Golf club head

Abstract

An iron-type golf club head is disclosed having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a front portion, a rear portion, and a striking face. A back wall is also disclosed in the rear portion enclosing a portion of the rear portion to create an enclosed cavity. The cavity is defined by at least a rear surface of the striking face, an inner back wall surface, and the sole portion. A plug and a filler material is located within the enclosed cavity. The filler material surrounds the plug and is configured to hold the plug in place. The plug is lighter than the filler material.

We claim: 
     
       1. A hollow iron-type golf club head comprising:
 a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a front portion, a rear portion, and a striking face having an unsupported face area of between about 300 mm 2  to about 4,000 mm 2 ;   a back wall in the rear portion enclosing a substantial portion of the rear portion to create a substantially enclosed cavity, the enclosed cavity being defined by at least a rear surface of the striking face, an inner back wall surface, and the sole portion,   at least one plug located within the enclosed cavity, the at least one plug being compressed between the rear surface of the striking face and the back wall in the rear portion;   a filler material located within the enclosed cavity, the filler material substantially surrounding the at least one plug and being configured to hold the at least one plug in place, the golf club head defining an aperture into the enclosed cavity, the aperture being configured to allow the cavity to be filled with the filler material;   wherein the unsupported face area includes a thickened central region;   wherein the at least one plug is positioned to be in contact with at least a portion of the thickened central region; and   wherein the at least one plug occupies less than 20% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity.   
     
     
       2. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the enclosed cavity has a volume between about 1 cc and 200 cc. 
     
     
       3. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the enclosed cavity has a volume between about 10 cc and 20 cc. 
     
     
       4. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one plug has a volume between about 0.1 cc and about 1 cc. 
     
     
       5. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one plug occupies between about 1% to about 10% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       6. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one plug occupies between about 0.5% to about 5% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       7. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the filler material is an expanding foam material having a density between about 0.03 g/cc and about 0.19 g/cc. 
     
     
       8. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the filler material occupies about 50% to about 99% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       9. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the back wall includes at least a first aperture, the first aperture being configured to allow the at least one plug to be inserted into the first aperture and is configured to allow the at least one plug to move from a first position to a second position. 
     
     
       10. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the back wall includes at least one slot, the at least one slot being connected to the first aperture and is configured to secure the at least one plug. 
     
     
       11. A hollow iron-type golf club head comprising:
 a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a front portion, a rear portion, and a striking face having an unsupported face area of between about 300 mm 2  to about 4,000 mm 2 ;   a back wall in the rear portion enclosing a substantial portion of the rear portion to create a substantially enclosed cavity, the enclosed cavity being defined by at least a rear surface of the striking face, an inner back wall surface, and the sole portion;   at least one plug located within the enclosed cavity, the at least one plug being compressed between the rear surface of the striking face and the back wall in the rear portion;   wherein the at least one plug occupies less than 20% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity, and   wherein the back wall includes at least a first aperture, the first aperture being configured to allow the at least one plug to be inserted into the first aperture and being configured to allow the at least one plug to move from a first position to a second position.   
     
     
       12. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the enclosed cavity has a volume between about 1 cc and 200 cc. 
     
     
       13. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the enclosed cavity has a volume between about 10 cc and 20 cc. 
     
     
       14. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one plug has a volume between about 0.1 cc and about 1 cc. 
     
     
       15. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one plug occupies between about 1% to about 10% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       16. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one plug occupies between about 0.5% to about 5% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       17. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , further comprising a filler material located within the enclosed cavity, the filler material substantially surrounding the at least one plug and being configured to hold the at least one plug in place. 
     
     
       18. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 17 , wherein the filler material is an expanding foam material having a density between about 0.03 g/cc and about 0.19 g/cc. 
     
     
       19. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 17 , wherein the filler material occupies about 50% to about 99% of the total club head cavity volume in the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       20. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 17 , wherein the filler material completely fills a remaining cavity volume around the at least one plug. 
     
     
       21. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the coefficient of restitution of the club is greater than about 0.8. 
     
     
       22. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the back wall includes at least one slot, the at least one slot being connected to the first aperture and is configured to secure the at least one plug. 
     
     
       23. An iron-type golf club head comprising:
 a body portion having a heel portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a sole portion, and a rear portion;   a striking face having an ideal striking point positioned at an origin of the striking face, a striking face thickness of less than about 3 mm, an unsupported face surface area within a range of between about 450 mm 2  to about 3500 mm 2 , and comprising a striking plate welded to a portion of the body portion;   wherein the rear portion and the striking plate extend upward from the sole portion toward the top-line portion and create an enclosed cavity bounded by a back wall of the rear portion, at least a portion of the sole portion, at least a portion of the striking plate, and at least a portion of the top-line portion; and   a filler material located within the enclosed cavity and occupying no less than 50% of the enclosed cavity, wherein the filler material is in contact with the striking plate and the back wall, the enclosed cavity has a volume of 20 cc or less, and the filler material is a cure-in-place elastomeric material;   wherein: (a) the striking face has a center point, (b) an upper portion of the enclosed cavity is located at an elevation above the center point and contains filler material, (c) a lower portion of the enclosed cavity is located at an elevation below the center point and contains filler material, and (d) the filler material has a filler material thickness measured perpendicular to an exterior surface of the striking face from an interior surface of the striking face to an interior surface of the enclosed cavity, and the filler material thickness varies;   wherein the filler material in the upper portion has an upper portion filler material thickness measured perpendicular to the exterior surface of the striking face from the interior surface of the striking face to the interior surface of the enclosed cavity, the filler material in the lower portion has a lower portion filler material thickness measured perpendicular to the exterior surface of the striking face from the interior surface of the striking face to the interior surface of the enclosed cavity, wherein the upper portion filler material thickness is different at two elevations above a ground plane, and the lower portion filler material thickness is different at two elevations above the ground plane;   wherein the club head has a center of gravity located at an elevation between 12 mm and 25 mm above the ground plane;   wherein the top-line portion has a total top line thickness of no greater than about 9 mm;   wherein a first portion of the sole portion, located closer to the striking face than the rear portion and bounding the enclosed cavity, has a first portion sole thickness of no more than about 3 mm;   wherein a majority of the back wall at an elevation above the ideal striking point has a back wall thickness of less than about 3 mm; and   wherein the filler material has a density of greater than 0.03 g/cc.   
     
     
       24. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 23 , wherein the total top line thickness is no greater than about 8.5 mm. 
     
     
       25. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 24 , wherein the cavity volume is at least 10 cc. 
     
     
       26. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 25 , further including at least one weighting element. 
     
     
       27. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 26 , wherein the body portion is formed of a body portion material, the striking plate is formed of a striking plate material, and the body portion material is different than the striking plate material. 
     
     
       28. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the unsupported face surface area is no greater than about 3260 mm 2 . 
     
     
       29. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 28 , wherein the unsupported face surface area is no greater than about 3175 mm 2 . 
     
     
       30. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 29 , wherein the unsupported face surface area is greater than about 2000 mm 2 . 
     
     
       31. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 28 , wherein a second portion of the sole portion, located closer to the rear portion than the striking face, has a second portion sole thickness at least twice the first portion sole thickness. 
     
     
       32. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 31 , wherein a portion of the sole portion bounding the enclosed cavity has a sole thickness of no more than about 2 mm. 
     
     
       33. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 31 , wherein the toe portion further includes an aperture extending from a toe external surface to the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       34. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 33 , wherein the elastomeric material is a urethane. 
     
     
       35. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 33 , wherein the elastomeric material is a silicone. 
     
     
       36. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 33 , wherein the striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 1.5-2.5 mm. 
     
     
       37. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 33 , wherein the filler material weighs less than about 20% of a total club head weight. 
     
     
       38. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 33 , wherein the body portion material is a nickel-chrome-molybdenum steel alloy. 
     
     
       39. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 38 , wherein the body portion material is an 8620 carbon steel alloy. 
     
     
       40. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 38 , wherein a portion of the club head further includes a plating layer. 
     
     
       41. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein a portion of a weld line joining the striking plate to the body portion is located on the striking face above a groove formed in the striking face. 
     
     
       42. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the density of the filler material is no more than about 0.19 g/cc. 
     
     
       43. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the filler material has a hardness of about 15-85 on a Shore OO hardness scale. 
     
     
       44. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the filler material has a hardness of about 5-95 on a Shore D hardness scale. 
     
     
       45. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein a coefficient of restitution of the club head is greater than about 0.79. 
     
     
       46. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the striking face thickness varies. 
     
     
       47. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein a total face area is at least about 2700 mm 2 . 
     
     
       48. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the filler material weighs less than about 5% of a total club head weight. 
     
     
       49. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the elastomeric material is a foamed polymer material. 
     
     
       50. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the striking plate material is stainless steel, and the body portion is forged with the body material being a carbon steel. 
     
     
       51. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 27 , wherein the striking plate is forged with the striking plate material being a stainless steel, and the body portion material is a stainless steel. 
     
     
       52. An iron-type golf club head comprising:
 a body portion having a heel portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a sole portion, and a rear portion, with the body portion formed of a body portion material, and the top-line portion having a total top line thickness of no greater than about 9 mm;   a striking face having an ideal striking point positioned at an origin of the striking face, a striking face thickness of less than about 3 mm, an unsupported face surface area within a range of between about 450 mm 2  to about 3500 mm 2 , and comprising a striking plate welded to a portion of the body portion, with the striking plate formed of a striking plate material different than the body portion material;   wherein the rear portion and the striking plate extend upward from the sole portion toward the top-line portion and create an enclosed cavity bounded by a back wall of the rear portion, at least a portion of the sole portion, at least a portion of the striking plate, and at least a portion of the top-line portion; and   a filler material located within the enclosed cavity and occupying no less than 50% of the enclosed cavity, wherein the filler material has a density of greater than 0.03 g/cc and is in contact with the striking plate and the back wall, and the enclosed cavity has a volume of 10-20 cc;   wherein: (a) the striking face has a center point, (b) an upper portion of the enclosed cavity is located at an elevation above the center point and contains filler material, (c) a lower portion of the enclosed cavity is located at an elevation below the center point and contains filler material, and (d) the filler material has a filler material thickness measured perpendicular to an exterior surface of the striking face from an interior surface of the striking face to an interior surface of the enclosed;   wherein the club head has a center of gravity located at an elevation between 12 mm and 25 mm above a ground plane;   wherein a first portion of the sole portion, located closer to the striking face than the rear portion and bounding the enclosed cavity, has a first portion sole thickness of no more than about 3 mm; and   wherein a majority of the back wall at an elevation above the ideal striking point has a back wall thickness of less than about 3 mm.   
     
     
       53. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 52 , wherein the total top line thickness is no greater than about 8.5 mm, and the unsupported face surface area is no greater than about 3260 mm 2 . 
     
     
       54. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 53 , wherein the filler material is an elastomeric material. 
     
     
       55. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 54 , wherein the unsupported face surface area is no greater than about 3175 mm 2 , and further including at least one weighting element. 
     
     
       56. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the filler material in the upper portion has an upper portion filler material thickness measured perpendicular to an exterior surface of the striking face from the interior surface of the striking face to the interior surface of the enclosed cavity, the filler material in the lower portion has a lower portion filler material thickness measured perpendicular to the exterior surface of the striking face from the interior surface of the striking face to the interior surface of the enclosed cavity, and the lower portion filler material thickness is different at two elevations above the ground plane. 
     
     
       57. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 56 , wherein the upper portion filler material thickness is different at two elevations above the ground plane. 
     
     
       58. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the upper portion is completely filled with the filler material. 
     
     
       59. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the unsupported face surface area is greater than about 2000 mm 2 . 
     
     
       60. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein a portion of the sole portion bounding the enclosed cavity has a sole thickness of no more than about 2 mm. 
     
     
       61. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the toe portion further includes an aperture extending from a toe external surface to the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       62. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 61 , wherein the elastomeric material is a silicone. 
     
     
       63. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 62 , wherein the striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 1.5-2.5 mm. 
     
     
       64. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 63 , wherein the body portion material is a nickel-chrome-molybdenum steel alloy. 
     
     
       65. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 64 , wherein the body portion material is a 8620 carbon steel alloy. 
     
     
       66. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 65 , wherein a portion of the club head further includes a plating layer. 
     
     
       67. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 62 , wherein a portion of a weld line joining the striking plate to the body portion is located on the striking face above a groove formed in striking face. 
     
     
       68. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the density of the filler material is no more than about 0.19 g/cc. 
     
     
       69. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the filler material has a hardness of about 15-85 on a Shore OO hardness scale. 
     
     
       70. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the filler material has a hardness of about 5-95 on a Shore D hardness scale. 
     
     
       71. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 1.5-2.5 mm, and a coefficient of restitution of the club head is greater than about 0.79. 
     
     
       72. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the striking face thickness varies, and the striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 1.5-2.5 mm. 
     
     
       73. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein a total face area is at least about 2700 mm 2 . 
     
     
       74. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the filler material weighs less than about 5% of a total club head weight. 
     
     
       75. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 74 , wherein the elastomeric material is a foamed polymer material, and the filler material thickness varies. 
     
     
       76. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the striking plate material is stainless steel, and the body portion is forged with the body material being a carbon steel. 
     
     
       77. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the striking plate is forged with the striking plate material being a stainless steel, and the body portion material is a stainless steel. 
     
     
       78. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 55 , wherein the striking face thickness varies, and the striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is less than about 2 mm. 
     
     
       79. An iron-type golf club head comprising:
 a body portion having a heel portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a sole portion, and a rear portion, with the body portion formed of a body portion material, and the top-line portion having a total top line thickness of no greater than about 9 mm;   a striking face having an ideal striking point positioned at an origin of the striking face, a striking face thickness of less than about 3 mm, an unsupported face surface area within a range of between about 450 mm 2  to about 3500 mm 2 , and comprising a striking plate welded to a portion of the body portion, with the striking plate formed of a striking plate material different than the body portion material;   at least one weighting element attached to the body portion;   wherein the rear portion and the striking plate extend upward from the sole portion toward the top-line portion and creates an enclosed cavity bounded by a back wall of the rear portion, at least a portion of the sole portion, at least a portion of the striking plate, and at least a portion of the top-line portion; and   an elastomeric dampening material having a density of 0.95 g/cc to 1.75 g/cc, and located within the enclosed cavity and in contact with the striking plate and the back wall;   wherein (a) the striking face has a center point, (b) an upper portion of the enclosed cavity is located at an elevation above the center point and contains dampening material, and (c) a lower portion of the enclosed cavity is located at an elevation below the center point and contains dampening material;   wherein the club head has a center of gravity located at an elevation between 12 mm and 25 mm above a ground plane;   wherein a first portion of the sole portion, located closer to the striking face than the rear portion and bounding the enclosed cavity, has a first portion sole thickness of no more than about 3 mm; and   wherein a majority of the back wall at an elevation above the ideal striking point has a back wall thickness of less than about 3 mm.   
     
     
       80. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 79 , wherein the total top line thickness is no greater than about 8.5 mm, and the unsupported face surface area is no greater than about 3260 mm 2 . 
     
     
       81. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 80 , wherein the unsupported face surface area is 2000-3175 mm 2 . 
     
     
       82. The iron-type gold club head of  claim 80 , wherein a portion of the sole portion bounding the enclosed cavity has a sole thickness of no more than about 2 mm. 
     
     
       83. The iron-type gold club head of  claim 80 , wherein the toe portion further includes an aperture extending from a toe external surface to the enclosed cavity. 
     
     
       84. The iron-type gold club head of  claim 83 , wherein the elastomeric material is a silicone. 
     
     
       85. The iron-type gold club head of  claim 84 , wherein the striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 1.5-2.5 mm. 
     
     
       86. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 84 , wherein the body portion material is a nickel-chrome-molybdenum steel alloy. 
     
     
       87. The iron-type gold club head of  claim 86 , wherein the body portion material is an 8620 carbon steel alloy. 
     
     
       88. The iron-type gold club head of  claim 80 , wherein a portion of a weld line joining the striking plate to the body portion is located on the striking face above a groove formed in striking face. 
     
     
       89. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 80 , wherein the dampening material has a hardness of no more than about 40 on a Shore D hardness scale. 
     
     
       90. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 80 , wherein the dampening material has a hardness of about 10-70 on a Shore A hardness scale. 
     
     
       91. The iron-type golf club head of  claim 80 , wherein the striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 1.5-2.5 mm, and a coefficient of restitution of the club head is greater than about 0.79.