Iron-type golf clubs and golf club heads with a wide sole
View Patent ↗Golf club heads according to at least some example aspects of this disclosure include: an iron-type golf club head including an iron-type golf club head body, a ball striking face, or face plate, a rear plate, a sole, and a sole channel. According to aspects of the disclosure, the sole may be considered a wide sole as compared to conventional iron-type club head. The sole may be approximately 30-50% wider than conventional iron-type club heads. Further, according to aspects of the disclosure, the sole channel may be a channel generally defined as an undercut portion removed from the sole. The sole channel may be located generally within the sole portion of the club head.
1. An iron-type golf club head comprising:
a ball striking face plate configured for striking a ball;
a rear plate opposite the ball striking face plate;
a body adjacent to the ball striking face plate, the body including a heel adjacent to a hosel and a toe opposite the heel, the body further having a sole extending rearward from a bottom edge of the ball striking face plate from the heel to the toe, wherein the sole includes a sole width defined as the distance from a sole front edge adjacent to the ball striking face plate and a sole back edge opposite the sole front edge, wherein the sole width has a minimum width of approximately 0.8 inches and a maximum width of approximately 1.2 inches; and
an elongated sole channel positioned within the sole, the channel being undercut into the sole and extending along at least a portion of the sole and extending towards the ball striking face, the sole channel having a length defined by the distance from a first end of the sole channel proximate to the heel to a second end of the sole channel proximate to the toe, wherein the length is between approximately two and three inches, and further the sole channel having a depth, the sole channel having a depth defined by the distance from a front edge of the sole channel to a bottom of the sole channel, wherein the depth is between approximately 0.1 inches and 0.2 inches.
2. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the sole channel extends proximate from the heel to the toe.
3. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the sole channel removes weight from the sole thereby moving a center of gravity of the club head up the ball striking face plate.
4. The iron-type golf club head of claim 3 , wherein the weight removed from the sole is between approximately seven to nine grams of weight.
5. The iron-type golf club head of claim 3 , wherein the weight removed from the sole is between approximately ten to eleven grams of weight.
6. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein length is approximately 2.5 inches.
7. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the depth is approximately 0.20 inches.
8. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , the sole channel having a channel angle defined by an angle taken from a reference line on a plane equivalent to the ball striking face plate, wherein the channel angle is between approximately five degrees and twenty-five degrees.
9. The iron-type golf club head of claim 8 , wherein the channel angle is approximately 10 degrees.
10. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the sole is defined by a sole front edge adjacent to the ball striking face plate and a sole back edge opposite the sole front edge.
11. The iron-type golf club head of claim 10 , wherein the sole is further defined by a sole heel edge proximate to the heel and a sole toe edge proximate to the toe.
12. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the sole width has a minimum width of approximately 0.6 inches and a maximum width of approximately 0.9 inches.
13. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the sole channel has a “U”-shaped cross-sectional shape.
14. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the sole channel has a rectangular-shaped cross-sectional shape.
15. An iron-type golf club head comprising:
a ball striking face plate configured for striking a ball;
a rear plate opposite the ball striking face plate;
a body adjacent to the ball striking face plate, the body including a heel adjacent to a hosel and a toe opposite the heel, the body further having a sole extending rearward from a bottom edge of the ball striking face plate from the heel to the toe, wherein the sole includes a sole width defined as the distance from a sole front edge adjacent to the ball striking face plate and a sole back edge opposite the sole front edge, wherein the sole width has a minimum width of approximately 0.8 inches and a maximum width of approximately 1.2 inches; and
an elongated sole channel positioned within the sole, the channel being undercut into the sole and extending along at least a portion of the sole and extending towards the ball striking face and not parallel to the ball striking face,
the sole channel having:
a length defined by the distance from a first end of the sole channel proximate to the heel to a second end of the sole channel proximate to the toe, wherein the length is between approximately two inches and three inches,
a depth defined by the distance from a front edge of the sole channel to a bottom of the sole channel, wherein the depth is between approximately 0.1 inches and 0.2 inches, and
a channel angle defined by an angle taken from a reference line on a plane equivalent to the ball striking face plate, wherein the channel angle is between approximately ten degrees and twenty degrees.
16. The iron-type golf club head of claim 15 , wherein the sole width has a minimum width of approximately 0.6 inches and a maximum width of approximately 0.9 inches.