Wedge type golf club

Claim 2

A golf club head comprising a wedge-type body having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined ball engaging face and an undersurface which generally parallels the ball engaging face, a shank at one end of said body for connection with a golf club handle shaft, said body including a lower leading edge and a trailing edge disposed above the horizontal plane of the leading edge, and a sole attached to the undersurface of the body in downwardly spaced Relation thereto providing a support for engaging a surface on which a golf ball lies to control the positioning of the golf ball engaging face in relation to the golf ball to enable the golf ball to be lofted onto a putting green from a sand trap, fairway or the like, said sole being spaced from the undersurface of the body substantially throughout its length to provide passage for sand or other supporting material for the golf ball to reduce the engagement of such material with the ball engaging face of the club head, said sole being connected to the underface of the club head body at each end thereof by vertically disposed webs having tapering and rounded end edges, said sole being spaced completely rearwardly of the leading edge and completely forwardly of the trailing edge of the club head body and having a relatively thin vertical dimension at its leading edge and a thicker vertical dimension at its trailing edge.

Claim 3

The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said sole and club head body are of unitary construction with the sole being similar in plan configuration to the club head body and having smaller dimensions.

Claim 4

The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said sole is convexly curved from a leading to a trailing edge and from the heel to the toe with the curvature being shallow to provide a relatively large surface area for contact with the golf ball supporting material so that the material will support the golf club head as it approaches and strikes the ball and during initial follow through movement.

Claim 5

A golf club comprising a wedge-type body having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined ball engaging face for lofting a golf ball onto a putting green from a sand trap or the like and including a shank for connection with a golf club shaft, said body having a leading edge curving from heel to toe and a trailing edge curving from heel to toe with the body also including an undersurface generally paralleling the ball engaging face, a sole underlying the undersurface of the body and being similar in plan configuration to the body with smaller dimensions, said sole including a curved, thin leading edge and a curved trailing edge thicker than its leading edge with the leading edge of the sole being spaced rearwardly from and generally in alignment with the leading edge of the ball engaging face and the trailing edge of the sole being spaced forwardly from and substantially below the trailing edge of the club engaging face whereby the sole is spaced completely rearwardly of the leading edge of the body and completely forwardly of the trailing edge of the body, said sole including an upper face spaced downwardly from the undersurface of the body and a pair of substantially vertically disposed webs rigidly interconnecting the ends of the sole with the undersurface of the body to define a passageway which commences just rearwardly of the leading edge of the body and extends to the trailing edge of the sole, said sole having a convexly curved undersurface from leading edge to trailing edge and from heel to toe to provide a relatively large and smoothly curved surface area for engagement with material supporting a golf ball.

Claim 6

A golf club comprising a wedge-type body having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined ball engaging face for lofting a golf ball onto a putting green from a sand trap or the like and including a shank for connection with a golf club shaft, said body having a leading edge curving from heel to toe and a trailing edge curving from heel to toe with the body also including an undersurface generally paralleling the ball engaging face, a sole underlying the undersurface of the body and being similar in plan configuration to the body with smaller dimensions, said sole including a curved, thin leading edge and a curved trailing edge thicker than its leading edge with the leading edge of the sole being spaced rearwardly from and generally in alignment with the leading edge of the ball engaging face and the trailing edge of the sole being spaced forwardly from and substantially below the trailing edge of the club engaging face whereby the sole is spaced completely rearwardly of the leading edge of the body and completely forwardly of the trailing edge of the body, said sole including an upper face spaced downwardly from the undersurface of the body and a pair of substantially vertically disposed webs rigidly interconnecting the ends of the sole with the undersurface of the body to define a passageway which commences just rearwardly of the leading edge of the body and extends to the trailing edge of the sole, said sole having a convexly curved undersurface from leading edge to trailing edge and from heel to toe to provide a relatively large and smoothly curved surface area for engagement with material supporting a golf ball.