Golf club head with sole rails
AssigneeSumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
InventorChristopher SMITH
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wood-type golf club head includes a depth in a front to rear direction no less than 80 mm, a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane aligned with the face center and extending in the front to rear direction, a rear portion opposite the striking face, a heel portion, a toe portion opposite the heel portion, a crown, and a sole opposite the crown. The sole includes a first rail and a second rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length and a second length, respectively, in the front to rear direction that are less than 75% of the front to rear depth of the club head and the first rail and the second rail are entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane.
Claims35
A wood-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position relative to a virtual ground plane, comprises:
- a loft greater than 13 degrees;
- a depth in a front to rear direction no less than 80 mm;
- a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane aligned with the face center and extending in the front to rear direction;
- a rear portion opposite the striking face;
- a heel portion;
- a toe portion opposite the heel portion;
- a crown;
- and
- a sole opposite the crown, the sole including:
- a sole base surface defining a general contour of the sole;
- a first rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length in the front to rear direction that is less than 75% of the depth of the club head and is entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane;
- and
- a second rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a second length in the front to rear direction that is less than 75% of the depth of the club head and the second rail being entirely spaced in the heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane.
A golf club head comprising:
- a loft greater than 13 degrees;
- a depth in a front to rear direction no less than 80 mm;
- a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane that extends in the front to rear direction;
- a rear portion opposite the striking face;
- a heel portion;
- a toe portion opposite the heel portion;
- a crown;
- and
- a sole opposite the crown, the sole including:
- a sole base surface defining a general contour of the sole;
- a first rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length in the front to rear direction, the first length being between 45 mm and 70 mm, and the first rail being entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane;
- and
- a second rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a second length in the front to rear direction, the second length being between 35 mm and 60 mm, and the second rail being entirely spaced in the heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane.
A hollow-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position relative to a virtual ground plane, comprises:
- a depth in a front to rear direction less than 75 mm;
- a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane aligned with the face center and extending in the front to rear direction;
- a rear portion opposite the striking face;
- a heel portion;
- a toe portion opposite the heel portion;
- a crown;
- and
- a sole opposite the crown, the sole including:
- a sole base surface defining a general contour of the sole;
- a first rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length in the front to rear direction that is greater than 90% of the front to rear depth of the club head, the virtual vertical center plane passing through the first rail such that the first rail is asymmetric about the virtual vertical center plane;
- a second rail located toe-ward of the first rail and projecting from the sole base surface, the second rail having a second length in the front to rear direction that is less than 65% of the depth of the club head;
- and
- a third rail located heel-ward of the first rail and projecting from the sole base surface, the third rail having a third length in the front to rear direction that is less than 65% of the depth of the club head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.