Method of manufacturing a face plate for a golf club head

A method for manufacturing a golf club head comprising:

• providing a face plate material for a face plate having a strike side and a back side;
• and milling the face plate material in an elliptical pattern to concurrently form, in a single elliptical orbit:
• a central region comprising a first elliptical outer edge;
• a transition region extending from the first elliptical outer edge to a second elliptical outer edge;
• and
• a peripheral region bounding the transition region and extending from the second elliptical outer edge out to a face plate edge of the face plate;
• wherein:
• the elliptical pattern and the first, second, and face plate edges are non-circular;
• the transition region comprises a substantially constant width throughout the transition region and between the first and second elliptical outer edges;
• and
• from the strike side to the back side of the face plate material:
• an entirety of the central region within the first elliptical outer edge is thicker than the transition region past the first elliptical outer edge and thicker than the peripheral region past the second elliptical outer edge.