Golf club with coefficient of restitution feature

• US 9,662,545 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Beach, Todd P., Mata, Jason Andrew, Greensmith, Matthew, Johnson, Matthew David, Willett, Kraig Alan, Sargent, Nathan T.
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAU, STEPHEN LUTHER
• Application Number:
  US13/839,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20140274457A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,537 Days
• Field of Search: 473338
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• 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 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits

Abstract

A golf club head includes a face; a body, the body defining an interior and an exterior; the face and the body together defining a center of gravity, the center of gravity being proximate the face; a coefficient of restitution feature defined in the body; wherein the coefficient of restitution feature defines a gap in the body. A golf club head includes a face and a golf club body; the face and the golf club body defining a center of gravity, the center of gravity defined a distance, Δ_z, from a ground plane as measured along a z-axis, the center of gravity defined a distance, CG_y, from the center face along the y-axis.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a crown, a sole, a skirt and

a face, the face including a geometric center defining a center face location, the head having a center of gravity,

wherein a reference tangent face plane is defined as a plane tangent to the face at the center face location,

wherein the center of gravity defines a projection orthogonal to the tangent face plane and passing through the center of gravity such that a projection point is defined at the intersection of the projection and the tangent face plane,

wherein a reference ground plane is defined along a bottom end of the body, the ground plane thereby being below the golf club head, and

wherein the projection point is below the center face location;

a body,

wherein the golf club head defines an exterior and an interior that is bounded by the crown, the sole, the skirt and the face;

the face and the body together defining a center of gravity, the center of gravity being proximate the face;

a coefficient of restitution feature (CORF) defined in the sole of the golf club head;

wherein the coefficient of restitution feature defines a gap in the body in the form of a through slot providing a port from the exterior of the golf club head to the interior such that the interior of the golf club head is not separated from the exterior at the CORF,

the golf club head further comprising a weight pad located proximate to the CORF, the weight pad having a weight that is 35 to 50 percent of a total weight of the golf club head.

2. The golf club of claim 1 wherein the weight pad has a length along the y-axis of 12 to 32 mm or 45 to 62 mm.

3. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the golf club head defines a crown height, the crown height being the largest dimension of the golf club head as measured from the ground plane to an outer surface of the crown, the crown height being at least 30 mm and up to 50 mm.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the weight pad overhangs the coefficient of restitution feature.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight pad has a width of at least about 60 mm.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, the face including a geometric center defining a center face location,

wherein a reference tangent face plane is defined as a plane tangent to the face at the center face location, and

wherein the center of gravity is no more than about 19.5 mm from the tangent face plane as measured orthogonally to the tangent face plane.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight pad is proximate the sole.

8. The golf club head of claim 7, wherein the weight pad is proximate the face.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the weight pad overhangs the coefficient of restitution feature.

10. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the coefficient of restitution feature includes a beveled edge.

11. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the coefficient of restitution feature includes a retention feature.