Temporary golf club shaft-component connection

Abstract

A temporary shaft-component connection for assembling a selected golf club shaft with a club head and / or hand grip segment, to facilitate custom club design and fitting to suit the needs and preferences of an individual golfer. The temporary shaft-component connection is particularly designed for use with nonmetallic club shafts formed from a graphite-based composite material or the like having a range of different lengths and stiffness (whip) characteristics. In a shaft-head connection, a metal adapter insert is mounted onto a lower end of the club shaft and includes one or more flat surfaces for reception into a matingly shaped socket in the hosel of a selected club head to prevent relative rotation between the club shaft and head. A compression nut carried on the shaft is threaded onto the hosel to axially engage and retain a thrust flange on the shaft or adapter or adapter insert, to prevent axial separation of the club head and shaft.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 398,548, filed Jul. 24, 2002, U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 438,254, filed Jan. 2, 2003, U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 438,040, filed Jan. 2, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 467,109, filed Apr. 30, 2003.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to improvements in golf clubs. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved temporary connection between a golf club shaft and an additional component such as a golf club head to facilitate customized golf club construction to suit the needs and preferences of an individual golfer. [0003] Golf clubs are well known in the art, to include a club head such as a wood-type or iron-type club head mounted at a lower end of an elongated club shaft. An upper end of the club shaft has a resilient grip mounted thereon and designed for comfortable manual grasping and swinging of the golf club to strike a golf ball. In modern g...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] In accordance with the invention, a temporary shaft-component connection is provided for quickly and easily assembling a selected golf club shaft with a selected golf club head and / or hand grip segment, to facilitate custom club design and fitting to suit the needs and preferences of an individual golfer. The temporary shaft-component connection is particularly designed for use with nonmetallic club shafts formed from a graphite-based composite material or the like having a range of different lengths and stiffness (whip) characteristics.

[0008] In one preferred form comprising a temporary shaft-head connection for coupling the golf club shaft to a golf club head, the shaft-head connection comprises a rigid and sturdy adapter insert mounted onto a lower end of the club shaft. The adapter insert includes one or more external flat surfaces formed from a low wear bearing material such as metal, such as a rectangular or squared-off or splined shape, for reception into a matingly shaped socket formed in the hosel or within an adapter socket mounted onto the hosel of a selected golf club head to prevent relative rotation between the club shaft and head. A compression nut carried on the club shaft or adapter insert is threadably connected to the hosel or adapter socket mounted thereto to axially engage and retain a thrust flange formed on the shaft or adapter, to prevent axial separation of the club head and shaft.

[0011] In each embodiment, the club shaft is quickly and easily disassembled from the club head by unthreading the compression nut from the hosel or adapter socket, to retract or permit retracting of the adapter insert from the hosel or adapter socket. Alternately, the same temporary connection components may be used for interconnecting the club shaft with a hand grip segment having a selected hand grip thereon, to accommodate similar quick and easy assembly and disassembly of the golf club components. Such disassembly accommodates quick and easy re-assembly of the same club shaft with an alternative club head and / or hand grip segment having different physical characteristics, and / or re-assembly of a different club shaft with the same club head and / or hand grip segment. In this manner, a golfer can test swing a large number of different shaft-head and shaft-grip segment combinations within a short period of time, for custom fitting of a set of golf clubs, without requiring the golf shop to carry a large number of sample clubs.

Problems solved by technology

Heretofore, it has not been practical or feasible for club shafts and club heads to be interchanged quickly and easily.

Accordingly, it has not been possible for a golfer to sample and test a large number of different club shaft-head combinations, without requiring the golf shop to carry an unduly large number of sample clubs.

As a result, custom-fitting of golf clubs to an individual golfer generally has not provided the golfer with a truly broad selection of shaft-head combinations, and thus has not provided the golfer with an optimal choice for custom tailored clubs.

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