Golf club assembly and golf club with aerodynamic features

• US 9,370,696 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2014
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Stites, John T., Tavares, Gary G., Boyd, Robert, Oldknow, Andrew G. V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US14/256,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20140228147A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473287-292, 473/228, D21/752, D21/759
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 recess formed in the lower surface;

two or more secondary recesses formed in a bottom surface of the 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 decreases 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 recess is closer to the striking face than a second end of the recess.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the secondary recesses are arranged in a series extending in a direction from the first end of the recess to the second end of the recess.

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

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

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

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

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

10. 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 recess formed in the lower surface; and

two or more secondary recesses formed in a bottom surface of the 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, and

wherein each of the secondary recesses have a depth that decreases as the secondary recess extends from the first base to the second base.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein a first end of the recess is closer to the striking face than a second end of the recess.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the series of secondary recesses extend in a direction from the first end of the recess to the second end of the recess.

13. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the recess generally diverges at a first end and converges at a second end.

14. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the secondary recesses are trapezoidally shaped.

15. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the first base and the second base of each secondary recess extends across a width of the recess.

16. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein at least three secondary recesses are formed in the bottom surface of the recess.

17. 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 recess formed in the lower surface, wherein a first end of the recess is closer to the striking face than a second end of the recess; and

three secondary recesses formed in a bottom surface of the recess, each secondary recess having a first base and a second base, wherein the secondary recesses extend in a direction from the first end of the recess to the second end of the recess,

wherein a second base of a first secondary recess lies adjacent to a first base of an adjacent second secondary recess and a second base of a second secondary recess lies adjacent to a first base of an adjacent third secondary recess, and

wherein each of the secondary recesses have a depth that decreases as the secondary recess extends from the first base to the second base.