Golf club with pivoting head assembly

Abstract

A golf club assembly includes a pivoting club head that facilitates the driving of a golf ball by virtue of pivoting motion and the effects of angular momentum. A hinge pivot assembly connects the club head with the hosel.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A golf club comprising: 
 an elongated shaft having a grip section at a first end and a second end remote from the first end, the shaft presenting an axis of elongation;    a hosel including a socket coupled with the second end and a first portion of a pivot assembly; and    a club head including a heel end having a second portion of the pivot assembly complimentary with the first portion of the pivot assembly for pivotal retention of the club head when the golf club is in use.    
     
     
         2 . The golf club as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the pivot assembly has a single degree of freedom of motion relative to said hosel.  
     
     
         3 . The golf club as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the pivot assembly is a hinge assembly, the first portion of the pivot assembly includes a first hinge portion, and the second portion of the pivot assembly includes a second hinge portion.  
     
     
         4 . The golf club as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the hinge assembly pivots about a pivot axis in substantially the same plane as the axis of elongation in the shaft.  
     
     
         5 . The golf club as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the pivot assembly has two degrees of freedom relative to said hosel.  
     
     
         6 . The golf club as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the pivot assembly has three degrees of freedom relative to said hosel.  
     
     
         7 . The golf club assembly as set forth in  claim 6  wherein the pivot assembly is a ball and socket.  
     
     
         8 . The golf club assembly as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the club head includes a sole and a striking face, the sole having a greater surface area than the striking face.  
     
     
         9 . The golf club assembly as set forth in  claim 8  wherein the sole and the striking face are substantially formed as plates connected at an angle.  
     
     
         10 . The golf club as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the second end of the shaft is offset by an angle with respect to the axis of elongation in the shaft.  
     
     
         11 . The golf club as set forth in  claim 10  wherein the angle ranges from five to twenty degrees.  
     
     
         12 . A method of golfing with use of an elongated shaft having a club head and a pivot coupling the club head with the shaft, the method comprising the steps of: 
 addressing a golf ball;    swinging the shaft to connect the club head with the golf ball while permitting the club head to pivot; and    monitoring progress of the golf ball as it proceeds for at least fifty yards as a direct consequence of the step of swinging the shaft.    
     
     
         13 . The method as set forth in  claim 12  wherein the step of monitoring progress of the golf ball includes monitoring such progress for at least one hundred yards.  
     
     
         14 . The method as set forth in  claim 12  wherein the step of monitoring progress of the golf ball includes monitoring such progress for at least two hundred yards.  
     
     
         15 . The method as set forth in  claim 12  wherein the pivot is a hinge assembly and the step of swinging the shaft includes permitting the club head to pivot in a single degree of freedom with respect tot the shaft as restricted by the hinge assembly.  
     
     
         16 . In a golf club head including a hosel and a striking face, the improvement comprising 
 a pivot assembly connecting the hosel with the striking face.    
     
     
         17 . The golf club head as set forth in  claim 16  wherein the pivot assembly is a hinge assembly.