Patent ID: 8083612

Claim:
A wood-type golf club head comprising: a wood-type face having ball-striking surface configured for striking a ball, the face having a region of highest response that overlaps a geometric center of the face and a plurality of outer edges; a wood-type body connected to the face and extending rearward from the face to define a cavity bounded by the face and the body, wherein the body and the face enclose a volume of at least 400 cubic centimeters; a first elongated channel in the ball-striking surface, having a first end most proximate one of the outer edges and a second end more proximate the geometric center of the face relative to the first end, the first channel extending inwardly in a direction transverse to the outer edge most proximate to the first channel, the first channel being filled with a flexible material having a flexibility that is greater than a flexibility of a material of the face; a second elongated channel in the ball-striking surface, having a first end most proximate one of the outer edges and a second end more proximate the geometric center of the face relative to the first end, the second channel extending inwardly in a direction transverse to the outer edge most proximate to the second channel, the second channel being filled with the flexible material; a third elongated channel in the ball-striking surface, having a first end most proximate one of the outer edges and a second end more proximate the geometric center of the face relative to the first end, the third channel extending inwardly in a direction transverse to the outer edge most proximate to the third channel, the third channel being filled with the flexible material; and a fourth elongated channel in the ball-striking surface, having a first end most proximate one of the outer edges and a second end more proximate the geometric center of the face relative to the first end, the fourth channel extending inwardly in a direction transverse to the outer edge most proximate to the fourth channel, the fourth channel being filled with the flexible material, wherein the first channel and the second channel are located in a first quadrant of the face, and the third channel and the fourth channel are located in a second quadrant of the face, and wherein the first quadrant and the second quadrant are located in opposite corners of the face, and wherein the region of highest response is directionally enlarged toward a point between the first and second channels, and the region of highest response is further directionally enlarged toward a second midpoint between the third and fourth channels.