Connect with us

Equipment

Latest patent filings: A driver with a spoiler, a removable club crown and more

Published

on

Once again, it’s time to take a look at patents major OEMs have filed for and been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

In last month’s edition, we saw a microwavable golf ball and several varieties of adjustable clubs. This month, the push toward “adjustable everything” continues.

Let’s get to it.

Callaway: Driver with spoiler

Callaway-Driver-Spoiler

So…Callaway is developing a driver with a spoiler.

Originally spotted on golf-patents.com, Callaway’s design features a rear spoiler that “reduces drag and increases the club’s swing speed.” The Carlsbad, Calif., company’s patent also details methods to keep the weight of the clubhead down and states the “spoiler preferably has an overall mass of no more than 20 grams and more preferably between 10 and 15 grams.”

See the full filing here.

Callaway: Extendable shaft

Screen shot 2014-07-16 at 6.57.54 AM

In addition to the spoiler-adorned driver, Callaway is working on an adjustable shaft. The filing details existing methods of adjusting shaft length: cutting, plugging, replacing. The company, however, sees these methods as difficult, costly and time consuming.

The extendable portion of the shaft will be concealed under the grip, as the drawing indicates.

See the full filing here.

Titliest: Toe-biased wood

Titleist-toe-biased-wood

Fairhaven, Massachusetts-based Titleist is working on a toe-biased wood, stating that “the sweet spot, while generally located in the center of the clubface, is not located at the area of the club face that has the highest club head speed.”

Thus, the company believes a sweet spot further toward the toe would be beneficial to most golfers.

Why specifically? As the filing states:

“Because the toe end of the clubface is a greater distance from both the golfer (and, therefore, travels on a wider arc as the golf swings the club) and from the axis of the shaft (also traveling a wider arc as the club head rotates), it has a higher club head speed than the center of the club face.”

The club’s lightweight crown will push weight toward the toe of the club as well.

See the full filing here.

Ping: Iron with progressive face thickness

Screen shot 2014-07-16 at 7.25.32 AM

Ping is trying something interesting. Referring to the sketch above, Fig. 1 is a traditional iron. Fig 2. is a long-iron with the patented technology. Fig 3. is a mid. Fig 4 is a short. As you can see, by altering the thickness of the face, Ping can alter each club’s center of gravity.

Here’s the rationale for why they’re moving weight around and altering thickness in this specific way.

The optimal trajectory of a golf shot occurs when the center of the club face strikes the center of a ball. Individuals may mis-hit their long irons by striking the center of the ball with the lower portion of the club face, which results in a lower trajectory and less distance. This is known as hitting the shot “thin.” Performance of a long iron hit thin can be improved by lowering the center of gravity of the club head so it is below the center of the club face.

With more of the mass below the center of the club face, more energy may be transferred near the center of the ball. The shot may feel more solid and/or travel farther. In addition, a lower center of gravity on the club head may result in a higher trajectory to the ball and improve the distance of the shot.

By contrast, higher lofted clubs are commonly mis-hit high on the clubface, producing more elevation and less distance than the optimal performance of the club. The difference in the characteristic mis-hit between the long and short irons may be attributed to differences in shaft length (e.g., shorter shafts on the short irons) and the psychological effect of what an individual is trying to accomplish (e.g., hit for distance or pitch a high, arching shot).

Short irons may be made to provide more forgiveness for high mis-hits by moving the center of gravity of the club head upward. The effect of placing more mass at the actual contact point may lower the trajectory so the ball travels farther in the air. Also, a higher center of gravity may provide more backspin on the ball to give the desired effect of stopping the ball more quickly when it lands.

A further bold claim: The set will still have a “matched feel,” even with the different CGs.

See the full filing here.

TaylorMade: fairway wood

Screen shot 2014-07-16 at 7.49.55 AM

Here’s a fairway wood TaylorMade is working on that looks a lot like the 2007 Burner. There wasn’t a lot of revealing information in the filing, but the design is worth including. Predictably, the filing suggests the head will “provide improved forgiveness and playability.”

See the full filing here.

Cobra: club head with removable component

Screen shot 2014-07-16 at 8.10.48 AM 

Here’s something new: a golf club you can take the top off of. A removable component “that can withstand the stress of repeated hits.”

What’s going on inside the club when you look under the hood? A couple of things, it seems. Here’s what the filing says:

Since a golf club of the present invention can be opened, it may include a mechanism on the inside for use by a golfer, such as an electronic device or an adjustment mechanism. The golf club may include a weight adjustment system that allows the club to be custom-fitted to a golfer. A weight adjustment system can include a plurality of mount points at which one or more removable weights can be mounted. For example, each mount point can include a threaded receptacle and each weight can include a threaded post. Additionally or alternatively, the club head can include a non-threaded adjustment system that uses Velcro or an adhesive to provide a highly-adjustable mass distribution system. In some embodiments, the adjustment system uses other means such as channels, prongs, spikes, edges, etc., and attachable material such as silicone caulk or other sticky or gummy material that can be pressed in. The adjustment system can include snap-together or snap-in weights or any other suitable mechanism. Where the club head uses threaded weight members, the club head can be provided along with a tool for tightening the weight down on a mount point or removing it.

View the full filing here.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB1
  • SHANK1

GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. Jonzy

    Jul 21, 2014 at 1:21 pm

    I can’t help but think that Cobra thought of the removable crown so you can change the color of your crown. Then, they realized that they had better put something adjustable inside of it to appeal to the golfers that care about performance instead of colors.

  2. jcorbran

    Jul 21, 2014 at 12:42 am

    the taylormade fairway seems to have the weight in the back in the head not low and forward, opposite of their current theory? cause low spin sux without forgiveness, dumbashes.

  3. ThinSoul

    Jul 18, 2014 at 11:26 am

    Soon to be best golf prank ever: Opening up someone’s Cobra driver and filling it up with junk.

  4. pat

    Jul 18, 2014 at 1:10 am

    geez taylormade must have run out of ideas coming up with a burner rehash
    they just celebrated sldr”s 1st birthday
    no new (replacement) model for over a year now
    about time they release a new driver

  5. Ben

    Jul 16, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    Next there will be balls made from unicorn testicles which shower you with golf and rainbows once you hit them

    • Ben

      Jul 16, 2014 at 4:32 pm

      Sorry meant gold and rainbows

    • Buck

      Jul 16, 2014 at 6:54 pm

      I bet those are soft

    • Dr. Troy

      Jul 16, 2014 at 8:48 pm

      Dude, that was the funniest thing I’ve read in a while! bwahahahahahaha! Awesome reply. This all is getting out of hand. Sheesh.

  6. Alex

    Jul 16, 2014 at 3:13 pm

    I think titleist and ping filings are the cool ones. The rest is pure gimmicky.

    • Teaj

      Jul 18, 2014 at 8:57 am

      I agree except for the Cobra idea, now I do question the feel of a club that you can remove the crown without the stability of being welded but the fact that you can put weight almost anywhere you want. the main reason I like this is so I can take the 2lbs of led tape I have on the toe of my 3 wood to prevent my quack hook.

      Cobra’s removable crown = tinker’ers dream

  7. cn

    Jul 16, 2014 at 2:21 pm

    good stuff

    • Ballstriker

      Jul 16, 2014 at 4:21 pm

      Uhhh jeeez. What’s next, training wheels, or maybe playing cards taped to the shaft for wind deflection and downforce? If only my Grandfather were alive today to tumble out of his seat at this nonsense.

      • TG

        Jul 16, 2014 at 5:01 pm

        Thank God you’re going to quit golf for us! More room on the course for me!

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/29/24): Mint Miura MB 101 irons

Published

on

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a set of Mint Miura MB 101 irons.

From the seller: (@Citixen): “MINT Miura MB 101 5-PW KBS $1700 + Shipping. Miura MB 101 irons 5-PW with KBS C-Taper Lite X Stiff shafts +0.5″, Standard Loft and Lie. Mint condition, includes magnetic head-covers.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Mint Miura MB 101 irons

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

Published

on

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

Published

on

Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

Your Reaction?
  • 5
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW2
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending