Golf club heads

Abstract

Some disclosed golf club heads include body having at least one raised sole portion and a cantilevered ledge extending down around a perimeter of the club head below the level of the raised sole portion. Some disclosed golf club heads include one or more sole openings in the body and a sole insert that is mounted inside the body over the sole openings. The sole can include weight tracks as well, and a rear weight track can extend between a toe side sole opening and a heel side sole opening. A crown insert can also be included that is mounted over an upper opening in the body.

1 . A wood-type golf club head comprising:
 a body having a front side, a rear side, a top side, a bottom side, a toe side, and a heel side, the body comprising a face positioned at the front side of the club head, a hosel positioned at the heel side of the club head, a sole positioned at the bottom side of the club head, and a crown positioned at the top side of the club head;   wherein the club head has an interior cavity within the body and the club head has a volume of from about 350 cm 3  to about 600 cm 3 ;   wherein the sole comprises a front ground contact portion adjacent the face and a raised sole portion rearward of the front ground contact portion;   wherein the raised sole portion has a heel end that is bounded by a heel portion of the body, a toe end that is bounded by a toe portion of the body, and a mid portion that is positioned below the heel end and toe end when the club head is a normal address position;   wherein the heel portion of the body extends below the heel end of the raised sole portion and the toe portion of the body extends below the toe end of the raised sole portion;   wherein the raised sole portion has an average heel-toe curvature measured midway between a frontward most portion of the body and a rearward most portion of the body and extending through the heel end, the mid portion, and the toe end of the raised sole portion;   wherein the body defines a reference arc having a reference heel-toe curvature, the reference arc extending in the heel-toe direction midway between the frontward most portion of the body and the rearward most portion of the body and extending from a heelward most point on the heel portion of the body, through the mid portion of the raised sole portion, and to a toeward most portion on the toe portion of the body; and   wherein the average heel-toe curvature is greater than the reference heel-toe curvature by at least 5%.   
     
     
         2 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the average heel-toe curvature is greater than the reference heel-toe curvature by at least 10%. 
     
     
         3 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the toe portion of the body comprises a toe cantilevered ledge that extends downwardly from the crown below a level of the toe end of the raised sole portion. 
     
     
         4 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the heel portion of the body comprises a heel cantilevered ledge that extends downwardly from the crown below a level of the heel end of the raised sole portion. 
     
     
         5 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein a majority of the raised sole portion is located on a toeward side of the club head. 
     
     
         6 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the raised sole portion extends across a majority of the sole. 
     
     
         7 . The club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a front channel extending in a heel-toe direction rearward of the front ground contact portion and forward of the raised sole portion. 
     
     
         8 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the body comprises a rear ground contact surface positioned rearward of the front channel and bordering the raised sole portion, wherein the rear ground contact surface is position below the level of the raised sole portion immediately adjacent to the rear ground contact surface. 
     
     
         9 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the front channel comprises a front weight track extending in a heel-toe direction, and the club head further comprises a rear weight track extending in a front-rear direction behind the front weight track. 
     
     
         10 . The club head of  claim 1 , wherein the body includes a toe-side sole opening and a heel-side sole opening, and the club head further comprises a sole insert that is mounted inside the body and covers the toe-side sole opening and the heel-side sole opening in the body. 
     
     
         11 . The club head of  claim 10 , wherein the toe-side sole opening and the heel-side sole opening are each part of the raised sole portion. 
     
     
         12 . The club head of  claim 10 , wherein the sole insert is sized to fit through a crown opening in the body before a crown insert is secured over the crown opening. 
     
     
         13 . The club head of  claim 10 , wherein the sole insert is positioned above an adjustable weight track in or on the sole. 
     
     
         14 . The club head of  claim 10 , wherein the body includes ledges that at least partially surround the toe-side sole opening and the heel-side sole opening, and the ledges are configured to seat the sole insert such that the sole insert is flush with surrounding portions of the body. 
     
     
         15 . A wood-type golf club head comprising:
 a front side, a rear side, a top side, a bottom side, a toe side, and a heel side, the club head comprising a face positioned at the front side of the club head, a hosel positioned at the heel side of the club head, a sole positioned at the bottom side of the club head, and a crown positioned at the top side of the club head, the club head having an interior cavity and a volume of from about 350 cm 3  to about 600 cm 3 ;   a club head body defining an upper crown opening, a toe-side sole opening, and a heel-side sole opening;   a crown insert that is secured to the body over the crown opening;   a sole insert that is positioned inside the body and secured to the body over the toe-side sole opening and over the heel-side sole opening;   a front channel in the sole adjacent to the face and forward of the toe-side sole opening and the heel-side sole opening; and   a rear weight track positioned on the sole below the sole insert and between the toe-side sole opening and the heel-side sole opening in the body.   
     
     
         16 . The club head of  claim 15 , wherein the club head comprises a first raised sole portion in an area of the toe-side sole opening and a second raised sole portion in an area of the heel-side sole opening, and the first and second raised sole portions are elevated above a level of a front ground contact surface that is forward of the front channel and elevated above a rear ground contact surface that is positioned at a rear of the sole, rearward of the heel-side sole opening and heelward of the rear weight track. 
     
     
         17 . The club head of  claim 16 , wherein the first and second raised sole portions have heel-toe curvatures that are both greater than heel-toe curvatures of the front and rear ground contact surfaces. 
     
     
         18 . A wood-type golf club head comprising:
 a body having a front side, a rear side, a top side, a bottom side, a toe side, and a heel side, the body comprising a metallic face positioned at the front side of the club head defining a face area, a hosel positioned at the heel side of the club head defining a hosel axis, a sole positioned at the bottom side of the club head, and a crown positioned at the top side of the club head;   wherein the club head has an interior cavity within the body and the club head has a volume of from 380 cm 3  to about 440 cm 3 ;   wherein the sole comprises a raised sole portion rearward of the front side of the club head;   wherein the raised sole portion has an average heel-toe curvature;   wherein the body defines a reference arc having a reference heel-toe curvature;   wherein the average heel-toe curvature of the raised sole portion is greater than the reference heel-toe curvature by at least 5%;   wherein the golf club head defines a forgiveness ratio that is at least 0.915, wherein the forgiveness ratio is defined as (hosel axis to back dimension)*(face area)/(volume).   
     
     
         19 . The club head of  claim 18 , wherein a ratio of the club head's moment of inertia about its z-axis to the volume of the club head is greater than 0.99 kg/m. 
     
     
         20 . The club head of  claim 19 , wherein the golf club head has a forgiveness ratio of at least 0.970.