US1463533A - Golf club - Google Patents

Description

` July 31, 1923- 1,463,533

C. A. KURZ, JR

GOLF GLUB` Filed July 2, 1919 Patented July 31, 1923..

UNITED.' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN A. KURZ, JB., 0F DAYTON, OHIO.

GOLF CLUB.

Application med :my a,

new and useful 1in rovements in ,Groliv Clubs, of which the ollowing is a specifi cation. V

My invention relates to' golf clubs and more particularlyto. the mode of reinforc ing the striking face of .the club by the ad dition of an insert of a body of phenolic condensation product.

The object of the invention is to increase the eficiency'of the club by improving its driving power and the accuracy of the stroke by embodying in the head of the club a body of material which will impart to the ball the full force and effect of the blow without absorbin any material part of the force or shock, t ereby giving to the club more life A further object of the invention is to increase the wearing `qualities and durability of the club by roviding a striking face which will be unli ely to be injured by the repeated 'blows and which will withstand the usual' hard usage to which golf clubs are subjected.

A further object of the invention is to provide an insert which will unite with the wood of the head to form a perfect union therewith and which will not be affected by chamges of temperature nor subject to` expansion or contraction under variations of either temperature or moisture and which will maintain its seat in the club head without the usual tendency ofsuch inserts to become loose.

With the above primary and otherincidental objects in view as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation or their equivalents aswill hereinafter be described and set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. l is a perspective view ofithe` head of a golf club embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a golf club head in which the present invention is embodied in a modified form. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the head shown in Fig. 3.

1918.` Serial No. 808,095.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a furi ther modification.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views.

It has been customary in the past to reinforce the striking face of gold clubs, usu ally by means of an inlay of fiber lignumvit wood or other close grained material which is not easily broken. These inlays 'were frequently secured by means of dowel lins passing through the inlay and into the ody of the head however, such inlays were "not always successfully and accurately set to the head, or became loosened in play, or by ex ansion and contraction of the material. urthermore the materials heretofore used have not possessed the requisite degree of resistance to the shock or impact of the stroke and have not aiorded the desired driving power nor the degree of solidity necessary to accuracy on long drives. These diiiculties have been overcome and the desirable qualities attained by the present construction wherein a body 1 of phenolic condensation product commonly known in the trade under the trade name of bakelite, condensite, redmanol or like material, is embedded in the striking face of the golf head 2 by being moulded in situ therein. The bodyl of phenolic condensation product 1 maybe of any desired shape or size, according to the purpose of the club and the peculiarities or desires of the player. In Figs. 1 and 2 the body of phenolic condensation product has been shown of truncated conical -form embedded in the head 2 with the smaller extremity exposed flush with the striking face 3 of the club. ln litting the club with such insert body the face of the club is provided with an under-cut hole, or one having a reduced orifice and widened or expanded within the body of the club head to ail'ord anchorage for the insert. The phenolic condensation product may be mixed with a filler of any desired character, either fibrous in character or of powdered form, or may be employed without such filler if so desired. It is common practice in the use of phenolic condensation product to employ a filler of wood, asbestos, marble dust and various other materials whereby the ultimate character of the product is varied. There is now in use a phenolic con densation composition for the-manufacture of billiard balls which will be found quite suitable for the present purposes although other compositions of phenolic condensation materials may be employed.

In embodyin the insert, the cavity in the head 2 is fille with the raw material, the head being placed in a suitable mould or retrainer. and the raw material to form the insert is subjected to heat and pressure as is usual in the moulding of these materials. The material, being liuxed by the application of heat and subjected to pressure while in a Huxed condition, is caused to penetrate into the fibers and pores of the head 2. and so in etect kntsY the insert- 1 and the head 2 into a single integral body. The insert 1 moulded in situ within the cavity formed vin the head 2 under pressure thus is made to conform accurately to the shape of Ythe recess. The phenolic material possessing a negligible factor of expansion and contraction will not be loosened readily from its seat within the head and is anchored not only by the shape of the cavity or recess, but also by the penetration of the phenolic material into the pores and fiber of the Wo d.

It has long been the custom to provide golf club heads with weights by pouring molten metal, such as lead or Babbitt metal into a recess in the head. However in such cases there is not the union of the insert with the head as in the presentcase, and furthermore the insert cannot fit with the same accnracy as in thepresent instance, since the hot metal not only causes the wood to shrink, but upon cooling the metal bod Y itself shrinks away from the wood. In t e present instance, the moulding in situ of the phenolic condensation product under pressure causes the fluxed product to follow the wood in its shrinkage caused by the application of heat. The material of the insert being compressed within the recess will not shrink away from the wood nor change its size upon cooling. as is the case with metal. Another material difference between the result of the present process and that. of rfi/uridine' in situ of metal weights. is that the insert firmly unites or knits with the .surrounding surface.

li. Fig. Il there has been shown Aa modia finition of the simple insert sh-Wn in Fig. i. in which the body of the insert of either cylindrical or conical form is provided with a trapezoidal head hi. The hea i 4 is located in a recess or nioriise in the ieee l of the olf club head and formed in situ by moulding this head Within the recess or niortise integral with the main body of the insert. extending rearwardly into the body of the head. This form of'insert affords a more extended striking surface` than that shown in Fig. 1. The mortise or recess to receive the trapezoidal head may be of dove-tailed or under-cut form or may be provided with straight sides as is found most convenient or desirable. The phenolic condensation product forming the head of the insert will unite with the surrounding Wood surface by entering the pores and into the grain of the wood as before described and any dove-tailed or under-cut shape of the mortise merely adds to the security of the head of the insert. Likewise, in lieu of making the rearward extending portion of the insert tapered or of conical form as is shown in Fig. 2, this portion of the insert may be cylindrical as further shown in Fig. .4.

In lieu of a single embedded body as shown in Fig. 4, the face plate or head of the insert may be provided with a plurality of rearward or inward rejecting studs or spuds` as shown at 5 in il. 5. In the construction shown in Fig. 5. t e head 2 of the Jolf club is prepared for the insert by orming in the face thereof the mortise or recess in `accordance with the shape and extent of the striking face desired, and` then providing in the bottom of said recess or mortise, a series of holes which may enter the golf club head in parallel relation one with the other, or in inclined or di onal relation, whereby the' will afford a ditional anchorage for such inserts. Any number of these holes may be provided and the series of holes and the mortise or recess in the face of the club head with which these holes communicate are subsequently utilized as the mould for the insert. lVhile the head 4 of the insert has been shown of trapezoidal form, it is obvious that it may be of any desired shape or proportion. oreover, instead of a single insert of phenolic condensation materal, the striking face may be provided with a series of inserts arranged in various designs.

By the term phenolic condensation product as herein used and as hereinafter set forth in the claims is meant those synthetic compounds or materials resulting from the reaction of not only phenols. but also their homologues, derivatives or equivalents, and formaldeh de or its polymers. derivatives or equiva ents, and other methylene containing substances to which may. or may not have been added suitable filling material.

From the above description it will be a parent that there is thus provided a evice of the character described, possessing the particular features of adyantagze before enumerated as desirable but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its forni. proportion. detail construction or arrangement of parts. without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

modifications within the scope of the'appended claims.

Having thus described my invention I claim: 1 A

1. A wooden lf club head and an insert of phenoh) condensation material molded in situ in the striking face of the club head.

` 2. In a construction of the character described, a wooden golf club head having a recess therein and an insert molded in situ in said recess under pressure while in a substantially plastic condition by whichthe insert is caused to be knitted fast to the voodei body by being forced into the pores t l'e 3. The combination with a golf club' head of wood, having therein e recess, of an insert of plastic material molded in situ in said recess and united with the material of the golf club by beingeaused to penetrate the pores thereof.` l

4i The combination with a golf club hav ing a porous head of la bod of phenolic condensation materialinse therein, said insert being anchored by having portions Vmolded in situ in said recess.

6. A golf club head and an insert of temporarily plastic material possessing a minimum factor of ex ansion and contraction molded and ha ened in situ in the striking face of the golf club head.

7. A golf club head, characterized by an insert of phenolic condensation material embedded in the striking face thereof.

8. A golf club characterized b an insert embedded in the strikin .face t ereof consisting of phenolic conl ensation material intermxed with a filler material by which the resiliency material is modified.

9. The herein described process of pro vidin inserts in wooden golf club heads and t e like, consistin in forming a re cess in a porous body, li ling the recess with a temporarily plastic material, subjecting the body of material to pressure to cause it to netrate the ores of the porous body, an permittin t e material to solidify xn its comp form.

.In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of June A. 1919.

CHRISTIAN A. KURZ, Ja.

Witnesses:

Hanny F. Noun', F. L. Warm of the phenolic condensation

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