Golf Clubs
Golf clubs are used in the sport of golf to hit a golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance(grip) and a clubhead. Woods are used for long-distance fairway shots; irons, the most versatile class used for a variety of shots, and putters, used mainly on the green to roll the ball into the cup.
An important variation in different clubs is loft, or the angle between the club's face and the vertical plane. It is loft that makes a golf ball leave the tee on an ascending trajectory, not the angle of swing; virtually all swings contact the ball with a horizontal motion. The impact of the club compresses the ball, while grooves on the clubface give the ball backspin (A well-struck golf shot will result in a large amount of backspin that will carry the ball higher into the air and further. Backspin also helps with distance control, as if there is enough backspin, the ball will "check" if it lands on the putting surface, and sometimes even creep backwards (in the opposite direction that the ball was flying) upon landing.). Together, the compression and backspin create lift. The majority of woods and irons are labeled with a number; higher numbers indicate shorter shafts and higher lofts, which give the ball a higher and shorter trajectory.
Types of Clubs
Drivers
A driver is also called a 1-wood and is used for hitting a long, low tee shot across longer distances at long-yardage holes. They are made of forged titanium, stainless steel, or an Ti alloy and have a long shaft and wide head. Drivers vary in weights and lengths to match each lady golfer's handicap. There are three types of golf clubs:
- Forged titanium golf drivers are expensive and made up of larger titanium heads. They have an lightweight graphite shaft. For low and mid-handicap ladies.
- Stainless steel golf drivers have heavier, hard and strong compact heads. For low handicap golfers.
- Alloy golf drivers are less expensive and have Ti Alloy heads and graphite shafts. For starters and mid-handicappers.
Woods
Woods have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed and long-distance shots on the fairway. Originally woods had a clubhead made of wood, but nowadays they are also known as metalwoods, due to the fact that they are made of titanium, steel, or composite alloys. Higher-number lady golf club woods are generally called as fairway woods. They have a higher loft for high ball arcs, shallower face heights, and big flattened soles for easily gliding through the grass or rough. Most women have a driver, and a 3 and 5-wood in their bag. The heads have different volumes:
- Standard, 150-155 cc
- Midsized, up to 195 cc
- Oversized, up to 250 cc
Irons
These are meant for approach shots less than 200 yards away from the green and for difficult lies, in the rough for example. The most common iron set includes all 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9-irons and a pitching wedge (see more on wedges below). The higher the number of an iron club, the shorter the shaft and the higher the loft. The 1 to 4 irons are long irons used for low and far distance shots. The 5 to 7 irons are called mid irons. And the 8-iron and up are short irons for short distance shots high in the air. There are two types of golf clubs irons heads: Cast, Cavity Back or Perimeter-Weighted irons have a large sweet spot. An forged Steel heads are more difficult because of a smaller sweet spot.
Wedges
High-loft irons for striking balls high in the air at a short distance in various lies: like approach shots, chipping, pitching, recovery and bunker shots. There are four types of golf clubs wedges:
- Pitching Wedge(PW) - For at least 130 yards and longer from the fairway into the green. The loft is 46 to 51 degrees.
- Sand Wedge (SW) - For digging the ball out of a bunker and sand shots. The loft is 55 to 57 degrees.
- Gap Wedge (GW), Approach Wedge (AW), Dual Wedge (D), Attack Wedge (AW) or Utility Wedge (UW) - With all these types of golf clubs you can make a variety of green or bunker shots. These different types of golf clubs fill in between the pitching wedge and sand and lob wedge. 50 to 58 degrees loft.
- Lob Wedge (LW) - For high short-distance hits around obstacles and to the green. 60 to 64 degree lofted.
Putters
Used for pushing and rolling the golf ball from close distance along on the green or apron towards the cup. Every lady golfer must have this type of golf club.
- Utility & Hybrid Ladies Golf Clubs
Hybrid ladies golf clubs are a cross, with a clubhead that combines the features, characteristics and benefits of an iron and a wood. Many women replace their 2, 3, and 4-irons with these types of golf clubs.
Parts of the Club
- The Grip
The grip of the golf club is important because it connects the club to the golfer's hands. According to the rules of golf, recognized by both ruling bodies, the grip has to be round, without obvious bumps, lumps or hollows.
- The Shaft
The shaft of the golf club connects the grip to the head and, like the grip, must be basically round in cross section. Most modern golf club shafts are made of either steel or a carbon-fiber and resin composite. Carbon fiber has the advantage of being lighter than steel, but clubs with carbon-fiber shafts also tend to be more expensive.
- The Head
The head of the golf club is where all the energy of the swing is transferred to the golf ball. There is more variation in the appearance of golf club heads than there is in either shafts or grips, but all the variations fall into one of three broad categories: the heads of woods, irons and putters.
- Parts of Club Head
The head of the golf club has several parts: the Hosel, where the head connects to the shaft; the Face, which actually strikes the ball; the Sole, which is the part closest to the ground; and the Back, which is on the side opposite the face.
Golf Club Head Taxonomy
Search History
Concept Table
| S.No | Concept 1 | Concept 2 | Concept 3 | Concept 4 | Concept 5 | Assignee | Control Patents | Patent Class Code | Defination |
| 1 | Golf | Clubhead* | Driver | Hosel | Impact | Sumitomo Rubber | US7066833B2 | 473 | Games using tangible projectile |
| 2 | Gouf | Club Adj2 Head* | Wood | Face | Projectil* | Srixon | US6932715B2 | 340 | Putter |
| 3 | Ball Adj 2 Strik* | Iron | Sole | SRI Adj2 Sport* | US6913546B2 | 341 | Toe and heel weighting | ||
| 4 | Putter Adj2 Head* | Wedge | US6875130B2 | 305 | Head and shaft connection | ||||
| 5 | Head* | Putter | US6875126B2 | 304 | One piece head and shaft: | ||||
| 6 | Strik* Adj2 Surface* | Hybrid | US6852038B2 | 292 | Head, shaft, and handle having particular combined center of gravity: | ||||
| 7 | Crown | US6849003B2 | 290 | Particular correlated head characteristic: | |||||
| 8 | US6776726B2 | A63B* | |||||||
| 9 | US6719645B2 | ||||||||
| 10 | US6716114B2 |
Search Strategy
| S.No | Concepts | Search String | Scope | Hits |
| 1 | Any Classification | (A63B*) OR (473* OR D21759) | Micropat - Full Text US - Grant & Application Date - 19981008 till date |
31141 |
| 2 | Keyword Set 1 | ((GOlf OR Gouf) AND (Clubhead* OR (Club Adj2 Head*) OR Head* OR Crown*)) OR ((Putter OR Driver OR Wood OR Iron OR Hybrid) Adj2 Head*) OR (Strik* Adj Surface) OR (Strik* Adj Face) | Same as above | 20287 |
| 3 | Keyword Set 2 | (Hosel OR Face OR Sole) AND ((Golf adj2 Club adj2 Head*) OR (Clubhead* OR (Club Adj2 Head) OR Golfhead OR (Golf Adj2 Head))) | Same as above | 5297 |
| 4 | Assignee/Applicant | (Sumitomo Adj2 Rubber) Or (Srixon) Or (SRI Adj2 Sport*) | Same as above | 1604 |
| 5 | Assignee/Applicant (non-std) | (Sumitomo Adj2 Rubber) Or (Srixon) Or (SRI Adj2 Sport*) | Same as above | 1594 |
| 6 | Filter | (Golf Adj Ball) | Micropat - English Title US - Grant & Application Date - 19981008 till date |
3644 |
| 7 | Combined | 2 OR 3 | 20296 | |
| 8 | Combined | 7 AND 1 | 10057 | |
| 9 | Combined | 4 OR 5 | 1604 | |
| 10 | Combined | 8 AND 9 | 551 | |
| 11 | Combined- Final Query | 10 NOT 6 | 218 (187 excluding family patents) - 73% efficiency |
IP Filing Trend
Technology Trend
- US Class Codes
| S.No | US Code | Definition |
| 1 | 473314 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Particular relationship between shaft longitudinal axis and head orientation |
| 2 | 473316 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Shaft |
| 3 | 473319 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Shaft: Including nonmetallic material or vibratory wave modifying feature: Filament (e.g., fiber, etc.) or sheet wrapped about shaft longitudinal axis |
| 4 | 473324 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Head |
| 5 | 473329 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Head: Striking face surface deforms upon impact (e.g., resilient, etc.) |
| 6 | 473340 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Head: Putter |
| 7 | 473342 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Head: Striking face insert |
| 8 | 473345 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Head: Hollow body |
| 9 | 473349 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Head: Particular material composition or mass distribution |
| 10 | 473350 | Games using tangible projectile: Club or club support: Head and shaft connection: Head: Particular material composition or mass distribution: Recess or cavity behind striking face |
| 11 | D21759 | Games using tangible projectile: Striking, launching, or catching implement: Bat, club, or racket: Element or attachment: Golf specific |
Sample Analysis of Patents
| S. No. | Pat # | Title | Abstract | Publication Year | Assignee / Applicant | Patent Focus | Dolcera Summary |
| 1 | US7066833B2 | Golf club head | A golf club head comprises a face portion having a front face defining a clubface for hitting a ball and a back face facing a hollow, wherein the clubface is provided along the edge thereof with a frontal groove having a groove width of not less than 0.5 mm, and the back face is provided with a backside groove extending along the frontal groove. | 2006 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Face with frontal groove | Golf club head has face portion having club face provided with frontal groove having width of not less than 0.5 mm such that face portion also includes back face provided with backside groove extending along frontal groove. |
| 2 | US6932715B2 | Golf club head | A golf club head including a head base body which surface is formed with a coating film, the coating film including a topcoat layer consisting of an acrylic resin coating material containing polyethylene wax of 1.0 to 10.0 parts by weight with respect to acrylic resin solid content of 100 parts by weight. It is possible to improve abrasion resistance while making the best use of excellent impact resistance of the acrylic resin coating material, and thus, to effectively prevent peeling of the coating film. Further, it is possible to enhance the interlayer adhesion of inner layers with the topcoat layer. | 2005 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Topcoat layer coated head | Golf club head comprises head base body whose surface is formed with coating film with topcoat layer consisting of acrylic resin coating material. |
| 3 | US6913546B2 | Wood-type golf club head | A wood-type golf club head comprises a club face provided with a high-resilience part whose Young’s modulus E is in a range of from 40 to 80 GPa. The head volume is in a range of from 270 to 420 cc. The horizontal inertial moment is in a range of from 3000 to 4500 (g•sq.cm), and the gravity point depth is in a range of from 15 to 25 mm. | 2005 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Design specification of head | Wood-type golf club head for hitting golf ball when playing golf, has volume ranging from 270 to 420 cc, horizontal inertial moment ranging from 3000 to 4500 grams square centimeter, and gravity point depth ranging from 15 to 25 cm. |
| 4 | US6875130B2 | Wood-type golf club head | A wood-type golf club head which has a head volume of not less than 320 cc, a gravity point distance (C) in a range of from 25 to 35 mm, and a heel area width (A) in a range of from 30 to 52% of a clubhead width (B) . | 2005 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Projection of head center | Wood golf-club head, sets center of gravity distance between point, which projects head center of gravity on vertical plane, and shaft axis to 25 to 35 millimeters. |
| 5 | US6875126B2 | Golf club head | A golf club head containing a hollow main frame and a face plate; the hollow main frame is composed of a main body and a crown plate welded to the main body, the main body containing a hosel part, a sole part and a side part extending upwards from the periphery of the sole part except for a front edge of the sole part thereby providing an open top and an open front, and the crown plate covers said open top, whereby the main frame has an opening on the front thereof. The face plate is welded to the main frame to cover the front opening of the main frame; the face plate includes a face part defining a clubface, and a flange part extending backward from at least the upper edge of the face part; the main frame further including eaves extending from an upper edge of the opening to the inside of the flange part, wherein the thickness of crown plate is in the range of 0.3 to 1.5 mm. | 2005 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Crown plated head | Golf club head has crown plate formed with thickness ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 mm and welded to main body of main frame to cover open top of main body. |
| 6 | US6852038B2 | Golf club head and method of making the same | A golf club head comprises a hollow body having a cavity, a plurality of rib-like walls provided on the inner surface of the hollow body so as to extend backward from a position near the face portion, and a sound bar disposed behind the face portion so as to extend along the back face of the face portion. A method of making a golf club head comprises making a wax model of the hollow main body having an opening, wherein in order to prevent deformation of the wax model during making a casting mold, the wax model is provided with a brace which extends across the opening and protruding walls which are disposed on the inner surface of the wax model and extend backwards from the opening. | 2005 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Club head with sound bar | Golf club head has at least sound bar which is provided behind face portion of hollow body, on which rib-like walls are provided on inner surface, and extended at small distance from back face of face portion. |
| 7 | US6849003B2 | Golf club head | A golf club head made of a fiber reinforced resin, comprising: a face hitting a ball; a crown forming an upper surface of the head; a sole forming a bottom surface of the head; a side extending between the crown and the sole from an edge on a toe side of the face to an edge on a heel side through a back face; and a hosel into which a shaft is inserted, wherein the crown has a thickness of equal to or less than 2.2 mm, and includes at least partially a high elastic part made of a fiber reinforced resin reinforced by at least one kind of fiber having a tensile elasticity modulus between 380 and 900 (GPa), and the hosel is provided with a vibration absorbent having a loss tangent between 0.7 and 1.5 at a temperature of 10° C. in the vicinity thereof. | 2005 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Fiber reinforced resin club head | Golf club head made of fiber reinforced resin, has hosel which is provided with vibration absorbent having loss tangent between 0.7 and 1.5 at temperature of 10 degrees Centigrade in vicinity. |
| 8 | US6776726B2 | Golf club head | A golf club head comprises a ball striking face provided with a central region having a surface hardness Hc and a peripheral region surrounding the central region and having a surface hardness Hp less than the surface hardness Hc. | 2004 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Surface hardness of head | Golf club head has ball striking face provided with central region having surface hardness and peripheral region surrounding central region. |
| 9 | US6719645B2 | Golf club head | A golf club head comprises a main body and a face member attached to the main body. The face member comprises a main portion forming a ball striking face and an extended part. The extended part extends 5 to 30 mm backward from at least part of the edge of the ball striking face. The thickness of the extended part is less than the thickness of the main portion. | 2004 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Design specification of head | Golf club head with ball striking surface and extension surface about 5-30 millimeters from edge of ball striking surface, such that thickness of extension surface is less than that of main portion. |
| 10 | US6716114B2 | Wood-type golf club head | A wood-type golf club head having a head volume of not less than 300 cc comprises a head main body having a club face for striking a golf ball and a hosel defining a shaft center line (CL) corresponding to the center line of a club shaft, wherein the center of gravity (G) of the club head is disposed at a distance (L) of from 26 to 36 mm from said shaft center line (CL), a sweet spot (s) on the club face is disposed at a distance of not more than 3 mm from a club face center (c) of the club face, the club face has a toe-side end (Fe) disposed at a distance (B) of from 13 to 30 mm in the toe-heel direction towards the heel from a toe-side end (Te) of the club head, and a heel end (He) of the club head is disposed at a distance (A) of from 10 to 16 mm from the shaft center line (CL). | 2004 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Design specification of head | Wood type golf club head sets required distance from center of gravity of club head to shaft center line of hosel, as well as distance from sweet spot to center of club face. |
Sample Office Action Analysis
| S.No. | Pat/Pub | Examiner | Assigne - Normalized | # of Applications Filed | Corresponding number of allowances | Number of abandonments | Pendency of applications issuing as patents | Time period from filing to first action (excluding expedited applications) | Number of appeals taken | Number of Requests for Continued Examination (RCEs) filed (per case and total) | Number of Interviews (per case and total) | Comments |
| 1 | US6797106B2 | Aftergut, Jeff H. | Callaway Golf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.3 | 1/10/2003 - 10/22/2003 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2 | US6676537B2 | Arbes, Carl J. | Top Flite Golf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.7 | 12/8/2000 - 12/11/2002 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.Image file wrapper is not available, data collected from Transaction history. 2.Two NOA is availabe where one where the data has been verified and one mailed, so 1 NOA is being consider. |
| 3 | US7394917B2 | Azarian, Seyed | SRI Sports | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.6 | 06/22/2004 - 06/27/2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | US6860819B2 | Blau, Stephen | Acushnet Company | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.8 | 11-12-2002 - 03-13-2003 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 5 | US7137903B2 | Blau, Stephen | Acushnet Company | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.5 | 4/21/2004 - 11/23/2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | US6679784B2 | Blau, Stephen | Acushnet Company | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.5 | 12/23/2002 - 6/13/2003 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.Image file wrapper is not available, data collected from Transaction history. 2.Two NOA is availabe where one where the data has been verified and one mailed, so 1 NOA is being consider. |
| 7 | US7029402B2 | Blau, Stephen | Bridgestone Sports | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.9 | 1/16/2003 - 12/15/2003 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | US6984180B2 | Blau, Stephen | Bridgestone Sports | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.6 | 3/13/2003 - 3/10/2004 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 9 | US6780123B2 | Blau, Stephen | Bridgestone Sports | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3/13/2003 - 1/28/2004 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 10 | US7507165B2 | Blau, Stephen | Bridgestone Sports | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12/29/2005 - 12/5/2006 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 11 | US7300359B2 | Blau, Stephen | Callaway Golf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8/14/2006 - 8/6/2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 12 | US7115046B1 | Blau, Stephen | Callaway Golf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5/4/2005 - 7/18/2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes
- Notice of allowance is equal to the number of NOA mentioned in the Image File Wrapper.
- First office is considered when there is any rejection of claims and there is a response from the patent office.
- Usually CTNF (Non-Final Rejection) is considered as first office action after the patent has been filed.
- In some cases CTRS (Response to Election / Restriction Filed) is considered as the first office action which is also related to claim rejection.
- In some patents Image Wrapper file is not available for them the data has been collected from the Transaction history.