Releasable Connections for Golf Club Heads and Shafts/US

Abstract

Golf club heads are releasably engaged with shafts so that the club heads and shafts can be readily interchanged and/or so that the shaft position with respect to the club head can be readily changed. Golf clubs are provided that have spherical releasable connections between the golf club head and the golf club shaft along with head/shaft position adjusting features to allow interchange of shafts and heads and to allow modification of the head/shaft positioning properties. Assemblies for connecting the club head and shaft may include: a shaft adapter, a shaft retainer, and a hosel insert located within an interior chamber of the club head. The club head and shaft may be changed by releasing the securing system and exchanging the original parts with different parts. Furthermore, the shaft adapter may be rotated within the hosel insert to create different angles from the shaft so as to allow adjustment of the shaft position with respect to the club head.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A golf club, comprising:
 a golf club shaft;   a golf club head having an interior chamber;   a shaft adapter having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end is attached to the golf club shaft and the lower end has a spherical portion inserted into the interior chamber, wherein the shaft adapter is configured to be inserted at a plurality of different configurations, wherein a first configuration provides different club characteristics than a second configuration, wherein in the first configuration the spherical portion is in a different rotational position within the interior chamber than in the second configuration, and   wherein the shaft adapter comprises an axial direction change region configured to offset an axis of the shaft with respect to a hosel axis of the golf club head and wherein the spherical portion extends less than 25% of an overall axial length of the shaft adapter;   a shaft retainer configured to engage the shaft adapter.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the club characteristics include one or more of a lie angle of the club head, a face angle of the club head, and a loft angle of the club head. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the axial direction change region is an area on the shaft adapter where the upper end extends coaxially toward a first axial direction away from the axial direction change region, and further wherein the lower end extends coaxially toward a second axial direction different than the first axial direction. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the offset is about 1 degree. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the offset is about 2 degrees. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft adapter includes a region made of aluminum. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club of  claim 6 , wherein the shaft adapter includes a region having a hard anodize coating. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the club head and the shaft adapter are marked with indicia to indicate the rotational position of the shaft adapter. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft adapter includes a region made of a polymer. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft adapter contains multiple facets. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the spherical portion extends less than 15% of an overall axial length of the shaft adapter. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the spherical portion extends less than 35% of an overall axial length of the shaft adapter. 
     
     
         13 . A connection assembly for releasably connecting a golf club shaft and golf club head comprising:
 a shaft adapter having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end is attached to the golf club shaft and the lower end has a spherical portion inserted into the interior chamber, wherein the shaft adapter is configured to be inserted at a plurality of different configurations, wherein a first configuration provides different club characteristics than a second configuration, wherein in the first configuration the spherical portion is in a different rotational position within the interior chamber than in the second configuration,   wherein the shaft adapter comprises an axial direction change region configured to offset an axis of the shaft with respect to a hosel axis of the golf club head and wherein the spherical portion extends less than 25% of an overall axial length of the shaft adapter; and   a shaft retainer configured to engage the shaft adapter.   
     
     
         14 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the club characteristics include one or more of a lie angle of the club head, a face angle of the club head, and a loft angle of the club head. 
     
     
         15 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the axial direction change region is an area on the shaft adapter where the upper end extends coaxially toward a first axial direction away from the axial direction change region, and further wherein the lower end extends coaxially toward a second axial direction different than the first axial direction. 
     
     
         16 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the offset is about 1 degree. 
     
     
         17 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the offset is about 2 degrees. 
     
     
         18 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the shaft adapter includes a region made of aluminum. 
     
     
         19 . The connection assembly of  claim 18 , wherein the shaft adapter includes a region having a hard anodize coating. 
     
     
         20 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the shaft adapter includes a region made of a polymer. 
     
     
         21 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the shaft adapter contains multiple facets. 
     
     
         22 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the spherical portion extends less than 15% of an overall axial length of the shaft adapter. 
     
     
         23 . The connection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the spherical portion extends less than 35% of an overall axial length of the shaft adapter.