date: 2003-03-08
Publication date: 2004-09-15
Also published as: GB0305395D0; GB0322668D0

Abstract

A golf putter comprises a head constructed as an open band with no top or bottom member added. The head comprises a striking plate 11, a support plate 12, which defines a heel portion 14 and a toe portion 13. A hosel block connection 19 for the shaft is attached to the support plate, so that the centre of gravity is shifted to the rear of the club head. Weights 16 and 17 may be added at the heel and toe portion to adjust the inertia of the head and increase the 'sweet spot'. The hosel plate may be isolated from the support plate by the use of a layer (21 fig 3) made from nylon or polymer. An additional weight (25, fig 3) may also be added to the sole plate. A pointer (26, fig 3) may be added to assist with the alignment of the putter head.

Description

Golf Putter of Open Frame Type Construction This invention relates to golf

clubs. More particularly the invention is concerned with a golf putter of open frame type construction and wherein the point of shaft attachment is displaced from the striking face. In US patent 3042405 ( K Solheim 1962) the famous Ping putter - there is disclosed a putter wherein the point of shaft attachment, that is, the hosel is displaced from the striking face. However, this is not a putter of open frame construction as disclosed herein because it includes a bottom plate to which the hosel is attached. Also of interest is the putter manufactured by Green Grass Co, 282 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. This is somewhat similar to the Ping putter insofar as it discloses a plate member bridging between the front and back of the putter to which the shaft is attached.

According to the present invention there is provided a golf putter of open frame type construction having a striking face and a point of shaft connection wherein the point of shaft connection is displaced from the striking face.

An advantage of the present invention is that the displacement of the point of connection of the shaft from the striking face is maximised to thereby increase the amount of " gear effect" as described in the book, "Search for the Perfect Swing" by Cochran and Stobbs, 1968 published by The Golf Society of Great Britain, page 118.

The invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure I is a part perspective view of a golf putter in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a part sectional exploded view of a hosel block connection in accordance with the invention 2.

Figure 3 illustrates a putter head in accordance with the invention including an alignment indicator.

Figure 4 illustrates a striking face with a reverse loft for a putter head in accordance with the invention.

In Figure 1 reference numeral 10 represents a golf putter head generally in accordance with the present invention. Putter head 10 comprises a striking face 11 attached to a support plate 12. Support plate 12 as shown is curvilinear in shape and defines a toe side portion 13, a heel side portion 14 and a rear portion 15.

Alternatively the putter head 10 may comprise a parallel front and back and have a simple radius at the toe 13 and heel 14. Inertia blocks or weights 16, 17 are disposed respectively at the toe portion 13 and heel portion 14. These inertia weights are arranged to provide the putter head with the desired balance and in modern jargon " increase the sweet spot". of the putter. Heel weight 17 is likely to be slightly heavier than toe weight 16. The inertia weights or blocks also serve to receive high tensile screws 18 which lock together the assembly of striking face 11 to its support plate 12. Additionally an epoxy resin adhesive may be used if desired. An important part of the present invention is the provision of a hosel block connection 19 and its location relative to striking face 11. Hosel block 19 is attached to the rear portion of support plate 12 and is thus positioned or displaced the maximum distance from the striking face 11. This has the effect of moving the centre of gravity of the head 10 rearwardly and therefore increases the "gear effect" as taught in the aforementioned book "Search for the Perfect Swing". Thus by increasing the sweetspot by means of the inertia weights 16, 17 and by providing an improved gear effect by means'of the location of the hosel block 19 the putter of the invention provides a very forgiving design for off- centre hits. By making support 12 plate substantially symmetrical about the centre of striking face 11 a putter suitable for right or left handed golfers may be provided by locating hosel 'block 19 at the toe 16 or heel 14 as desired. A shaft 20 can be located within hosel block 19 by suitable adhesive and when fitted with a suitable grip (not shown) will complete a putter 3.

assembly in accordance with the invention. Alternatively shaft 20 could be attached directly to support plate 12. Open frame type construction putters can be prone to vibration. In order to reduce this hosel block 19 is attached to support plate 12 via a suitable isolating means as illustrated in Figure 2. This comprises a Nylon or Polymer layer or membrane 21 interposed between hosel block 19 and the rear 15 of support plate 12. Nylon bushes 22 fit within the bores 23 provided for high tensile locking screws 24 which secure the hosel block 19 via layer 21 to support plate 12.

Isolating layer 21 may also be included in the attachment of support plate 12 and striking face 11 to the hosel blocks 16 and 17. Because the top and bottom plates are omitted in an open frame type construction a weight equivalent to these can be added to the hosel blocks 16, 17 to increase the heel and toe effect. A weighting element 25 may also be attached externally to the rear portion 15 of support plate 12 by suitable screws andlor suitable adhesive if desired. An alignment indicator or pointer 26 can be provided as shown in Figure 3. This can be attached to hosel block 19 and can serve to indicate the line of putt and can be used to correct errors in alignment. For example, if the golfer is prone to push putts to the right the pointer can be set closed relative to striking face 11. On the other hand if the golfer is prone to pull his putts the pointer 26 will be set open relative to striking face 11. Thus the putter head can be set to automatically compensate for the golfers errors in alignment.

As required by the Rules of Golf the pointer 26 must not be adjusted during a round of golf. Striking face 11 may be provided with a predetermined amount of pre stress by the deformation of support plate 12 as taught in my co-pending patent application No An advantage of the prestressing is that it tends to reduce the force required for equivalent length putts compared to conventional putters. In addition to the fabrication of constituent parts described above the putter head may be made from a one piece casting or machined from a solid block. A variety of materials may be used. The putter head including the striking face could be selected from maraging steel or similar high tensile steel or alloy, bi-metal or multi-layered materials and metal matrix composites (MMC). In a practical 4.

embodiment of the present invention striking face 11 measured 1.5 inches deep by 5 inches long ( 3.81 ems by 12.7 ems) with a thickness ranging from lmm to 7mm with a preferred thickness being 2 mm to 5mm. The dimension from the striking face to the opposite rear plate 12 would be within the range 1 to 3 inches ( 2.54 to 7.62 ems) . Preferably the material of the striking face would be a high tensile steel or alloy or Titanium. In one particular embodiment, shown in Figure 47 the striking face was given a reverse loft of 3, that is, the striking face sloped forward rather than backward as is conventional. The reverse loft of 3 was found to give a particularly smooth roll off the striking face 11 attached to supports blocks 16A, 17A. It is envisaged that a reverse loft of between 1 and 4 wil l give similar results. In this example the stiking face was 2mm thick and 1.25inches (3.175cms) deep. The thickness of the support plate 12 would be between 2 to 8mm depending on the material used. . A variety of materials could be used, for example, stainless steel or Aluminium alloy with obviously differing densities affecting the dimensions chosen.

For example, the thickness would 6mm using an Aluminium casting. The depth, that isfromgroundlevelto thetopofthesupportplate would tee 1. 5inches( 3.81cms).

The material of the inertia weights and the hosel block would be stainless steel or non-ferrous materials. The weight of the putter head would be arranged to be around 300gms. The thickness of the Polymer layer 21 would be approximately 1 mm. In order to apply the requisite amount of pre-stress a tensile load of between 0.1 tons to 1 ton ( 101.8to 1527 Kilos) would tee applied to the support plate 12 astaughtin my aforementioned GB patent application No. 5.

Claims

Claims 1. A golf putter having a head of open frame type construction, the

head having a striking face and a point of shaft connection wherein the point of shaft connection is displaced from the striking face.
2. A golf putter according to claim I including a support plate for the striking face, the support plate defining heel and toe side portions and a rear portion of the head wherein the point of shaft connection is attached to the rear of the head.
3. A golf putter according to claim 2 wherein the point of shaft connection includes a hosel block.
4. A golf putter according to claim 3 wherein the hosel block is attached to the support plate via an isolating layer.
5. A golf putter according to claim 4 wherein the isolating layer is selected from the group comprising Nylon or polymer.
6. A golf putter according to claim 3 wherein the centre of gravity of the head is displaced towards the rear of the head by the hosel block.
7. A golf putter according to claim 2 including inertia blocks at the heel and toe portions of the head.
8. A golf putter according to claim 7 wherein the inertia blocks accept screwed members locking the assembly of the striking face and support plate.
9. A golf putter according to claim 2 wherein the support plate is substantially symmetrical about the centre of the striking face and a right or left handed putter 6.

may be provided by the location of a hosel block at either the heel or the toe of a putter head.
10. A golf putter according to claim 1 wherein a pre-determined amount of pre-stress is induced in the striking face.
11. A golf putter according to claim 2 wherein a pre-determined amount of pre-stress is induced in the striking face by the deformation of the support plate attached to the striking face.
12. A golf putter according to claim 1 wherein the material ofthe striking face is selected from the group comprising high tensile steel, alloy, Titanium., maraging steel, bi-metal, multi-layered material and metal matrix composites.
13. A golf putter according to claim 2 wherein the material of the support plate is selected from the group comprising stainless steel, Aluminium alloy.
14. A golf putter according to claim I wherein the striking face has a reverse loft of 0 between I and 4.
15. A golf putter according to claim 14 wherein the reverse loft is 3
16. A golf putter according to claim 1 including an alignment indicator adjustably attached relative to the putter head.
17. A golf putter according to claim 16 including a hosel block and wherein the alignment indicator is adjustably attached to the hosel block
18. A golf putter substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3 or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings