Golf club head protector assembly

A golf club head protector assembly includes 1) a golf bag assembly; 2) a club protector shield member of a flexible sheet material operable to be inserted within an open bag entrance opening into the golf bag assembly and extend upwardly therefrom; 3) a bag cover enclosure assembly operable to be releasably connected to a top support section of the golf bag assembly; 4) an exterior protector cover assembly operable to be mounted about and enclose the golf bag assembly, the club protector shield member, and the bag cover enclosure assembly. The golf bag assembly is provided within the top support section with a club divider plate operable to receive and separate club shafts having the club heads extended upwardly therefrom and outwardly of a top surface of the golf bag assembly. The club protector shield member is flexible and operable to be placed in circular shapes of various diameters and to conform to oval, square, rectangular, or triangular openings into the golf bag assembly and hold its shape due to a special composition material. The club protector shield member includes an adjustable connector member so that it can be flexibly moved to various shapes and diameters and held in that shape by the adjustable connector member.

PRIOR ART 
A patent search was conducted on the above identified invention and the 
following United States patents are noted: 
______________________________________ 
U.S. 
PAT. NO. 
INVENTION INVENTOR 
______________________________________ 
3,729,036 
GOLF BAG LINER William H. McFadden 
4,311,178 
INTERIOR SE DIVIDER 
Robert A. Kennedy 
FOR GOLF BAG 
4,448,305 
GOLF BAG INCLUDING Kim Y. Sup 
STIFFENING STRUCTURE 
4,509,643 
GOLF BAG WITH A Yong S. Rhee 
REINFORCING INSERT TUBE 
4,703,851 
COMBINATION GOLD BAG 
Robert Stewert 
AND INSERT 
4,767,001 
GOLF BAG Young S. Kim 
4,796,752 
CART BAG FOR GOLF Eric W. Reimers 
5,431,278 
GOLF BAG WITH ADHESIVELY 
Jon J. Gretz 
SECURED DIVIDER PANELS 
AND ADHESIVELY SECURED 
TUBULAR BODY 
5,458,240 
GOLF BAG WITH INDIVIDUAL 
Rich et al 
CLUB HEAD SUPPORT 
POCKETS 
5,482,160 
GOLF BAG Stephen J. Perrin 
______________________________________ 
The McFadden patent discloses a golf bag liner which is adjustable in 
diameter and having separate tube members therein for receiving and 
holding a golf club member in a spaced position. 
The Kennedy patent discloses an interior space divider for a golf bag of a 
plastic construction and having six separate areas for holding various 
golf club members in separated areas. 
The Sup and Rich et al patents disclose golf bag stiffening structures to 
receive, extend, and add rigidity to a flexible golf bag member and hold 
golf clubs in a separated condition. 
The Rich et al patent discloses an upper club head support operable to 
receive and support golf club members in a separated, protected condition. 
Further, this patent discloses an upper golf bag cover to cover the golf 
clubs when being transported or thrown onto an airline baggage carrousel. 
The bag cover would prevent breakage of the golf club head members as they 
are completely enclosed and protected from damage. 
The Stewert and Perrin patents disclose a combination golf bag and insert 
to provide rigidity to a flexible golf bag member. 
The Kim patent discloses a golf bag which is expensive to manufacture. Kim 
discloses an upper protective club cover which can be clamped about an 
upper end to provide protection to golf club members from breakage during 
airline transportation. 
The Reimers patent discloses a cart bag for golf having an upper rigid 
insert or collar to receive and provide rigidity to the golf bag. 
The Gretz patent discloses a golf bag and provides an insert member or top 
cap to be secured to an upper end of a golf bag to provide protection to 
the golf clubs mounted therein. 
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
In one preferred embodiment of this invention, a golf club head protector 
assembly of this invention includes 1) a conventional golf bag assembly 
operable to receive and support a plurality of golf clubs therein; 2) a 
club protector shield member which is insertable into a golf club entrance 
opening of the golf bag assembly and extended laterally therefrom; 3) a 
bag cover enclosure assembly operable to be releasably mounted about the 
entrance opening into the golf bag assembly and having a zipper member 
which can be opened for access to the golf clubs therein; and 4) an 
exterior protector cover assembly operable to be mounted about the golf 
bag assembly, the club protector shield member, and the bag cover 
enclosure assembly. 
The exterior protector cover assembly is operable to provide an outer 
protection against the weather and during shipment on a commercial 
transport vehicle to prevent damage to a leather golf bag assembly, golf 
clubs, etc. 
The golf bag assembly is of a conventional type having a main body member 
with a central hand support member and a shoulder support strap connected 
thereto to be carried about one's shoulder during a game of golf play by a 
golf player or a caddy. 
The main body member is provided with a top support section having a 
plurality of snap receiver members thereabout and a club divider plate 
mounted internally thereof. The club divider plate is of a conventional 
nature having a plurality of club receiving openings therein to maintain 
the golf clubs therein in a spaced, non-contacting relationship. 
The club protector shield member is of a flexible sheet material having a 
main shield body section with adjustable connector members connected 
thereto. The main shield body section is generally of a rectangular shape 
and includes a top edge, spaced parallel side edges, and a bottom edge 
having mounted centrally thereof a laterally extended tab lock insert 
portion. 
The club protector shield member is constructed of a special chemical 
composition comprising a combination of a high-density polyethylene 
material with a synthetic rubber compound material. The proper combination 
of these elements achieves a combination of the elements to achieve the 
special chemical composition of superior characteristics having 1) 
sufficient stiffness to provide adequate protection for the golf clubs; 2) 
proper flexibility to allow the club protector shield member to conform to 
any oval, square, circular, or triangular shape to conform to a shape of 
the golf club entrance opening into the golf bag assembly; and 3) a 
material that would not lose its physical properties with age and would 
retain its stiffness, flexibility, and shape retaining properties. 
The bag cover enclosure assembly includes a cover body member having a 
lower connector section and an access opening slot. The access opening 
slot has a zipper closure member connected thereto to selectively open and 
close an entrance access thereto. 
The lower connector section is provided with a plurality of 
circumferentially spaced anchor male snap members operable to be 
selectively connected to the snap receiver members on the top support 
section of the main body member of the golf bag assembly. 
The exterior protector cover assembly is of a known construction, normally 
constructed of a waterproof durable plastic material, and includes an 
exterior cover member having a conveyance handle connected thereto. 
The exterior cover member has an access split opening to which is connected 
a cover closure zipper member to selectively open and close the access 
split opening. The exterior cover member provides a water and dust proof 
exterior to protect the golf bag assembly, the bag cover enclosure 
assembly, and the golf clubs contained therein. 
In this enclosed condition with the exterior protective cover assembly, the 
assembled golf club head protector assembly is ready to be carried within 
a trunk of an automobile vehicle or in the cargo area of a commercial 
transport vehicle such as an airplane during travel conditions. 
The golf club head protector assembly of this invention having a main 
feature being the club protector shield member was devised in order to 
provide a protective means to the upper ends of golf clubs with putter 
heads and driver heads to prevent breakage thereof. This golf club 
breakage occurs commonly during airline travel in throwing the golf bag 
assembly onto airplane cargo bays and onto cargo conveyance carrousels at 
airports. The reason why this is important is that today most golfers use 
expensive golf clubs having graphite golf club shafts which improve a golf 
game. However, these graphite golf club shafts are brittle and easily 
broken on receiving a side impact thereto and breaks around an outer club 
shaft and adjacent club head connection areas. When these clubs are 
broken, it is very expensive to have them repaired and/or replaced. 
Further, an important feature of the golf club head protector assembly of 
this invention is that the club protector shield member is adjustable and 
can be placed within various 8", 9", or 10" diameter openings into the 
golf bag assembly. Due to the unique chemical composition of the club 
protector shield member, it will retain its shape when placed and expanded 
within oval, square, rectangular, and triangular shaped openings into the 
golf bag assembly. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
One object of this invention is to provide a golf club head protector 
assembly utilizing 1) a golf bag assembly having a golf club entrance 
opening; 2) a club protector shield member which is inserted into the golf 
club entrance opening and extends substantially upwardly therefrom; 3) a 
bag cover enclosure assembly mounted about an outer end of the golf bag 
assembly to enclose the protruding golf club members and the club 
protector shield member surrounding the club heads of the golf club 
members; and 4) an exterior protector cover assembly operable to be 
mounted about the golf bag assembly, the club protector shield member, and 
the bag cover enclosure assembly and to be placed in a zippered enclosed 
condition to protect the elements therein from exterior damage and 
contamination. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a golf club head protector 
assembly having a golf bag assembly with a plurality of golf clubs therein 
having outer club heads extending outwardly of an entrance opening thereto 
and a club protector shield member mounted within and engageable with the 
entrance opening of the golf bag assembly and extended upwardly from the 
outer club heads of the golf club members to provide protection from 
impact against the club heads when being thrown into an airline baggage 
carrousel or a cargo area on an airplane. 
One other object of this invention is to provide a golf club head protector 
assembly constructed of a unique chemical composition and being flexible 
and held in a desired shape by an adjustable connector member and operable 
to hold its shape whether in a circular, oval, square, rectangular, or 
triangular shape. 
A further object of this invention is to provide a golf club head protector 
assembly of a sheet material operable to be coiled in a given shape and 
held in this shape by adjustable connector members and being both 
resilient and flexible in operation and operable to conform to various 
shapes of an entrance opening into a golf bag assembly. 
One further object of this invention is to provide a golf club head 
protector assembly having a club protector shield member which can be 
coiled and adjustably locked by Velcro connector members in a given 
circular shape so as to be placed within golf bag openings of 8", 9", and 
10" diameters. 
Still, one other object of this invention is to provide a golf club head 
protector assembly having a club protector shield member made of a unique 
chemical composition material which is easy to coil or manipulate in a 
given diameter or shape; which has adjustable connector members to hold 
same in a given, adjusted position; which is constructed of a high-density 
polyethylene and synthetic rubber compound to achieve a combination 
chemical composition so as to have sufficient stiffness and provide 
adequate protection to outer exposed portions of the club heads of the 
golf club members above a top surface of an entrance opening to a golf bag 
assembly; which has proper flexibility to conform to any shape of an 
entrance opening to a golf bag assembly; which is of a material that will 
not lose its physical characteristics with age; economical to manufacture; 
readily utilized and not requiring any skill for placement in the open 
entrance opening into the golf bag assembly; and which is substantially 
maintenance free.

The following is a discussion and description of preferred specific 
embodiments of the golf club head protector assembly of this invention, 
such being made with reference to the drawings, whereupon the same 
reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts and/or 
structure. It is to be understood that such discussion and description is 
not to unduly limit the scope of the invention. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
On referring to the drawings in detail, and in particular to FIG. 1, a golf 
club head protector assembly of this invention, indicated generally at 12, 
is utilized to prevent damage to golf clubs 14, each having a club shaft 
16 connected to a golf club head 18 which may be a putter club head, 
irons, or a driver head 20. An opposite end of the club shafts 16 are 
connected to handle sections (not shown) and are placed within a golf bag 
assembly 22 as will be noted. 
The golf club head protector assembly 12 includes 1) a golf bag assembly 22 
operable to receive and hold the golf clubs 14 therein; 2) a club 
protector shield member 24 to be mounted within an opened entrance opening 
in to the golf bag assembly 22 and extended upwardly therefrom; 3) a bag 
cover enclosure assembly 26 operable to be connected to an upper end of 
the golf bag assembly 22 and enclose the club protector shield member 24; 
and 4) an exterior protector cover assembly 28 operable to be mounted 
about and enclose the golf bag assembly 22 and golf clubs 14 therein, the 
club protector shield member 24, and bag cover enclosure assembly 26. 
As noted in FIG. 2, the golf bag assembly 22 includes a main body member 30 
having a handle support member 32 and a shoulder support strap member 34 
connected to an exterior surface thereof. 
The main body member 30 includes 1) a bottom support section 36; 2) an 
enclosure body section 38 having one end connected to the bottom support 
section 36; and 3) a top support section 40 secured to an upper end of the 
enclosure body section 38. 
The top support section 40 includes 1) an upper bag entrance opening 41; 2) 
snap receiver members 42 mounted about an upper, outer periphery thereof; 
and 3) a club divider plate 44 extended across an upper area of the top 
support section 40 as noted in FIG. 3. The club divider plate 44 is 
provided with a plurality of adjacent but spaced club receiver openings 46 
and a shield insert slot 47. 
The club receiver openings 46 are operable to selectively receive the 
handle section and the club shaft 16 therethrough to hold the upper club 
heads 18 in a spaced non-contacting condition. 
The club protector shield member 24 is constructed of a sheet material 
including a main shield body section 48 having spaced ones of adjustable 
connector members 50 secured thereto. The main shield body member 48 is 
provided with 1) a top edge 52; 2) spaced parallel side edges 54; 3) a 
bottom edge 56; and 4) a tab lock insert portion 58 connected to a center 
portion of the bottom edge 56 and laterally extended from the main shield 
body section 48. 
The adjustable connector members 50, being three thereof, are of a known 
Velcro connector assembly having 1) three adjacent parallel spaced loop 
connector sections 60 adjacent one side edge 54; and 2) respective 
adjacent hook connector sections 62 being spaced and parallel about an 
opposite side edge 54 as noted in FIG. 4. 
The loop connector sections 60 are of a sufficient length so as to provide 
an adjustable feature when operably connected to the hook connector 
sections 62 as will be explained. 
The main shield body section 48 is of a special, unique chemical 
composition which is the combination of a high-density polyethylene 
material in combination with a synthetic rubber compound. The high-density 
polyethylene material gives excellent stiffess properties but, by itself, 
does not have good flexibility properties. This material would form into a 
round shape and would not conform to a sharp radius corner of a square or 
triangular shaped golf bag assembly 22. Further, the high-density 
polyethylene material will become quite brittle as the material ages or is 
used in cold weather conditions. 
The synthetic rubber compound material gives the flexibility required to 
conform to any shape of the bag entrance opening 41 of the golf bag 
assembly 22 and this material is not brittle plus ensures long-term 
retention of physical properties. 
The applicant herein has experimented and developed a proper mixture of the 
high-density polyethylene material and synthetic rubber compound to 
receive the desired characteristics of the main shield body section 48 of 
the club protector shield member 24 which achieves the follows: 
"The combination of the polyethylene material and the synthetic rubber 
compound is known to create the main shield body section 48 having a 
memory characteristic being biased to return to its last shape whether it 
is flat for conveyance and storage purposes or cylindrical oval shaped for 
insertion into the upper bag entrance opening 41 of the golf bag assembly 
22." 
(1) sufficient stiffness to provide adequate protection for the exposed 
portion of the club heads 18 of the golf clubs 14 extended upwardly and 
outwardly above the bag entrance opening 41 into the main body member 30; 
(2) provides proper flexibility which would allow the club protector shield 
member 24 to conform to any shape of the bag entrance opening 41 into the 
main body member 30 of the golf bag assembly 22; and 
(3) provides a material that would not lose its physical properties with 
age and would retain its stiff-ness and flexibility properties over a long 
time period. 
The bag cover enclosure assembly 26 includes a cover body member 64 having 
connected to an outer surface 1) a zipper closure member 66; and 2) anchor 
male snap members 68. The cover body member 64 may be constructed of a 
plastic or leather material and includes a lower connector section 70 and 
having an elongated access opening slot 72. 
The zipper closure member 66 is connected to opposite edges of the access 
opening slot 72 and is operable in a conventional manner to selectively 
open and close the access opening slot 72. 
The lower connector section 70 of the cover body member 64 has the anchor 
male snap members 68 placed in circumferential spaced positions thereabout 
and are operable to be selectively engaged with the snap receiver members 
42 on the top support section 40 of the main body member 30 of the golf 
bag assembly 22 as will be explained. 
The anchor male snap members 68 and the snap receiver members 42 are 
engaged to provide an enclosure structure about the club heads 18 of the 
golf clubs 14 and an open upper area of the club protector shield member 
24. 
The exterior protector cover assembly 28 is of a conventional nature which 
is constructed normally of waterproof flexible material and is provided 
with an exterior cover member 74 having a conveyance handle (not shown) 
connected thereto. 
The exterior cover member 74 has an access split opening 76 which is 
selectively opened and closed by a cover closure zipper member 78 operable 
to seal and release opposing edges of the access split opening 76 in a 
conventional manner. 
USE AND OPERATION OF THE INVENTION 
In the use and operation of the golf club head protector assembly 12 of 
this invention, the golf bag assembly 22 would have the club divider plate 
44 mounted within the upper bag entrance opening 41 of the top support 
section 40 and placed slightly downwardly therein as noted in FIG. 3. The 
club shaft 16 and handle section are thereupon placed within respective 
ones of the club receiver openings 46 in a spaced relationship so that the 
upper club heads 18 are not in contact with each other. 
Numerous other types of club divider plates 44 may be utilized having 
intersecting vertical plates to divide the tipper area of the top support 
section 40 into separate compartments. Each separate compartment will be 
utilized with the same purpose and function as the club receiver openings 
46, namely, separating the club heads 18 of the golf clubs 14 to prevent 
contact and damage therebetween. 
Next, the club protector shield member 24 may be moved to a circular 
condition of a proper diameter as noted by an arrow 80 in FIG. 5. In this 
proper circular condition, it is noted that the adjustable connector 
members 50, being three thereof, are interconnected by the hook connector 
section 62 connected to respective ones of the loop connector section 60 
to hold in the coiled condition as noted in FIG. 6. 
At this time, a lower section of the coiled club protector shield member 24 
is moved downwardly and inserted into the bag entrance opening 41 as noted 
by an arrow 82 in FIG. 2. 
On insertion therein, the tab lock inset portion 58 of the main shield body 
section 48 is mounted within the shield insert slot 47 as noted in FIG. 3 
which will hold the club protector shield member 24 against rotation 
therein. This also allows the bottom edge 56 of the main shield body 
section 48 to rest on a peripheral upper top surface of the club divider 
plate 44. 
It is noted that, because of the adjustable connector members 50, the main 
shield body section 48 can be formed in various diameters to easily fit 
within bag entrance openings 41 of various diameters such as 8", 9"and 11" 
bag openings merely by using the adjustability feature of the adjustable 
connector members 50. 
Next, the user would place the bag cover enclosure assembly 26 over the 
club protector shield member 24 protecting the club heads 18 of the golf 
clubs 14 therein. the bag cover enclosure assembly 26 is moved downwardly 
so as to have the lower connector section 70 adjacent an outer end of the 
top support section 40 of the golf bag assembly 22. In this position, the 
zipper closure member 66 would be moved to a closed condition to close the 
access opening slot 72. 
Next, the anchor male snap members 68 would be aligned with respective ones 
of the snap receiver members 42 which would be connected to each other in 
a conventional manner to provide a protective, sealed enclosure 
thereabout. 
The bag cover enclosure assembly 26 would have an upper top surface 
engageable against an upper top open area of the club protector shield 
member 24 so as to prevent the club heads 18 of the golf clubs 14 from 
projecting upwardly and laterally from the top open area. 
Finally, the user would mount the interconnected golf bag assembly 22, club 
protector shield member 24, and bag cover enclosure assembly 26 through 
the access split opening 76 of the exterior protector cover assembly 28. 
Next, exterior cover member 74 is drawn upwardly and over a top area of the 
bag cover enclosure assembly 26 and the cover closure zipper member 78 is 
operable to bring opposite sides into an secured enclosed condition of the 
access split opening 76 in a conventional manner. 
At this time, this entire assembled golf club head protector assembly 12 
can be utilized by a conveyance handle (not shown) for conveying same to a 
vehicle or from a vehicle into an airport check-in area whereupon it is to 
be placed on a conveyor belt to be loaded in an airplane. 
The conveyor belt would carry the golf club head protector assembly 12 
outwardly to a baggage area for loading into an airplane cargo bay area. 
It is noted that the club heads 18 of the golf clubs 14 within the golf 
bag assembly 22, without the club protector shield member 24, are extended 
laterally upwardly therefrom. The club heads 18 are subject to severe 
lateral impact during handling by cargo loader personnel at airports and 
other commercial transport operations. There are many cases where the club 
shafts 16 have been snapped during loading and unloading operations on an 
airplane or other commercial transport vehicles such as buses and trains. 
The repair or replacement of club shafts 16 on golf clubs 14, when made of 
a graphite composition, is very expensive and time consuming. The golf 
club protective shield member 24 is a low cost, flexible, easy means of 
providing protection to the club heads 18 on club shafts 16 to prevent 
breakage thereof. 
It is noted in the prior art that there are other devices used to provide 
protection to golf clubs 14 and prevent breakage of the club shafts 16, 
such as a rigid plastic outer encasement structure, and are very expensive 
compared to the low cost club protector shield member 24 of this 
invention. 
The golf club head protector assembly of this invention is economical to 
manufacture; providing sufficient stiffness to provide protection to the 
exposed outer club heads on golf clubs; providing proper flexibility which 
would allow the club protector shield member to conforn to various shapes 
of bag entrance openings into a golf bag assembly; constructed of a 
material that does not lose its physical properties with age and retains 
the stifflness and flexibility over a long time period; easily adjustable 
to fit bag entrance openings of various sizes and shapes; easily 
installed, not requiring skilled labor for placement within the bag 
entrance opening of a golf bag assembly; and substantially maintenance 
free. 
While the invention has been described in conjunction with preferred 
specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that this description 
is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, 
which is defined by the following claims: