Golf club head with flexure
A golf club head including a crown, a sole, a hosel, a face and a flexure. The flexure provides compliance during an impact between the golf club head and a golf ball, and is tuned to vibrate, immediately after impact, at a predetermined frequency.
1. A golf club head, comprising:
a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;
a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head;
a side wall extending between the crown and sole;
a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore;
a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the lower surface at a leading edge; and
a flexure that is spaced afterward of the ball-striking surface, extending in a generally heel-to-toe direction and parallel to the leading edge of the golf club head,
wherein the sole is constructed of a first material having a first Young's modulus and the flexure is constructed of a second material having a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus,
wherein the flexure is tuned so that the width across the flexure in a face-to-aft direction varies sinusoidally, immediately after impact, at a frequency of about 2900 Hz to about 4000 Hz, and
wherein at least a portion of the flexure is constructed of a β-Ti alloy.
2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure is annular and has a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape.
3. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure is recessed from at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the golf club head.
4. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure forms a transition between the face and at least one of the crown and the sole.
5. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure comprises a plurality of components.
6. The golf club head of claim 5 , wherein the flexure comprises a front member, a central member and an aft member, and wherein the central member is constructed from a first material and at least one of the front member and the aft member is constructed from a second material that is different than the first material.
7. The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein the front member and the aft member are metallic.
8. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the flexure comprises a flexure component coupled to a front flange and an aft flange of the golf club head.
9. The golf club head of claim 8 , wherein the front flange and the aft flange extend from the sole toward the interior of the golf club head.
10. The golf club head of claim 8 , wherein the flexure component extends from the front flange and the aft flange toward the interior of the golf club head.
11. A golf club head, comprising:
a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;
a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head;
a side wall extending between the crown and sole;
a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore;
a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the lower surface at a leading edge; and
a flexure that is spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface, extending in a generally heel-to-toe direction and parallel to the leading edge of the golf club head,
wherein the sole is constructed of a first material having a first Young's modulus and the flexure is constructed of a second material having a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus,
wherein the flexure is tuned so that the width across the flexure in a face-to-aft direction varies sinusoidally, immediately after impact, at a frequency of about 2900 Hz to about 4000 Hz,
wherein at least a portion of the flexure is constructed of a β-Ti alloy, and
wherein the flexure extends across the body in a generally heel-to-toe direction and within between about 5.0 mm and about 20.0 mm from the leading edge of the golf club head and intersects at least a portion of the side wall of the golf club head.
12. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the flexure is annular and has a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape.
13. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the flexure is recessed from at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the golf club head.
14. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the flexure forms a transition between the face and at least one of the crown and the sole.
15. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the flexure comprises a plurality of components.
16. The golf club head of claim 15 , wherein the flexure comprises a front member, a central member and an aft member, and wherein the central member is constructed from a first material and at least one of the front member and the aft member is constructed from a second material that is different than the first material.
17. The golf club head of claim 16 , wherein the front member and the aft member are metallic.
18. The golf club head of claim 11 , wherein the flexure comprises a flexure component coupled to a front flange and an aft flange of the golf club head.
19. The golf club head of claim 18 , wherein the front flange and the aft flange extend from the sole toward the interior of the golf club head.
20. The golf club head of claim 18 , wherein the flexure component extends from the front flange and the aft flange toward the interior of the golf club head.