Fairway wood center of gravity projection

• US 8,888,607 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Harbert, Christopher John, Beach, Todd P., Johnson, Matthew David, Sargent, Nathan T., Willett, Kraig Alan, Penney, Michelle, Kronenberg, Marc, Greensmith, Matthew, Hoffman, Joseph Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US13/828,675
• Publication Number:
  US 20130210542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473287-292, 473305-315
• US Class Current: 473/307
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/01 Special aerodynamic features, e.g. airfoil shapes, wings or air passages
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/023 adjustable angular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• 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 53/045 Strengthening ribs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/06 adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits

Abstract

A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. The face defines a striking surface having an ideal impact location at a golf club head origin. Embodiments include club heads for a fairway wood that at least one of a high moment of inertia, a low center-of-gravity, a thin crown and a high coefficient of restitution.

Claims

1. A golf club, comprising:

a shaft having a butt end and a tip end;

a club head defining an interior cavity, a sole defining a bottom portion of the club head, a crown defining a top portion of the club head, a skirt portion defining a periphery of the club head between the sole and crown, a face defining a forward portion of the club head, and a hosel defining a hosel bore;

a channel positioned in the sole of the club head and extending into the interior cavity of the club head, the channel extending substantially in a heel-to-toe direction and having a channel length (L_g) and an average channel width (W_g);

a recessed port positioned in the sole of the club head and extending into the interior cavity of the club head, the recessed port having a port width (W_p), the recessed port being located proximate a bottom end of the hosel such that a passage in the bottom end of the hosel provides communication between the hosel bore and the recessed port;

a sleeve mounted on the tip end of the shaft and adapted to be inserted into the hosel bore;

a fastener having a head portion located in the recessed port and a shaft portion extending through the passage, the shaft portion being selectively attachable to the sleeve when the sleeve is inserted into the hosel bore;

wherein the recessed port and the channel define a port-to-channel junction, and wherein W_p>

W_g;

wherein the club head has a height less than about 45 mm and a volume of between about 120 cm³ and about 240 cm³.

2. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the club head has a loft angle greater than about 13 degrees.

3. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the club head has an above ground center-of-gravity location, Zup, less than about 18 mm and a center of gravity horizontally rearward of a center of the face less than about 30 mm.

4. The golf club of claim 1, further comprising:

a weight port positioned in the sole of the club head rearward of and adjacent to the channel, the weight port extending into the interior cavity of the club head;

at least one weight having a weight mass between about 0.5 grams and about 20 grams, the at least one weight configured to be installed at least partially within the weight port positioned in the sole of the club head.

5. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the club head has a center of gravity located horizontally rearward of a center of the face less than about 30 mm and a coefficient of restitution (COR) having a value of at least about 0.80 as measured at three locations including a first location at a center of the club face and two locations spaced by 7.5 mm on either side of the center of the club face along a horizontal axis passing through the center of the club face.

6. The golf club of claim 1, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 1.1 to about 20.

7. The golf club of claim 1, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 1.2 to about 15.

8. The golf club of claim 1, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 1.5 to about 10.

9. The golf club of claim 1, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 2 to about 8.

10. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the sleeve has a threaded lower opening and the fastener has a threaded shaft that is adapted to engage the threaded lower opening to thereby attach the shaft to the club head.

11. The golf club of claim 1, further comprising:

a hosel insert mounted in the hosel bore and having internal splines on an inner surface thereof;

the screw having a head defining a bearing surface adapted to engage an internal bearing surface of the club head;

the sleeve having an upper portion defining a thrust surface adapted to engage a bearing surface of the hosel and a lower portion having a plurality of longitudinally extending external splines protruding from an external surface thereof, the external splines having a configuration complementary to the splines on the inner surface of the hosel insert;

wherein the shaft can be secured to the club head by inserting the sleeve into the hosel bore so that the external splines on the sleeve engage the internal splines on the hosel insert and inserting the screw through the passage in the sole and into the threaded opening of the sleeve, and then tightening the screw so that the bearing surface of the screw head engages the internal bearing surface of the club head.

12. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the channel has a greatest vertical dimension of at least 30% of the height of the face.

13. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the channel has a greatest vertical dimension of at least 20% of the height of the face.

14. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the coefficient of restitution measured at a center of the face is about 0.82.

15. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the coefficient of restitution at about 2 mm below the center of the face is at least 0.82.

16. The golf club of claim 1, wherein a front to back depth (D_ch) of the club head is greater than about 85 mm.

17. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the club head has a center of gravity (CG) projection of less than about 3 mm above a center of the face.

18. The golf club of claim 17, wherein the CG projection is less than about 1.4 mm above a center of the face.

19. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the crown has a thickness less than about 0.65 mm over at least about 70% of the crown.

20. A golf club head, comprising:

a club head body defining an interior cavity, a sole defining a bottom portion of the body, a crown defining a top portion of the body, a skirt portion defining a periphery of the body between the sole and crown, a face defining a forward portion of the club head, and a hosel defining a hosel bore;

a channel positioned in the sole of the club head and extending into the interior cavity of the club head, the channel extending substantially in a heel-to-toe direction and having a channel length (L_g) of between about 50 mm and about 90 mm and an average channel width (W_g) of between about 3.5 mm and about 8.0 mm;

a recessed port positioned in the sole of the club head body and extending into the interior cavity of the club head body, the recessed port having a port width (W_p), the recessed port being located proximate a bottom end of the hosel such that a passage in a bottom end of the hosel provides communication between the hosel bore and the recessed port;

wherein the recessed port and the channel define a port-to-channel junction, and wherein W_p>

W_g;

wherein the club head has a height less than about 45 mm and a volume of between about 120 cm³ and about 240 cm³.

21. The golf club head of claim 20, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 1.1 to about 20.

22. The golf club head of claim 20, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 1.2 to about 15.

23. The golf club head of claim 20, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 1.5 to about 10.

24. The golf club head of claim 20, wherein a ratio W_p/W_g of the port width W_p to the average width of the channel W_g is from about 2 to about 8.