Metal wood club with improved hitting face

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a golf club head comprising a forged face cup, which comprises a hitting face and at least one sidewall, a cast member, and a stamped member, wherein the face cup, the cast member and the stamped member are welded together to form the golf club head. The hitting face and the at least one sidewall form a face cup. The hitting face may have a thickened central portion and a relatively thinner intermediate region. The hitting face defines a rectangular area of about 0.5 inch by 1.0 inch, and wherein initial ball speeds generated by the golf club head impacting golf balls are within 2% of a peak initial ball speed within the rectangle.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A method of making a golf club comprising the steps of 
 forging a face cup having a hitting face and at least one sidewall,    casting a second member,    stamping a third member, and    welding the forged face cup, the cast second member and the stamped third member to form a golf club head.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of casting the second member includes integrally casting a hosel with the second member.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of casting the second member includes integrally casting a pocket on the second member.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of welding comprises welding the forged face cup at a weld line at least about 12 mm behind the perimeter of the hitting face.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the weld line is at least about 25 mm behind the perimeter of the hitting face.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of stamping the third member comprises stamping a crown plate.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of stamping the third member comprises stamping a sole plate.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the step of stamping the third member further comprises welding a pocket adapted to receive a predetermined weight to the sole plate.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of welding includes the step of orienting the grain structure of the stamped member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the hitting face.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further includes the step of attaching the golf club head to a shaft and grip to form a golf club.