Golf club-heads having a particular relationship of face area to face mass

1. A club-head for a golf club, comprising:

a hollow body defining a front opening having a face support;

a face plate affixed to the face support and covering the front opening;

a hosel; and

a face portion, wherein the face portion comprises the face plate, the front opening face support, and a portion of the hollow body of the golf club head located from a tangent plane of the face plate to approximately 12 mm rearward from the tangent plane of the face plate but not including the hosel;

wherein the face portion of the club-head has a face area (A f ) and a face portion mass (M f , in grams), A f ≧5400 mm 2 and a club-head COR≦0.830, and the face mass M f is below M f −0.0072(A f )+18; and

wherein the body comprises body walls defining an external contour including a transition zone in which the external contour transitions to the face plate, and the body walls at the transition zone comprise a forward wall and a peripheral member located adjacent the front opening, each having respective interior surfaces that are joined together with a substantially constant inside radius in a range of 1.3 and 1.5 mm.

2. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein the body comprises at least one wall made of metal.

3. The club-head of claim 2 , wherein the metal comprises titanium alloy.

4. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the face plate comprises a composite material.

5. The club-head of claim 4 , wherein the face plate comprises a composite plate.

6. The club-head of claim 5 , wherein the composite plate comprises carbon fiber and cured epoxy resin.

7. The club-head of claim 4 , wherein:

the face plate has a strike face; and

the face plate comprises a composite plate and a cap bonded to the composite plate on the strike face.

8. The club-head of claim 7 , wherein the cap comprises a metallic material.

9. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein the face plate has a substantially uniform thickness.

10. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein the face plate has a variable thickness.

11. The club-head of claim 10 , wherein peripheral regions of the face plate are thinner than a central region of the face plate.

12. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein:

the face plate has a strike face;

the face plate comprises a composite plate and a metal cap bonded to the composite plate on the strike face;

the composite plate has a substantially uniform thickness; and

the metal cap has a substantially uniform thickness.

13. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein:

the face plate has a strike face;

the face plate comprises a composite plate and a metal cap bonded to the composite plate on the strike face;

the composite plate has a variable thickness; and

the metal cap has a substantially uniform thickness.

14. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein:

the face plate has a strike face;

the face plate comprises a composite plate and a metal cap bonded to the composite plate on the strike face; and

the body comprises body walls comprising a titanium alloy.

15. The club-head of claim 1 , wherein A f is within a range of 5400 to 10,000 mm 2 .

16. The club-head of claim 15 , wherein A f is within a range of 7000 to 10,000 mm 2 .

17. The club-head of claim 15 , wherein A f is within a range of 8500 to 10,000 mm 2 .

18. A golf club, comprising:

a club-head, comprising a hollow body and a face plate, the body defining a front opening having a face support, and the face plate being affixed to the face support and covering the front opening;

a hosel;

a shaft affixed to the hosel; and

a face portion, wherein the face portion comprises the face plate, the front opening face support, and a portion of the hollow body of the golf club head located from a tangent plane of the face plate to approximately 12 mm rearward from the tangent plane of the face plate but not including the hosel;

wherein the face portion of the club-head has a face area (A f ) and a face portion mass (M f , in grams), A f ≧5400 mm 2 and a club-head COR≦0.830, and the face mass M f is below M f −0.0072(A f )+18;

wherein the body comprises body walls defining an external contour including a transition zone in which the external contour transitions to the face plate, and the body walls at the transition zone comprising a forward wall and a peripheral member located adjacent the front opening, each having respective interior surfaces that are joined together with a substantially constant inside radius in a range of 1.3 to 1.5 mm.

19. The golf club of claim 18 , further comprising a hosel to which the shaft is affixed.

20. The golf club of claim 18 , configured as a driver.

21. The golf club of claim 18 , wherein at least a portion of the face plate comprises a composite material.

22. The golf club of claim 21 , wherein the face plate comprises a composite plate.

23. The golf club of claim 22 , wherein the composite plate comprises carbon fiber and cured epoxy resin.

24. The golf club of claim 21 , wherein:

the face plate has a strike face; and

the face plate comprises a composite plate and a cap bonded to the composite plate on the strike face.

25. The golf club of claim 24 , wherein the cap comprises a metallic material.

26. The golf club of claim 25 , wherein the body comprises a titanium alloy.

27. The golf club of claim 18 , wherein the face plate has a substantially uniform thickness.

28. The golf club of claim 18 , wherein the face plate has a variable thickness.

29. The golf club of claim 18 , wherein A f is within a range of 5400 to 10,000 mm 2 .

30. The golf club of claim 29 , wherein A f is within a range of 7000 to 10,000 mm 2 .

31. The golf club of claim 29 , wherein A f is within a range of 8500 to 10,000 mm 2 .