Putter with vibration isolation

Abstract

A golf club head with a vibration dampening insert is disclosed. The club head includes a face member, a dampening member, and a body member. The dampening member is sandwiched between the face member and the body member and extends along a large percentage of the face member. The dampening layer attenuates vibrations, providing consistent feel across the length of the striking face.

1 . A golf club head, comprising: 
 a face member having a striking face and a rear surface opposite said striking face, said rear surface having a first perimeter profile;    a dampening member coupled to said rear surface and having a perimeter profile that is substantially the same as said face member perimeter profile; and    a body member coupled to said dampening member.    
   
   
       2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said face member is formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and said body member is formed of steel.  
   
   
       3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said body member includes a hosel for attaching a shaft to the club head.  
   
   
       4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said dampening member is coupled to substantially all of said rear surface.  
   
   
       5 . The golf club head of  claim 4 , further including mechanical fasteners coupling said face member, said dampening member, and said body member.  
   
   
       6 . The golf club head of  claim 4 , wherein said face member is substantially isolated from said body member by said dampening member.  
   
   
       7 . The golf club head of  claim 6 , wherein said face member is completely isolated from said body member by said dampening member.  
   
   
       8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said dampening member is an adhesive that couples said face member and said body member.  
   
   
       9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said dampening member has a thickness from approximately 0.02 inch to approximately 1 inch.  
   
   
       10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein said thickness is from approximately 0.03 inch to approximately 0.08 inch.  
   
   
       11 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the face member has a thickness from approximately 0.05 inch to approximately 0.25 inch.  
   
   
       12 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein said thickness is from approximately 0.1 inch to approximately 0.2 inch.  
   
   
       13 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the golf club head is a putter head.  
   
   
       14 . A method of making a golf club head, comprising: 
 providing a mold including a first mold plate with a first cavity and a second mold plate with a second cavity;    providing a face member, a body member, and a dampening member;    positioning said face member in one of said first and second cavities;    positioning said body member in the other of said first and second cavities;    positioning said dampening member within one of said cavities;    compressing said mold plates toward each other under a predetermined force; and    retaining said mold plates in a compressed state for a predetermined amount of time.    
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising placing adhesive between the club parts prior to said compressing.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising roughening a surface of at least one of said face member and said body member prior to said compressing.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising maintaining said mold at an elevated temperature during at least a portion of said retaining.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 releasing said mold plates from said compressed state;    removing the club head from the mold; and    removing any excess portions of said dampening member.