US1514958A - Golf club - Google Patents

Description

P. E. DUTCHER GOLF CLUB Filed Sept. 8. 1923 INVENTOR DUTGHER, a citizen of Patented Nov. 11, 1924.

0 F F I C E PIERPONT E. BUTCHER, OF UPPER MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

GOLF

Application filed September To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PIERPONT E. the United States, residing at Upper Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf Clubs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has as an object the minimizing of the retarding effect of the air not so much at the time of impact with the ball as during the greater portion of the swing preceding this impact. This is illustrated in accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a top view of the club head and part of the shaft such as would be seen by the player when the club is in position just behind the ball.

Figure 2 is a section on the horizontal axis A A of Figure 1.

Figure 3 isa front view of head and part of shaft looking directly at the face of club.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the relative positions the club head assumes during that portion of the swing imlmediately preceding its contact with the Figure 5 represents a cross section of the neck of the club on the line n n of Figure 3. As indicated in Figures 1 and 3, the club may be made in any of the usual types of construction with ashaft 1 inserted in a socket 2 of the neck 3 of the head 4 and held there by Inc and a wrapping 5 or by other means. e club head has a striking face 6 of usual form with protecting corner insert of hard material 9, but the shape of the head difi'ers materially from any heretofore used in that it tapers away from the plane of face in an outward direction at an acute angle horizontally. as indicated in Figure 1 by the horizontal axis of this taper A A and the line E, F, representing the horizontal projection of the plane of face. Similarly the head tapers downwardly backwards in a vertical plane at an acute angle to plane of face as indicated in Figure 2 where A, A, is the axis of this vertical taper and F, F, a line representing the vertical position of plane of face.

This taper in vertical plane so that the axis A, A,.is at an acute angle to plane of face, is used so as to more nearly line this axis with direction of club head travel particularly at beginning of downward swing,

direction of motion head, the axis of CLUB.

s, 1923. Serial No. 661,607.

i. e., from a point above players head to about Waist level. During this portion of the stroke the club head is not being swung in a circular path but in an approximately elliptical path.

During a large part of the downward swing, the handle or upper end of the club shaft precedes the club head as the latter is dragged or pulled around. While almost impossible to illustrate, the action will be readily seen by anyone who knows the game. This action causes the top side 8 of the club head 4'to tend to feel the pressure of the air. slanting as described, this face is presented to the air in a direction more nearly in line with direction of movement and the air resistance thus decreased.

The neck3of the club has a tapering rear end as shown in Figure 5 and the axis of this taper N,, N,, is substantially parallel to the axis of head A A Figure 1. I

The reason for the taper in a horizontal direction at an acute angle outwards to plane of face is indicated in Figure 4 where the solid line drawing represents the head at time of impact with ball and the dotted lines represent various positions of the head during a portion of the stroke preceding impact. The line R R indicates the approximate radius through which the club head travels and also the general direction of travel. In making a golf swing, both in the backward swing and in the forward swing, the wrists of the player roll over to a considerable extent so that they may be in a position where they have maximum strength and not in terfere with each other. This results in the club head turning ovpr to such an extent that a short distance back of the ball the horizontal axis A Figure 5) corresponds closely with the direction of travel R Now it is a well known fact in aero dynamics that the axis of a tapering section, to have minimum air retardation or resistance must correspond closely to the line efiect breaks down. From Figure 5 it will be seen that the axis A A does so correspond during that part of the swing By having the axis A, A,

A and consequently the parallel axis of neck N N otherwise the stream some distance before impact but that it does not correspond at time of .impact. In the usual form of stream line or tapered club face and corresponds to direction oftravel taper is at right angles to at time of impact but not during the portion of stroke preceding impact. It is during the portion of swing preceding impact that the acceleration of the club head is secured and it is at this point that minimum air resistance is desirable, for the speed of head attained at that time can be continued at time of impact even if the air resistance be increased somewhat at that instant.

In this club I do not use a shaft having a cross section of tapered or stream line form as I prefer the usual round form, both because it is easier to make and apply and because it has a more uniform spring and torsion.

It is obvious that various changes may be resorted to in materials used and methods of construction as well as minor changes in form without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and hence I do not wish to be limited to the details herein shown and described except as they may be set forth in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A golf club head having a striking face, the portion of the head back of the face tapered, the horizontal axis of this taper at an acute angle to plane of face and at an obtuse angle to horizontal projection of shaft.

2. A golf club head havinga striking face, the rearward portion of the head tapering, the horizontal axis of this taper being at an acute angle to plane of face and, measured in a rearward direction, at an obtuse angle outwardly to horizontal projection of shaft; the vertical axis of this taper being at an acute angle to plane of face.

3. A golf club head having a striking face, the rearward portion of the head tapering, the horizontal and vertical axes of this taper both being at acute angles to the plane of face and at obtuse angles to shaft.

4:. A" golf club with a head having a striking face and a neck, the neck having a stream line horizontal cross section, the major axis of this section being at an acute angle in an outward and rearward direction to the plane of the face.

5. A golf club comprising a shaft, a head, a striking face, the head having a horizontal cross section of a stream line shape whose major axis is at an acute angle to plane of face, and measured in a rearward direction, at an obtuse angle outwardly to horizontal projection of shaft, a stream line section vertically through the horizontal axis, the axis of this vertical section being at an acute angle to the plane? of face.

6. A golf club as in 5 and in combination a neck having a stream line horizontal cross section the major axis of this section being parallel to themajor axis of horizontal section of head.

PIER'PONT E. DUTCHER.

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