Golf club assembly and golf club with aerodynamic features

• US 8,721,470 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2013
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Tavares, Gary G., Boyd, Robert, Stites, John T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US13/924,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20130288819A1
• Time in Patent Office: 323 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473287-292, 473/228, D21/752, D21/759
• US Class Current: 473/327
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/01 Special aerodynamic features, e.g. airfoil shapes, wings or air passages
• 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 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/006 Surfaces specially adapted for reducing air resistance
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits

Abstract

A golf club head includes a body member having a ball striking face, a crown, a toe, a heel, a sole, and a skirt extending between the crown and the sole and between the toe and the heel. The club head includes a drag-reducing structure that may include one or both of a continuous groove extending from a front portion to a rear edge of the toe, and along an entire length of the skirt, and a substantially V-shaped recess formed in the sole and having a vertex positioned proximate the ball striking face and the heel and away from the skirt and the toe, and a pair of legs extending to a point proximate the toe and away from the ball striking face, and curving toward the skirt and away from the ball striking face.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a body member having a ball striking face, an upper surface, a toe, a heel, and a lower surface;

a generally curved, primary recess formed in the lower surface; and

two or more secondary recesses formed in a bottom surface of the primary recess, each secondary recess having;

a first base and a second base,

a width that varies as the secondary recess extends from the first base to the second base, and

a depth that varies as the secondary recess extends from the first base to the second base.

2. The golf club head of claim 1,

wherein the secondary recesses are arranged in a series such that a second base of a first secondary recess lies adjacent to a first base of an adjacent second secondary recess.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein a first end of the primary recess is closer to the striking face than a second end of the primary recess.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the secondary recesses are trapezoidally shaped.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the secondary recess are arranged in a series that extends in the direction of the primary recess.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the second base of each secondary recess extends across a width of the primary recess.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein diverging sides of each secondary recess join the first base to the second base.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the secondary recesses are arranged in a series extending in a generally heel-to-toe direction.

9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein at least three secondary recesses are formed in the bottom surface of the primary recess.

10. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the depth of each of the secondary recesses decreases as the secondary recess extends from the first base to the second base.

11. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first base of each secondary recess has a length smaller than a length of the second base.

12. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the primary recess generally converges at a first end and diverges at a second end.

13. The golf club head of claim 12,

wherein the secondary recesses are arranged in a series that extends in the direction of the primary recess, and

wherein the areas of the individual secondary recesses in the series increase as the primary recess diverges.

14. A golf club head comprising:

a body member having a ball striking face, an upper surface, a toe, a heel, and a lower surface;

a generally curved, primary recess formed in the lower surface; and

two or more secondary recesses formed in a bottom surface of the primary recess, each secondary recess having a first base and a second base,

wherein the secondary recesses are arranged in a series such that a second base of a first secondary recess lies adjacent to a first base of an adjacent second secondary recess.

15. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein a first end of the primary recess is closer to the heel than the second end of the primary recess.

16. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the secondary recesses are trapezoidally shaped.

17. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the secondary recesses are arranged in a series that extends in the direction of the primary recess.

18. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the areas of the individual secondary recesses in the series increase as the primary recess diverges.

19. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the second base of each secondary recess extends across a width of the primary recess.

20. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein diverging sides of each secondary recess join the first base to the second base.

21. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the secondary recesses are arranged in a series extending in a generally heel-to-toe direction.

22. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein at least three secondary recesses are formed in the bottom surface of the primary recess.

23. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the depth of each secondary recess decreases as the indented region extends from the first base to the second base.

24. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the first base of each secondary recess has a length smaller than a length of the second base.

25. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the primary recess generally converges at a first end and diverges at a second end.