Golf club head with stabilizing sole

Abstract

The invention generally provides a golf club head having a sole with a region for surface contact such that, when an adjustable club is given different settings, if the club is held at address resting on a surface, the club naturally comes to a rest position in which it exhibits substantially the same face angle in any adjusted setting.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf club head comprising a face, a crown, a skirt, and a sole, wherein the sole is contoured such that, when a golf club including the club head is held at address resting on a surface, if the club head has a first loft, the club head makes contact with the surface at a first contact point and the club head rests in a position having a first face angle;
 if the club head has a second loft, the club head makes contact with the surface at a second contact point and the club head rests in a position having a second face angle; and   the first and the second face angle are both substantially the same.   
     
     
         2 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first loft is between about 7.5° and about 9.5° and the second loft is between about 11° and about 15.5°. 
     
     
         3 . The club head of  claim 2 , wherein the first contact point and the second contact point are within about 15 mm from each other in a face-aft direction. 
     
     
         4 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first contact point and the second contact point are within a lowest region of the sole if the club is at address. 
     
     
         5 . The club head of  claim 4 , wherein the region has a surface area between about 1 cm 2  and about 20 cm 2 . 
     
     
         6 . The club head of  claim 5 , wherein the region has a width W measured in the face-aft direction, a length L measured in the heel-toe direction, and a setback S from the front-most point on the club, and a height H such that when the club is at address with any loft setting, every point on the sole outside of the stabilizing element is more than a distance H above the ground surface, and
 W is between about 1 mm and about 20 mm, L is between about 2 cm and about 20 cm, S is between about 1 cm and about 4 cm, and H is between about 0.01 mm and about 5 mm.   
     
     
         7 . The club head of  claim 4 , wherein more than about 70% of the stabilizing element is located on a heel side of the sole. 
     
     
         8 . A golf club head comprising:
 a stabilizing element protruding from the sole by a height H, having a maximum length L, a maximum width W, and a setback S from a front-most point on the club face when a golf club including the club head is held at address,   wherein S is more than about 1 cm, L is more than about 1 cm, W is more than about 1 mm, and H is more than about 0.1 mm.   
     
     
         9 . The club head of  claim 8 , wherein:
 S is between about 1.5 cm and about 3.5 cm;   L is between about 2.5 cm and about 12 cm;   W is between about 3 mm and about 20 mm; and   H is between about 0.3 mm and about 2 mm.   
     
     
         10 . The club head of  claim 8 , wherein H is defined as, when a golf club including the club head is held at address, the average distance from the ground of points on the perimeter of the stabilizing element directly fore and aft of a ground contact point if the club is at address resting on flat ground. 
     
     
         11 . The club head of  claim 8 , further wherein the sole is configured such that, when a golf club including the club head is held at address in either of a first or second configuration such that a face of the club head has a first or second loft setting, respectively, the club head makes contact with the ground only within the stabilizing element. 
     
     
         12 . The club head of  claim 11 , wherein the first loft is between about 8° and about 9.5° and the second loft is between about 11° and about 12.5°. 
     
     
         13 . The club head of  claim 11 , further wherein in either the first or second configuration, the club has a balance point with a neutral face angle. 
     
     
         14 . The club head of  claim 11 , wherein the club exhibits substantially the same face angle when held at address in any configuration. 
     
     
         15 . A golf club head comprising a face, a sole, a crown, a skirt, and a hosel, wherein the sole comprises a stabilizing element protruding downward from the surrounding sole area, the stabilizing element having a length L in the heel-toe direction, a width W in the face-aft direction, and a height H in the vertical direction when the club is at address,
 and the surrounding sole area includes that area of the sole having the same width as the stabilizing element and extending forward and aft of the stabilizing element by a distance E,   wherein the stabilizing element is set back from the foremost point on the face by a distance S, and wherein H is defined as the average height from the ground to all portions of the surrounding sole area; and   E is more than about 1 cm, S is more than about 1 cm, L is more than about 1 cm, W is more than about 1 mm, and H is more than about 0.1 mm.   
     
     
         16 . The club head of  claim 15 , further configured to be connected to a shaft in a first configuration giving a first loft setting and a second configuration giving a second loft setting, wherein the first loft is between about 6° and about 9.5° and the second loft is between about 11° and about 14.5°, and further wherein if the club is held at address in the first configuration or in the second configuration, it balances with substantially the same face angle. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club of  claim 15 , wherein:
 S is between about 1.5 mm and about 5cm; and   W is between about 6 mm and about 15 mm.   
     
     
         18 . The club head of  claim 15 , wherein:
 S is between about 1.5 cm and about 3.5 cm;   L is between about 2.5 cm and about 12 cm;   W is between about 3 mm and about 20 mm; and   H is between about 0.3 mm and about 2 mm.