Patent ID: 8545343

Claim:
A head for a ball striking device, comprising: a face having an outer surface located at a front of the head; a body connected to the face and extending rearward from the face; and a face mask connected to the outer surface of the face, the face mask having a first surface configured for forming at least a portion of a ball striking surface of the head configured for striking a ball, a second surface opposite the first surface and confronting the outer surface of the face, and a plurality of elongated slots extending at least partially through the face mask, wherein the slots combine with the outer surface of the face to form a plurality of face grooves on the ball striking surface, wherein the face has a recess in the outer surface, wherein at least a portion of the face mask is received within the recess, wherein the face mask has a projecting portion projecting from the second surface of the face mask, the projecting portion being received in the recess when the face mask is connected to the face, and wherein the projecting portion is located proximate a center of the face mask, and the face mask further comprises two thinned portions extending from opposed sides of the projecting portion, the thinned portions having a smaller thickness than the projecting portion.