Abstract:
An improved golf club design is proposed wherein a light-weight alloy club head is combined with a dense club face insert to concentrate the club head weight behind the ball-striking surface. The insert is polished to a mirror finish to improve the clubs ball-striking capabilities and impart a unique appearance.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to golf putter heads possessing an insert in the ball-striking face constructed of a material different than the material comprising the putter head itself.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Golf club heads with inserts are an old field of invention, some club inventions dating to the 1880&#39;s and earlier. The recent golf putter head designs using inserts in the club&#39;s striking face have attempted to accomplish two separate goals: change the location of the center of mass or center of inertia of the club head and change the rebound characteristics of the club face when the ball strikes the club.  
           [0003]    The Rules of Golf are interpreted in the present day to require that any putter face insert have a constant, uniform thickness of ⅛ inch or more, have a Shore A hardness of greater than 85%, and not absorb the ball&#39;s energy and then give it back (act as a spring).  
           [0004]    Some example patents are U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,743 that teaches a thermoplastic polyurethane insert, U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,997 that teaches a putter face plate made of non-metallic materials to increase the “sweet spot”, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,472 for a putter with a recess in the face into which is inserted or cast a resin, which hardens and is later polished. U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,831 also teaches a club head with a thermoset polyurethane material insert.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The present invention is light-weight metal golf putter head in which is placed a heavy metal insert, cast to fit into a recess in the club striking face. The invention is a new combination of metals to put the majority of the head weight behind the ball and still meet the weight and size constraints imposed by the rules of golf.  
           [0006]    The hitting surface of the club face insert is polished to a mirror finish to improve the contact characteristics of the club with the ball and to present a distinctive and improved appearance. In the preferred embodiment metallic tungsten is used to form the insert, which insert is so shaped as to present a perfectly flush surface with the surrounding strike face. The putter head other than the insert is titanium, in the preferred embodiment  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the golf putter.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a face side view of the golf putter.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a back side view of the golf putter.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the golf putter.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the putter from the face.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the hosel shaft of the golf putter.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6A is a cross-section of the hosel.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    The present invention is an improved golf club head design, with a metallic golf club head and a metallic insert in the striking face. Referring to FIG. 2, the invention has a hosel 102  which is part of a one-piece golf club head 100 . The golf club head 100  is shown connected via the hosel 102  to a portion of the golf club shaft 101 , which is not part of this invention.  
         [0015]    The hosel 102  has a rectangular cross section 103a , 103b  as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 6A. The rectangular cross section  103a , 103b  can be square in shape, with dimension  103   a  equal to  103   b , or rectangular with unequal dimensions. In the preferred embodiment, the golf club head 100  is made of cast or forged titanium metal.  
         [0016]    As seen in FIG. 2, the golf club head 100  has a heel 104  near the hosel 102  end of the golf club head 100 , and a toe 105  at the end of the golf club head 100  away from the hosel 102 . The golf club strike face 106  is the flat portion of the golf club head 100  running from toe 105  to heel 104 . As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the golf club strike face 106  has an insert 107  at the center of gravity of the golf club head. The insert 107  is held in a recess 108  machined into the golf club strike face 106 . The insert 107  is held in place by any of several methods that will hold the insert in the recess. In the preferred embodiment, the insert is glued into the recess with an acrylic adhesive.  
         [0017]    In the preferred embodiment, the insert 107  and recess 108  are roughly oval in shape and the insert 107  is made of cast or forged tungsten metal alloy. The strike face surface 109  of the insert is polished to mirror reflectivity. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the polishing is done by the diamond lap method. The golf club head 100  possesses a back face that is shaped as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and  4 . The back face has a ledge weight portion 110  that is part of the single-piece golf club head 100 . The ledge weight portion 110  runs from the heel 104  to the toe 105  of the golf club head 100 .  
         [0018]    In the preferred embodiment, the polished tungsten insert 107  possesses high density while simultaneously being able to take a mirror-bright polish. In the preferred embodiment, the tungsten insert 107  is made of carburized tungsten. The combination of a dense metal insert 107  in the area directly behind the golf club strike face 106  at its center of gravity and the light weight of the titanium golf club head 100  permits a new club design that concentrates the majority of the weight of the club head directly behind the ball-striking surface of the club.  
         [0019]    In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the golf club head is a putter head.  
         [0020]    While the present invention has been described above and a preferred embodiment of the invention has been identified, changes and substitutions of equivalent features can be made without departing from this invention. Those skilled in the art of golf club design will recognize that many variations of this described embodiment of the invention can be resorted to without leaving the boundaries of this specification and associated claims below.