CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The present invention relates to a method of labeling products. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of printing a label directly on shrink wrap that is then applied to a product. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    Consumer products typically are labeled after production so that they can be tracked during shipment and identified before, during, and after sale. In the golf industry, for example, manufacturers typically print tracking or identification codes, such as UPC barcodes, on a paper label and the affix the label to the golf club on a shaft or grip region. These clubs are then packaged and shipped for sale. These labels are affixed with adhesive and are difficult to remove from the product once they are sold. Even if they are removed, they often leave unsightly marks or residue on the golf club product. In other industries, identification codes or labels are printed directly on the product, making it nearly impossible for a consumer to remove an unsightly label without damaging the product. 
         [0007]    The prior art has failed to provide a method for labeling products that both minimizes waste and allows for easy removal of those labels from the product after sale. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    It is the object of this invention to reduce the number of materials used to label and package a product such as a golf club head. It is another object of this invention to print identifying information for a product directly on a piece of packaging, and in particular, on shrink wrapping that protects the product without obscuring its features from view, 
         [0009]    One aspect of the invention is a golf club comprising a head, a shaft, a grip, and at least one shrink wrap label comprising identifying information that refers to the golf club, wherein the at least one shrink wrap label is removably affixed to at least one of the head, shaft, and grip. In some embodiments, the shrink wrap label may manufactured by printing information directly on shrink wrapping material, which may be composed of material selected from the group consisting of polyolefin and PVC, or any type of heat sensitive polymeric material. In some embodiments, the shrink wrap label may have a width of 20 mm to 150 mm and a length of 50 mm to 100 mm, and in further embodiments, may have a width of approximately 100 mm, a length of approximately 70 mm, and a lay flat width of 48 mm. 
         [0010]    In some embodiments, the identifying information may be selected from the group consisting of golf club head type, golf club shaft type, country of manufacture, country of assembly, and SKU number. In other embodiments, the shrink wrap label may comprise an overlap seam area, which may have a width of 1 mm to 10 mm. In some embodiments, the shrink wrap label may comprise a translucent area and an opaque area, and the identifying information may be printed on the opaque area. In other embodiments, the shrink wrap label may comprise at least one set of perforations, and in some embodiments two sets of perforations, which may be cross-cut. 
         [0011]    Another aspect of the present invention is a method of labeling a golf product, the method comprising inserting shrink wrap material into a printer, selecting identification information for the golf product, printing the identification information on the shrink wrap material to form a printed label, removing the printed label from the printer, placing the printed label on the golf product, and applying heat to the printed label so that the printed label shrinks to fit to the golf product. In some embodiments, the golf product may be a golf club comprising a shaft and a grip, and the step of placing the printed label on the golf product may comprise placing the printed label one of the grip and the shaft. In other embodiments, the step of placing the printed label on the golf product may comprise sliding the printed label over an end of the grip. In still other embodiments, he step of placing the printed label on the golf product may comprise wrapping the printed label around one of the grip and the shaft so that the printed label overlaps a portion of itself. 
         [0012]    Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of labeling a golf club comprising a head, a shaft, and a grip, the method comprising inserting shrink wrap material into a printer, the shrink wrap material having an overall width of 100 mm to 150 mm, an overall length of 200 mm to 300 mm, and comprising a plurality of perforation lines, selecting identification information for the golf product, printing the identification information on the shrink wrap material to form a printed sheet, removing the printed sheet from the printer, tearing the printed sheet across at least one of the perforation lines to form a printed label, placing the printed label on at least one of the head, shaft, and grip, and applying heat to the printed label. In some embodiments, the step of placing the printed label on at least one of the head, shaft, and grip may comprise the steps of placing the printed label on an applicator and then using the applicator to place the printed label on at least one of the head, shaft, and grip. In other embodiments, the step of printing the identification information on the shrink wrap material to form a printed sheet may comprise a further step of cutting the printed sheet with the printer to facilitate its removal from the printer. In another embodiment, the method may further comprise the step of adjusting the label so that the identification information is located on a back side of at least one of the head, shaft, and grip. 
         [0013]    Having briefly described the present invention, the above and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of an exemplary golf club. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a photograph of a shrink wrap label according to the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a photograph of a shrink wrap label according to the present invention applied to a golf club grip. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a line drawing of a shrink wrap label and its preferred dimensions. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart showing a simplified method of labeling a golf product. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart showing a more detailed method f labeling a golf product. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    The present invention is generally directed to a method of labeling a product, including but not limited to a golf club or components thereof using shrink wrap materials. The present invention serves to reduce the quantity and volume of materials used to identify and. package goods by combining labeling and packaging processes. When applied to golf clubs, the present invention incorporates a label that both protects and identifies all or a portion of the club. 
         [0021]    A driver-type golf club  10  that can benefit from the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . The golf club  10 , which in alternative embodiments may be any wood-type, iron-type, hybrid-type, or putter-type club, includes a head  12 , a shaft  14 , and a grip  16 . Once a manufacturer has finished manufacturing a golf club component, such as ahead  12 , shaft  14 , or grip  16 , or finishes assembling the golf club  10 , the manufacturer then affixes the label of the present invention to the individual component and/or the completed golf club  10 . 
         [0022]    An exemplary label  20  of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The label  20 , which in  FIG. 3  is shown affixed to a grip  16  portion of a golf club  10 , comprises a translucent area  22 , an opaque area  24 , an overlap seam  25 , and at least one perforation line  26 , and more preferably two perforation lines  26 ,  28  (see  FIG. 4 ), that are designed to make it easier for an end-consumer c remove the label  20  after purchasing the golf club  10 . Identifying information  30  preferably is printed on the opaque area  24  for easy viewing, but in alternative embodiments it may be printed on one or both of the translucent area  22  and opaque area  24 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the identifying information  30  preferably includes at least one of a country of manufacture, a country of assembly, an item SKU number, and a barcode, and more preferably includes all of this information. 
         [0023]    The shrink wrap labels  20  of the present invention are cut or torn from a co tot s sleeve  40  of shrink wrap labels that is intersected with cross-cut perforations  42 , shown in  FIG. 4 . The continuous sleeve  40  preferably has an overall length L 0  of 200 to 300 mm and an overall width W 0  of 100 to 200 mm, and its cross-cut perforations  42  preferably are assorted across the sleeve  40  so that individual labels  20  having a length L 1  of 50 to 100 mm and a width W 1  of 20 to 150 mm, and more preferably a length L 1  of 70 mm, a width W 1  of 100 mm, and a “lay flat” width W 2  (the portion of the label  20  that, in some embodiments, does not include printed material) of 48 mm, can be torn or cut from the sleeve  40 . The sleeve shown in  FIG. 4  has enough material to form three labels  20 . Each label  20  also preferably includes an overlap seam  25 , which has a width of 1 to 10 mm, and more preferably a width of 5 mm, where the label  20  wraps around a golf club component and overlaps itself In some embodiments, the label  20  is pre-wrapped to form a cylinder and is adhered to itself at the overlap seam  25  before being affixed to or slid over a golf club component such as a shaft  14  or a grip  16  or a hose  11  of a golf club head  12 . 
         [0024]    The shrink wrap material used for the labels  20  of the present invention preferably is a plastic such as polyolefin or PVC, or another heat-sensitive polymeric material. The shrink wrap sleeve  40  may be used with any type of printer, industrial or otherwise, including printers with cutting mechanisms built into them. 
         [0025]    A preferred method of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 5 . This method comprises the steps of printing UPC label information on a shrink wrap sleeve  100 , retrieving the strip of printed sleeve  110 , tearing the strip of printed sleeve along cross cut perforation to separate individual labels  120 , placing a label applicator on an end of a grip  16  on a golf club  130 , sliding an individual label  20  over he end of the grip  140 , removing the applicator  150 , adjusting the label  20  as needed so that part of the label is over the end of the grip  16  but the opaque area  24  of the label  20  in disposed over a side of the grip  160 , and applying heat to the label so that it shrinks to fit to the grip  170 . 
         [0026]    A more detailed method of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 6 . This method comprises the steps of inserting a roll of shrink wrap sleeve  40  into a printer  200 , pulling the sleeve  40  through a print interface on the printer  205 , adjusting a sleeve alignment guide on the printer  210 , indexing and homing the printer  215 , selecting identifying information  30  (such as a UPC barcode) and sending a print command fro a computer linked to the printer  220 , printing the identifying information  30  on the shrink wrap sleeve  225 , causing the printer to cut the sleeve  40  after completing the print job  230 , retrieving the cut strip of printed sleeve from the printer  235 , tearing the strip of printed sleeve along cross-cut perforations to separate individual labels  240 , placing a label applicator on an end of a golf club grip  245 , sliding a label  20  over the applicator so that the identifying information  30  reads from top to bottom  250 , sliding the label  20  over an end of the grip  255 , removing the applicator  260 , adjusting the label  20  so that the identifying information  30  is on the back of the grip  265 , adjusting the label  20  as needed so that part of the label  20  is over the end of the grip but the opaque area  24  is on the side of the grip  270 , and applying an even heat to the label  20  so that it shrinks to fit the golf club grip  275 . 
         [0027]    From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention and will readily understand that white the present invention has been described in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and other embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changes, modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which is intended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in the following appended claims. The methods of the present invention may be applied to any type of product of manufacture, and is not intended to be limited to use with golf clubs. The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in the following appended claims.
A method of labeling products, including golf club products, is disclosed herein. In particular, a golf club comprising a head, a shaft, a grip, and at least one shrink wrap label comprising identifying information that refers to the golf club, wherein the at least one shrink wrap label is removably affixed to at least one of the head, shaft, and grip, is disclosed and claimed herein. The present invention also relates to methods of printing and affixing removable, shrink wrapped labels to golf club products.