Faceplate backings and monolithic inserts for golf clubs

Abstract

A striking face backing for golf clubs, such as a driver, iron or putter, is formed of non-uniform geometry or material arranged to create a desired “feel” to the golfer and/or produce a desired effect on the golf ball. For instance, the backing can be arranged to create a variation in mechanical properties across the striking face. The backing designs can be applied behind integral striking faces, or as part of monolithic, unitary striking face, or pixel striking face inserts. The geometry, compression, and rebound properties of the backing are communicated to the striking face. Thus a sweet spot on the striking face of the club may be enlarged and/or shifted and the effects of imperfectly executed impacts may be mitigated.

1 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a front face having a recess;    a faceplate insert situated within said recess comprising a plurality of discrete pieces of the same material distributed within the recess of the striking face, the pieces having endwalls forming the striking face and each of the pieces having at least one sidewall in contact with a sidewall of an adjacent one of the pieces wherein the assembled pieces are shaped to fill the height and width of the recess in a close packed relationship;    a faceplate backing wherein the faceplate backing is situated within the recess behind at least a portion of the striking face; and    said backing being non-uniform in thickness, material or both across the extent of the faceplate in the vertical and/or horizontal direction.    
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said faceplate backing is in contact with the back ends of all faceplate pieces.  
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the faceplate backing comprises a single piece of material with the thickness of said backing being non-uniform in the horizontal and vertical directions.  
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said faceplate backing comprises a plurality of layers of material.  
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the plurality of layers of material has a uniform cross section in the horizontal or vertical direction.  
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said faceplate backing comprises a plurality of discrete backing elements distributed horizontally and/or vertically within the striking face recess.  
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 6 , wherein said discrete backing elements are composed of at least two different materials.  
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said faceplate backing encloses one or more voids within the front face recess.  
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said faceplate insert comprises a plurality of discrete pieces of the same material distributed within the recess of the striking face, the pieces having frontwalls forming the striking face, each of the pieces having at least one sidewall contiguous with a sidewall of an adjacent pieces and the pieces filling the height and/or width of the recess in a close packed relationship.  
     
     
         10 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a front face having a recess;    a faceplate insert comprising a single piece situated within said recess forming a striking face; and    the faceplate insert being non-uniform in thickness across the extent of the faceplate in the vertical and horizontal direction.    
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein said faceplate insert encloses one or more voids within the front face recess.  
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the impact response of the front face is controlled by the non-uniform thickness of the faceplate insert.  
     
     
         13 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a front face having a recess;    a faceplate insert situated within said recess;    a faceplate backing comprising a plurality of layers of material wherein the faceplate backing is situated within the recess behind at least a portion of the striking face; and    said faceplate backing being non-uniform in thickness, material or both across the extent of the faceplate in the vertical and/or horizontal direction.    
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the plurality of layers of material has a uniform cross section in the horizontal or vertical direction.  
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 13 , wherein the faceplate insert comprises a unitary striking face element forming a striking face.  
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 13 , wherein the faceplate insert comprises a plurality of discrete pieces of the same material in a close packed arrangement.  
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the plurality of layers comprises a plurality of discrete backing elements distributed horizontally and/or vertically within the front face recess.  
     
     
         18 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a golf club head body;    a striking face integral with the head body;    a striking face backing wherein the backing is situated within a opening behind at least a portion of the striking face; and    said backing being non-uniform in thickness and/or material across the extent of the striking face in the vertical and/or horizontal direction.