US2486952A - Golf club head - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 1, 1949 E. P. KEARSLEY ETAL GOLF CLUB HEAD Filed Dec. 20, 1944 F7111! Jill/1701M d .1124

INVENTORS BY la a/ Wfm ATTORNEYS V Patented-Nov. l, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE com onus mean Edward P. Kcarsley, Springfield, and Emil-I. Marciniak, Easthampton, Masa, aosignoro to A. G. Spalding & Bros. Inc., Chico a corporation. of Delaware pee, Mala,

Application December 20, 1944, serial No. 588.955

4 Claims. (cl. era-1'1) successful because the heads did notpossess the feel and sound of wood and disclosed properties,

' when in use, which rendered the clubs unsatisfactory. Some of these properties were failure and breakage under repeated blows caused during the use of the club for its intended purpose, inability of the club to maintain its resiliency so that on a hot day it would become soft and loggy while on a cold day it wouldbe very brittle, beingtoo heavy so that they had to be bored out to such an extent to bring them down to the desired weight that they were unsuitable for use, and producing a high-pitched unnatural sound when striking a golf ball.

We have discovered that a golf club head of molded nylon overcomes these difficulties and produces a head which has a satisfactory appearance, feel and a sound on impact, of a slightly higher pitch than that ofa wooden club and which stands up satisfactorily under use particularly in the thin sections thereof.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the club head.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the club head with the sole plate removed.

Fig. 3 is a section of the head taken along the' line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

shaft receiving neck It and a striking face I 2 which is scored longitudinally and transversely at 03 as is usual in wooden golf clubs of this character. The bottom of the head may be provided with a recess M as shown in Fig. 2 in which is mounted a sole plate L; which usually is formed of metal.

The head is preferably formed of polyamides of adipic acid and hexamethylene diamine or nylon, manufactured and sold by E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company of Wilmington, Delaware. The formula of polyamides of adipic acid and hexamethylene diamin'e is:

it may be molded to substantially its final form by injection molding or other suitable molding processes. The-head can be molded directly on the shaft IE, or the head formed separately with the neck having a shaft receiving bore l1 into which the shaft is inserted and secured by suitable adhesive or cement and additionally by means of ascrew I 8. If the shaft is to be readily removable, a sleeve, not shown, can be molded within the bore l1 and be provided with means to which the shaft may be readily detachably connected.

. The material of the head has dimensional stability during the molding operation. Very little machining is required to finish the heads and this may be done readily as the material of the head can be machined without excessive strains being set up therein due to heating up of the material.

Nylon has a specific gravity slightly greater than that of wood so that a head of normal size requires but a minimum amount of coring to produce substantially the same weight as that or an average wooden club. The coring maybe done during the molding of the head or by a cutting or drilling operation after tne head has been molded. As is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the coring results in a small cavity is. This cavity conveniently may receive the usual required weight means 20 which is secured in place by screw 2|.

It has been found that heads made of nylon,

and particularly thin sections thereof, such as are found around the neck and, in sections formed as a result of the above-mentioned coring oi the head, have excellent resistance to impact fatigue and do not require reinforcement; By impact fatigue is meant the failure of a head to stand up under successive blows as would be encountered in the use of a golf club, and to show cracking in the faceand fracture and breakage in the thin sections. 7

We have discovered this property in nylon and so far as we have been able todetermine, it bears no direct relation to the known characteristics 'of plastic materials such as impact strength,

tensile strength, compression, elongation, and modulus of elasticity. etc.

Because of this characteristic, heads made 0 nylon can be more readily and cheaply manufactured than prior heads since they do not have to have any reinforcements molded in them or special means for providing a reinforced mounting for the shaft thereto.

The head of the present invention is very hard, abrasive resistant, and has the advantage that the striking face does not become dented through impact with the ball and the scoring thereon does not breakdown as in the case of a wooden club which must be completely refaced when this occurs.

Since the head is very hard, the sole plate may or other means. However, in view of the fact that the sole plates receive the greatest wear and must be frequently removed for replacement or repair by unscrewing the screws, it is preferred to mold anchoring members in the head to which the screws or other securing means may be connected. The anchoring means are preferablymetal sleeves 22 opening into the sole plate recess and into' which thescrews 23 may be threaded.

The club head of the present invention has an excellent appearance particularly because the material of the head takes a high polish. It has an advantage over wooden heads however in that it has a high resistance to abrasion. When scratches do occur, they may be covered up by a coat of wax or the like whereas a wooden head would require a complete new coat of varnish to take them out.

Furthermore. the material of the head maintains its resiliency throughout the range of usual climatic temperature so that the club does not become soft and loggy on hot days and brittle. on cold days. 7

When any golf ball is struck with a wooden club by a player, there is a definite feel and there is Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

We claim:

1. In a golf club of the "wood type, a head of molded nylon, said head having thin walled sections.

2. In a golf club of the "wood type, a head of molded nylon, said head having a thin walled shaft-receiving neck.

3. In a golf club of the "wood" type, a head of molded nylon, said head having a recess therein forming unreinforced walls of thin cross-section.

'4. A golf club head of the wood type of molded nylon, said head having thin walled sections having great resistance to impact fatigue.

EDWARD P. KEARSLEY. Elm; J. MARCINIAK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the I file of this patent:

produced a characteristic click or sound which ing a golf ball is so slightly higher in pitch than when the ball is struck by a wooden club that theplayer is not conscious of it during play.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 'Number Name 1 Date 745,044 Dunn Nov. 24, 1903 1,202,383 Hardman Oct. 24, 1916 1,841,062 Schavoir Jan. 12, 1932 1,864,513 Balch June 28, 1932 2,301,369 Carvill Nov. 10, 1942 2,309,729 Gordon Feb. 2, 1943 2,346,617 Schaffer Apr. 11, 1944

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