Golf club with a support bracket
View Patent ↗A cavity back golf club and golf club head having one or more support brackets is disclosed. Each support bracket includes a first portion engaged with the rear surface of the striking face, a second portion engaged with the perimeter weighting member, and a third portion that is curved. The one or more of the support brackets are engaged with a rear surface of a striking face and a perimeter weight member of the golf club head. The one or more support brackets are at least partially located in a rear cavity of the golf club head. The support brackets provide structural integrity to a thin striking face on the golf club head. Additionally, a discretionary weight is engaged with the at least one of the support brackets at the toe portion of the golf club head.
1. A golf club head, comprising:
a striking face providing a front surface for engaging a golf ball and a rear surface opposite the front surface, wherein at least 50% of an overall surface of the striking face has a thickness from the front surface to the rear surface of no greater than 0.1 inches;
a perimeter weighting member extending rearward from the striking face and around at least a majority of a circumference of the striking face, wherein the perimeter weighting member at least partially defines a rear cavity in the golf club head;
a plurality of support brackets at least partially located in the rear cavity, wherein at least one of the plurality of support brackets has a first portion engaged to the rear surface of the striking face, a second portion engaged to the perimeter weighting member and a third portion connecting the first and second portion; and
at least one discretionary weight engaged with at least one support bracket, wherein the at least one discretionary weight is located within a weight port defined in the at least one support bracket.
2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes at least one upper support bracket engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a top portion of the club head.
3. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes at least one lower support bracket engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a sole portion of the club head.
4. The golf club head of claim 3 , further comprising at least one discretionary weight engaged with at least one lower support bracket.
5. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes at least one pair of support brackets, wherein the pair of support brackets includes an upper support bracket and a lower support bracket, wherein the upper support bracket is engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a top portion of the club head and the lower support bracket is engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a sole portion of the club head.
6. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes two pairs of support brackets, wherein each pair of support brackets includes an upper support bracket and a lower support bracket, wherein the upper support brackets are engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a top portion of the club head and the lower support brackets are engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a sole portion of the club head.
7. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the at least one discretionary weight is at least 4 grams.
8. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the at least one discretionary weight is within a range of 5 grams to 40 grams.
9. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the third portion is a concavely curved surface, such that the curved surface curves inward toward the striking face and the perimeter weighting member.
10. The golf club head of claim 9 , wherein the curved surface is equivalent to an arc of a circle with a radius.
11. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein a ratio of a height of the striking face to the radius is within a range of 0.75 to 5.
12. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein a ratio of a height of the striking face to the radius is approximately 1.
13. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein a ratio of a height of the striking face to the radius is approximately 3.
14. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the support brackets are made of a material selected from the group consisting of: aluminum, magnesium, beryllium, titanium, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, beryllium alloys, titanium alloys, thermoplastic polymers, thermosetting polymers, carbon-fiber reinforced composite materials, and glass-fiber reinforced materials.
15. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein the at least one discretionary weight is made of a material selected from the group consisting essentially of lead, tungsten, lead alloys, tungsten alloys, and polymeric materials.
16. An iron-type golf club, comprising:
a shaft;
a grip attached to the shaft; and
a golf club head configured to engage with the shaft, wherein the golf club head further includes:
a striking face providing a front surface for engaging a golf ball and a rear surface opposite the front surface, wherein at least 50% of an overall surface of the striking face has a thickness from the front surface to the rear surface of no greater than 0.1 inches;
a perimeter weighting member extending rearward from the striking face and around at least a majority of a circumference of the striking face, wherein the perimeter weighting member at least partially defines a rear cavity in the golf club head;
a plurality of support brackets at least partially located in the rear cavity, wherein at least one of the plurality of support brackets has a first portion engaged to the rear surface of the striking face, a second portion engaged to the perimeter weighting member and a third portion connecting the first and second portion; and
at least one discretionary weight engaged with at least one support bracket, wherein the at least one discretionary weight is located within a weight port defined in the at least one support bracket.
17. The golf club of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes at least one upper support bracket engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a top portion of the club head.
18. The golf club of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes at least one lower support bracket engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a sole portion of the club head.
19. The golf club of claim 18 , further comprising at least one discretionary weight engaged with at least one lower support bracket.
20. The golf club of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes at least one pair of support brackets, wherein the pair of support brackets includes an upper support bracket and a lower support bracket, wherein the upper support bracket is engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a top portion of the club head and the lower support bracket is engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a sole portion of the club head.
21. The golf club of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of support brackets includes two pairs of support brackets, wherein each pair of support brackets includes an upper support bracket and a lower support bracket, wherein the upper support brackets are engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a top portion of the club head and the lower support brackets are engaged to the perimeter weighting member at a sole portion of the club head.
22. The golf club of claim 16 , wherein the at least one discretionary weight is at least 4 grams.
23. The golf club of claim 16 , wherein the at least one discretionary weight is within a range of 5 grams to 40 grams.
24. The golf club of claim 16 , wherein the third portion is a concavely curved surface, such that the curved surface curves inward toward the striking face and the perimeter weighting member.
25. The golf club of claim 24 , wherein the curved surface is equivalent to an arc of a circle with a radius.
26. The golf club of claim 25 , wherein a ratio of a height of the striking face to the radius is within a range of 0.75 to 5.
27. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein a ratio of a height of the striking face to the radius is approximately 1.
28. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein a ratio of a height of the striking face to the radius is approximately 3.
29. The golf club head of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of support brackets are made of a material selected from the group consisting of: aluminum, magnesium, beryllium, titanium, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, beryllium alloys, titanium alloys, thermoplastic polymers, thermosetting polymers, carbon-fiber reinforced composite materials, and glass-fiber reinforced materials.
30. The golf club head of claim 16 , wherein the at least one discretionary weight is made of a material selected from the group consisting essentially of lead, tungsten, lead alloys, tungsten alloys, and polymeric materials.