Metal wood club

• US 9,211,452 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2013
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Bennett, Thomas Orrin, Burnett, Michael Scott, Callinan, Daniel S., Harvell, Christopher D., Meyer, Jeffrey W., Murphy, Stephen S.
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAU, STEPHEN LUTHER
• Application Number:
  US14/133,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20140106896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 473/328, 473345-346, 473337-338
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/01 Special aerodynamic features, e.g. airfoil shapes, wings or air passages
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0412 Volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/045 Strengthening ribs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0458 with non-uniform thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/06 adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/04 Movable ballast means A63B15/005 takes precedence

Abstract

A golf club head is provided with a body that has an address position with a zero degree bounce portion on the sole and a center sole position with a multi-relief surface of the sole having a negative bounce portion. The negative bounce portion may comprise a negative 0.5 to a negative 4.0 degree surface. In one embodiment, the multi-relief surface may comprise the negative bounce portion and a cutaway portion extending to the back of the sole, which may have a depth of about 0.05 to 0.5 inch from a regular sole surface. In another embodiment, the golf club head includes a weight system to adjust the center of gravity. In one embodiment, the weight system is a tube having a weight at one end that may be inserted into the golf club head to move the center of gravity at least forward and backward within 6 mm and up and down within 6 mm. Preferably, the tube is angled downward toward the face by at least 3 degrees.

Claims

1. A golf club head, the club head comprising:

a body having a face, a sole, a crown and a skirt joining the face, sole and crown, the body having a heel end and a toe end,

wherein the sole of the golf club head further comprises a multi-relief surface, wherein the multi-relief surface further comprises;

a leading edge at a frontal portion of the multi-relief surface, adjacent to the face;

a negative bounce portion, located rearward of the leading edge, adjacent to and substantially aligned with a hosel portion of said golf club head; and

consisting only one of a cutaway portion at least partially adjacent to the rear of the negative bounce portion;

wherein the cutaway portion has a different bounce angle than the negative bounce portion and wherein the cutaway portion forms a depression on the sole of the golf club head, and wherein there is a step in depth at a boundary between a negative bounce portion and the cutaway portion.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the cutaway portion extends from the negative bounce portion to a trailing edge of the golf club head.

3. The golf club head of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the negative bounce portion has a bounce angle of between about negative 0.5 degrees to a negative 4.0 degrees.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the negative bounce portion has a bounce angle of about negative 2.0 degrees.

5. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein a depth of the cutaway portion is constant.

6. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein a depth of the cutaway portion is not constant.

7. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein the negative bounce portion has a constant bounce angle.

8. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein the negative bounce portion has a variable bounce angle.

9. A golf club head, the club head comprising:

a body having a face, a sole, a crown and a skirt joining the face, sole and crown, the body having a heel end and a toe end,

wherein the body has an address position further comprises;

a center sole portion located rearward of the face,

wherein said center sole portion further comprises a negative bounce portion adjacent to and substantially aligned with a hosel portion of said golf club head, and

consisting only one of a cutaway portion at least partially adjacent to the rear of the center sole portion of the sole, and

a weighting system further comprising a tube and a weight located within said cutaway portion,

wherein the weighting system is orientated along a plane formed by a y-axis and a z-axis in a forward and aft direction

wherein at least a portion of the cutaway portion extends from the center sole portion to a trailing edge of the golf club head.

10. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the weighting system is angled by an angle δ

of at least 1 degree from the plane W formed by the z-axis and a x-axis.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the weighting system is angled by an angle δ

of at least 3 degrees from the plane W formed by the z-axis and a x-axis.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the weighting system is angled by an angle δ

of between 3 to 7 degrees from the plane W formed by the z-axis and a x-axis.

13. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the weighting system could be flipped such that the tube is able to be inserted into the club head with the weight in two or more directions.

14. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein a center of gravity of the golf club head is able to be moved along the z-axis and the y-axis as an orientation of the weighting system is reversed.