Golf club heads with variable face thickness

Abstract

A golf club head includes a main body having a toe, a heel opposite the toe, a sole, and a top portion opposite the sole. The club head further includes a striking face or face insert with a central region including a face center, a first average thickness, and variable thickness. An upper region above the central region has a second average thickness less than the first average thickness and an upper groove having a width greater than 5.0 mm. A toe region toe-ward of the central region has a third average thickness less than the first average thickness and a toe side groove having a width greater than 2.0 mm. An intermediate region at least partially surrounds the central region between the central region and each of the upper region and the toe region. In one aspect, the intermediate region has a fourth average thickness greater than the first average thickness.

1 . A golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:
 a golf club head main body having a toe, a heel opposite the toe, a sole, and a top portion opposite the sole; and   a striking face having a face center and comprising:
 a central region including the face center, a first average thickness, and a variable thickness; 
 an upper region above the central region and comprising an upper groove having a width greater than 5.0 mm and a second average thickness that is less than the first average thickness; 
 a toe region toe-ward of the central region and comprising a toe side groove having a width greater than 2.0 mm and a third average thickness that is less than the first average thickness; and 
 an intermediate region at least partially surrounding the central region and disposed between the central region and each of the upper groove and the toe groove, the intermediate region having a fourth average thickness that is greater than the first average thickness. 
   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region comprises one or more subregions on a rear surface of the striking face in a heel-to-toe direction forming the variable thickness thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the striking face comprises a face insert fixedly attached to the golf club head main body. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the golf club head has a blade length less than 80 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a loft angle LA;   a golf club head mass mh, wherein:   
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   2.1 
                       
                   g 
                   / 
                   degree 
                   * 
                   LA 
                 
                 + 
                 190 
               
               < 
               mh 
               < 
               
                 
                   2.1 
                       
                   g 
                   / 
                   degree 
                   * 
                   LA 
                 
                 + 
                 210. 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 5 , wherein the striking face further defines a virtual face plane and the golf club head further comprises:
 a virtual center plane that extends vertically through the face center and perpendicular to the virtual face plane;   a center of gravity of the golf club head located no more than 2.0 mm from the virtual center plane; and   a moment of inertia about a vertical axis extending through the center of gravity, Izz, that satisfies: Izz>mh*9.3 cm 2 .   
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the upper groove is equal to or less than 1.5 mm. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the width of the upper groove is greater than 6.0 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the width of the toe groove is less than the width of the upper groove. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the striking face further comprises:
 a sweet spot corresponding to a first coefficient of restitution COR1; and   an auxiliary location on the striking face spaced at least 7.5 mm from the sweet spot corresponding to a second coefficient of restitution COR2, where: COR2≥0.98*COR1.   
     
     
         11 . A golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:
 a golf club head main body having a toe, a heel opposite the toe, a sole, and a top portion opposite the sole; and   a face insert fixedly attached to the golf club head main body, the face insert comprising:
 a striking face having a face center; 
 a central region including the face center, a first average thickness, and a variable thickness; 
 an upper region above the central region and comprising an upper groove having a width greater than 5.0 mm and a second average thickness that is less than the first average thickness; 
 a toe region toe-ward of the central region and comprising a toe side groove having a width greater than 2.0 mm and a third average thickness that is less than the first average thickness; and 
 an intermediate region at least partially surrounding the central region and disposed between the central region and each of the upper groove and the toe groove. 
   
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the upper groove comprises a thickness equal to or less than 1.5 mm. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the width of the upper groove is greater than 6.0 mm. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the width of the toe groove is less than the width of the upper groove. 
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the striking face further comprises:
 a sweet spot corresponding to a first coefficient of restitution COR1; and   an auxiliary location on the striking face spaced at least 7.5 mm from the sweet spot corresponding to a second coefficient of restitution COR2, where: COR2≥0.98*COR1.   
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the striking face has a weighted coefficient of restitution greater than or equal to 0.79. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the intermediate region includes a fourth average thickness that is greater than the first average thickness. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a loft angle LA;   a golf club head mass mh, wherein:   
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   2.1 
                       
                   g 
                   / 
                   degree 
                   * 
                   LA 
                 
                 + 
                 190 
               
               < 
               mh 
               < 
               
                 
                   2.1 
                       
                   g 
                   / 
                   degree 
                   * 
                   LA 
                 
                 + 
                 210. 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 18 , wherein the striking face further defines a virtual face plane and the golf club head further comprises:
 a virtual center plane that extends vertically through the face center and perpendicular to the virtual face plane;   a center of gravity of the golf club head located no more than 2.0 mm from the virtual center plane; and   a moment of inertia about a vertical axis extending through the center of gravity, Izz, that satisfies: Izz>mh*9.3 cm 2 .   
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region comprises a heel-side subregion having a first thickness and a toe-side subregion having a second thickness that is different than the first thickness.