Golf club head with face damping and stress-reduction features
An golf club head with a structure that improves the sound and reduces stress placed on the face upon impact with a golf ball is disclosed herein. In particular, the golf club head is an iron with a face having a rear protrusion, also referred to as a piston, with both forward and rearward facing surfaces. The piston is at least partially received within a receptacle provided in the body of the golf club head. The receptacle also includes a pair of bumpers, one of which interacts with the piston to improve the sound of the face upon impact with a golf ball at speeds at which an average golfer would swing the club head, and the other of which reduces the stress placed on the face when the club makes impact with a golf ball at high speeds.
1. A golf club head comprising:
a body comprising a top section, a bottom section, a hosel disposed at a heel side, a toe side opposite the heel side, and a receptacle;
a face component comprising a striking face surface, a rear face surface opposite the striking face surface, and a piston extending from the rear face surface; and
a rear bumper,
wherein the piston comprises a stem and a plate member,
wherein the stem comprises a first end connected to the rear face surface and a second end opposite the first end,
wherein the stem extends approximately perpendicular to the rear face surface,
wherein the plate member is connected to the second end of the stem,
wherein the receptacle is at least partially defined by a front-side wall, a rear-side wall, a toe-side wall, a heel-side wall, and a floor,
wherein the receptacle comprises a front chamber and a rear chamber separated by a divider wall,
wherein the front-side wall comprises a first through-opening,
wherein the divider wall comprises a second through-opening so that the front chamber is in communication with the rear chamber,
wherein the rear bumper comprises a bumper body and a protrusion,
wherein the bumper body is disposed within the rear chamber and the protrusion extends into the second through-opening,
wherein the face component is affixed to the body, and
wherein the stem extends through the first through-opening and the plate member is disposed within the front chamber.
2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein no portion of the receptacle or the front bumper makes direct contact with the rear surface of the face component.
3. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the face component comprises a variable face thickness pattern.
4. The golf club head of claim 1 , further comprising a front bumper, wherein the front bumper is disposed within the front chamber between the front-side wall and the plate member.
5. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the front bumper and the rear bumper comprises a graphene material.
6. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein each of the front bumper and the rear bumper is composed of an elastic material.
7. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein when the golf club head is at address, a first gap is disposed between the plate member and the front bumper and a second gap is disposed between the plate member and the divider wall.
8. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein the front bumper at least partially encircles the stem.
9. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein each of the body and the face component is composed of a metal alloy material.
10. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the receptacle extends from the bottom section of the body towards the top section.
11. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the plate member extends approximately perpendicular to the stem and parallel with the rear surface of the striking face.
12. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the face component is a face cup comprising an upper flange and a lower flange.
13. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the stem extends from the rear face surface at a point located below a geometric face center of the rear face surface measured along a vertical Z axis.
14. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the body is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel and titanium alloy.
15. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the face component is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel and titanium alloy.
16. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the golf club head is an iron-type golf club head.