GOLF CLUB

• US 20180345097A1
• Filed: 08/13/2018
• Published: 12/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Beach, Todd P., Lorentzen, John Francis, Chao, Bing-Ling, Greaney, Mark Vincent
• Granted Patent: US 10,569,145 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• 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 53/0466 wood-type

Abstract

A golf club head includes a club body including a crown, a sole, a skirt disposed between and connecting the crown and the sole and a face portion connected to a front end of the club body. The face portion includes a geometric center defining the origin of a coordinate system when the golf club head is ideally positioned, the coordinate system including an x-axis being tangent to the face portion at the origin and parallel to a ground plane, a y-axis intersecting the origin being parallel to the ground plane and orthogonal to the x-axis, and a z-axis intersecting the origin being orthogonal to both the x-axis and the y-axis. The golf club head defines a center of gravity CG, the CG being a distance CG_Y from the origin as measured along the y-axis and a distance CG_Z from the origin as measured along the z-axis.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a crown, a sole, a heel, and a toe;

a face portion connected to a front end of the club head body, the face portion including a geometric center defining an origin of a coordinate system when the golf club head is in a normal address position; and

a face-to-crown transition where the face connects to the crown near the front end of the club head body,

wherein the coordinate system includes;

an x-axis being tangent to the face portion at the origin and parallel to a ground plane,

a y-axis intersecting the origin being parallel to the ground plane and orthogonal to the x-axis, and

a z-axis intersecting the origin being orthogonal to both the x-axis and the y-axis;

the golf club head defining a center of gravity (CG), the CG being a distance CG_y from the origin as measured along the y-axis and a distance CG_z from the origin as measured along the z-axis;

wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin the crown height continuously increases starting from the face-to-crown transition up to a local maximum; and

wherein the golf club head further comprises a sole feature, the sole feature comprising an extended platform formed in the sole, the extended platform extending rearwardly from a first end to a second end, and further comprising;

a planar sole surface and opposed sloped portions that, when the golf club head is in a normal address position, slope away from the ground plane toward the crown, the opposed sloped portions comprising a sloped heel side portion positioned heelward of the planar sole surface and a sloped toe side portion positioned toeward of the planar sole surface;

a forward portion adjacent the first end; and

a rearward portion adjacent the second end.

23. The golf club head of claim 22, wherein the golf club head has a crown height to face height ratio of at least 1.12.

24. The golf club head of claim 22, wherein:

a CG effectiveness product (CG_eff) for the golf club head is defined as CG_eff=CG_y×

Δ

_z and the CG_eff is at least 806 mm².

25. The golf club head of claim 24, wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin at a distance CG_Y from the origin, the crown height is greater than the face height.

26. The golf club head of claim 25, wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin a rearmost portion of a trailing edge of the golf club head is lower than the origin;

27. The golf club head of claim 26, wherein the extended platform has a first center point positioned at the first end and a second center point positioned at the second end and wherein the second center point is positioned toeward of the y-axis.

28. The golf club head of claim 27, wherein the CG_eff is no more than 1031 mm².

29. The golf club head of claim 22, wherein the extended platform has a first center point positioned at the first end and a second center point positioned at the second end and wherein the second center point is positioned toeward of the y-axis.

30. The golf club head of claim 22, wherein the extended platform extends rearwardly at an angle along a flow direction from the first end to the second end, wherein the flow direction is configured so that a first center point of the extended platform at the first end is positioned proximate the y-axis and a second center point of the extended platform at the second end is positioned more toeward of the y-axis than the first center point.

31. The golf club head of claim 30, wherein the angle of the flow direction from the first center point to the second center point relative to the y-axis is at least 11 degrees.

32. The golf club head of claim 30, wherein the angle of the flow direction from the first center point to the second center point relative to the y-axis is at least 9 degrees.

33. The golf club head of claim 30, wherein the extended platform has a length extending between the first end and the second end, and a width that is normal to the length, and further wherein the width measured at a plurality of locations along the length is approximately constant.

34. The golf club head of claim 22, further comprising at least one first mass element connected to the club head body of the golf club head forward of the extended platform.

35. The golf club head of claim 34, further comprising at least one second mass element connected to the extended platform.

36. The golf club head of claim 35, wherein the second mass element is positioned in the rearward portion of the extended platform.

37. The golf club head of claim 22, further comprising at least one mass element connected to the extended platform.

38. The golf club head of claim 37, wherein the at least one mass element is positioned in the rearward portion of the extended platform.

39. The golf club head of claim 22, further comprising an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly coupled to the club head body and operable to adjust at least one of a loft angle or a lie angle of a golf club formed when the golf club head is attached to a golf club shaft via the head-shaft connection assembly.

40. The golf club head of claim 39, further comprising:

a heel opening located on the heel end of the club head body, the heel opening configured to receive a shaft fastening member; and

a sleeve that is secured by the shaft fastening member in a locked position to secure the adjustable head-shaft connection assembly.

41. The golf club head of claim 22, wherein the face portion comprises a composite face plate.

42. The golf club head of claim 22, wherein the extended platform increases a volume of the golf club head by between 5 and 15 cubic centimeters (cc).

43. The golf club head of claim 22, wherein the extended platform comprises a volume of between 5 and 15 cubic centimeters (cc).