Golf club head

Abstract

A hollow golf club head comprises: a hollow main body made of a fiber-reinforced plastic; and a face member made of a metal material and forming at least a part of the club face, wherein the hollow main body is single-piece and comprises a front portion of which outer surface is covered with the face member bonded thereto.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wood-type golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line X-X in FIG. 2 showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a face member and a main body of the golf club head.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a back view of the face plate.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a protuberant part of the face plate.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross sectional views for explaining a method for manufacturing the main body.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of a golf club head used in the undermentioned comparative tests.

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the prior-art golf club head.

Claims

1. A hollow golf club head comprising a hollow main body made of a fiber-reinforced plastic and a face member made of a metal material and forming at least a part of the club face, wherein the hollow main body is single-piece and comprises a front portion of which outer surface is covered with the face member bonded thereto.

2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the face member comprises a face plate forming the entirety of the club face, and a turnback formed along at least a part of the peripheral edge of the face plate, andthe front portion of the main body comprises a front wall to which the face plate is bonded, and a periphery wall to which the turnback is bonded.

3. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the face member consists of a face plate forming a part of the club face.

4. The golf club head according to claim 2, wherein the face plate is provided with a patterned protuberance so that the face plate has a maximum thickness t1 and a minimum thickness t2, and the ratio (t1/t2) therebetween is in a range of from 1.2 to 1.7.

5. A wood-type hollow golf club head comprising a hollow shell structure made of a fiber-reinforced plastic, the shell structure comprising:a face portion; a crown portion; a sole portion; a side portion between the crown portion and sole portion which extends from a toe-side edge to a heel-side edge of the club face through the back face of the club head; and a hosel portion, anda face plate made of a metal material and bonded to an outer surface of the face portion so that the outer surface of the face plate forms an impact area for hitting a ball.

6. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the face plate is provided with a patterned protuberance so that the face plate has a maximum thickness t1 and a minimum thickness t2, and the ratio (t1/t2) therebetween is in a range of from 1.2 to 1.7.

7. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the patterned protuberance comprises a central portion and radial portions extending radially from the central portion.

8. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the face plate forms the entirety of the club face.

9. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the face plate forms at least 70% of the club face.

10. The golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the face plate is provided protuberance so that the face plate has a maximum thickness t1 and a minimum thickness t2, and the ratio (t1/t2) therebetween is in a range of from 1.2 to 1.7.

11. The golf club head according to claim 6, wherein the face plate forms the entirety of the club face.

12. The golf club head according to claim 7, wherein the face plate forms the entirety of the club face.

13. The golf club head according to claim 6, wherein the face plate forms at least 70% of the club face.

14. The golf club head according to claim 7, wherein the face plate forms at least 70% of the club face.