Metal wood club with improved hitting face
View Patent ↗A hitting face of a golf club head having improved flexural stiffness properties. In one embodiment, the hitting face is made from multiple materials. The main portion of the hitting face is a plate-like face made from a first material having a first density. A dense insert made from a second material having a second density that is greater than the first density is attached directly or indirectly to the plate-like face at or near the geometric center thereof. The dense insert increases the flexural stiffness of in a central zone of the hitting face so that a golf club head that has a larger zone of substantially uniform high initial ball speed. In another embodiment, the hitting face includes an insert that includes main plate and at least one wing extending therefrom. The insert is welded to the golf club head so that the main plate does not deflect separately from the remainder of the hitting face. The geometry of the insert controls the stiffness in the axial directions.
1. A golf club head comprising:
a crown forming the upper surface of the golf club head;
a sole forming the lower surface of the golf club head; and
a hitting face disposed between the crown and the sole, wherein the hitting face further comprises a face insert welded around a perimeter thereof to the golf club head, wherein the face insert further comprises
a main plate,
at least one wing extending from the main plate
wherein the face insert further comprises:
a central zone formed in part of a first material, wherein the central zone has a first flexural stiffness; and
an intermediate zone concentric with the central zone, wherein the intermediate zone is formed from a second material that is different from the first material, wherein the intermediate zone has a second flexural stiffness, and wherein the first flexural stiffness is higher than the second flexural stiffness.
2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the wing extends into and forms a portion of the crown.
3. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the wing extends into and forms a portion of the sole.
4. The golf club head of claim 1 , further comprising an extension that elongates a horizontal axis of the hitting face.
5. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein the extension elongates the horizontal axis only in the direction of a toe region of the golf club head.
6. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein the extension elongates the horizontal axis only in the direction of a heel region of the golf club head.
7. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein the first wing extends into and forms a portion of the crown and the second wing extends into and forms a portion of the sole.
8. The golf club head of claim 7 , further comprising at least one extension that elongates a horizontal axis of the hitting face.
9. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the first material has a first density and the second material has a second density, and wherein the first density is greater than the second density.