US 4,398,965 · Granted 1983-08-16
The Flexible Golf Club Face That PepsiCo Patented in 1983
A golf club where the metal striking face isn't rigid—it's designed to bend slightly when you hit the ball, then snap back. This flex stores energy during impact and releases it to help the ball travel farther, kind of like how a trampoline bounces you higher than if you jumped on concrete.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a method for manufacturing iron-type golf clubs where a slot is cut behind the striking face to create a flexible metal plate. What's protected here is the specific design of that slot and plate—positioned and sized so the face flexes on impact, stores energy, and returns to its original shape. Anyone making iron clubs using this same flexible-face principle without permission would be infringing.
Why it matters
This patent represents an early attempt to engineer better energy transfer in golf equipment through material design rather than just brute force or weight distribution. The filing date of 1978 and grant in 1983 placed it during a period when golf equipment manufacturers were beginning to explore science-driven improvements. The flexible striking surface concept influenced later generations of club design, though the specific manufacturing method here may have been superseded by newer technologies.
Real-world use
Every time a golfer hits an iron shot with a modern club designed for distance, they're potentially benefiting from the same principle this patent locked down: a striking face that flexes slightly to amplify ball speed.
Original USPTO abstract
A golf club of the iron type has a metal head with a front striking face and a slot spaced rearwardly from the striking face to provide a flexible and resilient striking plate. The thickness of the plate is such that the plate will: (a) resiliently flex and store energy when the striking face impacts a golf ball; (b) return to its original position to transfer
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,398,965
- Filing date
- 1978-08-14
- Grant date
- 1983-08-16
- Assignee
- Pepsico, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- CAMPAU; DANIEL N.
- CPC class
- A63B53/04
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