Golf club head and method of strengthening same
OwnerStanley C. Thompsoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A golf club head is formed to have multiple laminations above a sole plate defining a keel; a bolt is connected to the sole plate at the keel and holds the laminations positively clamped together; and the keel forwardmost surface may be sloped to transfer ground impact force upwardly to the laminations via the sole plate, and also via the bolt. A vertical bore is formed in the head to receive the bolt, and the bolt is inserted into the recess and tightened to the sole plate above the keel, to compress the laminations. Synthetic resin also bonds the bolt to the compressed laminations, along the bolt length. The club head and bolt head are ground to provide a smooth top surface.
Claims19
The method of strengthening a golf club head having laminations which extend in vertically stacked relation, and generally horizontally, the head having a front face, bottom and top surfaces, and a metallic sole plate having a keel extending generally forwardly at the bottom of the head, the method including:
- (a) forming on the keel a forwardmost surface sloping upwardly and forwardly from the bottom of the keel, to intersect the front face at a lateral linear location substantially above the bottom level of the keel,
- (b) forming a hole in the laminations vertically between the top of the head and the keel, rearwardly of said forwardmost sloping surface,
- (c) and clamping said laminations by bolting them together directly above the keel, and rearwardly of said forwardmost sloping surface, said bolting step including introducing a bolt downwardly into said hole and rigidly connecting the lower end of the bolt to the sole plate directly above the keel and at substantially the level of the keel forwardmost sloping surface so that a normal to said sloping surface intersects said bolt, whereby the keel forwardmost sloping surface, upon striking the ground during a golf swing, will transfer force upwardly and rearwardly toward the bolt via the head laminations.
In the method of positively integrating a golf club head having multiple laminations which extend in vertically stacked relation, and generally horizontally, the head having a front face, a top surface, and a metallic sole plate extending beneath the laminations, the sole plate having a downwardly projecting keel which extends rearwardly relative to the front face of the head, and employing a bolt, the method that includes:
- (a) providing on the keel a forwardmost surface sloping upwardly and forwardly from the bottom of the keel, to intersect the front face at a lateral linear location substantially above the bottom of the keel, and providing a recess to extend generally vertically in the laminations from the sole plate upwardly, rearwardly of said sloping surface,
- (b) inserting the bolt into said recess, and rigidly connecting the bolt with the sole plate at said keel, and rotating the bolt to clamp and compress the laminations, and at locations between the bolt and said forward most sloping surface whereby the keel forwardmost sloping surface, upon striking the ground during a golf swing, will transfer force upwardly and rearwardly toward the bolt via the compressed laminations, defining a head.
- (c) and the bolt including flange means extending above said club head top surface, and including the steps of bonding the bolt to the compressed laminations along the length of said recess, and grinding said bolt head to form a lowered bolt head top surface flush with the top surface of the club head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.