The present disclosure relates to a grip for a golf club, and more particularly, to a grip including an internal weight system for a golf club.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
In addition to the refinement of a golfer's swing, the weight of a golf club can affect the distance and accuracy of a golf shot. Accordingly, it may be advantageous for a golfer to be able to adjust the weight of a golf club to improve and/or perfect the distance and accuracy of a golf shot.
In one form, the present disclosure provides a golf club grip comprising an elongated member having a first end and a second end. The first end is configured to receive a golf club shaft, and the second end includes an opening comprising a first threaded portion therein.
In another form, the present disclosure provides a grip system for a golf club including a shaft comprising an elongated member having a first member end and a second member end. The first member end includes an opening having a first threaded portion, and the second member end is configured to receive the shaft. The system further comprises a weight having a first weight end and a second weight end. The first weight end includes a second threaded portion configured to engage the first threaded portion of the elongated member.
In yet another form, the present disclosure provides a golf club comprising a head, a shaft, a grip and a weight. The shaft has a first shaft end and a second shaft end, the second shaft end is secured to the head. The grip has a first grip end and a second grip end. The first grip end includes a first grip opening having a first threaded portion, and the second grip end is configured to receive the first shaft end of the shaft. The weight has a first weight end and a second weight end. The first weight end includes a second threaded portion configured to engage the first threaded portion of the grip.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. For purposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements. Examples are provided so that this description will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific components, to provide a thorough understanding of examples of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that examples may be embodied in many different forms, and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the description. Moreover, it should be understood that the teachings of the present disclosure may be applied to other applications where it may advantageous and/or desirable to adjust the weight of a device. For example, such applications may include, but are not limited to: a tennis racquet, a fishing pole, and/or a hockey stick.
With reference to
With reference to
The grip 16 is an elongated and hollow member that may be fabricated from a suitable material, such as a natural or synthetic rubber or elastomeric material. The grip 16 includes a first end 26, an opposing second end 28, an inner grip cavity 30, and an outer grip surface 32. The first end 26 of the grip 16 includes an opening 33 configured to receive an insert 34 for attaching an internal weight system 50 to the grip 16. The second end 28 of the grip 16 may include a second opening configured to receive the shaft 14 into the inner grip cavity 30. The shaft 14 may be received in the inner grip cavity 30 such that the first end 18 of the shaft 14 is generally flush with or aligned with the first end 26 of the grip 16. The shape of the inner grip cavity 30 may correspond to the shape of the outer surface 22 of the shaft 14, at least near the first end 18 of the shaft 14. Stated another way, if the outer surface 22 of the shaft 14, at least near the first end 18, includes a circular or pentagonal shape, then the inner grip cavity 30 may likewise include a circular or pentagonal shape, respectively. An adhesive or bonding agent may be applied between the inner grip cavity 30 and the outer surface 22 of the shaft 14 to restrict the grip 16 from slipping laterally and/or rotating axially relative to the shaft 14. The outer grip surface 32 may include any shape, such as a pentagonal, hexagonal, or ovoid shape, for example.
With reference to
With reference to
The weight cap 54 is an annular member that may be fabricated from a suitable material, such as metal or a polymeric material. The weight cap 54 includes a first threaded portion 62, a second threaded portion 64 located below the first threaded portion 62, and a securing socket 66 located on a top end 68 of the first threaded portion 62. The first threaded portion 62 of the weight cap 54 is configured to threadably engage the threaded portion 48 of the insert 34 to secure the weight system 50 to the grip 16. The second threaded portion 64 of the weight cap 54 is configured to threadably engage the spacer 56, described below. The top end 68 of the weight cap 54 may be fabricated from, or over molded with, the same material as the grip 16 to provide a “finished” or uniform look when the weight system 50 is attached to the grip 16. The securing socket 66 may have a hexagonal shape, for example, which may be engaged with a securing key, such as a hex key (not shown), for example. The securing socket 66 may be used for tightening and attaching the weight cap 54 and the weight system 50 to the insert 34, or, alternatively, for loosening and separating the weight cap 54 and the weight system 50 from the insert 34.
The spacer 56 is an elongated member that may be fabricated from a suitable material, such as metal, graphite, or a polymeric material. The spacer 56 includes a first end 70 and an oppositely located second end 72. At the first end 70, the spacer 56 includes a first threaded portion 74 configured to threadably engage the second threaded portion 64 of the weight cap 54. At the second end 72, the spacer 56 includes a second threaded portion 76 configured to threadably engage the weight 58, described below. The spacer 56 may include a variety of lengths, providing a user with the ability to customize the location of the center of gravity of the golf club 10 relative to the ends 18, 20 of the shaft 14. For example, a user may use a longer spacer to position the center of gravity of the golf club 10 closer to the head 12, or, alternatively, may use a shorter spacer to position the center of gravity of the golf club 10 closer to the grip 16.
The weight 58 is an elongated member that may be fabricated from a suitable material, such as metal or brass. The weight 58 includes a first end 78 and an oppositely located second end 80. At the first end 78, the weight 58 includes a first threaded portion 82 configured to threadably engage the second threaded portion 76 of the spacer 56. At the second end 80, the weight 58 may include a second threaded portion (not shown) for attaching additional weights (also not shown) thereto. The weight 58 may include various amounts of weight, providing a user with the ability to customize the amount of weight added to the golf club 10.
The sleeve 60 is a resiliently compressible member that may be fabricated from a suitable material, such as foam or a polymeric material. The sleeve 60 is configured to extend over the weight 58, or, alternatively, may be made integral with the weight 58. The sleeve 60 may be constructed larger than the cavity 24 of the shaft 14 so that when the weight system 50 is inserted into the grip 16 and into the cavity 24 of the shaft 14, the sleeve 60 compresses and forcefully engages the cavity 24. In this regard, the sleeve 60 may resist axial and/or radial movement of the weight 58 and the weight system 50 within the cavity 24 and may prevent the weight 58 and the weight system 50 from banging and/or vibrating against the cavity 24 during use.
With reference to
The weight system 50 may be detached from the grip 16 by disengaging the first threaded portion 62 of the weight cap 54 from the threaded portion 48 of the insert 34. The securing key may engage the securing socket 66 of the weight cap 54 to loosen the engagement between the threaded portions 62, 48. Accordingly, the weight system 50 may be separated from the grip 16.
With reference to
The grip cap 52 may be detached from the grip 16 by disengaging the threaded portion 86 of the grip cap 52 from the threaded portion 48 of the insert 34. The securing key may be used to engage the securing socket 88 of the grip cap 52 to loosen the threaded portion 86, 48. Accordingly, the grip cap 52 may be separated from the grip 16.
Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/824,662 filed on May 17, 2013. The entire disclosure of the above application is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61824662 | May 2013 | US |