IRON TYPE GOLF CLUB HEAD

• US 20170173411A1
• Filed: 03/03/2017
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Wahl, Bret H., Taylor, Scott, Larsen, Peter L., Dipert, Joshua J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,849,357 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/005 Club sets
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0412 Volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0462 characterised by tapering thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0475 with one or more enclosed cavities
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/50 with through-holes A63B60/18 takes precedence; for stringing purposes A63B49/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/54 with means for damping vibrations

Abstract

Iron-type golf club heads are disclosed having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a front portion, a rear portion, and a striking face. The iron-type golf club heads include a flexible boundary structure (“FBS”) that is provided at one or more locations on the club head. The flexible boundary structure may comprise, in several embodiments, a slot, a channel, a gap, a thinned or weakened region, or other structure that enhances the capability of an adjacent or related portion of the golf club head to flex or deflect and to thereby provide a desired improvement in the performance of the golf club head.

Claims

1. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:

an iron-type body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion;

wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin;

wherein the body includes a central region in which −

25 mm<

x<

25 mm;

wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness T_FS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness T_SB, such that 0.04<

T_FS/T_SB<

0.50;

wherein the sole bar defines a first channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a first channel opening located on a bottom surface of the sole bar.

2. The clubhead of claim 1 wherein the first channel includes a forward wall having at least one cutout.

3. The clubhead of claim 1 wherein the first channel includes at least one curved region.

4. The clubhead of claim 1 wherein the first channel has a first channel length L₁, the body has a sole length of L_B, and a ratio of the first channel length to the sole length satisfies the inequality 0.35<

L₁/L_B<

0.67.

5. The clubhead of claim 1 wherein the body defines an interior cavity, and wherein the body has a volume V that satisfies the following inequality:

10 cc<

V<

120 cc.

6. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:

an iron-type body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion;

wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin;

wherein the body includes a central region in which −

25 mm<

x<

25 mm;

wherein the sole portion includes within the central region a forward sole wall located adjacent to the face portion and a thickened sole wall forming a sole bar rearward of the forward sole wall, the sole bar at least partially defining a channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a channel opening located in a bottom portion of the sole bar.

7. The clubhead of claim 6 wherein the slot is non-linear and the sole bar includes an overhang.

8. The clubhead of claim 6 wherein the forward sole wall defines a wall having a minimum sole thickness T_FS and the sole bar has a maximum sole bar thickness T_SB, such that 0.04<

T_FS/T_SB<

0.50.

9. The clubhead of claim 6 wherein the first channel has a first channel length L1;

wherein the body has a sole length L_B; and

wherein a ratio of the first channel length to the sole length satisfies the following inequality;

0.35<

L₁/L_B<

0.67.

10. The clubhead of claim 6 wherein the first channel defines a first channel depth H₁ that comprises the vertical distance from the ground plane to an uppermost point of the first channel;

wherein the body defines a body height H_CH that comprises the vertical distance from the ground plane to the uppermost point of the body; and

wherein a ratio of an average value of the first channel depth H₁ within the central region to the body height H_CH satisfies the following inequality;

0.07<

H1_AVG/H_CH<

0.50.

11. The clubhead of claim 6 wherein the sole portion includes a slot extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion, the slot defining a portion of a path that extends through the sole portion and into the rear void, the path including:

a lower path portion having a length of at least 1 mm and defining a lower path angle that is within 30°

of being parallel with said face plane;

an intermediate path portion having a length of at least 1 mm and defining an intermediate path angle that is within 30°

of being perpendicular to said face plane; and

an upper path portion having a length of at least 1 mm and defining an upper path angle that is within 30°

of being parallel with said face plane.