Club heads with varying impact responses and related methods
Some embodiments include a golf club head. The golf club head includes a front body having a front body front portion with a front body front surface and having a front body rear portion, and includes a rear body having a rear body front portion, a rear body rear portion, and multiple protrusions. The golf club head is configured such that (i) when the front body front surface strikes a golf ball with a first amount of force, the front body deflects toward the rear body with a first amount of deflection, and (ii) when the front body front surface strikes the golf ball with a second amount of force less than the first amount of force, the front body deflects toward the rear body with a second amount of deflection greater than the first amount of deflection. Other embodiments of related club heads and methods are also disclosed.
1. A golf club head comprising:
a top end and a bottom end opposite the top end;
a front end and a rear end opposite the front end;
a toe end and a heel end opposite the toe end;
a strikeface comprising a striking surface, and a rear surface opposite and rearward of the striking surface,
a rear body comprising:
an internal front surface;
and
multiple protrusions;
wherein:
each protrusion of the multiple protrusions comprises a first end and a second end opposite the first end;
the first end of each protrusion of the multiple protrusions is coupled only to the rear surface of the strikeface and extends away from the strikeface toward the rear body;
the second end of each protrusion is not engaged with the rear body and is proximal to the internal front surface of the rear body;
wherein each protrusion of the multiple protrusions has a length measured as the distance from the first end of each protrusion to the second end of the each protrusion;
wherein each protrusion of the multiple protrusions comprises a solid slat;
wherein the strikeface comprises a strikeface material selected from the group consisting of: steel, stainless steel, steel alloys, chrome-plated steel, tungsten, beryllium nickel, beryllium titanium, and titanium alloys;
wherein the multiple protrusions comprise the strikeface material:
wherein each of the solid slats has a width dimension measured laterally from the toe end to the heel end of the golf club head;
wherein each of the solid slats has a thickness dimension orthogonal to the width dimension;
and
the golf club head is configured such that:
when the striking surface impacts a golf ball with a first amount of force, the multiple protrusions deflect toward the strikeface with a first amount of deflection and the multiple protrusions extend towards the internal front surface of the rear body.
2. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
the strikeface is coupled to the rear body; and
the golf club head further comprises a filler material located between the strikeface and the rear body;
wherein:
the filler material is in communication with the multiple protrusions.
3. The golf club head of claim 2 wherein:
the filler material comprises a dilatant non-Newtonian material.
4. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
the multiple protrusions comprise a first protrusion forming a first angle with the strikeface rear surface; and
the first angle is less than 90 degrees.
5. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
the multiple protrusions comprise a first protrusion forming a first angle with the strikeface rear surface; and
the first angle is less than or equal to approximately 45 degrees.
6. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
the multiple protrusions comprise:
a first protrusion forming a first angle with the rear body internal front surface or the strikeface rear surface; and
a second protrusion forming a second angle with the rear body internal front surface or the strikeface rear surface;
the first angle and the second angle each are less than 90 degrees; and
the first angle and the second angle are different from each other.
7. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
each protrusion of the multiple protrusions comprises:
a smallest lateral dimension being approximately perpendicular to the length of the protrusion;
and
a ratio of the length to the smallest lateral dimension is at least approximately 4:1.
8. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
the multiple protrusions comprise a first protrusion and a second protrusion; and
the length of the first protrusion is different than the length of the second protrusion.
9. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
each protrusion of the multiple protrusions extends linearly away from the strikeface rear surface toward the rear body.
10. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein:
the rear body comprises a rear body material; and
the strikeface material is different than the rear body material.
11. A method of providing a golf club head, the method comprising:
providing a strikeface of the golf club head; and
providing a rear body of the golf club head;
wherein:
the golf club head comprises:
a top end and a bottom end opposite the top end;
a front end and a rear end opposite the front end; and
a toe end and a heel end opposite the toe end;
providing the strikeface comprises:
providing a striking surface; and
providing a rear surface opposite and rearward of the striking surface;
providing the rear body comprises:
providing an internal front surface;
and
providing multiple protrusions;
each protrusion of the multiple protrusions comprises a first end and a second end opposite the first end;
the first end of each protrusion of the multiple protrusions is coupled only to the rear surface of the strikeface and extends away from the strikeface toward the rear body;
wherein each protrusion of the multiple protrusions has a length measured as the distance from the first end of each protrusion to the second end of each protrusion;
wherein each protrusion of the multiple protrusions comprises a solid slat;
wherein the strikeface comprises a strikeface material selected from the group consisting of:
steel, stainless steel, steel alloys, chrome-plated steel, tungsten, beryllium nickel, beryllium titanium, and titanium alloys;
wherein the multiple protrusions comprise the strikeface material:
wherein each of the solid slats has a width dimension measured laterally from the toe end to the heel end of the golf club head;
wherein each of the solid slats has a thickness dimension orthogonal to the width dimension;
and
the golf club head is configured such that:
when the striking surface impacts a golf ball with a first amount of force, the multiple protrusions deflect toward the strikeface with a first amount of deflection and the multiple protrusions extend towards the internal front surface of the rear body.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:
providing a filler material located between the strikeface and the rear body, the filler material being in communication with the multiple protrusions.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
providing a filler material located between the strikeface and the rear body, the filler material being in communication with the multiple protrusions and comprising a dilatant non-Newtonian material.
14. The method of claim 11 further comprising:
coupling the strikeface to the rear body.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein:
coupling the strikeface to the rear body comprises welding the strikeface to the rear body.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein:
each protrusion of the multiple protrusions extends linearly away from the strikeface rear surface toward the rear body.
17. The method of claim 11 wherein:
the multiple protrusions comprise a first protrusion forming a first angle with the strikeface rear surface; and
the first angle is less than 90 degrees.
18. The method of claim 11 wherein:
the multiple protrusions comprise a first protrusion forming a first angle with the strikeface rear surface; and
the first angle is less than or equal to approximately 45 degrees.