Adjustable Sole Plate - Interesting Heritage

[Clambake]

Last night I was looking up some golf club technologies on the US Patent database, and found something very interesting.     In 2009, a patent was filed for adjustable sole plate technology.    Patent #7,934,999 was granted last May for a "Wood-Type Club with Adjustable Sole Contour", and it describes the triangular "keel zone member" shown in the following diagram:

Anyone who has seen a driver ad in the last year will immediately recognize the little triangular plate from the Taylormade R11.   With Taylormade's marketing genius, we've all seen this everywhere - TV commercials, print ads, endless driver tests.....that little red triangle is instantly recognizable as a Taylormade invention.

But wait, it isn't!    The patent above is actually for Callaway!      That's right, this patent along with several subsequent patents for an adjustable sole plate and numerous other adjustable features were actually developed by Callaway, even though they're showing up on their archrival's drivers.

How is this possible?    Well, in golf like many industries there is an enormous amount of cross licensing going on between bitter competitors.   Taylormade had many of the early patents on metal woods, including designs and manufacturing methods, and licensed these to Callaway and other competitors.     Callaway's engineers did a lot of work on club adjustability, but perceived the market demand wasn't strong enough to push them into their product line so they don't pursue it aggressively.    Meanwhile, TM did see the need and secured the patent rights through cross licensing deals with Callaway and other manufacturers.

Thought this was a fun tidbit for people to know.    It would make an interesting conversation starter on the tee when you comment to someone that their R11 was actually designed by Callaway!

[glock35ipsc]

Like a lot of other products, it seems like some of these patents hang around for awhile before being introduced to the buying public.  I remember reading somewhere that Ping, sometime around early 2000 (IIRC), had patents granted for something like the next 10 years worth of driver head designs.  True or not, I don't know.  I just remember reading about someone who had done a lot of research on Ping's patents and had noticed this.

[glock35ipsc]

More from this patent:

[Shorty]

That is interesting. Good find.

[Beachcomber]

Good find Clam.  Callaway's Razr Fit driver is their first adjustable driver this year... But it doesn't look like they have introduced the adjustable sole plate?

[Domenic]

that's true, I wondered about all the tech that Callaway was missing out on because the whole loft, face angle compromise. But then I hit

[szaino]

Good research here.

With regard to the R11 adjustable sole plate. Taylor made says this is used to adjust the face angle- square, open, or closed. But all it really does is adjust the way the club sits on the ground and forces you to move your hand and shaft position to adjust to the new way the club sits on the ground.

True face angle is based upon the relationship of the plane of the shaft and club face. All driver heads are basically produced the same and depending on how the hosel is bored to accept the shaft would determine whether the club face was square, open or closed. I personally got away from Taylormade drivers about 5 years ago because (for me) the club never sat correctly on the ground. It always sat closed which drove me crazy.

So to me the whole sole plate thing is a gimmick which doesn't truly adjust the face angle at all.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by szaino

So to me the whole sole plate thing is a gimmick which doesn't truly adjust the face angle at all.

Especially if you are a player that hovers the head off the ground at address.

But it's cool, so it sells like crazy....

[szaino]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

Especially if you are a player that hovers the head off the ground at address.

But it's cool, so it sells like crazy....

Hey brother, maybe I should change my screen name to glock17idpa !!