Patent ID: 8088024
Filing Date: 2012-01-03
Classification: A63B

Abstract:
1. A golf club head comprising: a sole configured to rest on a planar surface; a crown; a toe; a heel opposite the toe; a strike face generally bounded by a face perimeter edge, the strike face comprising a geometric center, a coefficient of restitution measured at the geometric center, a location spaced from the geometric center a horizontal distance of at least 0.2 inch, and a coefficient of restitution measured at the location, wherein the coefficient of restitution at the location is greater than the coefficient of restitution at the geometric center; an interior cavity at least partially delimited by the sole, the crown, the strike face, and the rear portion; a hosel having a hosel axis, wherein the club head is oriented so that the hosel axis is positioned at a designated lie angle relative to the planar surface; an imaginary vertical plane perpendicular to the strike face and passing through the geometric center of the strike face, the imaginary vertical plane containing an imaginary line tangent to the strike face at the geometric center and intersecting the planar surface; a first reference point characterized by the intersection of the imaginary line and the planar surface; a second reference point located up to about 20 mm away from the first reference point along the imaginary line in the direction of the crown; a third reference point located in the imaginary vertical plane up to about 20 mm away from the first reference point along the planar surface in a direction substantially perpendicular to the strike face toward the rear portion; a first junction point located in the imaginary vertical plane, the first junction point defined by the projection of the second reference point onto the strike face in a direction normal to the imaginary line; a second junction point located in the imaginary vertical plane, the second junction point defined by the projection of the third reference point onto the sole in a direction normal to the planar surface; a first imaginary junction-bounding line forming a closed loop and passing through the first junction point, wherein the first imaginary junction-bounding line is parallel to the face perimeter edge; a second imaginary junction-bounding line forming a closed loop and passing through the second junction point, wherein the second imaginary junction-bounding line is parallel to the face perimeter edge; a junction delimited by the portion of the club head between the first imaginary junction-bounding line and the second imaginary junction-bounding line, the junction comprising a top region and a bottom region, each having a heel-to-toe length dimension, the top region defined as the portion of the junction, proximate the top portion of the club head, between a first imaginary plane, oriented 45° relative to the planar surface and passing through the geometric center of the face, and a second imaginary plane, oriented 45° relative to the planar surface and passing through the geometric center of the face, wherein the first imaginary plane is perpendicular to the second imaginary plane, the bottom region of the junction defined as the portion of the junction, proximate the bottom portion of the club head, between the first imaginary plane and the second imaginary plane; at least one first rib disposed in the interior cavity at the bottom region of the junction, the at least one first rib being coupled to the strike face and the sole; and at least one mass disposed in the interior cavity at one of the top region and the bottom region of the junction.