US2336405A - Golf club - Google Patents

Description

M. E. KENT Dec. 7, 1943.

GOLF CLUB Filed Sept. 26, 1940 Maurice E. K872i ?atented Dec. 7, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOLF CLUB Maurice E. Kent, New London, Conn.

Application September 26, 1940, Serial No. 358,540

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel construction of golf club having a club head provided with a plurality of impact faces of different lofts adapted to be selectively positioned relatively to a club shaft so that any one of the impact faces may be employed for striking a ball to thereby provide a single club capable of being used for all types of shots and to perform the functions of an entire set of clubs.

More particularly, it is an aim of the invention to provide a golf club having means for detachably connecting a shaft to the club head and for adjustably positioning the shaft relatively to the impact faces whereby through a simple manipulation any one of the impact faces may be positioned for use.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide a golf club having a plurality of impact faces of different lofts capable of being selectively used for addressing a golf ball and so constructed that the club may be used without modification by either a right or left handed player.

Still a further aim of the invention is to provide means for setting the club shaft obliquely to one of the club impact faces whereby when the shaft is held in the normal position for addressing a ball the club will be tilted relatively to the ground for reducing the loft of the impact face being employed to provide a putter.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevational view of a golf club constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same,

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the same,

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially along the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a top plan View of the club head with the shaft removed, and

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the shank end of the club shaft.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, it designates generally a golf club constructed in accordance with the invention including a club head II and a shaft I2, the lower portion only of which is illustrated.

The club head II includes a block of suitable material having an enlarged bottom I3, a restricted top It and four inclined sides I5, I6, I! and IS. The inclinations or lofts of the sides I5, I6, I! and I8 are varied to form a driver, mashie niblick, brassie and spoon, respectively. However, itis to be understood that the lofts of the different sides may be varied differently to form other types of club faces such as midiron, driving iron, mashie, pitcher, niblick and the like. The head I I is provided with a bore I9 which ex tends perpendicularly therethrough and which opens into a recess 20 in the bottom l3. A wear plate 2| covers the bottom I3 and is attached thereto by means of the screw fastenings 22. A bolt 23 extends upwardly through the bore I9 and is provided with a head at its lower end which is disposed in the recess 26 and covered and held by the plate 2i to prevent the bolt 23 from turning relatively to the head I I. The upper, threaded end of the bolt 23 projects from the upper surface I i.

As best seen in Figure 5, the upper surface I4, which is substantially flat, is provided with the intersecting grooves 2d which intersect at the bore I9 and which are disposed at right angles to each other and substantially at right angles to the impact faces into which they open at their ends. The surface It is also provided with a pair of intersecting grooves 25 which likewise intersect at the bore I9 and which are disposed at right angles to one another and at substantially forty-five degree angles to the grooves 24. The grooves 24 and 25, as best seen in Figures 1 and 3, are substantially V-shaped in cross section.

The shaft l2 has a conventional upper end, not shown, provided with a grip portion and is provided at its lower end with a shank 25, the free end 21 of which is enlarged and substantially flat and disposed at an oblique angle to the axis of the shaft H2. The shaft I2 and the shank 26 are connected by a coupling or stem 28 in any suitable manner to provide a substantially rigid durable connection. The shank portion 2'! is provided with an opening 29 for loosely receiving the upper threaded end of the bolt 23 and is provided on its under side with ribs 3% which project radially from the opening 29 and which are disposed in the form of a cross. The ribs 30 are V-shaped in cross section and are adapted to engage either the grooves 24 or the grooves 25 when the under side of the shank portion 21 is resting flush on the surface M. The threaded end of the bolt 23 is provided with a thumb nut 3| for detachably connecting the shaft IE to the head II and for combining with the grooves 24 or 25 and the ribs 3! to secure th shaft I2 in any one of a plurality of adjusted positions relatively to the head I I.

The impact faces it, It, Ii and i8 are ribbed, grooved or serrated in a conventional manner as illustrated.

Assuming that the shaft I2 is connected to the head II in the position, as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, and the club it is being used by a right handed player, the driving fac I5 is correctly disposed for use.

By loosening th nut 3I andturning the shaft [2 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 2, through an arc of ninety degrees, and again tightening the nut 3|, the mashie niblick face IE will be correctly positioned relatively to the shaft l2 for use by a right handed player. The shaft may be similarly moved another ninety degrees in a clockwise direction for positioning the brassie face IT for use, or still another ninety degrees in the same direction for using the spoon face I3. It will be noted that the face I8 is elongated slightly, due to the fact that the majority of players are right handed, this face is disposed so that it is beneath the shank 26, as illustrated in Figure 2, when the driving face I5 is positioned for use, as drives are made from tees and there would therefore be less risk of the elongated face [8 striking the turf during the stroke. The club ID, with the parts positioned as illustrated in Figure 2, is correctly positioned for a left handed player to use the brassie face I1 and may be similarly turned in a counterclockwise direction through arcs of ninety degrees for successively employing the mashie niblick face IS, the driver face [5, and the spoon face l8. In each of these positions the ribs 30 are in engagement with the grooves 24 and when the nut 3| is turned down tight the rib and groove connection will effectiveily prevent the shaft |2 from turning relatively to the head II when the club l strikes a golf ball.

By loosening the nut 3| and turning the shaft f2 in a counterclockwise direction through an arc of forty-five degrees from its position, as seen in Figure 2, and then tightening the nut 3| to clamp the ribs 30 in the grooves 25, the club I!) is adjusted for putting. Putting is done with the face and with the shaft l2 positioned, as just previously described, in order to position the face I5 to squarely meet the ball or so that the lower edge of the face [5 will be substantially parallel to the ground it is necessary to twist the shaft 12 slightly to the left which Will automatically tilt the head ll forwardly to reduce the loft of the face I5 thereby making it correct for use in putting.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to as only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A golf club comprising a rectangular head having a substantially flat top portion, a plurality of inclined sides forming impact faces having different lofts, ashaft having an angularly disposed shank end for engaging the top of the head, means for detachably connecting said shank end to the top of the head, and means for adjustably positioning the head relatively to the shaft, said last mentioned means including a pair of grooves formed in the flat top-portion of the head and arranged in crossed relationship to one another, ribs formed on the under side' of the shank for engaging the grooves for retaining the head in certain fixed positions relatively to the shaft, and a second pair of grooves arranged diagonally of the first mentioned grooves and disposed to position the shaft at an oblique angle to the plane of one of the impact faces whereby the club head will be tilted, when the golf club is held in a normal position to address a golf ball, to vary the loft of said impact face.

2. A golf club comprising a head having a plurality of inclined sides forming impact faces of diiferent lofts, said faces being of different lengths from their upper to their lower edges,.

said head having a substantially flat upper surface, the inclination of each of the impact faces, relatively to said upper surface, being different, a bolt projecting upwardly therefrom, a shaft having a shank end disposed at an oblique angle to the axis of the shaft and arranged to rest flush on said upper surface and provided with an openin for engaging the bolt, and a thumb nut detachably connected to the bolt for detachably connecting the shaft to the club head, said shank end being turnable on the bolt for variably positioning the shaft relatively to the impact faces, the shank being disposed at the same angle to the upper surface of the head in each of its adjusted positions.

3. A golf club as in claim 2, the flat, upper surface of the club head being provided with a pair of grooves arranged in crossed relationship, and the under side of the shank end of the shaft being provided with a pair of crossed ribs for engaging the grooves for retaining the shaft in a plurality of predetermined adjusted positions relatively to the impact faces of the club head.

4. A golf club comprising a club head having an inclined impact face and a substantially fiat top portion provided with a pair of grooves arranged in crossed relationship, a shaft havinga shank end disposed at an oblique angle to the axis thereof and provided on its under side with a pair of crossed ribs for engaging the grooves for selectively positioning the shaft in a plurality of certain predetermined positions relatively to the impact face, and means for detachably securing said shank end to the club head. I

5. A golf club comprising a club head having a pitched impact face and a substantially flat top toward which said impact face is inclined, said top having a transverse groove arranged substantially parallel to the upper edge of said impact face, a threaded stud projecting upwardly from said top, through said groove intermediate of its ends, said top beingprovided with grooves projecting from the stud at oblique angles to the ends of the first mentioned groove and at right angles to one another and in directions away from the impact face, a shaft having a shank end disposed at an oblique angle to its axis and rovided with an opening for loosely engaging said stud, a nut for engaging the stud for clamping said shank end to the top of the club head, and said shank having a rib on its underside for engaging either end of the first mentioned groove for correctly positioning the shaft relatively to the impact face for use by either a right or left handed player, said rib being also arranged for selectively engaging either of the last mentioned grooves for so positioning the shaft relatively to a shank end disposed at an oblique angle to the axis thereof and provided on its underside with a pair of ribs arranged in crossed relationship for engaging the grooves'for selectively positioning the shaft in a plurality of positions relative to the impact face, and'means for detachably securing saidshank end to the club head.

MAURICE I E; KENT.

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