Golf club head with uniform response front face

Abstract

A golf club head has a face insert the effective resiliency of which varies across a striking surface on a front face of the club head. The face insert, which is disposed in a cavity formed in the club head, is supported from beneath by a substrate which is formed of one or more materials to form a low resiliency region near a central of the cavity and a high resiliency region near heel and toe regions of the cavity. By varying the resiliency of the substrate behind the face insert, the effective resiliency, which is a composite of the face insert and the substrate, may be manipulated so that the effective coefficient of restitution between the club head and a golf ball may be made uniform across the entire front face.

1 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a body having a front face, a rear surface and a cavity extending from the front face toward the rear surface, said cavity having a bottom surface;    a first face insert formed of a first material, said first face insert having a front surface and a back surface, said first face insert disposed within the cavity with the back surface of said first face insert adjacent the bottom surface of the cavity;    a second face insert formed of a second material, said second face insert having a front surface and a back surface, said second face insert disposed within the cavity with the back surface of said second face insert adjacent the bottom surface of the cavity; and    a third face insert disposed within the cavity atop said first face insert and said second face insert, said third face insert including a plurality of elongate rod elements each having a first end, a second end and a side surface, said plurality of elongate rod elements arranged in a parallel closely packed array such that the side surface of each of said plurality of elongate rod elements is in contact with the side surface of an adjacent one of said plurality of elongate rod elements, the first ends of said plurality of elongate rod elements abutting the front surface of one of said first face insert and said second face insert, and said second ends of said plurality of elongate rod elements exposed to form a striking surface on the front face of the body.    
   
   
       2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the second material forming said second face insert has a lower resiliency than the first material forming said first face insert.  
   
   
       3 . The golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein said second material is an elastomer.  
   
   
       4 . The golf club head of  claim 3 , wherein said first material is a metal alloy.  
   
   
       5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said cavity comprises a central region, a heel region and a toe region, and wherein said first face insert is disposed in one of said heel and toe regions and said second face insert is disposed in said central region.  
   
   
       6 . The golf club head of  claim 5 , wherein the second material forming said second face insert has a lower resiliency than the first material forming said first face insert such that said front face proximal said central region will exhibit the same effective coefficient of restitution as said front face proximal said one of said heel and toe regions.  
   
   
       7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said cavity comprises a central region, a heel region and a toe region, and wherein said first insert is disposed in said heel region of said cavity and said second face insert is disposed in said central region of said cavity.  
   
   
       8 . The golf club head of  claim 7 , further comprising a fourth face insert disposed in said toe region of said cavity and formed of the first material.  
   
   
       9 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , wherein the second material forming said second face insert has a lower resiliency than the first material forming said first face insert and said fourth face insert, such that said front face proximal said central region will exhibit the same effective coefficient of restitution as said front face proximal said heel region and said toe region.  
   
   
       10 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a body having a rear surface, a front face, a heel end, a toe end and a cavity extending from the front face toward the rear surface, said cavity having a central region and a bottom surface;    a face insert having a front surface and a back surface, said front surface including a striking surface on the front face of said body; and    a substrate disposed in said cavity sandwiched between the back surface of said face insert and the bottom surface of said cavity, said substrate having a resiliency that varies from a high resiliency value proximal the toe end of said body to a low resiliency value proximal the central region of said cavity such that said golf club head exhibits a substantially uniform effective coefficient of restitution across the face insert when striking a golf ball.    
   
   
       11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein said face insert comprises a plurality of elongate rod elements each having a first end, a second end and a side surface, and said plurality of elongate rod elements arranged in a parallel closely packed array such that the side surface of each of said plurality of elongate rod elements is in contact with a side surface of an adjacent one of said plurality of elongate rod elements.  
   
   
       12 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein said substrate comprises a first insert and a second insert, said first insert being formed of a first material having a first resiliency value, said second insert being formed of a second material having a second resiliency value less than said first resiliency value, and said second insert being located proximal the central region of said cavity.  
   
   
       13 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein said substrate comprises a first insert and a second insert, said first insert being formed of a first material having a first resiliency value, said second insert being formed of a second material having a second resiliency value less than said first resiliency value, and said second insert being located proximal the central region of said cavity.  
   
   
       14 . The golf club head of  claim 13 , wherein said first material is a metal alloy and said second material is an elastomer.  
   
   
       15 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein said substrate also has said high resiliency value proximal the heel end of said body.