METAL WOOD CLUB

Abstract

A golf club head is provided with a body that has an address position with a zero degree bounce portion on the sole and a center sole position with a multi-relief surface of the sole having a negative bounce portion. The negative bounce portion may comprise a negative 0.5 to a negative 4.0 degree surface. In one embodiment, the multi-relief surface may comprise the negative bounce portion and a cutaway portion extending to the back of the sole, which may have a depth of about 0.05 to 0.5 inch from a regular sole surface. In another embodiment, the golf club head includes a weight system to adjust the center of gravity. In one embodiment, the weight system is a tube having a weight at one end that may be inserted into the golf club head to move the center of gravity at least forward and backward within 6 mm and up and down within 6 mm. Preferably, the tube is angled downward toward the face by at least 3 degrees.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features of the present invention are disclosed in the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a club head of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is bottom plan view of an embodiment of a club head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a front plan view of an embodiment of a club head according to FIG. 1 at impact with a golf ball;

FIG. 3B is a front plan view of an embodiment of a club head according to FIG. 1 at address;

FIG. 4A is bottom plan view of an embodiment of a club head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the club head of FIG. 4 taken along line 3B-3B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the club head of FIG. 4 taken along line 4C-4C in FIG. 4;

FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view of the club head of FIG. 4 taken along line 4D-4D in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a back view of the club head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a heel side view of the club head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7A is a bottom plan view of a club head with the inventive sole of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view of the club head of FIG. 7A taken along line 7B-7B;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of another alternative embodiment of a club head of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment of a club head according to the present invention;

FIG. 10A is a front plan view of a club head according to an embodiment of the club head of FIG. 9;

FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the club head of FIG. 10A, taken along lines 10B-10B;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the club head according to an embodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12A is a front plan view of a club head according to an embodiment of the club head of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view of the club head of FIG. 12A, taken along lines 12B-12B;

FIG. 13 is a back perspective cut-out view of an embodiment of a club head according to FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a back view of the club head of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a weight tube according to the embodiment of the FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a back perspective cut-out view of another embodiment of a club head according to FIG. 9;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a weight tube according to the embodiment of the FIG. 17;

FIG. 18 is a back perspective cut-out view of another embodiment of a club head according to FIG. 9;

FIG. 19 is a bottom plan view of another embodiment of a club head according to FIG. 9;

FIG. 20 is a front perspective cut-out view of another embodiment of a club head according to FIG. 9;

FIG. 21 is a graph depicting the movement of the center of gravity along the y-axis and z-axis according to the embodiment of FIG. 13;

FIG. 22 is a graph depicting the movement of the center of gravity along the y-axis and x-axis according to the embodiment of FIG. 13;

FIG. 23 is a graph depicting the movement of the center of gravity along the y-axis and z-axis according to the embodiment of FIG. 16; and

FIG. 24 is a graph depicting the movement of the center of gravity along the y-axis and x-axis according to the embodiment of FIG. 16.

Claims

1. A golf club head, the club head comprising: a body having a face, a sole, a crown and a skirt joining the face, sole and crown, the body having a center of gravity;the body having a coordinate system with an x-axis located horizontal to the club face, a y-axis located vertical to the club face, and a z-axis located through the club face,a weight system for the club head,wherein the center of gravity is adjustable at least along the z-axis and the y-axis.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the center of gravity is movable within a 6 mm distance along the z-axis.

3. The golf club head of claim 2, wherein the center of gravity is movable within a 4 mm distance along the z-axis.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the center of gravity is movable within a 6 mm distance along the y-axis.

5. The golf club head of claim 4, wherein the center of gravity is movable within a 2 mm distance along the y-axis.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the center of gravity is movable within a 2 mm distance along the x-axis.

7. The golf club head of claim 6, wherein the center of gravity is movable within a 0.5 mm distance along the x-axis.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, weight system further comprising at least one tube for placement within the club head and within a plane formed by the y axis and z axis to adjust the center of gravity.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein multiple inserts varying in weight may be placed within the tube at various positions to move the center of gravity to the desired location.

10. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein a weight is provided at one end of the tube, and wherein the tube is placed within the club head to move the center of gravity to the desired location for a desired ball flight.

11. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein the tube is angled downward toward the face of the club head by at least 3 degrees from the z-axis.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the tube is angled downward toward the face of the club head by about 3 to about 7 degrees.

13. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the tube is flippable, such that the weight is moveable to the other end of the club head to move the center of gravity for a desired different ball flight.

14. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein when the weight is located at a back of the club head, a shot hit off the club head has increased backspin and a higher launch angle resulting in a softer landing.

15. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein when the weight is located at a front of the club head a shot hit off the club head has less backspin and a lower trajectory resulting in a shallower landing for increased distance.

16. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the weight comprises tungsten.

17. The golf club head of claim 16, wherein the weight has a mass from about 10 grams to about 35 grams.

18. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the tube and weight combine to have a mass of about 20 to about 40 grams.

19. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein the tube comprises aluminum.

20. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein the tube includes a fastener on at least one end to assist in fastening the tube in the club head.

21. The golf club head of claim 20, wherein the tube is fastened to the inside of the club head adjacent the face.

22. The golf club head of claim 20, wherein the tube is fastened to the outside of the club head substantially flush with the club head body.

23. The golf club head of claim 1, the weight system further comprising: three cavities provided in the club head; andthree separate inserts provided for placement within the cavities,

24. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a pipe for placement within the club head to adjust the center of gravity.

25. The golf club head of claim 24, wherein at least one weight is slidably provided on the pipe to move the center of gravity to the desired location.

26. The golf club head of claim 25, wherein the slidable weight may be moved along the shaft to the desired location manually from outside of the club head.

27. The golf club head of claim 24, wherein the pipe is angled downward toward the face of the club head by at least 3 degrees from the z-axis.

28. The golf club head of claim 27, wherein the pipe is angled downward toward the face of the club head by about 3 to about 7 degrees.