US-12616882-B2 - Golf club head

US12616882B2US 12616882 B2US12616882 B2US 12616882B2US-12616882-B2

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a golf club head comprising at least one crown opening and at least one crown insert attached to the body and covering the at least one crown opening. The golf club head further comprises at least one sole opening and at least one sole insert attached to the body and covering the at least one sole opening. The golf club head additionally includes at least one weight member configured to clamp first and second ledges at selected locations along a sliding weight track. The golf club head also comprise a coefficient of restitution (COR) feature located on the sole of the golf club head. The at least one crown insert is formed from a composite material having a density between 1 g/cc and 2 g/cc. The at least one sole insert is formed from a composite material having a density between 1 g/cc and 2 g/cc.

Inventors

Matthew Johnson
Mattieu BOVEE
David Bennett
Joseph Hoffman
Joseph R. Nielson
Nathan T. Sargent
Christopher J. Harbert
Jared Guttmann
Christian R. Wester
Jake Feuerstein

Assignees

TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230719

Claims (20)

1 . A golf club head, comprising: a body, defining an interior cavity and comprising: a sole portion, positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head; a crown portion, positioned at a top portion of the golf club head; a skirt portion, positioned around a periphery of the golf club head between the sole portion and the crown portion; a forward region; a rearward region; a face portion, at the forward region of the body and comprising a strike face; and a frame comprising a first crown opening, a first sole opening, and a second sole opening, a first portion of the frame separating the first sole opening and the second sole opening; a first weight configured to be secured to the body rearward of at least one of the first sole opening and the second sole opening; and a crown insert attached to the frame and covering the first crown opening; wherein: a lower portion of the frame includes a heel-side shaft connection port, including a fastener opening for connecting a flight control technology (FCT) component; the golf club head has a crown height, as measured relative to a ground plane when the club head is in a normal address position on the ground plane; a first crown height is defined at a face-to-crown transition region where the face connects to a crown of the club head near a front end of the frame, a second crown height is defined at a crown-to-skirt transition region where the crown connects to a skirt of the golf club head near an aft end of the frame, and a maximum crown height is located on the crown insert rearward of the first crown height and forward of the second crown height; the maximum crown height is greater than both the first and second crown heights; the golf club head has a total club head mass between 190 grams and 210 grams, a mass of the club head located above half of a peak crown height is less than or equal to 77 grams, and a percentage of the mass of the club head located above half of the peak crown height is less than or equal to 39% of the total club head mass of the golf club head; and the golf club head has a moment of inertia about a CG z-axis (Izz) and a moment of inertia about a CG x-axis (Ixx), and a ratio of Ixx to Izz is at least 0.62 and Izz is greater than 400 kg-mm{circumflex over ( )}2.
2 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the frame, separating the first sole opening and the second sole opening, is a cross-support and is located toe-ward of a club head origin.
3 . The golf club head according to claim 2 , wherein at least a portion of the first sole opening is on a toe side of the body and at least a portion of the second sole opening is on the toe side of the body.
4 . The golf club head according to claim 3 , wherein at least a portion the first sole opening is forward of the second sole opening.
5 . The golf club head according to claim 3 , further comprising a first sole insert attached to the frame and covering the first sole opening and the second sole opening.
6 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the frame, separating the first sole opening and the second sole opening, extends in a substantially front to back direction.
7 . The golf club head according to claim 6 , wherein at least a portion of the first sole opening is on a toe side of the body and at least a portion of the second sole opening is on a heel side of the body.
8 . The golf club head according to claim 7 , further comprising: a first sole insert attached to the frame and covering the first sole opening; and a second sole insert attached to the frame and covering the second sole opening.
9 . The golf club head according to claim 6 , wherein: the first portion of the frame, separating the first sole opening and the second sole opening, has a variable width as measured in a heel to toe direction; the first portion of the frame has a first width proximate a forward portion of the first sole opening and a second width proximate a rearward portion of the first sole opening; and the second width is greater than the first width.
10 . The golf club head according to claim 6 , wherein the first portion of the frame, separating the first sole opening and the second sole opening, has a variable width, as measured in a heel to toe direction, that increases proximate a rear portion of the club head.
11 . The golf club head according to claim 6 , wherein: the first portion of the frame, separating the first sole opening and the second sole opening, has a toe-side wall, proximate the first sole opening, and a heel-side wall, proximate the second sole opening; and the toe-side wall and the heel-side wall diverge from one another proximate the rearward region.
12 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein the frame further comprises a spine portion extending from a rearward portion of the first crown opening to a forward portion of the first crown opening.
13 . The golf club head according to claim 12 , wherein the crown insert covers the spine portion.
14 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , further comprising: a first sole insert, attached to the frame and covering the first sole opening; a second sole insert, attached to the frame and covering the second sole opening; and a weight track; wherein at least one of the first sole insert and the second sole insert overhangs the weight track.
15 . The golf club head according to claim 14 , further comprising a coefficient of restitution (COR) feature formed in the sole portion of the body between the face portion and the weight track.
16 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , further comprising a coefficient of restitution (COR) feature formed in the sole portion of the frame behind the face portion and forward of the first sole opening and the second sole opening.
17 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , further comprising a second weight configured to be secured to the body.
18 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , further comprising a second weight configured to be secured to the body at the forward region.
19 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein the first weight is selectively adjustable to adjust a CGy coordinate of the golf club head within a range of adjustability of between 3 mm and 8 mm.
20 . The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein the first weight is selectively adjustable to adjust a CGx coordinate of the golf club head within a range of adjustability of between 2 mm and 8 mm.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/722,632, filed Apr. 18, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/145,024, filed Jan. 8, 2021, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 17/100,438, filed Nov. 20, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/860,534, filed Jan. 2, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/440,886, filed Dec. 30, 2016, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/259,026, filed Sep. 7, 2016, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/255,638, filed Sep. 2, 2016, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/087,002, filed on Mar. 31, 2016, which application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/205,601, filed on Aug. 14, 2015, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/859,071, filed Dec. 29, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD This disclosure relates generally to golf clubs, and more particularly to a head of a golf club with a comparatively low vertical positioning of a center of gravity of the golf club head relative to a crown height of the golf club head. BACKGROUND Modern “wood-type” golf clubs (notably, “drivers,” “fairway woods,” and “utility or hybrid clubs”), are generally called “metalwoods” since they tend to be made of strong, lightweight metals, such as titanium. An exemplary metalwood golf club, such as a driver or fairway wood, typically includes a hollow shaft and a club head coupled to a lower end of the shaft. Most modern versions of club heads are made, at least in part, from a lightweight but strong metal, such as a titanium alloy. In most cases, the golf club head is includes a hollow body to which a face plate, or face portion, is attached or integrally formed. The face portion has a front surface, known as a striking face, configured to contact the golf ball during a proper golf swing. Center-of-gravity (CG) and mass moments of inertia critically affect a golf club head's performance, such as launch angle and flight trajectory on impact with a golf ball, among other characteristics. A mass moment of inertia is a measure of a club head's resistance to twisting about the golf club head's center-of-gravity, for example on impact with a golf ball. In general, a moment of inertia of a mass about a given axis is proportional to the square of the distance of the mass away from the axis. In other words, increasing distance of a mass from a given axis results in an increased moment of inertia of the mass about that axis. Higher golf club head moments of inertia result in lower golf club head rotation on impact with a golf ball, particularly on “off-center” impacts with a golf ball, e.g., mis-hits. Lower rotation in response to a mis-hit results in a player's perception that the club head is forgiving. Generally, one measure of “forgiveness” can be defined as the ability of a golf club head to reduce the effects of mis-hits on flight trajectory and shot distance, e.g., hits resulting from striking the golf ball at a less than ideal impact location on the golf club head. Greater forgiveness of the golf club head generally equates to a higher probability of hitting a straight golf shot. Moreover, higher moments of inertia typically result in greater ball speed on impact with the golf club head, which can translate to increased golf shot distance. Most fairway wood club heads are intended to hit the ball directly from the ground, e.g., the fairway, although many golfers also use fairway woods to hit a ball from a tee. Accordingly, fairway woods are subject to certain design constraints to maintain playability. For example, compared to typical drivers, which are usually designed to hit balls from a tee, fairway woods often have a relatively shallow head height, providing a relatively lower center of gravity and a smaller top view profile for reducing contact with the ground. Such fairway woods inspire confidence in golfers for hitting from the ground. Also, fairway woods typically have a higher loft than most drivers, although some drivers and fairway woods share similar lofts. For example, most fairway woods have a loft greater than or equal to about 13 degrees, and most drivers have a loft between about 7 degrees and about 15 degrees. Faced with constraints such as those just described, golf club manufacturers often must choose to improve one performance characteristic at the expense of another. For example, some conventional golf club heads offer increased moments of inertia to promote forgiveness while at the same time incurring a higher than desired CG-position and increased club head height. Club heads with high CG and/or large height might perform well when striking a ball positioned on