FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of golf and, more particularly, to golf clubs of improved design including the heads of irons, woods, and putters. More specifically, to an improved method and technique for placement of weights in the head of a golf club so that the total club weight, center of gravity and weight distribution in the head of the club can be modified to suit a player's physical characteristics and ability.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that a golfer's game is greatly affected by the golf clubs used. For this reason golfers spend considerable time in selecting the golf clubs that is best suited to their techniques of play. Furthermore, an individual's golf swing may vary slightly or dramatically from week to week, and the golfer is limited to his or her clubs that were selected based on his or her swing at a given point in time.

Among the factors that a golfer considers in selecting a set of clubs are its swing weights, weight distribution of the club head and the center of gravity of the club. These same criteria are considered by golf club manufacturers in their unsuccessful efforts to customize their product to satisfy individual requirements. However, because clubs are designed for esthetics rather than the individual golfer's needs and abilities, it has not been feasible to find or assemble a set of clubs which matches any one individual golfer's psychological, physical and skill requirements perfectly all the time.

Consequently, most of the commercially available clubs are weighted within a narrow range so that they can be used by the vast majority of golfers. As a result, a very small adjustment in the weight of the club is needed to change the center of gravity and the total weight of the club head.

It is well known that the weight of the golf club affects the speed of swing that in turn controls the distance of a shot. The faster the speed of the club head at the time of impact with the ball, the longer the length of a shot will result. The club head speed is governed by the strength of the player and the weight of the club head. For a given player, the weight of a club head is; therefore, the governing factor for obtaining the maximum possible distance.

Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the weight of a club short of buying a new set of clubs. For example, the club designed for six feet five-inch tall person is also used by a player with much less stature and strength. This is particularly true with the clubs intended for juniors, and in some extent seniors and women players. The golf clubs are, for the most part, made for one "standard" and "average" person. Moreover, the strength of a golfer may change as he or she gets older, and weighing of the club will need to change also. The advantage of adjustability of the club to suit each player's need becomes obvious. The subject invention addresses a method to adjust the total clubhead weight of a given club based on a player's physical characteristics and skill level to achieve the best possible golf shots.

Similarly, the location of the center of gravity of a club head has a significant effect on the driving characteristics of a golf shot, particularly with less skilled and less experienced golfers. Location of the center of gravity for a club is very important since it can control the trajectory of the ball. Unlike an expert who can control the flight of the ball by controlled rotation of his hands to cause a spin to be imparted to the ball, a less skilled golfer relies on attempting to hit the ball so that impact with the club head is made at the sweet spot that is generally located along a vertical line which runs directly opposite the center of gravity of the head. A small change in the center of gravity can influence the tendency of a shot to hook or slice. A golf shot can hook or slice depending on the training and acquired habits of a player. If an adjustment of the center of gravity of a club is possible, the tendency of hooking or slicing a shot may be compensated by making a small change of the center of gravity without modifying the swing. Some manufacturer varies the center of gravity according to the loft of the club. Nevertheless, no club design allows adjustment of the center of gravity for a given club. This invention addresses a method of adjusting the center of gravity of a given club.

Another important feature in the construction golf club's club head is the distribution of weight. Depending on the weight distribution, a golf club can influence the distance of a shot and tendency to hook or slice the ball for a given skill level of a player. Therefore, a manufacturer will design the clubs adjusted to the skill of a player. For example, an iron designed for a skilled player usually has most of the weight centered behind the optimal hitting area on the club surface, or sweet spot. However, this type of club does not offer much margin for error. For majority of players, the manufactures offer other designs mainly depending on how the weight is distributed. A perimeter-weighted, heel-toe weighted, or sole-weighted irons are some typical examples. The perimeter-weighted clubs have a larger sweet spot, allowing more margin for error. Since all the weight does not have to be centered directly behind the sweet spot for a good shot to come off, distributing the club head's weight around the perimeter will help to compensate for a mis-hit. Other manufactures distribute the majority of the weight in the heel and toe of the clubhead, book ending the sweet spot. The theory is that less-skilled players mis-hit most of their shots in the heel or toe, so when they do, the weight is there to compensate. Furthermore, some clubs have a high concentration of weight toward the sole of the club. Locating the majority of clubhead's weight under the equator of the ball, a player will have easier time to get the ball airborne. In the case of putters, most putters are heel-toe weighted, with very little weight directly behind the ball. All these clubs mentioned above have fixed weight distribution, and there is no way to change the original design. Only commercially available method to modify the weight distribution is to attach a strip of thin tape made with lead.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved golf club with provision to accept a small weight addition without the complicated mechanism or design. The weight addition can be accomplished without requiring any specialized tools.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a golf club weight addition that can also easily be repositioned to alter the weight distribution and the center of gravity depending on the player's physical condition of the day.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a golf club that can alter the club head weight without changing the basic club design currently available in the market.

Another objective of the invention is to provide the unconventional clubs such as the clubs for juniors, seniors, and women with variable weight as well as the adjustable weight distributional capabilities to accommodate the large variability of the player's physiological makeup. To achieve the foregoing and other objectives, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described herein, an improved golf club is provided for efficiently striking a golf ball so as to allow shot-making with better accuracy and increased resulting distance. With these inventions, an infinite number of adjustments can be made to vary the club head weight, the center of gravity of a club as well as the weight distribution of a club. A player can, by making a simple adjustment to the club, tailor-make the club for his or her needs and abilities.