Golf club head
View Patent ↗A golf club head comprises a loft angle no less than 18°, a striking face, a sole portion, and a top portion having an exterior surface. In an imaginary vertical plane spaced from a face center by no more than 10 mm and perpendicular to an imaginary striking face plane, an imaginary line segment has a length of 25 mm, a first endpoint located in the imaginary striking face plane, a second endpoint located above the exterior surface, and forms an angle θ with the striking face plane between 55° and 65°. The line segment is tangent to the exterior surface at a first point. A second point is located on the imaginary line segment and spaced from the first point by no less than 1 mm. The second point is spaced from the exterior surface by a gap distance that is no greater than 0.15 mm.
1. A golf club head comprising:
a striking face having a face center and an imaginary striking face plane;
a sole portion;
a top portion having an exterior surface;
a hosel extending from the top portion; and
a loft angle no less than 18°,
wherein, when the club head is oriented in a reference position, in an imaginary vertical plane laterally spaced from the face center by no more than 10 mm and perpendicular to the imaginary striking face plane:
an imaginary line segment having a length of 25 mm, a first endpoint coplanar with the imaginary striking face plane, and a second endpoint located above the exterior surface, forms an angle θ with the imaginary striking face plane between 55° and 65°;
the imaginary line segment is tangent to the exterior surface at a first point that is intermediate the first end point and the second end point;
a second point is located on the imaginary line segment and spaced from the first point by no less than 1.0 mm; and
the second point is spaced from the exterior surface by a gap distance, measured perpendicular to the line segment, that is no greater than 0.15 mm.
2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the golf club head is a hollow-type golf club head.
3. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane, the top portion comprises a minimum thickness no greater than 5 mm.
4. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane:
the top portion further comprises an uppermost point having an offset angle Δ; and
the angle θ satisfies the following relationship: θ=tan− 1 ((tan(60°)*cos(Δ)).
5. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the gap distance is no greater than 0.12 mm.
6. The golf club head of claim 1 , further comprising a club head volume no less than 50 cc.
7. The golf club head of claim 6 , further comprising a club head volume no greater than 150 cc.
8. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the imaginary vertical plane is laterally spaced from the face center by no more than 2 mm.
9. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein, in an imaginary horizontal plane passing through the first point, the exterior surface forms a path that includes a rearwardly-convex curvilinear portion proximate the first point.
10. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the angle θ is substantially equal to 60°.
11. A golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:
a striking face having a face center and an imaginary striking face plane;
a sole portion;
a top portion having an exterior surface that includes a first surface portion, a second surface portion rearward of the first surface portion, and a third surface portion rearward of the second surface portion, wherein the second surface portion forms a chamfer;
a hosel extending from the top portion; and
a loft angle no less than 18°,
wherein, in an imaginary vertical plane laterally spaced from the face center by no more than 10 mm and perpendicular to the imaginary striking face plane:
the chamfer includes a forwardmost endpoint, a rearwardmost endpoint, and a chamfer length, l 3 , between the forwardmost endpoint and the rearwardmost endpoint that is no less than 2 mm;
an imaginary line segment having a length of 25 mm, a first endpoint coplanar with the imaginary striking face plane, and a second endpoint located above the exterior surface, forms an angle θ with the imaginary striking face plane that is between 55° and 65°; and
the imaginary line segment is tangent to the exterior surface at a tangent point that is intermediate the forwardmost endpoint and the rearwardmost endpoint of the chamfer.
12. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the golf club head is a hollow-type golf club head.
13. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane, the top portion comprises a minimum thickness no greater than 5 mm.
14. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane:
the top portion further comprises an uppermost point having an offset angle Δ; and
the angle θ satisfies the following relationship: tan −1 (θ)tan −1 ((tan(60°)*cos(Δ)).
15. The golf club head of claim 11 , further comprising a club head volume between about 50 cc and about 150 cc.
16. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the imaginary vertical plane is laterally spaced from the face center by no more than 2 mm.
17. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the chamfer length is no less than 2.5 mm.
18. The golf club head of claim 17 , wherein the chamfer length is no greater than 6 mm.
19. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane, the chamfer includes a curvilinear surface that is upwardly convex.
20. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the tangent point is spaced from the forwardmost endpoint by a distance of between 0.35*l 3 and 0.65*l 3 .
21. The golf club head of claim 20 , wherein the tangent point is spaced from the forwardmost endpoint by a distance of between 0.40*l 3 and 0.70*l 3 .
22. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein, in an imaginary horizontal plane passing through the tangent point, the chamfer forms a path that includes a rearwardly-convex curvilinear portion proximate the tangent point.
23. The golf club head of claim 11 , further comprising a stepped portion at a junction between the second surface portion and the third surface portion.
24. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the angle θ is substantially equal to 60°.
25. A golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:
a striking face having a face center and an imaginary striking face plane;
a sole portion;
a top portion having an exterior surface that includes a first surface portion, a second surface portion rearward of the first surface portion, and a third surface portion rearward of the second surface portion, wherein the second surface portion forms a chamfer;
a hosel extending from the top portion; and
a loft angle no less than 18°,
wherein, in an imaginary vertical plane laterally spaced from the face center by no more than 10 mm and perpendicular to the imaginary striking face plane, the chamfer forms an angle θ, with a plane parallel to the striking face plane, that is between 55° and 65°.
26. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein the golf club head is a hollow-type golf club head.
27. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane, the top portion comprises a minimum thickness no greater than 5 mm.
28. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane:
the top portion further comprises an uppermost point having an offset angle Δ; and
the angle θ satisfies the following relationship: θ=tan−1((tan(60°)*cos(Δ)).
29. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein the club head comprises a volume between about 50 cc and about 150 cc.
30. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane, the chamfer comprises a chamfer length between 2.5 mm and 6 mm.
31. The golf club head of claim 25 , wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane, the chamfer includes a curvilinear surface that is upwardly convex.
32. The golf club head of claim 25 , further comprising a stepped portion at a junction between the second surface portion and the third surface portion.