GOLF CLUB WITH IMPROVED WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION
A golf club with improved weight distribution is disclosed herein. More specifically, the present invention discloses a golf club with a lightweight shaft allowing the golfer to achieve higher swing speed, while shifting the weight savings of the shaft to a grip portion of the club; counterbalancing some of the undesirable performance characteristics associated with a lightweight shaft.
1 . A golf club comprising:
a club head located at a distal end of said golf club;
a grip located at a proximal end of said golf club;
a shaft juxtaposed between said club head and said grip, connecting said club head to said grip; and
a weight adjustment member attached to a proximal end of said grip,
wherein said club head has a club head mass of between about 170 grams to about 225 grams and said grip has a grip mass of between about 25 grams to 60 grams with said grip having a grip density (Density grip ) of between about 2.0 grams/inch and about 5.0 grams/inch;
wherein said shaft has a shaft mass of less than about 40% of said club head mass yielding a shaft density (Density shaft ) of between about 1.0 grams/inch and about 2.0 grams/inch, and
wherein said weight adjustment member has a mass (Mass wam ) determined based on the relationship
Mass
wam
=
F
*
(
Density
grip
Density
shaft
)
,
with a Factor of Adjustment (F) of between about 2 to about 50.
2 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein said factor of adjustment (F) is between about 8 to about 40.
3 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein said factor of adjustment (F) is between about 10 and about 30.
4 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein said weight adjustment member is attached to an internal circumference of said grip.
5 . The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein said weight adjustment member has a mass of between about 15 grams to about 100 grams.
6 . The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein said weight adjustment member further comprises;
a flange at a proximal end of said weight adjustment member,
a connection rod, attached to said flange, extending away from said proximal end of said weight adjustment member; and
a heavy weighted portion, circumferentially encompassing said connection rod, providing an adjustment of a center of gravity of said weight adjustment member depending on its location along said connection rod,
wherein said weight adjustment member defines a grip fulcrum, located at a distance (d 2 ) of 4 inches away from a butt end of said grip.
7 . The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein a placement of said heavy weighted portion along said connection rod relative to said grip fulcrum is based on the relationship
Mass
hwp
*
Distance
(
d
2
)
=
Mass
wam
R
.
8 . The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein a mass of said heavy weighted portion is based on the relationship
Mass
hwp
*
Distance
(
d
2
)
=
Mass
wam
R
.
9 . A golf club comprising:
a club head located at a distal end of said golf club;
a grip located at a proximal end of said golf club;
a shaft juxtaposed between said club head and said grip, connecting said club head to said grip; and
a weight adjustment member attached to a proximal end of said grip,
wherein said club head has a club head mass of between about 170 grams to about 225 grams and said grip has a grip mass of between about 25 grams to 60 grams with said grip having a grip density (Density grip ) of between about 2.0 grams/inch and about 5.0 grams/inch;
wherein said shaft has a shaft mass of less than about 40% of said club head mass yielding a shaft density (Density shaft ) of between about 1.0 grams/inch and about 2.0 grams/inch, and
wherein said weight adjustment member has a mass of between about 15 grams to about 100 grams.
10 . The golf club of claim 9 , wherein said weight adjustment member has a mass of between about 15 grams to about 80 grams.
11 . The golf club of claim 10 , wherein said weight adjustment member has a mass of between about 20 grams to about 60 grams.
12 . The golf club of claim 9 , wherein said weight adjustment member has a mass determined based on the relationship
Mass
wam
=
F
*
(
Density
grip
Density
shaft
)
,
with a Factor of Adjustment (F) of between about 10 to about 30.
13 . The golf club of claim 12 , a center of gravity of said weight adjustment member is located within 3.5 inches on either side of a grip centroid;
said grip defined as a point located at a distance (d 2 ) of 4 inches away from a butt end of said grip.
14 . The golf club of claim 13 , wherein said center of gravity of said weight adjustment member is located on a club head side of said grip centroid.
15 . The golf club of claim 13 , wherein said center of gravity of said weight adjustment member is located on a grip side of said grip centroid.
16 . The golf club of claim 13 , wherein said center of gravity of said weight adjustment member is located substantially near said grip centroid.
17 . A method of fitting comprising:
reducing the mass of a shaft portion of a golf club to a shaft mass;
adding mass to an existing grip mass of a grip portion, having via a weight adjustment member,
adjusting a center of gravity of said mass added to said grip portion of said golf club;
adjusting a face angle of said golf club via an adjustable hosel mechanism;
wherein a mass of said weight adjustment member is based on the relationship
Mass
wam
=
F
*
(
Density
grip
Density
shaft
)
,
having a Factor of Adjustment (F) of between about 10 to about 30, a shaft mass of between about 60 grams to about 100 grams, and a grip mass of about 45 grams to about 55 grams.
18 . The method of fitting of claim 17 , wherein said adjustment of said center of gravity of said mass added to said grip portion utilizes a heavy weighted portion.
19 . The method of fitting of claim 17 , wherein said mass reduced from a shaft portion of said golf club is about 15 grams to about 100 grams.