US 5,492,327 · Granted 1996-02-20
The Golf Club Patent That Cushions Impact With Hidden Grooves
Imagine a golf club iron head with a hidden channel running around its edges, filled with a squishy material that absorbs the shock when you smack the ball. Instead of all that vibration jarring your arm, the damping material soaks it up, making your swing smoother and more forgiving.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a golf iron head design featuring a continuous recess (groove) that runs along the top surface, toe, and sole of the club, all filled with vibration-damping material. What's protected here is the specific arrangement where this shock-absorbing groove stays separated from the front striking surface, keeping the hitting area uniform in thickness while the dampening channel does its job around the perimeter.
Why it matters
Golf equipment companies compete fiercely on feel and performance, and shock absorption is a major selling point for players who want less vibration and impact fatigue during a round. By patenting this cavity-and-recess design with damping material, Focus Golf Systems created a defensible way to make irons that reduce unwanted vibrations—a feature that appeals to both amateur golfers seeking comfort and professionals seeking consistency.
Real-world use
When a golfer strikes a ball with one of these iron heads, the vibration that would normally travel up the shaft and sting the hands instead gets absorbed by the damping material hidden in the grooves around the club's perimeter.
Original USPTO abstract
An iron type golf club head has a cavity in a back and a continuous recess extending into the top surface, toe and a portion of the sole along the perimeter of the club head. The recess and a back wall of the cavity are spaced from the front striking surface to provide a front striking surface of a general uniform thickness. A vibration damping material is inserted in the recess.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,492,327
- Filing date
- 1994-11-21
- Grant date
- 1996-02-20
- Assignee
- Focus Golf Systems, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- BIAFORE, JR.; JOHN J.
- CPC class
- A63B53/04
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