Golf club head groove configuration
View Patent ↗The present invention is directed to a golf club head with an improved striking surface. The grooves are machined into the strike surface with tight tolerances. The grooves have sharp edges, radiused ends, and a draft angle between about 2° and 12°. The striking face is machined such that it has a uniform texture with a roughness of more than 40 Ra. The grooves may contain a plurality of portions, including a radiused or angled portion, a portion having substantially parallel walls, a portion having a v-shape, and a curved portion. The grooves may also be characterized by various dimensions, including draft angle, inclusive side wall angle, width, depth, cross-sectional area, spacing, and pitch ratio. Preferred values for these dimension are provided.
1. A golf club head, comprising:
a substantially flat striking face with a groove formed therein, wherein:
said groove comprises side walls having an inclusive angle of 85° to 95° relative to the striking face;
said groove defines a cross-sectional area of 0.00026 in. 2 to 0.00035 in. 2 ;
said groove has a maximum depth from the flat surface of the striking face to the bottom of the groove of 0.015 in. to 0.02 in.; and
the club head has a pitch ratio less than or equal to 0.0025 in. 2 /in.
2. The club head of claim 1 , wherein said maximum depth is 0.015 in. to 0.018 in.
3. The club head of claim 1 , wherein a junction between said striking face and one of said side walls is stepped.
4. The club head of claim 3 , wherein said junction contains 1 to 10 steps.
5. The club head of claim 3 , wherein said junction is stepped with steps having a rise from 0.0015 in. to 0.01 in.
6. A golf club head, comprising:
a substantially flat striking face with a groove formed therein, wherein:
said groove includes a side wall having a draft angle of 30° to 40° relative to the striking face;
said groove defines a cross-sectional area of 0.00037 in. 2 to 0.00047 in. 2 ;
said groove has a maximum depth from the flat surface of the striking face to a bottom wall of the groove of 0.015 in. to 0.02 in.; and
the club head has a pitch ratio less than or equal to 0.0025 in. 2 /in.
7. The club head of claim 6 , wherein a junction between said striking face and said side wall is stepped.
8. The club head of claim 7 , wherein said junction contains 1 to 10 steps.
9. The club head of claim 7 , wherein said junction is stepped with steps having a rise from 1/32 in. to 1/16 in.
10. The club head of claim 6 , wherein:
said groove has a first maximum width measured from a first intersection of the side wall with the striking face to a second intersection of the side wall with the striking face;
said groove having a second maximum width measured from a first intersection of the side wall with the bottom wall to a second intersection of the side wall with the bottom wall; and
said second maximum width is ⅓ to ⅙ of said first maximum width.
11. The club head of claim 6 , wherein said groove is one of a plurality of grooves that are spaced apart from 0.17 in. to 0.25 in.
12. A golf club head, comprising:
a substantially flat striking face with a groove formed therein, wherein:
said groove includes a side wall having a draft angle of 12° to 20° relative to the striking face;
said groove defines a cross-sectional area of 0.0004 in. 2 to 0.0005 in. 2 ;
said groove has a maximum depth from the flat surface of the striking face to the bottom of the groove of 0.015 in. to 0.02 in.; and
the club head has a pitch ratio less than or equal to 0.0025 in. 2 /in.
13. The club head of claim 12 , wherein said groove has a first maximum width measured from a first intersection of the side wall with the striking face to a second intersection of the side wall with the striking face of 0.03 in. to 0.035 in.
14. The club head of claim 13 , wherein said groove includes a bottom wall having a second maximum width that is 80% to 95% of said first maximum width.
15. The club head of claim 12 , wherein a junction between said striking face and one of said side walls is stepped.
16. The club head of claim 15 , wherein said junction contains 1 to 10 steps.
17. The club head of claim 15 , wherein said junction is stepped with steps having a rise from 1/32 in. to 1/16 in.