Golf club head

• US 10,065,094 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2016
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wallin, Gavin
• Primary Examiner(s): DENNIS, MICHAEL DAVID
• Application Number:
  US15/276,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20180056154A1
• Time in Patent Office: 708 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence

Abstract

A golf club head may include a body and a sole plate. The body may include a hosel portion, a front strike face, a crown and a sole. The sole may include a floor and sidewalls extending from the floor to the crown. The sole may include weight ports for receiving weighted slugs. The sole plate may be rotatably mounted to the sole, wherein the sole plate is rotatable, while remaining mounted to the sole, between a cover position in which the sole plate covers each of the weight ports and at least one access position in which each and every weighted port is accessible for removal or insertion of a weighted slug.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a body comprising;

a hosel portion;

a front strike face;

a crown; and

a sole comprising a floor and sidewalls extending from the floor to the crown, the floor comprising weight ports for receiving weighted slugs; and

a sole plate rotatably mounted to the sole by a centrally positioned sole plate coupling member, the sole plate being rotatable about an axis of the sole plate coupling member that extends through the sole and the crown of the body, while remaining mounted to the sole, between a cover position in which the sole plate covers each of the weight ports and at least one access position in which each and every weighted port is accessible for removal or insertion of a weighted slug, the sole plate including a pair of opposing lobes spaced by a narrower throat portion, one of the lobes being larger than the other of the lobes.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight ports comprise at least six weight ports.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight ports are asymmetrically arranged about the axis.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the weight ports comprise:

a first cluster of weight ports proximate the front strike face on a first side of the axis, the weight ports of the first cluster having a first spacing in a direction along the front strike face; and

a second cluster of weight ports on a second side of the axis opposite the first side, the second cluster of weight ports having a second spacing in the direction along the front strike face, the second spacing being greater than the first spacing.

5. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein each of the weight ports of the first cluster and the second cluster have a diameter of at least 10 mm.

6. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein the first cluster of weight ports comprises:

a first weight port along a longitudinal centerline of the body extending substantially perpendicular to the front strike face, the first weight part having a first outer perimeter;

a second weight port laterally offset from the first weight port on a first side of the longitudinal centerline, the second weight port having a second outer perimeter overlapping the first outer perimeter in a lateral direction; and

a third weight port laterally offset from the first weight port on a second side of the longitudinal centerline, the third weight port having a third outer perimeter overlapping the first outer perimeter in the lateral direction.

7. The golf club head of claim 6, wherein the second cluster of weight ports comprises:

a fourth weight port along the longitudinal centerline of the body, the fourth weight port having a fourth perimeter;

a fifth weight port laterally offset from the fourth weight port on the first side of the longitudinal centerline, the fifth weight port having a fifth outer perimeter laterally offset from and longitudinally overlapping the first outer perimeter; and

a sixth weight port laterally offset from the fourth weight port on the second side of the longitudinal centerline, the sixth weight port having a sixth outer perimeter laterally offset from and longitudinally overlapping the second outer perimeter.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the floor comprises a recess in which the weight parts are located and wherein the sole plate is rotatable, while remaining mounted to the sole, between an aligned position in which the sole plate is aligned with the recess and a misaligned position in which the sole plate is misaligned with respect to the recess.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein the sole plate, when in the aligned position, is movable between a received position in which the sole plate is received within the recess and a withdrawn position in which the sole plate is withdrawn from the recess.

10. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the sole plate is resiliently biased towards the received position.

11. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the sole plate comprise a notch, wherein at least one of the weight ports is accessible through the notch in response to the sole plate being rotated to an access position.

12. The golf club head of claim 11 further comprising a second notch opposite the first notch.

13. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the sole plate is screwed to the sole.

14. The golf club head of claim 1 further comprising a set of weight slugs, each weight slug of the set being receivable within at least one of the weight ports, each weight slug comprising:

a slug body;

a first elastomeric gasket on an exterior of the slug body to grip a first interior surface of one of the weight ports at a first depth when received within said one of the weight ports; and

a second elastomeric gasket on the exterior of the slug body to grip a second interior surface of said one of the weight ports at a second depth, greater than the first depth, when received within said one of the weight ports.

15. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the set of weight slugs comprises:

a first weight slug having a first weight; and

a second weight slug having a second weight different than the first weight.