Adjustable golf club shaft and hosel assembly

Abstract

An adjustable shaft and hosel assembly allows for dependent and independent adjustment of a golf club's face angle, loft angle, and lie angle. The adjustable shaft and hosel assembly comprises a shaft sleeve, a hosel portion, a tubular adjustment piece having non-parallel upper and lower surfaces, and a retention piece removably attached to the tip end of the shaft sleeve, wherein the retention piece prevents the tubular adjustment piece from becoming detached from the shaft sleeve. The retention piece may be a ball joint, a universal joint connection, or a retention cap.

1 . An adjustable golf club head comprising:
 a face;   a sole;   a crown;   a shaft sleeve comprising a tip end, an upper end, and a shaft-receiving bore disposed in the upper end;   a first tubular adjustment piece having non-parallel upper and lower surfaces, the tubular adjustment piece encircling at least a portion of the shaft sleeve;   a retention piece removably attached to the tip end of the shaft sleeve; and   a hosel having a hosel bore with a diameter sized to receive the tip end of the shaft sleeve and the retention piece;   wherein the retention piece, when engaged with the tip end of the shaft sleeve, prevents the tubular adjustment piece from detaching from the shaft sleeve, and   wherein when the tip end of the shaft sleeve is disposed within the hosel bore, rotating the first tubular adjustment piece around the shaft sleeve changes the angle of the shaft sleeve with respect to the face.   
     
     
         2 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft sleeve comprises a shaft sleeve axis and the shaft-receiving bore has a bore axis that is coaxial with the shaft sleeve axis. 
     
     
         3 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein the shaft sleeve does not rotate around the bore axis more than 5 degrees when the first tubular piece is rotated around the shaft sleeve. 
     
     
         4 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the hosel bore extends from the sole to the crown. 
     
     
         5 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the retention piece has a diameter that is greater than an interior bore diameter of the first tubular adjustment piece. 
     
     
         6 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 5 , wherein the retention piece is a ball joint. 
     
     
         7 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 5 , further comprising a fitting member, wherein the retention piece is a universal joint connection that fits within the fitting member, and wherein the fitting member fits within the hosel bore. 
     
     
         8 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the retention piece is a retention cap. 
     
     
         9 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the retention piece snaps onto the tip of the shaft sleeve. 
     
     
         10 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the retention piece is threadedly attached to the tip of the shaft sleeve. 
     
     
         11 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the retention piece is composed of the same material as the shaft sleeve. 
     
     
         12 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the retention piece is composed of a composite material. 
     
     
         13 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the retention piece is composed of a metal alloy material. 
     
     
         14 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first tubular adjustment piece can be removed from the shaft sleeve, inverted, reattached to the shaft sleeve, and rotated to change the angle of the shaft sleeve with respect to the face. 
     
     
         15 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first tubular adjustment piece can be removed and replaced with a second tubular adjustment piece composed of a different material and having a different weight. 
     
     
         16 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a second tubular adjustment piece. 
     
     
         17 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first tubular adjustment piece is composed of a composite material. 
     
     
         18 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first tubular adjustment piece is composed of a metal material. 
     
     
         19 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 16 , wherein the second tubular adjustment piece is composed of a composite material. 
     
     
         20 . The adjustable golf club head of  claim 16 , wherein the second tubular adjustment piece is composed of a metal material.