Patent ID: 7347791

Claim:
An apparatus for connecting a first member of a golf club shaft and a second member of a golf club shaft, the apparatus comprising: a male connector having a male attachment portion, a protruding portion, and a male shoulder portion therebetween, the protruding portion comprising a tip section, a threaded section, and a smooth section, the smooth section disposed between the threaded section and the shoulder portion, the threaded section disposed between the smooth section and the tip section, the tip section having a blunt tip, the smooth section having an outer dimension that is greater than or equal to an outer dimension of the threaded section, and the male attachment portion dimensioned to be received in an interior space of an end of the first member so that the male shoulder portion abuts against the end of the first member; and a female connector having an attachment portion, a shoulder portion, and an interior space having first, second, and third cavities, the female attachment portion dimensioned to be received in an interior space of an end of the second member so that the female shoulder portion abuts against the end of the second member, the female connector having a relatively smooth interior surface defining at least a portion of the first cavity and a threaded interior surface defining at least a portion of the second cavity, and the third cavity adapted to receive at least a portion of the tip section; wherein the interior space is dimensioned to selectively receive at least a portion of the smooth section in the first cavity and at least a portion of the threaded section in the second cavity, and wherein the protruding portion further comprises a neck section disposed between the threaded section and the smooth section, the neck section having an outer diameter less than an outer diameter of the threaded section.