Co-molded golf club head
A golf club head comprising a face plate, a body, bonding material, and at least one retainer, wherein the bonding material and at least one retainer are the sole medium coupling the face plate and body.
1. An iron-type golf club head, comprising;
a face plate, a body, and a bonding material;
wherein the body comprises a sole, and top rail;
the bonding material is substantially disposed between the face plate and body;
the bonding material crosslinks the face plate to the body;
the face plate is not welded to the body;
the face plate comprises at least one retainer disposed within a volume of the iron-type golf club head;
the bonding material engages both the at least one body locking geometry and the at least one retainer; and
the face plate further comprises a face plate density;
the body further comprises a body density;
the iron-type golf club head further comprises a density ratio;
wherein the density ratio is a ratio of the body density to the face plate density; and
the density ratio is greater than 3.
2. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the at least one retainer comprises at least one circular hole.
3. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , further comprising a face plane, and an offset;
wherein the face plane is parallel to the face plate;
the face plane is coplanar with the face plate;
the offset is a distance between the face plate and body, measured along the face plane; and
the offset is substantially constant across the face plate.
4. The iron-type golf club head of claim 3 , wherein the offset is between 0.001 inch and 0.125 inch.
5. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the density ratio is greater than 4.
6. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein a face plate hardness is greater than 35 HRC.
7. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein a face plate hardness is greater than 50 HRC.
8. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the bonding material comprises a resin selected from a group consisting of Thermoplastic composite (TPC), and Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).
9. An iron-type golf club head, comprising:
a face plate, a body, and a bonding material;
wherein the body comprises a sole and top rail;
the bonding material is substantially disposed between the face plate and body;
the bonding material crosslinks the face plate to the body;
the face plate is not welded to the body;
the face plate comprises at least one face plate retainer disposed within a volume of the iron-type golf club head;
the body comprises at least one body retainer disposed within a volume of the iron-type golf club head;
the bonding material engages both the at least one body retainer and the at least one face plate retainer; and
the bonding material and face plate form at least one discrete void rearward of the face plate;
the face plate further comprises a face plate density;
the body further comprises a body density;
the iron-type golf club head further comprises a density ratio;
wherein the density ratio is a ratio of the body density to the face plate density; and
the density ratio is greater than 1;
wherein the face plate comprises a face plate modulus of elasticity;
the body comprises a body modulus of elasticity; and
the body modulus of elasticity is less than the face plate modulus of elasticity.
10. The iron-type golf club head of claim 9 , wherein the at least one discrete void is proximate to at least one of the top rail and sole.
11. An iron-type golf club head comprising;
a face plate, a body, and a bonding material;
wherein the body comprises a sole, and top rail;
the bonding material is substantially disposed between the face plate and body;
the bonding material crosslinks the face plate to the body;
the face plate and body are not welded together;
the face plate comprises a retainer disposed within a volume of the iron-type golf club head;
the retainer comprises a groove around a face plate perimeter;
the bonding material engages the retainer; and
the face plate further comprises a face plate density;
the body further comprises a body density;
the iron-type golf club head further comprises a density ratio;
wherein the density ratio is the ratio of the body density to the face plate density; and
the density ratio is greater than 3.
12. The iron-type golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the density ratio is greater than 4.
13. The iron-type golf club head of claim 11 , wherein a face plate hardness is greater than 35 HRA.
14. The iron-type golf club head of claim 11 , wherein a face plate hardness is greater than 50 HRC.
15. The iron-type golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the bonding material comprises a resin selected from a group consisting of Thermoplastic composite (TPC), and Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).
16. The iron-type golf club head of claim 15 , wherein the resin is reinforced by carbon fiber.