GOLF PUTTER

Abstract

A golf putter includes a putter head, a connecting member, and a main body. The putter head is made of metal. The connecting member includes a positioning seat, a first joining shaft extending from a bottom end of the positioning seat along an axis, and connected to the putter head, and a second joining shaft extending from a top end of the positioning seat along the axis. The positioning seat has a width that is perpendicular to the axis and that is larger than a width of the first joining shaft perpendicular to the axis and a width of the second joining shaft perpendicular to the axis. The main body is made of carbon fiber, and has a tubular wall formed with a connecting groove. The second joining shaft is inserted into the connecting groove.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Utility Model Patent Application No. 112210692, filed on Oct. 3, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to ball equipment, and more particularly to a standing golf putter.

BACKGROUND

Depending on the timing or use, golf clubs have different types of heads to fit different scenarios; for example, when the ball is on the putting green and only a short distance away from the hole, a putter is used to putt the ball into the hole, and since putting is the key to pushing the ball into the hole, the consumers greatly value steadiness and accuracy of the putter head. Currently, a widely popular conventional standing golf putter has a design that allows the putter head thereof to be able to stand on the ground; as such, when the conventional standing golf putter is set to stand before the ball, the player can use the markings on the putter head to align the putter, so that the ball may follow a planned trajectory after being putted.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional standing golf putter 1 has a putter head 11 and a shaft body 12. The distribution of the center of mass is a key feature of the conventional standing golf putter 1, and for the conventional standing golf putter 1 to be able to stand, the putter head 11 is made of metal that is heavy, and the shaft body 12 is made of carbon fiber that is lighter in comparison and has a hollow structure. Hence, the conventional standing golf putter 1 has a low center of mass. In order to join the shaft body 12 to the putter head 11, an end of the shaft body 12 is grinded down to create a rough surface 121, which increases an area of contact and adhesion strength between the shaft body 12 and the putter head 11. However, to manufacture the rough surface 121, the shaft body 12 is required to have a sufficient thickness, and during manufacturing of the shaft body 12, thickening a specific part of the shaft body 12 is not possible; hence, the shaft body 12 has to be thickened as a whole, which causes the overall weight of the shaft body 12 to be significantly increased, thereby affecting the distribution of the center of mass of the conventional standing golf putter 1, and lowering stability thereof when it stands on the ground.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a gold putter that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

According to the disclosure, the golf putter includes a putter head

that is made of metal, a connecting member, and a main body. The connecting member includes a positioning seat, a first joining shaft, and a second joining shaft. The first joining shaft extends from a bottom end of the positioning seat along an axis, and is connected to the putter head. The second joining shaft extends from a top end of the positioning seat along the axis. The positioning seat has a width that is perpendicular to the axis and that is larger than a width of the first joining shaft perpendicular to the axis and a width of the second joining shaft perpendicular to the axis. The main body is made of carbon fiber, and has a tubular wall formed with a connecting groove. The second joining shaft is inserted into the connecting groove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that various features may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a conventional standing golf putter.

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view illustrating a first embodiment of a golf putter according to the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a connecting member of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exploded side view of a second embodiment of the golf putter according to the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an exploded side view of a variant of the second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.

It should be noted herein that for clarity of description, spatially relative terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “on,” “above,” “over,” “downwardly,” “upwardly” and the like may be used throughout the disclosure while making reference to the features as illustrated in the drawings. The features may be oriented differently (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative terms used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

Referring to FIG. 2, a first embodiment of a golf putter according to the disclosure includes a putter head 2 that is made of metal, a connecting member 3 that is connected to the putter head 2, a main body 4 that is made of carbon fiber, and a grip 5 that is connected to a top end of the main body 4, and that has an outer diameter not smaller than an outer diameter of the main body 4. The putter head 2 has a putter head body 21 that is for putting a golf ball, and that is formed with a connecting hole 211. The connecting hole 211 is a blind hole that faces upward.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the connecting member 3 includes a positioning seat 31 having a substantially cylinder shape, a first joining shaft 32 extending from a bottom end of the positioning seat 31 along an axis (L), and connected to the putter head 2, and a second joining shaft 33 extending from a top end of the positioning seat 31 along the axis (L). The positioning seat 31 has a width that is perpendicular to the axis (L) and that is larger than a width of the first joining shaft 32 perpendicular to the axis (L) and a width of the second joining shaft 33 perpendicular to the axis (L). The first joining shaft 32 has at least one first surrounding protrusion 321 that protrudes outwardly and that is in contact with the putter head 2. The second joining shaft 33 has at least one second surrounding protrusion 331 that protrudes outwardly. In this embodiment, the at least one first surrounding protrusion 321 has a plurality of first surrounding protrusions 321 spaced apart from each other along the axis (L), and the at least one second surrounding protrusion 331 has a plurality of second surrounding protrusions 331 spaced apart from each other along the axis (L). Furthermore, in this embodiment, the width of the first joining shaft 32 that is perpendicular to the axis (L) is larger than the width of the second joining shaft 33 that is perpendicular to the axis (L).

The first joining shaft 32 of the connecting member 3 is inserted into the connecting hole 211 and adhered to the putter head body 21, and the first surrounding protrusions 321 are in contact with the putter head body 21. The configuration of the first surrounding protrusions 321 increases an area of contact between the first joining shaft 32 and the putter head body 21. The first joining shaft 32 is adhered to the putter head body 21 with an adhesive. The main body 4 has a tubular wall 41 formed with a connecting groove 411. The second joining shaft 33 is inserted into the connecting groove 411, and the second surrounding protrusions 331 are in contact with an inner surface of the tubular wall 41 of the main body 4. The configuration of the second surrounding protrusions 331 increases an area of contact between the second joining shaft 33 and the tubular wall 41. The second joining shaft 33 is adhered to the tubular wall 41 with an adhesive.

Since the main body 4 is connected to the connecting member 3 through the connecting groove 411, there is no need to reserve a grinded area on the main body 4, so only the structural strength of the tubular wall 41 has to be considered during the design phase. A thickness of the tubular wall 41 may be significantly decreased, and a weight of the main body 4 may be lowered to around 30 to 40 grams, which is significantly lighter than a weight of the shaft body of the aforementioned conventional standing golf putter that weighs around 80 grams. Even when the main body 4 is connected to the connecting member 3, a sum of the weights of the connecting member 3 and the main body 4 is still lighter compared to the conventional standing golf putter (e.g., the sum of the weights is around 45 grams to 55 grams). Hence, the center of mass of the golf putter is distributed at the putter head body 21, so that the golf putter may stand on the ground even more steadily compared to the conventional standing golf putter. Moreover, since the weight of the main body 4 is lighter, compared to that of the shaft body of the conventional standing golf putter, the golf putter of the disclosure does not need a heavier putter head for lowering the center of mass, and may use a putter head that is used on non-standing putters and still be able to stand on the ground, thereby controlling the weight of the golf putter at around 470 grams, which is substantially the same as that of a non-standing golf putter, and which is lighter than the conventional standing golf putter, which weighs around 530 grams.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a second embodiment of the golf putter according to the disclosure is similar to the first embodiment, and the main difference therebetween resides in the following. The putter head 2 has a linking tube 22 that is inserted into the connecting hole 211 and that is adhered to the putter head body 21. In this embodiment, the linking tube 22 is made of metal, and may be a straight tube as shown in FIG. 4, or a bent tube as shown in FIG. 5. The linking tube 22 has a through groove 221. The first joining shaft 32 is inserted into the through groove 221, and the first surrounding protrusions 321 are in contact with an inner surface of the linking tube 22. The first joining shaft 32 is adhered to the linking tube 22. In other embodiments, the center of mass of the linking tube 22 may be adjusted in accordance to a counterweight of the golf putter. In other embodiments, the connecting member 3 may be paired with the putter head body 21 or the linking tube 22 as needed without using other connecting components; thus, during the production process, golf putters with different configurations (i.e., different embodiments in the disclosure) may be manufactured without creating a lot of molds for other connecting components, and the golf putters with different configurations may be assembled by putting together different components thereof. Such modularized design increases flexibility of the production line of the golf putter, so the production line has higher versatility. Moreover, in a variant of the second embodiment in which the linking tube 22 is a bent tube (see FIG. 5), the linking tube 22 has a first tube portion 222 that is inserted into the connecting hole 211, and a second tube portion 223 that interconnects the first tube portion 222 and the connecting member 3, that is inclined relative to the first tube portion 222, and that extends along the axis (L). The axis (L) is inclined away from a horizontal ground line (L1) by an inclined angle (θ) that ranges from 66 degrees to 72 degrees. That is, linking tubes with different inclined angles (θ) ranging from 66 degrees to 72 degrees may be used depending on the user's needs. As such, the golf putter is customizable. When the user grips the main body 4 and swings the golf putter, the swinging experience is smoother and the golf putting is more ergonomic.

In conclusion, the weight of the main body 4 is significantly reduced, so that the golf putter has a low center of mass, thereby ensuring steadiness of the golf putter when standing on the ground, which is in line with the expectation of the consumer market. Hence, the objective of the disclosure is achieved.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, said one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without said another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is(are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A golf putter comprising: a putter head that is made of metal;a connecting member that includes a positioning seat,a first joining shaft extending from a bottom end of said positioning seat along an axis, and connected to said putter head, anda second joining shaft extending from a top end of said positioning seat along the axis, said positioning seat having a width that is perpendicular to the axis and that is larger than a width of said first joining shaft perpendicular to the axis and a width of said second joining shaft perpendicular to the axis; anda main body that is made of carbon fiber, and that has a tubular wall formed with a connecting groove, said second joining shaft being inserted into said connecting groove.

2. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said putter head has a putter head body that is formed with a connecting hole, said first joining shaft of said connecting member being inserted into said connecting hole and adhered to said putter head body.

3. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first joining shaft has at least one first surrounding protrusion that protrudes outwardly and that is in contact with said putting head.

4. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second joining shaft has at in least one second surrounding protrusion that protrudes outwardly and that is in contact with an inner surface of said tubular wall of said main body.

5. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a grip that is connected to a top end of said main body, and that has an outer diameter not smaller than an outer diameter of said main body.

6. The golf putter as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said putter head has a putter head body that is formed with a connecting hole, and a linking tube that is inserted into said connecting hole and that is adhered to said putter head body; andsaid linking tube has a through groove, said first joining shaft being inserted into said through groove and adhered to said linking tube.

7. The golf putter as claimed in claim 6, wherein said linking tube is a straight tube.

8. The golf putter as claimed in claim 6, wherein said linking tube is a bent tube, and has a first tube portion that is inserted into said connecting hole, and a second tube portion that interconnects said first tube portion and said connecting member, and that is inclined relative to said first tube portion.

9. The golf putter as claimed in claim 8, wherein said second tube portion extends along the axis, the axis being inclined away from a horizontal ground line by an inclined angle that ranges from 66 degrees to 72 degrees.