Abstract:
A golf club head with a vibration dampening insert is disclosed. The club head includes a face member, a dampening member, and a body member. The dampening member is sandwiched between the face member and the body member and extends along a large percentage of the face member. The dampening layer attenuates vibrations, providing consistent feel across the length of the striking face.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a golf club, and, more particularly, to a golf putter having a vibration dampening member.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Golf clubs have long been developed to improve the “touch and feel” of the club, including the clubs used on and around the green. One approach to improve the touch and feel of a club is to modify either the grip, the shaft, or the strike face of the golf club. For example, modifications to the club head could include an insert that is placed on the club strike surface to affect the impact of the club with the golf ball and to improve the feedback to the golfer after impact.  
         [0005]     Some known golf clubs include a dampening insert. However, these known dampeners result in an inconsistent feel across the face of the golf club. The feel of the club, and the performance of the golf ball upon being struck, vary depending on what portion of the striking face contacts the golf ball.  
         [0006]     Thus, what is needed is a golf club with a vibration dampening insert that provides consistent feel across the length of the striking face.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention relates to a golf club head having a vibration dampening member. The club head includes a face member, a dampening member, and a body member. The face member has a striking face and a rear surface opposite the striking face. The dampening member is connected to the rear surface of the face member. The body member is connected to the dampening member opposite the face member. The body member includes a hosel for attaching a shaft to the club head. Preferably, the face member is formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy and the body member is formed of steel.  
         [0008]     The dampening member extends along a large percentage of the face member. This helps ensure that vibrations generated during normal use of the club are attenuated regardless of what part of the club face strikes the ball, and also provides a softer feel to the club. Preferably, the dampening member is connected to substantially all of the face member rear surface, which substantially isolates the face member from the body member. To further ensure any vibrations are attenuated and to further enhance the feel of the club, the face member is completely isolated from the body member by the dampening member. Preferably, the rear surface of the face member has a perimeter profile, and the dampening member has a perimeter profile that is substantially the same as the rear surface perimeter profile. An adhesive can be used to connect the parts, and the dampening member itself may service as an adhesive. Mechanical fasteners, either alone or in conjunction with an adhesive, can also be used.  
         [0009]     The dampening member may preferably include one or more of rubber, urethane, polyurethane, butadiene, polybutadiene, and silicone. The dampening member may be a composite layer. Furthermore, the dampening member can be provided in a color contrasting the colors of the face member and the body member. This color difference can be a useful tool for the golfer to use when aligning the shot. The dampening member is preferably approximately 0.02 inch to approximately 1 inch thick, and more preferably approximately 0.03 inch to approximately 0.08 inch thick. The face member is preferably approximately 0.05 inch to approximately 0.25 inch thick, and more preferably approximately 0.1 inch to approximately 0.2 inch.  
         [0010]     The club head of the present invention can be assembled using a mold containing two mold plates. The face member is placed in a cavity within one plate of the mold and the body member is placed in a cavity of a corresponding plate of the mold. The body member is placed within one of the mold cavities. An adhesive may optionally be placed between the club head parts. The mold plates are then compressed together under force, compressing the dampening member  20  to desired thickness and dimensions. The surfaces of the parts may be roughened to facilitate bonding, and the mold may optionally be heated during the molding process. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters reference like elements, and wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  shows a golf club head of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the golf club head of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  shows a cross-section of a preferred assembly setup for the golf club head of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  shows a golf club head  1  of the present invention. The club head, which is shown as a putter head in the illustrated embodiment, includes a face member  10 , a dampening member  20  illustrated as a layer of dampening material, and a body member  30 . The face member  10  has a striking face  12  and a rear surface  14  opposite the striking face  12 . The dampening member  20  is coupled to the rear surface  14 . The body member  30  is coupled to the dampening member  20  on a surface opposite the face member  10 , and includes a hosel  32  for connecting the club head  1  to a shaft.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the golf club head  1 . The dampening member extends along a large percentage of the face member  10 . This helps ensure that vibrations generated during normal use of the club are attenuated regardless of what part of the club face strikes the ball. This also provides a softer feel to the face member  10 . Preferably, the dampening member  20  is coupled to substantially all of the rear surface  14 , substantially isolating the face member  10  from the body member  30 . There may be some portion of the face member  10 , such as at the hosel  32 , that contacts the body member  30 . This may allow some vibrations to be transmitted around the dampening member  20 . Some amount of the vibrations may also be transmitted through any mechanical fasteners that couple the face member  10 , dampening member  20 , and body member  30 .  
         [0017]     The surfaces around the hosel  32  can be dealt with in a variety of manners. One option, as mentioned above, is to simply allow the face member  10  and the body member  30  to be in contact. Another option is to leave a gap between the face member  10  and the body member  30  around the hosel  32 . A third option is to provide a dampening material between the face member  10  and the body member  30 . This dampening material may be the same as the dampening member  20  or it may be independent from the dampening member  20 .  
         [0018]     To further ensure any vibrations are attenuated and to further enhance the feel of the club, the face member  10  is completely isolated from the body member  30  by the dampening member  20 . Preferably, the rear surface  14  has a perimeter profile, and the dampening member  20  has a perimeter profile that is substantially the same as the rear surface perimeter profile. An adhesive can be used to couple the parts together.  FIG. 3  shows a cross-section of a preferred assembly setup for the golf club head  1 . An upper mold part  40  and a lower mold part  41  are provided, and the face member  10 , dampening member  20 , and body member  30  are positioned in mold cavities. Adhesive may be placed between the club parts. The mold plates  40 ,  41  are compressed together under force, compressing the dampening member  20  to desired thickness and dimensions. The surfaces of the parts may be roughened to facilitate bonding. Since the dampening material  20  is much softer than either the face member  10  or the body member  30 , it takes on effectively all of the compressive force. The mold may optionally be heated during the molding process. The dampening material may preferably be chosen such that no additional adhesive is required. Any excess material is trimmed off after removing the club head  1  from the mold.  
         [0019]     Preferred dampening materials include one or more of rubber, urethane, polyurethane, butadiene, polybutadiene, and silicone. The dampening member  20  may be a composite layer. For example, different materials can be provided in the toe, center, and heel portions of the dampening member  20 . Furthermore, the dampening member  20  can be provided in a color contrasting the colors of the face member  10  and the body member  30 . This color difference can be a useful tool for the golfer to use when aligning the shot. The dampening member  20  is preferably approximately 0.02 inch to approximately 1 inch thick, and more preferably approximately 0.03 inch to approximately 0.08 inch thick, where thickness is measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the club head  1 .  
         [0020]     Aluminum is a preferred material for the face member  10 . Aluminum is relatively soft, enhancing the feel of the club head  1 . Steel is a preferred material for the body member  30 . The face member  10  is preferably approximately 0.05 inch to approximately 0.25 inch thick, and more preferably approximately 0.1 inch to approximately 0.2 inch thick.  
         [0021]     Steel is relatively heavy, providing a solid feel to the club head  1 . The body member  30  can designed to increase the club head moment of inertia about a vertical axis passing through the club head center of gravity. This could be done, for example, by placing weights in the heel and toe portions of the body member  30 .  
         [0022]     While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, while the invention has been described above in terms of a golf putter, the disclosed ideas and concepts could also be applied to other types of golf clubs, including iron-type clubs, wood-type clubs, and hybrid clubs. Thus the present invention should not be limited by the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.