Golf club assembly and golf club with aerodynamic features

• US 9,526,954 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2014
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Oldknow, Andrew G.V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US14/569,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20150094162A1
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473287-292, D21/752
• 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 53/0408 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 53/0437 with special crown configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits

Abstract

A golf club includes a shaft and a club head. The club head may have a channel extending adjacent to a trailing edge of the club head. The channel may have a maximum depth of 6 mm and a maximum width ranging from 10 mm to 20 mm. A rough textured surface region may be provided on a sole, wherein the rough textured surface region has a surface roughness of greater than or equal to 1.00 μm. A recess, formed in the sole, may extend from a mid-region to a toe of the club head, wherein the mid-region extends over the middle 40% of a length of the club head. A crown has an upper, forward surface and a stepped-down region, and the upper, forward surface transitions to the stepped-down region at a transition feature that extends from the hosel region at an angle of from 25 to 50 degrees.

Claims

1. A golf club head for a driver, the club head comprising:

a body member including;

a front body member having a ball striking face, and

an aft body member extending rearwardly from the front body member and defining a trailing edge,

a concave channel that follows a trailing edge of the aft body member, wherein the concave channel is adjacent a shallow step located in a direction toward the center of the body member from the concave channel wherein the shallow step provides a transition from a main surface of a sole of the club head to the concave channel; and

wherein the main surface of the sole is positioned below the concave channel and the shallow step in a top-to-bottom direction.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the shallow step adjacent the concave channel is positioned below in relation to the concave channel in a top-to-bottom direction.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the concave channel further includes an inboard sidewall adjacent the shallow step, a bottom surface adjacent the inboard sidewall, and an outboard sidewall adjacent the bottom surface opposite the inboard sidewall.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the outboard sidewall of the concave channel is positioned from 2 mm to 10 mm in a direction toward the center of the body member from the trailing edge.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the outboard sidewall of the concave channel is positioned from 2 mm to 5 mm inboard in a direction toward the center of the body member from the trailing edge.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the concave channel has a variable depth.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the concave channel has a maximum depth of 10 mm.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the concave channel has a width from 5 mm to 30 mm.

9. A golf club head for a driver, the club head comprising:

a body member including;

a body member including;

a front body member having a ball striking face, and

an aft body member extending rearwardly from the front body member and defining a trailing edge,

a concave channel that follows a trailing edge of the aft body member, wherein the concave channel is adjacent a shallow step located in a direction toward the center of the body member from the concave channel, wherein the shallow step provides a transition from a main surface of a sole to the concave channel;

wherein the main surface of the sole is positioned below the concave channel and the shallow step in a top-to-bottom direction; and

wherein the sole further includes a trapezoidally-shaped recess in the sole extending from a mid-region to a toe of the club head, wherein the mid-region of the club head extends over the middle 40% of a length of the club head.

10. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the recess has a straight leading edge located in the mid-region of the club head that is generally perpendicular to the ball striking face.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the leading edge is formed from a sloping surface that provides a sloped transition between the main surface of the sole and a floor of the recess.

12. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the recess has a curved leading edge located in the mid-region of the club head.

13. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the recess has a cross-sectional area that increases as the recess extends toward the toe of the golf club head.

14. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the recess has a depth that ranges from 2 mm to 10 mm.

15. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the recess has a width that ranges from 20 mm to 60 mm.

16. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the recess has an exit region located at a transition point between the sole and toe of the golf club head.

17. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the recess includes a trailing edge oriented generally perpendicular to the ball striking face that is located on the surface of the toe.

18. A golf club head for a driver, the club head comprising:

a body member including;

a crown, a toe, a back, a heel, a hosel region, a sole,

a front body member having a ball striking face and a portion of each of the crown, the toe, the sole, and the hosel region, and

an aft body member extending rearwardly from the front body member and defining a trailing edge,

a concave channel that follows a trailing edge of the aft body member, wherein the concave channel is adjacent a shallow step inboard the concave channel wherein the shallow step provides a transition from a main surface of sole to the concave channel;

wherein the main surface of the sole is positioned below in relation to the concave channel and the shallow step in a top-to-bottom direction; and

wherein the concave channel further includes an inboard sidewall adjacent the shallow step, a bottom surface adjacent the inboard sidewall, and an outboard sidewall adjacent the bottom surface opposite the inboard sidewall.