Golf club wood

Claim 2

A wood type golf club having a club head and a shaft and said club head having a top surface and a bottom surface and a leading surface for striking a golf ball comprising: a. a club head block; b. a reinforcing collar having front and back faces, the back face being affixed to said club head block, said reinforcing collar being substantially the same in peripheral dimension as the peripheral dimension of the club head block immediately adjacent the reinforcing collar and said reinforcing collar having a hole of at least one half of a square inch in cross sectional area therethrough from front to back; c. a face plate integral with the front face of said reinforcing collar, said face plate being in intimate contact with the club head block substantially throughout the area of the hole in the reinforcing collar; d. a rounded edge on the top leading edge of the club head, said rounded edge having a leading, a middle and a downstream point and having a radius of a least about 0.25 inches; e. a trip step in the radius specified in sub-paragraph (d), said trip step being located between the middle and downstream points of the radius and being from about 0.005 to about 0.035 inches in height; and f. a shaft affixed to said reinforcing collar.

Claim 3

The gold club of claim 1 further comprising a sole plate.

Claim 4

The golf club of claim 2 wherein the sole plate is integral with the reinforcing collar.

Claim 5

The golf club of claim 1 wherein there is a projection on the club head block, said projection having the same cross sectional area as the area of the hole of the reinforcing collar.

Claim 6

The golf club of claim 4 wherein the projection is the same thickness as the thickness of the reinforcing collar.

Claim 7

The golf club of claim 1 wherein the reinforcing collar and the face plate are a unitary one piece structure.

Claim 8

The golf club of claim 1 wherein the reinforcing collar and the face plate are separate pieces.

Claim 9

The golf club of claim 7 wherein the face plate is provided with bosses and the reinforcing collar with recesses and wherein the bosses correspond to recesses in the reinforcing collar.

Claim 10

The golf club of claim 1 wherein the club head block is wood.

Claim 11

The golf club of claim 9 wherein the club head block is of a maple.

Claim 12

The golf club of claim 1 wherein the reinforcing collar is metal.

Claim 13

The golf club of claim 11 wherein the reinforcing collar is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum and magnesium.

Claim 14

The golf club of claim 1 wherein the reinforcing collar is plastic.

Claim 15

The gold club of claim 13 wherein the plastic is selected from the group consisting of epoxies, polycarbonates, phenolics and butyrates.

Claim 16

The golf club of claim 13 wherein there is a filler in the reinforcing collar.

Claim 17

The golf club of claim 15 wherein the filler is a reinforcing filler.

Claim 18

The golf club of claim 16 wherein the reinforcing filler is glass fibers.

Claim 19

The golf club of claim 15 wherein the filler is more dense than the plastic material.

Claim 20

The golf club of claim 18 wherein the filler is barium sulphate.

Claim 21

The golf club of claim 1 wherein the leading edge of the bottom of the club head has a radius of at least about 0.15 inches.

Claim 22

The golf club of claim 20 wherein there is a trip step in the bottom radius.

Claim 23

A wood type gold club comprising: a. a club head block of wood; b. a reinforcing collar having front and back faces, the back face being affixed to said club head block, said reinforcing collar being of a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum and magnesium, said reinforcing collar being substantially the same in peripheral dimension as the peripheral dimension of the club head block immediately adjacent the reinforcing collar having a hole of at least one square inch in cross sectional area therethrough from front to back; c. a projection on the club head block, said projection having the same cross sectional area as the area of the hole of the reinforcing collar and said projection being the same thickness as the thickness of the reinforcing collar; d. a face plate integral with the front face of said reinforcing collar, said plate being in intimate contact with the projection on the club head block; e. a rounded edge on the top leading edge of the club head, said rounded edge having a leading, a middle and a downstream point and having a radius of at least about 0.25 inches; f. a trip step in the radius specified in subparagraph (e), said trip step being located between the middle and downstream points of the radius from about 0.005 to about 0.035 inches in height; and g. a shaft affixed to said reinforcing collar.

Claim 24

A wood type gold club comprising: a. a club head block of wood; b. a reinforcing collar having front and back faces, the back face being affixed to said club head block, said reinforcing collar being of a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum and magnesium, said reinforcing collar being substantially the same in peripheral dimension as the peripheral dimension of the club head block immediately adjacent the reinforcing collar having a hole of at least one square inch in cross sectional area therethrough from front to back; c. a projection on the club head block, said projection having the same cross sectional area as the area of the hole of the reinforcing collar and said projection being the same thickness as the thickness of the reinforcing collar; d. a face plate integral with the front face of said reinforcing collar, said plate being in intimate contact with the projection on the club head block; e. a rounded edge on the top leading edge of the club head, said rounded edge having a leading, a middle and a downstream point and having a radius of at least about 0.25 inches; f. a trip step in the radius specified in subparagraph (e), said trip step being located between the middle and downstream points of the radius from about 0.005 to about 0.035 inches in height; and g. a shaft affixed to said reinforcing collar.

Claim 25

The golf club of claim 22 wherein the leading edge of the bottom of the club head has a radius of at least about 0.15 inches.

Claim 26

The golf club of claim 22 further comprising a sole plate.

Claim 27

The golf club of claim 24 wherein the face plate and the reinforcing collar are a unitary one piece structure.

Claim 28

The golf club of claim 21 wherein the club head block is maple.

Claim 29

The golf club of claim 1 wherein the top of the club head has a generally continuous convex surface.

Claim 30

The golf club of claim 22 wherein the top of the club head has a generally continuous convex surface.

Claim 31

In a wood type golf club having a club head and a shaft and said club head having a top surface and a bottom surface and a leading surface for striking a golf ball, the improvement comprising a rounded edge on the top leading edge of the club head, said rounded edge having a leading, a middle and a downstream point and having a radius of at least about 0.25 inches and a trip step in the radius of the rounded edge, said trip step being located between the middle and downstream points of the radius and being from about 0.005 inches to about 0.035 inches in height.

Claim 32

In a wood type golf club having a club head and a shaft and said club head having a top surface and a bottom surface and a leading surface for striking a golf ball, the improvement comprising a rounded edge on the top leading edge of the club head, said rounded edge having a leading, a middle and a downstream point and having a radius of at least about 0.25 inches and a trip step in the radius of the rounded edge, said trip step being located between the middle and downstream points of the radius and being from about 0.005 inches to about 0.035 inches in height.

Claim 33

The gold club of claim 1 further comprising a sole plate.

Claim 34

The golf club of claim 30 wherein the sole plate and the reinforcing collar are a unitary one piece structure.

Claim 35

The gold club of claim 22 further comprising a sole plate.

Claim 36

The golf club of claim 32 wherein the sole plate and the reinforcing collar are a unitary one piece structure.

Claim 37

A "wood type" golf club having a club head and a shaft comprising: a. a club head block of wood; b. a reinforcing collar having front and back faces, the back face being affixed to said club head block, said reinforcing collar being substantially the same in peripheral dimension as the peripheral dimension of the club head block immediately adjacent the reinforcing collar; c. a face plate which is a separate piece from the reinforcing collar but which is integrally affixed to the front face of said reinforcing collar; d. a shaft affixed to said reinforcing collar; e. the reinforcing collar having a hole in the central portion thereof of at least one-half of a square inch in cross sectional area therethrough from front to back; and f. said face plate being in intimate contact with the said club head block substantially throughout the area of the hole in the reinforcing collar.

Claim 38

A "wood type" golf club having a club head and a shaft comprising: a. a club head block of wood; b. a reinforcing collar having front and back faces, the back face being affixed to said club head block, said reinforcing collar being substantially the same in peripheral dimension as the peripheral dimension of the club head block immediately adjacent the reinforcing collar; c. a face plate which is a separate piece from the reinforcing collar but which is integrally affixed to the front face of said reinforcing collar; d. a shaft affixed to said reinforcing collar; e. the reinforcing collar having a hole in the central portion thereof of at least one-half of a square inch in cross sectional area therethrough from front to back; and f. said face plate being in intimate contact with the said club head block substantially throughout the area of the hole in the reinforcing collar.

Claim 39

The golf club of claim 34 further including a reinforcing sleeve, said reinforcing sleeve reinforcing sleeve reinforcing the shaft at its point of attachment to the reinforcing collar.