Golf Club Shaft High Balance Point Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional golf club shafts fail to effectively counteract the increased swing weight caused by longer lengths and heavier club heads, leading to an undesirable feel during a golf swing, as they do not adequately distribute weight to maintain balance.
Innovation Solution
A golf club shaft with a high balance point, where the center of gravity is positioned closer to the butt end, reducing the moment applied to the reference point, allowing for increased club length and head weight without significantly increasing overall club weight, achieved by optimizing the length, weight distribution, and material properties of the shaft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the length of the golf club is increased to increase head speed, then the club length is improved, but the swing weight increases dramatically causing an undesirable feel
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is designed with non-uniform mass distribution, concentrating mass at the butt end rather than uniformly distributing it. This local concentration of mass at the grip end creates a counterbalancing effect that offsets the increased moment from longer club length, maintaining acceptable swing weight while allowing increased club length for higher head speed
Solution Approach 2:
The high mass concentration at the butt end of the shaft acts as a counterweight to balance the increased moment created by longer club length and heavier club heads. This counterbalancing mass distribution reduces the perceived swing weight at the reference point while maintaining the benefits of increased club length
2Reliability
If the club head weight is increased to improve forgiveness, then the forgiveness is improved, but the swing weight increases causing an undesirable feel
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft employs localized mass concentration at the butt end, creating a counterbalancing effect that offsets the increased moment from heavier club heads. This allows the use of heavier, more forgiving club heads while maintaining acceptable swing weight characteristics through the non-uniform mass distribution in the shaft
3Length of moving object
If conventional shafts are used with longer clubs and heavier heads, then the club length and head weight can be increased, but the swing weight becomes excessively high creating an undesirable feel
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniform mass distribution, the shaft design concentrates mass locally at the butt end. This creates a counterbalancing moment that offsets the increased swing weight from longer club length, allowing manufacturers to produce longer clubs without proportionally increasing swing weight
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding weight at the club head end to balance longer clubs (conventional approach), this invention inverts the approach by concentrating mass at the butt end of the shaft. This reverse mass distribution strategy effectively counteracts the increased moment from longer length while maintaining lower overall swing weight
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club shaft having a weight distribution such that the balance point percentage is less than or equal to 44.50%. The weight distribution of the shaft allows for an increase in length and/or club head weight of a golf club while having a reduced impact on the swing weight.