Golf club head or face

Abstract

A striking face for golf clubs, such as a driver, iron or putter, includes zones of the same or different material arranged to create a desired “feel” to the golfer and/or produce a desired effect on the golf ball. For instance, the zones can be arranged to create a variation in mechanical properties across the striking face. The zones can be created by using “pixels” such as round or hexagonal rods arranged with their central axes perpendicular to the striking face. Pixels of a first material such as a shape memory alloy such as superelastic NiTi can be arranged in one or more concentric patterns and the remainder of the striing face can be made up of pixels of a second material such as beta-titanium, martensitic NiTi or stainless steel. The superelastic NiTi pixels can thus create a sweet spot on the striking face of the club.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A golf ball striking face of a golf club, comprising: 
 first and second zones of material distributed across the striking face, one or more of the first zones being surrounded by one or more of the second zones and the first zone having a higher or lower modulus of elasticity than the second zone.    
     
     
         2 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second zones are differentially heat treated zones of a unitary piece of metallic material.  
     
     
         3 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the first zones comprise discrete pieces of a first material and the second zone comprises a unitary piece of a second material, the first zones being embedded in the second material.  
     
     
         4 . The golf ball strkig face of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the first zones comprise discrete pieces of a superelastic shape memory alloy.  
     
     
         5 . The golf ball strkig face of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the first zones comprise individual wire segments arranged in a pattern, the wire segments being arranged with central axes thereof perpendicular to an exposed surface of the strkig face.  
     
     
         6 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the first zones comprise discrete pieces arranged in a patter and the second zone comprises a frame surrounding the first zones.  
     
     
         7 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 6 , wherein the first zones h ave polyhedral shapes.  
     
     
         8 . The golf ball strkig face of  claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the second zones are separated by a plurality of the first zones.  
     
     
         9 . The golf ball-striirg face of  claim 1 , wherein the string face is planar or non-planar.  
     
     
         10 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein the striking face comprises an insert for an iron-type golf club and the insert has a substantially uniform thickness.  
     
     
         11 . The golf ball string face of  claim 1 , wherein the first zone comprises an annular ring and a plurality of the second zones include an inner second zone surrounded by the first zone and an outer second zone surrounding the first zone.  
     
     
         12 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more first zones comprise a perimeter weighting arrangement of an insert or club head of a golf club.  
     
     
         13 . The golf ball strikg face of  claim 1 , further comprising third zones of material surrounding the first and second zones, the third zones comprising a dense material providing perimeter weighting of an insert or club head of a golf club.  
     
     
         14 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein the first zones comprise a plurality of solid or hollow metallic members.  
     
     
         15 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein the first zones comprise wires of single crystal CuNiAI, the wires being arranged with central axes thereof intersecting the striking face.  
     
     
         16 . The golf ball striking face of  claim 1 , wherein the first zones comprise wire segments, the wire segments being curved and arranged with ends of the wire segments intersecting the strikg face.