Inverted mass wedge

United States Patent Application 20050101410

A wedge type golf club head including a blade having a majority of its mass in an upper portion of the blade. The upper portion of the blade is weighted with a bulbous mass disposed at the rear of the blade, the bulbous mass decreasing in thickness towards a lower portion of the club from a region of greatest thickness and the bulbous mass being formed, in one embodiment, along a top surface of the club.

Bonneau, Michael D. (San Jose, CA, US)

10/703857

05/12/2005

11/06/2003

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BONNEAU MICHAEL D.

473/349

473/350

A63B53/04; (IPC1-7): A63B53/04

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DE95819C
DE328116C	1920-10-21
DE329266C	1920-11-19

HUNTER, ALVIN A

Law Offices of Thomas Schneck (SAN JOSE, CA, US)

1. A golf club head for a wedge type club including a hosel and shaft comprising: a blade to be used as a wedge, said blade having a rear surface, a front, golf ball striking surface, and upper and lower portions, said lower portion having less mass than the upper portion wherein the upper portion includes a rear bulbous mass decreasing in thickness from a region of greatest thickness towards said lower portion.

2. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass is integral with said rear surface.

3. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass is integral with a top surface of said blade.

4. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said golf ball striking surface includes a striking region at which said golf ball is to be struck wherein at least a portion of said bulbous mass is above said region.

5. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed within an upper two thirds of said upper portion.

6. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed within an upper third of said upper portion.

7. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed in the entire upper portion.

8. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass comprises steel.

9. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass ranges from about 45-85 grams.

10. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said lower portion has a thickness ⅛^th of an inch.

11. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said lower portion is relatively uniform in thickness.

12. The golf club head of claim 1 including a portion of said upper portion having relatively less thickness than said bulbous mass.

13. The golf club head of claim 12 wherein said thickness of said portion of said upper portion having relatively less thickness than said bulbous mass is the same as a thickness of said lower portion.

14. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said blade is steel.

15. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein a centerline divides said upper and lower portions.

16. A golf club head for a wedge type club including a hosel and shaft comprising: a blade to be used as a wedge, said blade having a rear surface, a front, golf ball striking surface, a top surface, and upper and lower portions, wherein said lower portion has less mass than said upper portion and said rear surface of said blade includes a bulbous mass integral with said rear surface, said bulbous mass including a pair of sloping surfaces joined at an edge therebetween, which first sloping surface extends along said top surface and away from said rear surface and which second sloping surface extends towards said rear surface.

17. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein a centerline divides said upper and lower portions.

18. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said integral bulbous mass comprises steel.

19. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said integral bulbous mass ranges from about 45-85 grams.

20. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said lower portion has a thickness of about ⅛^th of an inch.

21. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said blade is steel.

22. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed in an upper third of said upper portion.

23. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed in an upper two thirds of said upper portion.

24. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed in the entire upper portion.

25. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said lower portion is relatively uniform in thickness.

26. The golf club head of claim 16 including a portion in said upper portion having relatively less thickness than said bulbous mass.

27. The golf club head of claim 26 wherein said thickness of said portion of said upper portion having relatively less thickness than said bulbous mass is the same as a thickness of said lower portion.

28. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said golf ball striking surface includes a striking region at which said golf ball is to be struck wherein at least a portion of said bulbous mass is above said region.

29. A wedge type golf club comprising: a shaft secured to a hosel and a blade extending outwardly from said hosel, said blade having a top surface, a front surface including a golf ball striking region, a rear surface, an upper portion and a lower portion, said lower portion having less mass than said upper portion, wherein said upper portion of said blade includes an integral bulbous mass at said rear surface, which bulbous mass has a pair of sloping surfaces, a first sloping surface being angled away from said rear surface and extending along a top surface of said blade and a second sloping surface being angled toward said rear surface, said sloping surfaces being joined at an edge therebetween and said second sloping surface and said rear surface being joined at a corner therebetween.

30. The wedge type golf club of claim 29 wherein at least a portion of said bulbous mass is above said golf ball striking region.

31. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed entirely within said upper portion.

32. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said lower portion does not include said bulbous mass.

33. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed entirely within said upper portion.

34. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said lower portion does not include said bulbous mass.

35. The golf club head of claim 29 wherein said bulbous mass is disposed entirely within said upper portion.

36. The golf club head of claim 29 wherein said lower portion does not include said bulbous mass.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to golf clubs and in particular to wedge type golf clubs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wedge type golf clubs are adapted for making shots from sand, water or similar hazards which may exist on a golf course. Wedge heads of the prior art typically include thick metal blade sections behind a lower portion of the club, with the head steeply inclined to the club shaft. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,157, a majority of mass of a typical wedge is concentrated along a bottom margin of the wedge head blade. Typically, where the majority of mass of the wedge club is concentrated in a lower portion of the club, the golf ball tends to skip upon impact with the club.

Although prior wedge head designs have been moderately successful, the ball skip on impact results in a loss of power and possibly direction. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved wedge type golf club that avoids ball skip.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved wedge type golf club which improves power transfer from club to ball that translates to improved loft and distance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above objects have been met with a golf club head including a blade to be used as a wedge in combination with a hosel and a shaft, the blade concentrating a majority of its mass above a blade center. The mass is formed in an upper portion of the wedge blade and correspondingly, a lower portion of the wedge blade has relatively less mass than the upper portion. A center line divides the upper and lower portions. The upper portion of the blade is weighted with a rear bulbous mass decreasing in thickness towards the lower portion from a region greatest in thickness. The bulbous mass may be integral with the rear surface. In one example, the club head comprises a steel blade including a steel bulbous mass. The lower portion of the club head is a flat sheet.

The blade has a rear surface, a front face including a golf ball striking region, a top surface, and upper and lower portions. The bulbous mass of the blade, in one embodiment, includes a pair of sloping surfaces joined at an edge therebetween. The first sloping surface extends along the top surface and away from the rear surface and the second sloping surface extends towards the rear surface. The second sloping surface and the rear surface are joined at a corner therebetween.

Because at least some of the bulbous mass or the entire bulbous mass is located above the region at which a golf ball is to be struck, the loft and distance of a struck golf ball is improved. Further, a golfer has an improved and more solid “feel” when striking the golf ball.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the wedge type golf club head of the present invention including a hosel.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A is a left side view of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1, including a shaft received within the hosel.

FIG. 4B is a right side view of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1, including the shaft received within the hosel.

FIG. 5A is a right side view of an alternative embodiment of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1, including the shaft received within the hosel.

FIG. 5B is a right side view of an alternative embodiment of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1, including the shaft received within the hosel.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the wedge type golf club head of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1, 3, 4A and 4B, there is seen a wedge type golf club head 10 of the present invention featuring a blade 12. The blade 12 may comprise steel or any other desired material. The blade 12, in combination with a hosel 14 and a shaft 18, received within a shaft-receiving aperture 16 of the hosel 14, or otherwise secured to the hosel, is to be used as a wedge. The blade 12 extends outwardly from the hosel 14. The club head 10 comprises a bulbous mass 20 disposed in an upper portion 22 of the club blade. The rear surface of the blade 26 includes the bulbous mass 20. The bulbous mass 20 may be integral with the rear surface 26 of the blade 12. The bulbous mass 20 may comprise steel or any other desired material. The bulbous mass 20 may also range in weight from about, for example, 45 to 85 grams.

With reference to FIGS. 3, 4A and 4B, a center line C is depicted to show a division of the blade of the club head 10 into upper portion 22 and lower portion 24. The center line C extends across the rear blade face 26 and is in vertical alignment with a line D dividing a length l of the club blade 12 in half. Lines C and D approximate the described locations and are not necessarily to drawn scale. The bulbous mass 20 decreases in thickness and mass towards the lower portion 24 from a region 44 of greatest thickness. The lower portion 24 of the blade has less mass than the upper portion 22 of the blade. In one embodiment, the lower portion 24 of the blade is a flat sheet 29 (FIG. 1) relatively uniform in thickness.

With reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B, it is seen that the bulbous mass may be disposed in various areas of the upper portion of the blade. In one example (FIGS. 4A and 4B), the bulbous mass 20 is disposed in an upper third 28 of the upper portion 22. In one embodiment (FIG. 5A), bulbous mass 60 is disposed in an upper two thirds 48 of upper portion 70 of blade 65. The upper portion 70 has a greater mass than lower portion 72 of the blade. In another embodiment (FIG. 5B), bulbous mass 62 is disposed in the entire upper portion 74 of blade 67. In other words, the bulbous mass 62 extends from a lowermost region of the upper portion 74 to an upper most region of the upper portion 74. The upper portion 74 has a greater mass than lower portion 76 of the blade. The bulbous mass may be disposed in any other desired area of the upper portion. Features of the blade 12 are not necessarily drawn to scale.

In one example, as seen in FIG. 6, the bulbous mass 20 is integral with, and extends along, a top surface 32 of the blade 12.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 4A and 4B, the blade 12 includes a front striking surface 30 opposed to the rear surface 26 (FIG. 3). The front striking surface 30 includes a striking region 36 which is a region anywhere on the striking surface 30 where a golf ball 38 is to be struck. In one example, at least a portion of the bulbous mass 20 or the entire bulbous mass 20 is disposed above the striking region 36. Therefore, the loft and distance of a struck golf ball 38 is improved. Further, a golfer has an improved and more solid “feel” when striking the golf ball 38.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 4A and 4B, it is seen that the bulbous mass 20 of the blade 12 includes a pair of sloping surfaces 40 and 42 joined at edge 44 therebetween. The first sloping surface 40 extends along the top surface 32 of the blade 12 and away from the rear surface 26 and the second sloping surface 42 extends towards the rear surface 26. The second sloping surface 42 and the rear surface 26 are joined at a corner 46 therebetween.

With reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B and 7, it is seen that the lower portion 24 of the blade 12 and a portion 50 of the upper portion 22 of the blade 12, not including the bulbous mass 20, are relatively less in thickness than the bulbous mass. The thickness of portion 50 and lower portion 24 may be the same or different, if desired. In one example, the portion 50 of the blade 12 and the lower portion 24 are about ⅛^th of an inch in thickness. The thickness may vary as desired. In FIG. 7, it is seen that a sole 52 of the lower portion of the blade 12 has relatively less thickness than the bulbous mass 20.