Golf club head with flexure
View Patent ↗A golf club head including a crown, a sole, a hosel, a face, and a flexure. The flexure provides compliance during an impact between the golf club head and a golf ball, and is tuned to vibrate, immediately after impact, at a predetermined frequency.
1. A metalwood golf club head, comprising:
a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;
a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head;
a skirt wall extending between the crown and sole;
a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore;
a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the lower surface at a leading edge; and
a flexure spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface wherein the flexure continuously wraps across greater than 50% of the perimeter of the face;
wherein the flexure has a width W of between about 3.5 mm to about 3.9 mm,
wherein the flexure has a gap width W′ of between about 1.8 mm to about 2.2 mm, and
wherein the flexure further comprises a first front member, located at a frontal portion of the flexure, and a second aft member, located at a rearward portion of the flexure, and the first front member and the second aft member are substantially parallel to one another.
2. The metalwood golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure is annular and has a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape.
3. The metalwood golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure is recessed from at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the golf club head.
4. The metalwood golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure is placed at a distance of less than about 5.0 mm away from the face.
5. The metalwood golf club head of claim 4 , wherein the flexure is placed at a distance of less than about 4.5 mm away from the face.
6. The metalwood golf club head of claim 5 , wherein the flexure is placed at a distance of less than about 4.0 mm away from the face.
7. The metalwood golf club head of claim 1 , wherein an angle formed between the first front member and a loft angle of the face defines an angle θ; and
wherein the angle θ of the flexure is between about 30 degrees to about 40 degrees.
8. The golf metalwood club head of claim 7 , wherein the angle θ of the flexure is between about 32.5 degrees to about 37.5 degrees.
9. The metalwood golf club head of claim 8 , wherein the angle θ of the flexure is about 35 degrees.
10. The metalwood golf club head of claim 1 , wherein said flexure further comprises a first front member, located at a frontal portion of the flexure, and a second aft member, located at a rearward portion of the flexure;
wherein an angle formed between the first front member and a loft angle of the face defines an angle θ; and
wherein the angle θ of the flexure is between about 40 to about 50 degrees.
11. The metalwood golf club head of claim 10 , wherein the angle θ of the flexure is between about 42.5 to about 57.5 degrees.
12. The metalwood golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the angle θ of the flexure is about 45 degrees.
13. The metalwood golf club head of claim 1 , wherein a gap width W′ of the flexure is about 2.0 mm.
14. The metalwood golf club head of claim 1 , wherein a width W of the flexure is about 3.7 mm.
15. A metalwood golf club head, comprising:
a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;
a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head;
a skirt wall extending between the crown and sole;
a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore;
a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the lower surface at a leading edge; and
a flexure, having an elongate corrugation geometry, continuously wraps around the forward portion of the crown, the sole, and the skirt
wherein the flexure has a width W of between about 3.5 mm to about 3.9 mm,
wherein the flexure has a gap width W′ of between about 1.8 mm to about 2.2 mm, and
wherein the flexure further comprises a first front member, located at a frontal portion of the flexure, and a second aft member, located at a rearward portion of the flexure, and the first front member and the second aft member are substantially parallel to one another.
16. The metalwood golf club head of claim 15 , wherein the flexure is tuned so that the width across the flexure in a face-to-aft-direction varies sinusoidally, immediately after impact, at a frequency of about 2900 Hz to about 4000 Hz.
17. The metalwood golf club head of claim 15 , wherein said front member and said face forms an angle θ of about 35 degrees.
18. The metalwood golf club head of claim 15 , wherein said front member and said face forms an angle θ of about 45 degrees.
19. The metalwood golf club head of claim 15 , wherein the flexure is annular and has a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape.