Golf club head and method of manufacture
AssigneeTaylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
InventorsD. Clayton Long, Peter Barker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An iron-type golf club and a method of creating the iron-type golf club including the steps of forming a club head blank having an external sacrificial region with an ESR thickness, an ESR sole portion, an ESR face portion, and an ESR leading edge portion. A finished club head is formed having a finished club head weight of less than 310 grams by machining off an ESR removed mass from at least a portion of the external sacrificial region including at least a portion of the ESR sole portion, a portion of the ESR face portion, and a portion of the ESR leading edge portion.
Claims20
A method of creating an iron-type golf club, comprising:
- a) forming a club head blank, wherein:
- (i) the club head blank includes a body including a hosel, a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a face portion, and a leading edge joining the face portion and the sole portion, wherein the sole portion extends rearwardly from the leading edge;
- (ii) the club head blank includes an external sacrificial region having an ESR thickness, an ESR sole portion, an ESR face portion, and an ESR leading edge portion;
- b) forming a finished club head having a finished club head weight of less than 310 grams by machining off an ESR removed mass from at least a portion of the external sacrificial region including at least a portion of the ESR sole portion, a portion of the ESR face portion, and a portion of the ESR leading edge portion, wherein:
- (i) at least 10 grams are removed from the ESR face portion and account for less than 70% of the ESR removed mass;
- (ii) at least 5 grams are removed from the ESR sole portion and account for at least 20% of the ESR removed mass;
- (iii) at least 50% of the ESR leading edge portion is machined to produce a finished leading edge radius;
- (iv) the ESR removed mass is at least 0.55 grams per degree of loft of the finished club head, wherein the loft is 17-60 degrees;
- and
- (v) a volume of the finished club head is 10-120 cc.
A method of creating an iron-type golf club, comprising:
- a) forming a club head blank, wherein:
- (i) the club head blank includes a body including a hosel, a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a face portion, and a leading edge joining the face portion and the sole portion, wherein the sole portion extends rearwardly from the leading edge;
- (ii) the club head blank includes an external sacrificial region having an ESR thickness, an ESR sole portion, an ESR face portion, and an ESR leading edge portion;
- b) forming a finished club head having a finished club head weight of less than 310 grams by machining off an ESR removed mass from at least a portion of the external sacrificial region including at least a portion of the ESR sole portion, a portion of the ESR face portion, and a portion of the ESR leading edge portion, wherein:
- (i) 10-50 grams are removed from the ESR face portion;
- (ii) 5-40 grams are removed from the ESR sole portion;
- (iii) at least 50% of the ESR leading edge portion is machined to produce a finished leading edge radius of 1.0-4.0 mm;
- (iv) the ESR removed mass is 0.55-3.75 grams per degree of loft of the finished club head, wherein the loft is 17-60 degrees;
- and
- (v) a volume of the finished club head is 10-120 cc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.