Golf club

• US 9,861,864 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2013
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Beach, Todd P., Lorentzen, John Francis, Chao, Bing-Ling, Greaney, Mark Vincent
• Primary Examiner(s): Simms, Jr., John E
• Application Number:
  US14/144,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20150148149A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,471 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• 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

Abstract

A golf club head includes a club body including a crown, a sole, a skirt disposed between and connecting the crown and the sole and a face portion connected to a front end of the club body. The face portion includes a geometric center defining the origin of a coordinate system when the golf club head is ideally positioned, the coordinate system including an x-axis being tangent to the face portion at the origin and parallel to a ground plane, a y-axis intersecting the origin being parallel to the ground plane and orthogonal to the x-axis, and a z-axis intersecting the origin being orthogonal to both the x-axis and the y-axis. The golf club head defines a center of gravity CG, the CG being a distance CG_Y from the origin as measured along the y-axis and a distance CG_Z from the origin as measured along the z-axis.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a club body including a leading edge, a trailing edge, a crown, a sole, and a skirt disposed between and connecting the crown and the sole;

an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly coupled to the club body and operable to adjust at least one of a loft angle or a lie angle of a golf club formed when the golf club head is attached to a golf club shaft via the head-shaft connection assembly;

at least one external mass element that is adjustably attachable to the club body; and

a face portion connected to a front end of the club body, the face portion including a geometric center defining the origin of a coordinate system when the golf club head is ideally positioned, the coordinate system including;

an x-axis being tangent to the face portion at the origin and parallel to a ground plane,

a y-axis intersecting the origin being parallel to the ground plane and orthogonal to the x-axis, and

a z-axis intersecting the origin being orthogonal to both the x-axis and the y-axis;

the golf club head defining a center of gravity (CG), the CG being a distance CG_Y from the origin as measured along the y-axis and a distance CG_Z from the origin as measured along the z-axis;

wherein the golf club head has a crown height to face height ratio of at least 1.12 and

wherein the golf club head has a moment of inertia (I_XX) about a CG x-axis, the CG x-axis being parallel to the x-axis and passing through the CG of the golf club head, wherein a ratio of CG_Z/CG_Y satisfies the inequality;

CG_Z/CG_Y<

0.000222×

I_XX−

0.272;

wherein there is a face-to-crown transition where the face connects to the crown near the front end of the club body and a skirt-to-crown transition where the skirt connects to the crown;

wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin the crown height continuously increases starting from the face-to-crown transition up to a local maximum;

wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin at a distance CG_Y from the origin the crown height is greater than the face height;

wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin the skirt-to-crown transition proximate the trailing edge is lower than the origin;

wherein a CG effectiveness product (CG_eff) for the golf club head is defined as

CG_eff=CG_Y×

Δ

_z;

and the CG_eff is at least 806 mm².

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the distance CG_Z is not greater than −

7.0.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the crown portion is convex at all locations.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising at least one mass element connected to the body portion of the golf club head.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the CG is located a distance Δ

_Z from a ground plane, the ground plane being defined as a plane in contact with the sole of the golf club head in ideal address position, wherein Δ

_Z is at most 24.6 mm, the CG_Z/CG_Y ratio is less than −

0.25, and I_XX is at least 200 kg·

mm².

6. The golf club head of claim 5, wherein the CG_eff is less than 1031 mm².

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the sole located rearward of the CG is substantially flat.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein a volume of the golf club head is at least 430 cc.

9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the distance CG_Z is not greater than −

7.0, and Δ

z is no greater than 24.6 mm.

10. A golf club head comprising:

a club body including a leading edge, a trailing edge, a crown, a sole, and a skirt disposed between and connecting the crown and the sole; and

a face portion connected to a front end of the club body, the face portion including a geometric center defining the origin of a coordinate system when the golf club head is ideally positioned, the coordinate system including

an x-axis being tangent to the face portion at the origin and parallel to a ground plane,

a y-axis intersecting the origin being parallel to the ground plane and orthogonal to the x-axis, and

a z-axis intersecting the origin being orthogonal to both the x-axis and the y-axis;

the golf club head defining a center of gravity CG (CG), the CG being a distance CG_Y from the origin as measured along the y-axis and a distance CG_Z from the origin as measured along the z-axis that is not greater than −

7.0, wherein the CG is located a distance Δ

_Z from a ground plane that is no more than 24.6 mm, the ground plane being defined as a plane in contact with the sole of the golf club head in ideal address position; and

wherein the golf club head has a moment of inertia (I_XX) about a CG x-axis that is at least 200 kg·

mm², the CG x-axis being parallel to the x-axis and passing through the CG of the golf club head, wherein a ratio of CG_Z/CG_Y is less than −

0.25 and satisfies the inequality

CG_Z/CG_Y<

0.000222×

I_XX−

0.272; and

wherein a CG effectiveness product (CG_eff) for the golf club head is defined as

CG_eff=CG_Y×

Δ

_z

and the CG_eff is 806-1031 mm².

11. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the golf club head includes a face-to-crown transition where the face connects to the crown near the front end of the club body and a skirt-to-crown transition where the skirt connects to the crown, wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin the crown height continuously increases starting from the face-to-crown transition up to a local maximum, wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin at a distance CGy from the origin the crown height is greater than the face height, and wherein in a y-z plane passing through the origin the skirt-to-crown transition proximate the trailing edge is lower than the origin.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the golf club head has a crown height to face height ratio of at least 1.12.