Acushnet’s Take on Thread-less Interchangeability
Acushnet reveals an interesting approach to interchangeability in a patent application that recently published as US Pub. No. A golf club with an improved interchangeable hosel is disclosed herein. More specifically, the improved interchangeable hosel is independent of the golf club head as well as the shaft; and has a non-threaded connection mechanism that releasably connects the shaft to the golf club head quickly and easily. The non-threaded connection mechanism disclosed in accordance with the present invention may generally utilize a circumferentially constricting clamping force to secure the shaft of the golf club to the head of the golf club.
The application goes on to explain:
[0007] In order to strive to create a perfect golf club for each and every single golfer, golf club designers need to explore opportunities to customize the golf club and shaft combination in a way that allows different individual golfers to adjust a golf club to determine the ideal set up for his own individual needs. U.S. Pat. No. 1,540,559 to Murphy provides an early example of this attempt to allow customization and adjustability of a golf club by providing a golf club wherein the handle or shaft will be easily attachable and detachable via a threaded mechanism, but when attached will be held firmly in position. Although crude, this early attempt to allow the golfer to detach the shaft from the golf club head allows a golfer to experiment with different golf club shafts without the need to change the performance characteristics of the golf club head.
[0008] U.S. patent application No. 2005/0049072 to Burrows shows a further example of a customizable golf club while maintaining the same general concept of utilizing a threaded connection mechanism. U.S. patent application No. 2005/0049072 to Burrows discloses a temporary shaft-component connection that is designed with a metal adapter inserted onto a lower end of the club shaft, and includes one or more flat surfaces for reception into a matingly shaped socket in the hosel of a selected golf club head to prevent relative rotation between the club shaft and head.
[0009] Although threaded connection mechanisms are adequate to securely connect the golf club head to the shaft of the golf club, they are burdensome to install and uninstall due to the repetitive turning motion required by a threaded mechanism. In addition to being burdensome, installing and uninstalling threaded connection mechanisms often require an additional tool, making the golfer carry additional equipment that he may not even need or utilize very often.
Nice solution!
Dave Dawsey – Monitoring Golf Inventions