Patent Grant
8814724
The present invention relates to a golf club which can control a decrease in the rebound performance on off-center hit by defining a thickness distribution of a face portion in consideration of a toe down during swing, more particularly to a golf club which can be suitably used by average golfers whose head speed is 45 to 55 m/s.
In recent years, there has been proposed a golf club head having a hollow structure comprising a face portion provided with a central thick part and a thin part surrounding the central thick part for example as disclosed in Japanese patent application publication No. JP-2010-104473-A and PCT publication No. WO 01/083049. Owing to the thin part, such a golf club has an advantage such that a decrease in the rebound of the ball on off-center hit can be controlled.
By the way, as shown in
The present invention was studied out with the view to the current conditions stated above and mainly intended to provide a golf club which control the decrease in the rebound performance on off-center hit by defining a distribution of thin parts suitably for variations of ball-hitting-positions based on the reverse flex.
According to the present invention, a golf club comprises:
a shaft; and
a golf club head with a hollow structure fixed to one end side of the shaft and including a face portion having a face for hitting a ball,
wherein
a reverse flex is 80 to 110 mm,
the face portion includes
a central thick part provided in a central region,
a toe-crown-side thin part of a small thickness provided on a crown-side and on a toe-side of the central thick part, and
a heel-sole-side thin part of a small thickness provided on a sole-side and on a heel-side the central thick part, and
in a front view in a standard state put on a horizontal plane at a specified lie angle and loft angle,
a first straight line passing an area centroid of the toe-crown-side thin part and an area centroid of a back surface of the face portion has an angle θA of 38 to 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, and
a second straight line passing an area centroid of the heel-sole-side thin part and the area centroid of the back surface of the face portion has an angle θB of 40 to 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane.
Further, it is also possible that the toe-crown-side thin part and the heel-sole-side thin part have a thickness of 1.8 to 2.4 mm, the area of the toe-crown-side thin part is 5 to 9% of the overall area of the back surface of the face portion, and the area of the heel-sole-side thin part is 3 to 8% of the overall area of the back surface of the face portion,
that the volume of the golf club head is 400 to 470 cc, and that the golf club head is of a wood-type.
Thus, the golf club according to the present invention is a golf club comprising the shaft and the golf club head with the hollow structure fixed to one end side of the shaft and including the face portion having the face for hitting a ball, and the reverse flex is limited to 80 to 110 mm. In such golf club, when swung at a head speed of not less than 45 m/s, more specifically 45 to 55 m/s for example, the amount of toe down falls within a substantially fixed range. Therefore, based on this, it is possible to estimate the range of variations of ball-hitting-positions in the toe-heel direction of the face portion. Therefore, according to the present invention, in the front view of the club in a standard state put on a horizontal plane at a specified lie angle and loft angle, the angle θA of the first straight line passing the area centroid of the toe-crown-side thin part of the face portion and the area centroid of the back surface of the face portion is limited to 38 to 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, and the angle θB of the second straight line passing the area centroid of the heel-sole-side thin part and the area centroid of the back surface of the face portion is limited to 40 to 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. In such golf club head, the thin parts of the face portion whose rebound characteristic is high are arranged in a specific distribution suitable for the variations of the ball-hitting-positions caused by the toe down corresponding to the amount of the toe down, therefore, the decrease in the rebound performance on off-center hit can be minimized.
a)-5(c) are graphs showing correlations of the reverse flex and the carry distance and directionality at each head speed.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with accompanying drawings.
In the drawings, a golf club 1 according to the present invention comprises a shaft 2, a golf club head 3 attached to one end side 2A of the shaft 2, and a grip 4 attached to the other end side 2B of the shaft 2.
In this embodiment, as shown in
In
The club length L of the golf club 1 in this embodiment is not limited. But, if the club length L of the golf club 1 becomes excessively increased, the swing balance becomes worse, and variations of ball-hitting-positions increase. If the club length L becomes excessively decreased, it becomes difficult to increase the golf club head speed by utilizing the club length. In this light, the club length L is preferably not less than 45 inches, more preferably not less than 45.5 inches, but not more than 47 inches, more preferably not more than 46.5 inches.
The club length L of the golf club 1 is, as shown in
It is preferable that the shaft 2 is made of a fiber reinforced resin material. Such shaft 2 is lightweight and thereby it is easy to swing through the golf ball, and it has a high flexibility in designing such as adjusting of the weight balance and the amount of deflection and the like, therefore, it is desirable. However, a metal material may be used for the shaft 2.
As shown in
The club head 3 may have a two-piece structure, three-piece structure, four-piece structure and the like. In this embodiment, as shown in
In this embodiment, the face member 3A is formed in the form of a plate for example to have a contour shape smaller than the shape defined by the peripheral edges 5a-5d of the face 5 and to define a major part 5M of the face. In the face member 3A in this embodiment, all portions are integrally formed by pressing a rolled material to cause a plastic deformation for example. Further, the face member 3A is constructed by a crown-side edge 3A1 formed on the crown-side of the face member 3A and a sole-side edge 3A2 formed ON the sole-side of the face member 3A.
The main body member 3B includes the part of the club head 3 excluding the face member 3A. More specifically, the main body member 3B includes an outer part 5E of the face portion between the peripheral edges 5a-5d of the face 5 and the opening 0 in addition to the crown portion 7, the sole portion 8, the side portion 9 and the hosel portion 10. Accordingly, the face 5 of the club head 3 in this embodiment is defined by the face's major part 5M of the face member 3A and the outer surface of the outer part 5E of the main body member 3B. It is preferable that all portions of the main body member 3B are integrally formed by casting for example.
If the volume V of the club head 3 is excessively decreased, a sweet spot area becomes decreased, and the rebound of a ball on off-center hit is liable to decrease. If the volume V is excessively increased, as the mass of the club head increases, it becomes difficult to swing through the ball and the golf club head speed decreases. In this light, the volume V is preferably set in a range of not less than 400 cc, more preferably not less than 410 cc, but not more than 470 cc, more preferably not more than 460 cc.
If the mass of the club head 3 is excessively decreased, the kinetic energy of the club head decreases, and it becomes difficult to improve the carry distance. If the mass of the club head 3 is excessively increased, it becomes difficult to swing through the ball and the carry distance tends to decrease. In this light, the mass of the club head 3 is preferably set in a range of not less than 180 g, more preferably not less than 185 g, but not more than 210 g, more preferably not more than 200 g.
The grip 4 is formed from a vulcanized rubber made from natural rubber, oil, carbon black, sulfur, zinc oxide and the like for example, it is preferable that such grip 4 has a mass of 38 to 46 g.
According to the present invention, the golf club is designed to minimize the decrease in the carry distance on off-center hit when the golf club head speed is 45 to 55 m/s, and thus it can be suitably used by powerful average golfers such as young golfers for example. Based on this standpoint, the reverse flex Ry of the golf club 1 is set in a range of from 80 to 110 mm.
The reverse flex Ry is, as shown in
the point S2 is positioned at 140 mm from the point S1, the point P1 is positioned at a distance Ld from the point S2, and the distance Ld is as follows:
driver (#1): 860 mm
brassie (#2): 847 mm
spoon (#3): 835 mm
baffy (#4): 822 mm
cleek (#5): 809 mm
a)-5(c) show results of actual ball hitting tests carried out by ten golfers whose average head speed was 43 m/s, ten golfers whose average head speed was 45 m/s and ten golfers whose average head speed was 55 m/s. In the tests, the reverse flex Ry was changed, but other specifications were not changed, (club length 45.25 inches, club mass 320 g, loft angle 10.0 degrees, head volume 455 cc, thick part thickness 3.4 mm, thin part thickness 2.0 mm) As apparent from the test results, when the reverse flex Ry is less than 80 mm, the shaft 2 becomes hard even for the golfers with fast head speed, and in the above head speed range, it is difficult to appropriately bend the shaft to obtain a sufficient carry distance, and further, it becomes difficult for the face 5 to return its direction to that at the address. Thus, the directional stability of the struck balls becomes worse. If the reverse flex exceeds 110 mm, as the shaft 2 becomes soft for the golfers of the above-mentioned head speed range, it becomes difficult to stably control the direction of the face 5, therefore, the directional stability of the struck balls is remarkably deteriorated. In this light, the reverse flex is more preferably not less than 90 mm, but more preferably not more than 100 mm. As explained above, in the present invention, the reverse flex Ry is optimized based on the high head speed range of powerful golfers to obtain a sufficient carry distance and directional stability.
Such reverse flex Ry can be easily adjusted within the above range by changing the kind of the material of the shaft 2, the elastic modulus of the material of the shaft 2 and the like.
The present inventor discovered through experiments that, by specifically arranging the thickness distribution of the face portion 6 in relation to the reverse flex Ry in the above range, it is possible to avoid the decrease in the carry distance on off-center hit. More specifically, when the golfers whose average head speed ranges from 45 to 55 m/s use golf clubs having a reverse flex of from 80 to 110 mm, the amount of toe down falls in a substantially fixed range, and the range of variations of ball-hitting-positions on the face is also substantially fixed, therefore, the decrease in the carry distance (rebound performance) on off-center hit can be minimized by increasing the restitution coefficient locally in such variations' range of the face portion 6.
Next, such thickness distribution capable of increasing the rebound performance will be described concretely.
In
In this embodiment, the face portion 6 comprises a central thick part 15 including the sweet spot SS, a toe-crown-side thin part 16 on the toe-side and on the crown-side of the central thick part 15, a heel-sole-side thin part 17 on the heel-side and on the sole-side of the central thick part 15, a heel-side middle thickness part 18 on the heel-side of the central thick part 15, a toe-side middle thickness part 19 on the toe-side of the central thick part 15, a crown-side middle thickness part 20 on the crown-side of the central thick part 15, a sole-side middle thickness part 21 on the sole-side of the central thick part 15, a heel-crown-side thin part 22 between the crown-side middle thickness part 20 and the central thick part 15, and a toe-sole-side thin part 23 between the sole-side middle thickness part 21 and the central thick part 15.
The central region of the face portion 6 is subjected to a large impulsive force when hitting a ball. Therefore, in order to improve the durability of the face portion 6, the central thick part 15 has a largest thickness in the face portion 6. Here, the central region of the face portion 6 is a region having a certain area including the area centroid SG of the contour shape at the peripheral edge 5e of the back surface of the face portion 6 facing the hollow (i). The peripheral edge 5e of the back surface of the face portion is, as shown in
In this embodiment, the central thick part 15 is composed of a base 15a which is generally a horizontally long oval along the contour shape of the peripheral edge 5e of the back surface of the face portion, an upward rib 15b extending from an upper part of the base 15a on its heel-side to the crown-side edge 3A1 while inclining to the heel-side, and a downward rib 15c extending from a lower part of the base 15a on its toe-side to the sole-side edge 3A2 while inclining to the toe-side. Owing to the base 15a, such central thick part 15 has an advantage capable of securing the durability of the central portion region which is most deflectable in the face 5. Both of the ribs 15b and 15c improve the durability of the face portion 6 as a whole.
In order to certainly improve the durability of the face portion 6, the thickness tc of the central thick part 15 is set to be preferably not less than 3.4 mm, more preferably not less than 3.5 mm. On the other hand, if the thickness tc of the central thick part 15 becomes excessively increased, there is a possibility of deterioration in the rebound performance and that, due to the increased face weight, the swing balance is disturbed and ball-hitting-positions vary wide. In this light, the thickness tc of the central thick part 15 is preferably not more than 4.0 mm, more preferably not more than 3.9 mm. It is preferable that the central thick part 15 is formed to have a substantially constant thickness.
In this embodiment, the thickness of the upward rib 15b and the thickness of the downward rib 15c are substantially the same as the thickness of the base 15a. However, it may be possible that, in order to reduce the mass of the club head 3, the thickness of the upward rib 15b is gradually decreased toward the crown-side, and the thickness of the downward rib 15c is gradually decreased toward the sole-side.
In order to secure the durability of the face portion 6 and suppress the deterioration in the rebound performance and the increase in the weight of the face portion, the area MT of the central thick part 15 is preferably set in a range of not less than 10%, more preferably not less than 15%, but not more than 35%, more preferably not more than 30% of the overall area MG of the back surface 6B of the face portion 6. For the sake of convenience, the areas of the back surface 6B of the face portion 6 and the central thick part 15 (as well as the areas of the after-mentioned parts 16-23) are each defined by an area obtained by a two-dimensional shape of such region or part projected on the vertical plane VP shown in
The overall area MG of the back surface 6B is set based on the volume of the club head 3 but preferably set in a range of not less than 33 sq.cm, more preferably not less than 35 sq.cm, but not more than 53 sq.cm, more preferably not more than 47 sq.cm.
The toe-crown-side thin part 16 and the heel-sole-side thin part 17 are formed to have a constant thickness in this embodiment, and have the smallest thickness in the face portion 6. Therefore, even if the ball hitting positions is in a toe-side or heel-side in the face 5, namely, on off-center hit, the face portion 6 makes a large elastic deformation, and the decrease in the rebound performance and the decrease in the carry distance can be avoided.
Through experiments conducted by the inventor, it was discovered that, when golfers whose head speed ranges from 45 to 55 m/s use golf clubs having a reverse flex Ry of from 80 to 110 mm, the amount of toe down falls within a substantially fixed range.
Concretely speaking, as shown in
If the angle θA is less than 38 degrees or more than 45 degrees or the angle θB is less than 40 degrees or more than 45 degrees, then the positions of the thin parts 16 and 17 do not match with the ball-hitting-positions corresponding to the amount of toe down, and the rebound performance on off-center hit is decreased. In this light, the angle θA is preferably not less than 40 degrees, but not more than 43 degrees, and the angle θB is preferably not less than 42 degrees, but not more than 44 degrees.
If the thickness ta of the toe-crown-side thin part 16 and the thickness tb of the heel-sole-side thin part 17 are excessively decreased, there is a possibility that the durability of the face 5 is deteriorated. If excessively increased, there is a possibility that the rebound performance is deteriorated. Therefore, the thicknesses ta and tb of the thin parts 16 and 17 are preferably set in a range of not less than 1.7 mm, more preferably not less than 1.8 mm, but not more than 2.4 mm, more preferably not more than 2.2 mm. If the face 5 is provided with face grooves and/or punch marks, the thickness of each part of the face portion 6 is measured in such a condition that the face grooves and punch marks are filled.
If the area MA of the toe-crown-side thin part 16 and the area MB of the heel-sole-side thin part 17 become decreased, there is a possibility that the improvement in the rebound performance of the club head becomes insufficient. If the area MA and area MB become increased, there is a possibility that the durability of the club head 3 is decreased. In this light, the area MA of the toe-crown-side thin part 16 is preferably set in a range of not less than 5%, more preferably not less than 6%, but not more than 9%, more preferably not more than 8% of the overall area MG of the back surface 6B. And the area MB of the heel-sole-side thin part 17 is preferably set in a range of not less than 3%, more preferably not less than 4%, but not more than 8%, more preferably not more than 7% of the overall area MG of the back surface 6B. Especially, it is preferable that the area MA of the toe-crown-side thin part 16 is more than the area MB of the heel-sole-side thin part 17.
In this embodiment, the toe-crown-side thin part 16 is formed in a region between two straight lines intersecting at the area centroid SG at an angle αA. This angle αA is preferably set in a range of not less than 30 degrees, more preferably not less than 35 degrees, but not more than 55 degrees, more preferably not more than 50 degrees. Similarly, the heel-sole-side thin part 17 is formed in a region between two straight lines intersecting at the area centroid SG at an angle αB. This angle αB is preferably set in a range of not less than 30 degrees, more preferably not less than 35 degrees, but not more than 50 degrees, more preferably not more than 45 degrees. Thereby, the rebound performance and the durability of the face 5 can be improved in a well balanced manner.
It is preferable that the face portion 6 is provided with a toe-sole-side thin part 23, and a heel-crown-side thin part 22 having a thickness same as those of the thin parts 16 and 17. It is preferable that a third straight line K3 passing the area centroid SC of such heel-crown-side thin part 22 and the area centroid SG of the back surface 6B of the face portion 6 is configured to have an angle θC of 35 to 50 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane HP. Also, it is preferable that a fourth straight line K4 passing the area centroid SB of the toe-sole-side thin part 23 and the area centroid SG is configured to have an angle θD of 40 to 50 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane HP. Therefore, in the club head 3 in this embodiment, the mass of a region far from ball hitting positions is reduced, and the golf club head speed and the durability can be improved in a well balanced manner. In this light, the angle θC is more preferably not less than 40 degrees, and more preferably not more than 45 degrees. Similarly, the angle θD is more preferably not less than 42 degrees, and more preferably not more than 47 degrees.
It is not to be particularly limited. But, if the area MC of the heel-crown-side thin part 22 and the area MD of the toe-sole-side thin part 23 are decreased, it becomes difficult to achieve the above-mentioned effects. If increased, the durability of the face portion 6 is liable to deteriorate. In this light, the area MC of the heel-crown-side thin part 22 is preferably not less than 2%, more preferably not less than 4% and preferably not more than 10%, more preferably not more than 8% of the overall area MG of the back surface 6B. The area MD of the toe-sole-side thin part 23 is preferably not less than 2%, more preferably not less than 3% and preferably not more than 10%, more preferably not more than 7% of the overall area MG.
The middle thickness parts 18-21 can prevent the occurrence of large rigidity difference between the central thick part 15 and the thin parts 16, 17, 22 and 23, and a stress concentration thereon can be effectively prevented. Thereby, the durability of the face portion 6 can be further improved.
The total area MS of the middle thickness parts 18-21 is preferably not less than 20%, more preferably not less than 30%, but not more than 60%, more preferably not more than 50% of the overall area MG of the back surface 6B of the face portion 6 in order to achieve the durability of the face portion 6 and prevention of weight increase in the club head 3 in a well balanced manner.
From the same viewpoint, the thicknesses of the middle thickness parts 18-21 are preferably not less than 45%, more preferably not less than 50%, but not more than 85%, more preferably not more than 80% of the thickness tc of the central thick part 15.
On the crown-side of the central thick part 15, there is provided with a crown-side central thickness transitional part 24a which extends semicircularly and of which thickness is continuously decreased toward the peripheral edge 5e of the back surface of the face portion. On the sole-side of the central thick part 15, there is provided with a sole-side central thickness transitional part 24b which extends semicircularly and of which thickness is continuously decreased toward the peripheral edge 5e of the back surface of the face portion.
Further, between the upward rib 15b and the heel-crown-side thin part 22, between the upward rib 15b and the heel-side middle thickness part 18, between the downward rib 15c and the toe-side middle thickness part 19, and between the downward rib 15c and the toe-sole-side thin part 23, there is provided with an outside thickness transitional part 25a of which thickness is continuously decreased from the upward rib 15b or downward rib 15c. Further, between the crown-side middle thickness part 20 and the heel-crown-side thin part 22, between the crown-side middle thickness part 20 and the toe-crown-side thin part 16, and between the toe-side middle thickness part 19 and the toe-crown-side thin part 16, there is provided with a small outside thickness transitional part 25b which is narrower in width than the outside thickness transitional part 25a. Similarly, between the sole-side middle thickness part 21 and the heel-sole-side thin part 17, between the sole-side middle thickness part 21 and the toe-sole-side thin part 23, and between the heel-sole-side thin part 17 and the heel-side middle thickness part 18, there is provided with a small outside thickness transitional part 25b. These thickness transitional parts can prevent the occurrence of large rigidity difference due to the thickness difference and stress concentration is prevented, which helps to improve the durability of the face portion 6. In this embodiment, each thickness transitional part is formed to have a substantially constant width.
A detailed description of the present invention is given as above. The present invention is not to be limited to the above-described specific embodiment. Rather, it can be modified variously if desired.
In order to confirm the effects of the present invention, carbon shafts (Miyazaki Kusala Blue, flex S) manufactured by SRI sports Limited were attached to wood-type golf club heads (driver) based on the specifications shown in
In each of the thickness transitional parts, the thickness was smoothly changed.
The test method was as follows.
<Rebound Performance>
with respect to each of the above-mentioned test clubs, ten testers (average golfers) (head speed 45 to 55 m/s) each hit ten balls by the use of a golf club having a length selected according to own choice, and the golf club head speed HS immediately before hitting a ball and the initial speed BS of the ball were measured to calculate the average of the speed ratios BS/HS. As to the golf balls, three-piece golf balls commercially available as “XXIO” manufactured by SRI Sports Limited were used. The larger the value, the better the results. The results of the test and other are shown in Table 1. In Table 1, the “toe portion gravity center angle θA” means the angle of the first straight line K1 passing the area centroid SA of the toe-crown-side thin part 16 and the area centroid SG of the back surface 6B of the face portion 6 with respect to the horizontal plane HP. And the “heel portion gravity center angle θB” means the angle of the second straight line K2 passing the area centroid SB of the heel-sole-side thin part 17 and the area centroid SG of the back surface 6B of the face portion 6 with respect to the horizontal plane HP.
The average head speed of the testers and the club length used are shown in Table 2.
From the test results, it can be confirmed that the golf clubs as Embodiments were significantly improved in the rebound performance in comparison with the comparative examples. Further, changing the area ratio MA/MB of the toe-crown-side thin part and heel-sole-side thin part within a range of 200 to 60%, the rebound performance was checked wherein a tendency similar to Table 1 was displaced.
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