Putter Face Insert Stabilizing Ball Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Putter-type golf club heads suffer from mishits due to the non-spherical nature of golf balls, leading to unintended bounce angles, and lack desirable tactile and auditory feedback, with existing solutions being inefficient and costly to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A face insert assembly for putter-type golf club heads featuring a metal outer plate with apertures and a polymeric inner insert with protrusions, providing a striking surface that stabilizes contact with golf balls and enhances feedback through a combination of materials and manufacturing processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a typical putter with a planar striking surface is used, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but the ball bounces off at unintended angles due to the non-spherical nature of golf balls, causing mishits
Solution Approach 1:
The striking surface is segmented into multiple protrusions distributed across the face insert, replacing the traditional planar surface. Each protrusion acts as an independent contact point that stabilizes the ball's orientation during impact, preventing unintended bounce angles and improving putting accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions on the face insert are designed with rounded heads that contact the golf ball. This curved geometry complements the spherical nature of the ball, ensuring proper contact and orientation during impact, thereby eliminating the bouncing problem associated with flat surfaces.
2Ease of operation
If a metallic striking surface is used, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but it provides harsh tactile and auditory feedback for off-center shots
Solution Approach 1:
The face insert combines a metal outer plate with a polymeric inner insert to create a composite structure. The metal plate provides structural integrity and durability, while the polymeric material provides cushioning and desirable tactile feedback during impact, eliminating the harsh sensation of pure metallic surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The polymeric inner insert acts as an intermediary layer between the metal outer plate and the golf ball. This intermediate material absorbs impact shocks and provides cushioning, resulting in softer tactile and auditory feedback while maintaining the structural benefits of the metal plate.
3Reliability
If existing solutions to reducing mishits are implemented, then some accuracy improvement is achieved, but they are costly and difficult to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The face insert is divided into modular components - an outer plate and an inner insert - that can be manufactured separately using standard processes and then assembled. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing compared to monolithic complex structures while maintaining the multi-material benefits for accuracy improvement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes parameters such as the number, size, and distribution of protrusions, along with material selection, to achieve the desired balance between accuracy improvement and manufacturing feasibility. These parameter adjustments allow for cost-effective production while maintaining performance benefits.
Data Source
AI summary
A putter-type golf club includes a body defining a toe portion, a medial portion, a heel portion, and an insert cavity, and a face insert assembly disposed within the insert cavity. The face insert assembly includes an outer plate comprising a plurality of apertures, and an inner insert comprising a plurality of protrusions. The plurality of protrusions extend entirely through the plurality of apertures.