Golf club head having an alignment marker on its strike face

Abstract

A golf club head having a hollow metal body with a metal strike face. The metal strike face has a coating applied thereto of a first hue of color that defines an alignment marker for a golfer. The decorative coating covers at least 10% of an entire surface area of the metal strike face, covers the geometric center of the strike face, is bounded by at least a second hue of color that is different than the first hue of color, and does not extend to a periphery of the metal strike face The coating has physical properties that do not affect a launch angle and spin rate of a golf ball hit with the golf club head.

1 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a hollow metal body having a metal strike face with a periphery, said metal strike face having an a coating applied thereto of a first hue of color to define an alignment marker for a golfer, said coating:    covering at least 10% of an entire surface area of said metal strike face,    covering a geometric center of said strike face,    being bounded by at least a second hue of color that is different than said first hue of color,    not extending to said periphery of said metal strike face, and    having physical properties that do not affect a launch angle and spin rate of a golf ball hit with the golf club head.    
   
   
       2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , said first hue of color being a first shade of black, said second hue of color being a second shade of black.  
   
   
       3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , said first hue of color being a shade of black, said second hue of color being that of the metal of the strike face.  
   
   
       4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , said coating being in the shape of an ellipse.  
   
   
       5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , said coating being a plastic.  
   
   
       6 . The golf club head of  claim 5 , said plastic being polyvinylidenfluoride.  
   
   
       7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , said coating being sprayed on said metal strike face.  
   
   
       8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , said coating covering at least 30% of said entire surface area of said metal strike face.  
   
   
       9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , an entirety of said metal strike face having a substantially uniform surface finish.  
   
   
       10 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a hollow metal body having a metal strike face with a periphery, said metal strike face having a substantially uniform coefficient of friction, a substantially uniform hardness, and a coating applied thereto of a first hue of color to define an alignment marker for a golfer, said coating:    covering at least 10% of an entire surface area of said metal strike face,    covering a geometric center of said strike face,    being bounded by at least a second hue of color that is different than said first hue of color,    not extending to said periphery of said metal strike face, and    not changing said coefficient of friction and said hardness of said metal strike face.    
   
   
       11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , said first hue of color being a shade of black, said second hue of color being that of the metal of said strike face.  
   
   
       12 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , said coating being in the shape of an ellipse.  
   
   
       13 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , said coating being polyvinylidenfluoride.  
   
   
       14 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , said coating being sprayed on said metal strike face.  
   
   
       15 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , said coating covering at least 40% of said entire surface area of said metal strike face.  
   
   
       16 . A method comprising: 
 creating an alignment marker on a metal strike face of a golf club head by creating a surface finish in the metal strike face, applying a coating to the metal strike face, and buffing the coating on the metal strike face.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
 masking a portion of the metal strike face prior to said applying the coating to the metal strike face; and    removing the mask after said applying the coating to the metal strike face.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , the surface finish being 180 grit scratch.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16 , the coating being a plastic, said applying the coating to the metal strike face including: 
 spraying the plastic on the metal strike face.    
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , the plastic being polyvinylidenflouride.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 19 , the plastic being at a temperature over 300° C. when sprayed on the metal strike face.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 16 , said buffing the coating on the metal strike face resulting in the coating substantially only residing in scratches of the surface finish of the metal strike face.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 16 , said buffing the coating on the metal strike face resulting in the metal strike face having a substantially uniform surface finish.  
   
   
       24 . A method of fabricating a golf club head comprising: 
 applying a coating of a first hue of color to a metal strike face of a golf club head such that:    the coating covers at least 10% of an entire surface area of the metal strike face;    the coating covers a geometric center of the metal strike face;    the coating does not extend to a periphery of said metal strike face, and    the coating is bounded by at least a second hue of color that is different than said first hue of color.    
   
   
       25 . A golf club head comprising: 
 a hollow metal body with a metal strike face, said metal strike face having a coating thereon that defines an alignment mark on a geometric center of said metal strike face, said alignment mark being configured to assist a golfer in aligning a golf ball with said geometric center when addressing the golf ball, said alignment mark having physical properties that do not affect a launch angle and spin rate of a golf ball hit with the golf club head.