Golf club head
A golf club head includes a body including a toe region, a heel region, and a medial region extending between the toe region and the heel region. A core bar is integrally formed with the body at the toe region and the heel region and extends within the medial region along a trailing end. Further, a slot has an upper edge formed along a lower edge of the core bar at the trailing end. A face insert is coupled to the body and an interior cavity is formed between the face insert and the core bar.
1 . A golf club head, comprising:
a body including a sole portion, a toe region, a heel region, and a medial region extending between the toe region and the heel region, the body at least partially defining an elongate slot that extends from the toe region to the heel region in a toe-heel direction;
a face insert coupled to a front side of the body;
a core bar that is unitary with the body at the toe region and the heel region such that opposing ends of the core bar are attached to the toe region and the heel region, respectively, and the core bar is suspended across the sole portion of the body in the medial region such that an interface between the core bar and the body is limited to opposing ends of the core bar in the heel region and the toe region;
an interior cavity defined between the face insert and the core bar; and
a filler material that is disposed within the interior cavity and is in direct contact with at least three surfaces of the core bar,
wherein the core bar defines:
a front core surface facing the face insert; and
a rear core surface opposite the front core surface,
wherein the sole portion extends between the front side and a rear side of the body.
2 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the filler material is a polymer.
3 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the slot is filled with a slot filler material.
4 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein a slot lower edge of the slot is defined by a portion of the face insert that is spaced apart from the core bar.
5 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein a slot lower edge of the slot is defined by a portion of the body that is spaced apart from the core bar.
6 . A golf club head, comprising:
a body including a sole portion, a toe region, and a heel region, the body defining a front side and a rear side opposite the front side, the sole portion extending between the front side and the rear side;
a core bar that is unitary with the body and extends between the toe region and the heel region such that opposing ends of the core bar are attached to the toe region and the heel region, respectively, and the core bar is suspended across the sole portion of the body such that an interface between the core bar and the body is limited to opposing ends of the core bar in the heel region and the toe region; and
a face insert coupled to the front side of the body, the face insert including a sole return extending from a lower end of a face surface of the face insert rearward to a trailing edge of the face insert that is disposed at an interface between the sole portion and the rear side of the body,
wherein the core bar defines:
a front core surface facing the face insert; and
a rear core surface opposite the front core surface and defining the rear side of the body,
wherein an interior cavity is formed between the sole return and the core bar; and
wherein a filler material is arranged within the interior cavity and the filler material is in direct contact with at least three surfaces of the core bar.
7 . The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein the interior cavity has a first gap distance and a second gap distance, the first gap distance being different from the second gap distance.
8 . The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein the trailing edge of the sole return is disposed adjacent to a slot along the rear side of the body.
9 . The golf club head of claim 8 , wherein the sole return has a thickness that varies between the trailing edge and a leading edge.
10 . The golf club head of claim 9 , wherein the sole return and the face insert comprise a unitary component.
11 . The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein the filler material is a polymer.
12 . The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the face insert is coupled to the body along a receiving edge that at least partially surrounds the core bar.
13 . A method of manufacturing a golf club head, the method comprising:
forming a body and a face insert separately from one another, the body including a front side, a rear side opposite the front side, a heel region, a toe region, and a sole portion;
forming a core bar as a unitary component with the heel region and the toe region of the body such that opposing ends of the core bar are attached to the toe region and the heel region, respectively, and the core bar is suspended across the sole portion of the body such that an interface between the core bar and the body is limited to opposing ends of the core bar in the heel region and the toe region, wherein a slot is disposed within the rear side and offset with respect to an interface between the sole portion and the rear side, wherein the slot is defined at least partially by a lower edge of the core bar;
joining the face insert to the front side of the body to form an interior cavity, such that the face insert is distanced from the core bar;
filling the slot with a first material; and
filling the interior cavity with a second material,
wherein the core bar defines:
a front core surface facing the face insert; and
a rear core surface opposite the front core surface and defining the rear side of the body.
14 . The method of claim 13 further comprising forming a sole cutout in the sole portion that extends between a leading end of the body and a trailing end of the body.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein joining the face insert to the body includes receiving a sole return of the face insert within the sole cutout of the sole portion.
16 . The method of claim 13 further comprising forming a notch on the rear side of the body and within a medial region of the body.
17 . The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving a portion of a plate within the notch to secure the plate to the body.