Abstract:
A golf club suitable for use in driving or putting a golf ball comprising a club head attached to a shaft includes a bottle cap removal structure in a rear surface of the club head.

Description:
The present application relates to a standard golf club which has a modified head that can also function as a bottle opener. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Golf is a popular sporting activity that provides physical exercise and the opportunity for the golfer to compete with other individuals, usually in a foursome. Because an 18 hole round of golf may take several hours, it is common for the golfers to bring along beverages such as sodas or beer in cans or bottles. While canned beverages usually include a pull tab in the lid and are readily opened, it is often preferred to imbibe bottled beverages which have crimped caps to seal the top of the bottle. On occasion the crimped caps can be twisted off. However, because the caps have sharp edges doing so can injure the hands of the user. 
   Accordingly, it is desirable to use a bottle opener to leverage off the cap. There are numerous examples of golf accessory tools which are used to hold a ball marker, clean golf shoe cleats or repair holes in the turf or greens. Several of these accessory tools may also include a knife, screw driver, or a bottle opening accessory. The golf accessory tool is typically small so that the golfer can carry it in his pocket or store it in a pocket of his golf bag. Unfortunately, these devices are often lost or become buried in the golf bag pocket under golf balls or other items stored in the pocket. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,645,500 and 6,004,229 are representative examples of such devices. U.S. Pat. No. 7,250,006 is another example of a golf accessory tool which has similar functional parts. However, instead of being loose, this device is stored in a slot in the head of the shaft of a golf club. U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,977 is an example of a golf green repair tool permanently attached to the top of the shaft of a putter and U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,558 shows a removable plug in the head of a golf shaft which serves as a ball mark repair tool and holder for two ball markers. 
   U.S. Pat. Nos. D479,966, D480,284 and D486,045 show bottle openers with a golf motif but they are not designed to be carried on the golf course and are instead designed for use as a bar utensil. They depict a golf club head, such as a putter, iron or driver with a bottle opener attached to the hozzle thereof in place of the golf club shaft. 
   Because of the common desire of golfers on the golf course to have ready access to a bottle opener without having to search for a readily misplaced small tool there is a need for a more accessible bottle opener that the golfer will know is always available and accessible. 
   SUMMARY 
   A golf club suitable for use in driving or putting a golf ball, comprising a club head attached to a shaft, includes a bottle cap removal structure in a rear surface of the club head. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an enlarged perspective view showing a capped bottle adjacent the rear surface of a first embodiment of the head of a golf club incorporating features of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of the golf club head of  FIG. 1 , taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 , with the capped bottle positioned for opening. 
       FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the golf club head of  FIG. 1 , taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 , following opening of the capped bottle. 
       FIG. 4  is a front view of the golf club head of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of the golf club head of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 6  shows the golf club of  FIG. 1  in a golf bag containing several golf clubs with the bag and other clubs shown in dotted lines. 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view showing the rear surface of a second embodiment of the head of a golf club incorporating features of the invention. 
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view showing the front surface of the embodiment of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged perspective view showing the front surface of a third embodiment of the head of a golf club incorporating features of the invention. 
       FIG. 10  is an enlarged perspective view showing the rear surface of the embodiment of  FIG. 9  with the bottle opener feature incorporated therein. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Golfers often desire to have ready access to an opener for capped bottles while they are on the golf course. However, prior art pocket sized tools which include a bottle opener feature are often lost, misplaced or can not be readily located within the pockets of the golf bag. However, every golfer always carries various sized golf clubs in his golf bag. For example, a typical set of golf clubs includes a putter, several wood or metal drivers, several irons with different angled faces, typically numerically designated from a 1 iron to a 9 iron to designate the club face angle, and one or more specialty clubs such as a sand wedge and a chipping wedge. The golfer may also carry hybrid clubs, novelty clubs, as well as clubs that do not conform to USGA standards or other standards set forth by golf associates outside the US. The present invention addresses the need for a ready accessible bottle opener by providing a bottle opener construction mounted on or incorporated within the rear surface of the head of one or more golf club heads. Where the golf club head is in compliance with the USGA or other standards the bottle opener is incorporated in a manner that does not interfere with the compliance of that club head with those standards. 
   Numerous utility and design patents show various designs for removing pop-off and twist-off bottle caps. However, none of these designs are incorporated in the head of a golf club. Referring to  FIGS. 1-5  a first embodiment of a golf club head incorporating a structure suitable for use in removing a pop-off cap  10  from a bottle  12 , such as a beer bottle, is shown. 
   A standard head  14  of an iron is shown in  FIG. 1  to include a cap removal structure  16  as part of the rear area  18  thereof suitable for leveraging the cap  10  from the bottle  12 . As best shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  that cap removal structure  16  comprises an indentation  20  and a ledge  22  in the rear wall  24  suitable for receiving a first edge  26  of the bottle cap  10 . Suitably spaced therefrom is an extension  28  which includes on a lower end thereto a lip  30  oriented at an angle to the extension  28  and pointing in the general direction of the rear wall  24 . The extension  28  and lip  30  are spaced from the rear wall  24  a distance less than the diameter of the bottle cap such that when the first edge  26  of the bottle cap  10  is positioned in the indentation  20  and against the ledge  22  a lower edge  32  of the bottle cap rests on top of the lip  30 . The cap can then be removed from the bottle by grasping the club head  14  or the shaft  34 , preferably near the hozzle  36 , and applying pressure to the bottom edge of the bottle  12  radially in the direction of the arrow  38  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     FIG. 4  is a front view and  FIG. 5  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  showing the front surface  40  of the standard head  14  of an iron with the rear area  18  modified to include a bottle cap removal structure  16 . As can be seen, the club head has a standard front surface  40  and standard profile with the club head being modified only by the addition of the bottle cap removal structure  16  in the rear surface of the club. As such, the modification does not change in any manner the use of the club for its intended purpose of driving golf balls.  FIG. 6  shows the standard head  14  of an iron modified to include a bottle cap removal structure  16  placed in a golf bag with other standard clubs. While the bottle cap removal structure  16  may be added to any golf club, irrespective of whether the club is in compliance with the USGA or other standards, a key feature of the invention is that it can be incorporated into a standard club head without compromising the compliance with those standards. However, the invention is not limited to USGA or foreign club standards and may also be incorporated in a broad range of standard, hybrid or novelty clubs. 
   It is not intended that the inclusion of the bottle cap removal structure  16  be limited to irons such as shown in  FIGS. 1-6 .  FIGS. 7 and 8  show a second embodiment incorporating a similar bottle cap removal structure  116  in the rear portion of a putter head  114 .  FIG. 7  is a rear perspective view illustrating a similar indentation  120  and ledge  122  in the rear wall  124 . Spaced therefrom is an extension  128  which also includes a lip  30  such as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  but which is not visible in the views of  FIG. 7  or  8 . The standard face  140  and profile of the putter  114 , as in the prior embodiment, remains undisturbed by addition to the rear surface of the bottle cap removal structure  16   
     FIGS. 9 and 10  show a third embodiment incorporating a similar bottle cap removal structure  216  in the rear portion of the head of a wood or metal driver  214 .  FIG. 10  shows the rear wall  224  of the driver with the bottle cap removal structure  216  in a cavity  218  in that rear wall  224 , that cavity extending into the rear portion of the upper surface  230  of the club head. The bottle cap removal structure  216  includes an indentation  220 , a ledge  222 , extension  228  and a lip  30 , which is not visible in the view shown which function in the same manner as like features in the first embodiment. However, the cavity  218  may also be only in the rear wall  224  of the driver, the upper surface  220  of the club head being unchanged in appearance from an unmodified club. 
   While the embodiments shown are directed to a particular design of bottle opener built into the rear surface of a golf club, one skilled in the art will recognize, based on the wide variety of openers for pop-off caps and twist caps shown in the prior art that different bottle cap removal structures could be incorporated in the rear surface of the different clubs. Further, the golf bag could include a single or multiple clubs with bottle openers in the club head or different clubs with different bottle cap removal designs.