Patent Application
20110151990
A golf club assembly that will not self align its self when a right on left hand golfer takes a practice swing, before hitting the golf ball to the green. When a centerline of the grip and shaft is off center to the centroid of the club head face (sweet spot), and the club head makes contact with the golf ball, this offset (1.5 to 2.0 inches) produces a torque about the center line of the grip and shaft. This torque is great enough to cause the club head face to rotate about the center line of to grip and shaft, causing the golf ball trajectory to be right or left of its target. The same is true when a right or left hand golfer produces a divot. When the centroid of the divot is off center to the center line of the grip and shaft, it also produces a torque about the center line of the grip and shaft. The summation of both torques are great enough to cause the club head face to rotate about the center line of the grip and shaft, which causes the golf ball trajectory to be right or left of its target, depending on a right or left hand golfer.
In view of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a golfer a means to make an adjustment to a golf club assembly so as to align it for a more accurate golf ball trajectory to a target, as on the fairway or a hole of a green on a golf course or driving range.
In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention of a golf club assembly consisting of a golf shaft assembly and golf head assembly. The golf shaft assembly has a grip and shaft. The club head assembly consists of a club head and alignment screw. The center line of the grip and the lower end of a straight golf shaft is attached to the club head so that it will intersect with the center line of the club head. The center line of the club head is established by constructing a line from the centroid of the face of the head (sweet spot) to the center of gravity and perpendicular to a horizontal line on the face of the head. The club head is designed so the center of gravity is at the same height as the sweet spot. The alignment screw is attached to the head so that its vertical center line will intersect with the center line of the head and is in a vertical position behind the face of the club head. The alignment screw extends below the club head and it's adjustable in a vertical direction so that it contacts the ground before the club head contacts the golf ball. When the golfer hits the golf ball with his club, the moment of inertia is acting through the center of gravity and contacting the golf ball at the sweet spot has no torque acting on the center line of the grip and shaft. When this same moment of inertia acts through the center of gravity and contacting the golf ball to the left or right of the sweet spot, the alignment screw will resist the torque that would rotate the face of the club head about the center line of grip and shaft. The same will happen if the golfers swing produces a divot. When the moment of inertia is acting through the center of gravity and contacts the ground and the centroid of this mass is off center to the left or right or the sweet spot the alignment screw will resist the torque that would rotate the face of the club head about the center line of the shaft. The summation of both torques are resisted by the aligning screw, because it has a component force acting on the alignment screw from the ground, which has a caster geometry affect. This condition will resist any rotation of the club head in any direction about the center line of the grip and shaft, which will give a accurate golf ball trajectory to the target or hole in the green.
The advantage of the self aligning golf club assembly means the golf boll has a more accurate trajectory to a target or hole in the green. The following is a detail discussion and the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to the drawings where in the presently preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated.
A golfer using a self aligning golf club assembly 10 uses a practice swing to align the golf club assembly 10. Before the golfer takes an alignment practice swing (a swing before hitting the ball). He must move his club head on the ground in and out until the bottom of the club head is contacting the ground and the alignment screw has produced a groove in the ground. Next, he should regrip the golf club, so as to secure the loft and lie of the golf club. He can now make a complete swing that produces a fore and aft groove that crosses the first groove in the ground. The two grooves should be perpendicular to each other. If not, the golfer should correct his swing. His next swing should be hitting the ball to the hole in the green with more accuracy. When the club head contacts the golf ball, a component force acting on the aligning screw caused by the contact to the ground during the golf club swing will align the face of the golf club head to be perpendicular to the path of the head. A vertical adjustment of the alignment screw is for different ground conditions. When the ground is hard, the screw is adjusted to get less torque resistance. When the ground is soft, the screw is adjusted to get more torque resistance. His next swing will drive the golf ball to its target (fairway or green) more accurately.
