Wedge type golf club head with improved performance
View Patent ↗A wedge type golf club head with improved performance characteristic is disclosed herein where at least a striking surface of the wedge type golf club head is coated with a polymer coating to decrease the coefficient of friction as well as create a hydrophobic surface to remove dirt and debris. More specifically, the present invention discloses a wedge type golf club head with a hydrophobic polymer coating that creates a contact angle of greater than about 90 degrees as well as decreases the coefficient of friction to be less than about 0.1.
1. A golf club head comprising:
a forward portion, and
an aft portion,
wherein said forward portion further comprises;
a striking surface for striking a golf ball,
a plurality of grooves placed horizontally across said striking surface, and
a polymer coating covering at least a portion of said striking surface,
wherein said polymer coating has a thickness of from about 300 microns to about 700 microns.
2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein said polymer coating creates a contact angle of greater than 90 degrees when contacting water.
3. The golf club head of claim 2 , wherein said contact angle is greater than 100 degrees.
4. The golf club head of claim 3 , wherein said contact angle is greater than 120 degrees.
5. The golf club head of claim 2 , wherein said contact angle increases positively with an increase in a loft angle of said golf club head.
6. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein a said polymer creates a coefficient of friction on said striking face is less than about 0.1.
7. The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein said coefficient of friction is less than about 0.08.
8. The golf club head of claim 7 , wherein said coefficient of friction is less than about 0.04.
9. The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein said coefficient of friction increases positively with an increase of a loft angle of said golf club head.
10. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein said polymer coating is further comprised of a plurality of microscopic papillae.
11. A golf club head of claim comprising:
a forward portion, and
an aft portion,
wherein said forward portion further comprises;
a striking surface for striking a golf ball,
a plurality of grooves placed horizontally across said striking surface, and
a polymer coating covering at least a portion of said striking surface,
wherein said polymer coating has a thickness of from about 300 microns to about 700 microns, and
wherein said polymer coating has a hydrophobic coefficient of friction ratio of less than about 0.005, said hydrophobic coefficient of friction ratio is defined as a ratio of a coefficient of friction of said polymer coating divided by a contact angle of said polymer coating.
12. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein said hydrophobic coefficient of friction ratio is less than about 0.002.
13. The golf club head of claim 12 , wherein said hydrophobic coefficient of friction ratio is less than about 0.001.
14. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein said hydrophobic coefficient of friction ratio decreases with an increase in a loft angle of said golf club head.
15. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein said golf club head has a loft angle of greater than about 45 degrees.