Golf club heads with protective layer and methods of manufacturing the golf club heads

A method of coating a golf club head, comprising:

• providing a golf club head including a ball-striking face, wherein the ball-striking face is associated with a first hardness;
• applying a protective ceramic layer to the ball-striking face, wherein the protective ceramic layer is associated with a second hardness, and wherein the second hardness is greater than the first hardness;
• wherein the ball-striking face comprises, by weight, about 0.15% to about 0.40% copper, about 0.04% to about 0.35% chromium, and balance aluminum;
• the second hardness is about 105 in Brinell scale;
• and
• wherein a thickness of the ball-striking face is reduced in order to reduce weight of the ball-striking face by no more than 18 grams, wherein the no more than 18 grams of weight is redistributed to move a center of gravity of the golf club head away from the ball-striking face and lower the center of gravity toward the bottom portion of the golf club head by at least 0.1 millimeter (mm).

A golf club comprising:

• a shaft;
• a golf club head coupled to the shaft, wherein the golf club head having a ball-striking face associated with a first hardness;
• a protective aluminum oxide layer coupled to the ball-striking face, wherein the protective aluminum oxide layer is associated with a second hardness, and wherein the second hardness is greater than the first hardness;
• the ball-striking face comprises, by weight, about 0.15% to about 0.40% copper, about 0.04% to about 0.35% chromium, and balance aluminum;
• the second hardness is about 105 in Brinell scale;
• and
• wherein a thickness of the ball-striking face is reduced in order to reduce weight of the ball-striking face by no more than 18 grams, wherein the no more than 18 grams of weight is redistributed to move a center of gravity of the golf club head away from the ball-striking face and lower the center of gravity toward the bottom portion of the golf club head by at least 0.1 millimeter (mm).