Golf club head with flexure

Abstract

A golf club head including a crown, a sole, a hosel, a face and a flexure. The face has a multi-component construction and is configured to provide varying stiffness while minimizing the change in thickness across the face. The flexure is disposed behind the face and provides compliance during an impact between the golf club head and a golf ball.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;   a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head, comprising a transmittal portion, a flexure and a rear portion;   a side wall extending between the crown and the sole;   a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore; and   a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the transmittal portion at a leading edge,   wherein the flexure is spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface by the transmittal portion, and comprises a front wall, an apex and a rear wall, wherein the front wall extends into a cavity defined by the golf club head and the rear wall extends into the cavity and the front wall and the rear wall are coupled at the apex, wherein the apex of the flexure has a thickness that is greater than the thickness of the front wall and greater than the thickness of the rear wall of flexure,   wherein the thickness of the transmittal portion is at least 50% of a minimum face thickness,   wherein the face comprises an outer layer forming a portion of the ball striking surface, a back layer and a chip insert, and the outer layer and back layer are coupled and define an enclosed cavity and the chip insert is disposed in the enclosed cavity, and   wherein the face has a Face Thickness Ratio of less than about 0.875, wherein the Face Thickness Ratio is defined as a thickness of the outer layer at the geometric face center divided by a thickness of the backing layer at the geometric face center.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of at least a portion of the face varies from a perimeter of the face to the geometric face center of the face, and wherein the thickness varies by less than 2 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the material of the chip insert has a higher Young's modulus than at least one of the outer layer and the back layer. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the chip insert has a volume of about 371.45 mm 3 . 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the flexure is spaced from the ball-striking surface by a distance that is between 20% and 50% of a CG-Z-fc distance between the geometric face center of the golf club head and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a horizontal Z-axis that extends from the front to the aft of the golf club head. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a neutral axis, extending from the geometric face center normal to the ball striking surface rearward, intersects the cavity. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a sum of a height and a width of the flexure is within 30% of a CG-Y-g distance between a ground plane and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a vertical Y-axis. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the apex is within 30% of the larger of the thickness of front wall and the thickness of the rear wall. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , wherein the thickness of the apex is within 15% of the larger of the thickness of front wall and the thickness of the rear wall. 
     
     
         10 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;   a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head, comprising a transmittal portion, a flexure and a rear portion;   a side wall extending between the crown and the sole;   a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore; and   a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the transmittal portion at a leading edge,   wherein the flexure is spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface by the transmittal portion, and comprises a front wall, an apex and a rear wall, wherein the front wall extends into a cavity defined by the golf club head and the rear wall extends into the cavity and the front wall and the rear wall are coupled at the apex, wherein the apex of the flexure has a thickness that is greater than the thickness of the front wall and greater than the thickness of the rear wall of flexure,   wherein a thickness of the sole rearward and immediately adjacent the rear wall of the flexure is less than 70% of the minimum thickness of the transmittal portion,   wherein the face comprises an outer layer forming a portion of the ball striking surface, a back layer and a chip insert, and the outer layer and back layer are coupled and define an enclosed cavity and the chip insert is disposed in the enclosed cavity, and   wherein the face has a Face Thickness Ratio of less than about 0.875, wherein the Face Thickness Ratio is defined as a thickness of the outer layer at the geometric face center divided by a thickness of the backing layer at the geometric face center.   
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the thickness of at least a portion of the face varies from a perimeter of the face to the geometric face center of the face, and wherein the thickness varies by less than 2 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the material of the chip insert has a higher Young's modulus than at least one of the outer layer and the back layer. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the chip insert has a volume of about 371.45 mm 3 . 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the flexure is spaced from the ball-striking surface by a distance that is between 20% and 50% of a CG-Z-fc distance between the geometric face center of the golf club head and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a horizontal Z-axis that extends from the front to the aft of the golf club head. 
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein a neutral axis, extending from the geometric face center normal to the ball striking surface rearward, intersects the cavity. 
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the thickness of the apex is within 30% of the larger of the thickness of front wall and the thickness of the rear wall. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 16 , wherein the thickness of the apex is within 15% of the larger of the thickness of front wall and the thickness of the rear wall.