Granted Patent B2

US 12,377,321 · App. 18/055,204 · Granted Aug 5, 2025

Inventors: Stephanie Luttrell (Carlsbad, CA); Vincent S. Jacobson (Murrieta, CA); Kevin Wolfe (Fallbrook, CA)

Assignee: Acushnet Company

A63B53/04C23C14/028A63B53/0441A63B2209/00

Abstract

Claims (63)

1. A club face of a driver-type golf club head, comprising:

a coating that covers at least a portion of each of a central region of the club face, a toe region of the club face, and a heel region of the club face;

a first plurality of laser-generated features on the central region of the club face, wherein:

the first plurality of laser-generated features provides at least two of a height-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 80%, a width-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 80%, or a surface-area coverage of the central region of at least 25%; and

wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features has a maximum width between about 30% to 50% of a maximum width of the club face;

a second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the second plurality of laser-generated features are differently shaped from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, and a surface-area coverage of the toe region by the second plurality of laser-generated features is less than the surface-area coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features; and

a third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region of the club face, wherein the third plurality of laser-generated features are differently shaped from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, and a surface-area coverage of the heel region by the third plurality of laser-generated features is less than the surface-area coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features.

2. The club face of claim 1 , wherein:

the second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face are spaced apart, in a heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features; and

the third plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face are spaced apart, in the heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features.

3. The club face of claim 1 , wherein:

the second plurality of laser-generated features provides width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 80% and a surface-area coverage of the toe region of at least 10%; and

the third plurality of laser-generated features provides width-intersection coverage of the heel region of at least 80% and a surface-area coverage of the heel region of at least 10%.

4. The club face of claim 1 , wherein the central region has a maximum width that is between 30% to 50% of a maximum width of the club face.

5. The club face of claim 4 , wherein:

the second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face extend in a heel-to-toe direction and do not extend into the central region of the club face; and

the third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region extend in the heel-to-toe direction and do not extend into the central region of the club face.

6. The club face of claim 1 , wherein the width-intersection coverage of the central region by first plurality of laser-generated features is substantially the same as a width-intersection coverage of the toe region by the second plurality of laser-generated features and a width intersection coverage of the heel region by the third plurality of laser-generated features.

7. The club face of claim 1 , wherein the width-intersection coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features is at least 90%.

8. The club face of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features, the second plurality of laser-generated features, and the third plurality of laser-generated features are offset from a lower perimeter of the club face by an offset distance between 2-5 mm.

9. The club face of claim 1 , wherein:

the second plurality of laser-generated features and the third plurality of laser-generated features have the same shape;

each of the first plurality of laser-generated features extend at least partially in a crown-to-sole direction;

each of the second plurality of laser-generated features extend in a heel-to-toe direction; and

each of the third plurality of laser-generated features extend in the heel-to-toe direction.

10. A club face of a driver-type golf club head, comprising:

a central region;

a toe region;

a heel region;

a coating that at least partially covers the central region, the toe region, and the heel region;

a first plurality of laser-generated features on the central region, wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features provide a width-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 80% and a surface-area coverage of the central region of at least 25%;

a second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region, wherein the second plurality of laser-generated features are differently shaped from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, are spaced apart, in a heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features, and a height-intersection coverage of the toe region by the second plurality of laser-generated features is less than a height-intersection coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features; and

a third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region of the club face, wherein the third plurality of laser-generated features are differently shaped from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, are spaced apart, in the heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features, and a height-intersection coverage of the heel region by the third plurality of laser-generated features is less than the height-intersection coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features;

wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features create a contrast with the second plurality of laser-generated features and the third-plurality of laser generated features.

11. The club face of claim 1 , wherein:

the second plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 90%;

the second plurality of laser-generated features do not extend into the central region;

the third plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the heel region of at least 90%; and

the third plurality of laser-generated features do not extend into the central region.

12. The club face of claim 1 , further comprising a fourth plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the fourth plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 80%.

13. The club face of claim 1 , wherein the laser-generated features of the first plurality of laser-generated features are lines extending in both in a partially heel-to-toe direction and a partially crown-to-sole direction.

14. The club face of claim 1 , further comprising, in the central region, a continuous laser-generated band that is contoured to match a shape of a lower boundary of the club face, the band being offset from a perimeter of the club face by an offset distance between 2-5 mm.

15. A club face of a driver-type golf club head, comprising:

a central region;

a toe region;

a heel region;

a coating that at least partially covers the central region, the toe region, and the heel region;

a first plurality of laser-generated features on the central region of a club face, wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features provide a width-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 90%, a surface-area coverage of the central region of at least 15%, and a maximum width between about 30% to 50% of a maximum width of the club face measured in a heel-to-toe direction;

a second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the second plurality of laser-generated features are differently shaped from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, are spaced apart, in the heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features, and a height-intersection coverage of the toe region by the second plurality of laser-generated features is less than a height-intersection coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features; and

a third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region of the club face, wherein the third plurality of laser-generated features are differently shaped from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, and are spaced apart, in the heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features, and a height-intersection coverage of the heel region by the third plurality of laser-generated features is less than the height-intersection coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features.

16. The club face of claim 15 , wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features create a contrast with the second plurality of laser-generated features and the third plurality of laser generated features.

17. The club face of claim 15 , further comprising a fourth plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the fourth plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 80%.

18. The club face of claim 17 , further comprising a continuous laser-generated band that is contoured to match a shape of a lower perimeter of the club face, the band being offset from the lower perimeter of the club face by an offset distance between 2-5 mm.

19. The club face of claim 18 , wherein:

the central region has a maximum width that is between 30% to 50% of the maximum width of the club face;

the second plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 90% and a surface-area coverage of the toe region of at least 10%, wherein the toe region extends from a toe-ward edge of the central region to a toe-most edge of the club face;

the third plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the heel region of at least 90% and a surface-area coverage of the heel region of at least 10%, wherein the heel region extends from a heel-ward edge of the central region to a heel-most edge of the club face; and

the laser-generated features of the first plurality of laser-generated features are lines extending in the heel-to-toe direction.

20. The club face of claim 19 , wherein:

the first plurality of laser-generated features do not extend into the heel region or the toe region;

the second plurality of laser-generated features do not extend into the central region;

the third plurality of laser generated features to do not extend into the central region; and

the fourth plurality of laser-generated features do not extend into the central region.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (78)