Has Bridgestone Invented the Golf Shaft of the Future?
Interesting golf shaft patent applications don’t come along everyday, which is why a Bridgestone patent application that published today got my attention. The application basically discloses a shaft within a shaft. Confused? Check this out.
The images come from a Bridgestone patent application that published today as US Pub. No. 
[0042] Next, operations and effects of the shaft of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing how the shaft 40 of the third embodiment flexes when a golfer slow in head speed swings a golf club with the shaft. As shown in FIG. 6, the outer shaft 12 flexes, but the inner shaft 14 does not flex at all or flexes little depending on the head speed. As a result, the shaft 40 is flexible and suitable for a golfer slow in head speed. The flexibility of the shaft 40 is utilized to increase the launch angle of a ball; thereby, the driving distance can be increased.
[0043] FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing how the shaft 40 of the third embodiment flexes when a golfer fast in head speed swings the golf club with the shaft. As shown in FIG. 7, both of the outer shaft 12 and the inner shaft 14 flex in accordance with the head speed, although the degree of the flexure varies depending on the head speed. As a result, the shaft 40 is stiff and suitable for a golfer fast in head speed. The stiffness of the shaft is utilized to increase the initial speed of a ball; thereby, the driving distance can be increased. Note that, in this case also, the outer shaft 12 plays a major role in the shaft 40, while the inner shaft 14 plays a minor role.
What do you thing, are golfers ready for a single shaft that accommodates both slow swing speeds and fast swing speeds?
Dave Dawsey – Monitoring Golf Shaft Patent Applications
PS – click HERE to read about more golf shaft inventions