Head profile for a golf club iron

Abstract

The head of a golf iron having an improved profile that enables a golfer to accurately align the club head with a golf ball so that the club head will strike the ball at the sweet spot located on the club face. The club head has a top edge which runs above the club face and includes first and second portions that extend in first and second directions. The boundary line between the first and second portions at the top edge of the club head lies in a vertical sweet spot reference plane with the center of the sweet spot. The boundary line at the top edge of the club head is visible to the golfer looking down at his club head so as to provide the golfer with an indication of the location of the sweet spot on the club face at which to strike the golf ball during his swing.

1 . A golf club head attached to a hosel and comprising a face at which a golf ball is to be struck, a sweet spot located on the face at which to apply an impact force to the golf ball without causing the golf club head to rotate in the hand of a golfer when the golf club head strikes the golf ball, an inside end at which the hosel is attached, an outside end located opposite the inside end, and a top edge which runs above the face of the club head between the inside and outside ends thereof, said top edge having a first portion which runs in a first direction and a second portion which runs in a second direction and a perceptively visible boundary line lying at the intersection of the first and second portions of said top edge, wherein said visible boundary line is located in a vertical sweet spot reference plane which includes the center of the sweet spot that is located on the face of the club head, such that said visible boundary line and the center of the sweet spot are aligned with one another in said vertical sweet spot plane. 
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of parallel spin control grooves formed in and extending horizontally across the face of said club head, said vertical sweet spot reference plane in which said visible boundary line and the center of the sweet spot are located lying in perpendicular alignment with the horizontally extending spin control grooves. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head recited in  claim 4 , wherein the first portion of said top edge inclines upwardly in said first direction between the hosel at the inside end of said club head and the vertical sweet spot reference plane in which said visible boundary line is located, and the second portion of said top edge extends horizontally in said second direction between said sweet spot reference plane and the outside end of said club head. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head recited in  claim 5 , wherein the second portion of said top edge which extends horizontally in said second direction lies in parallel alignment with the plurality of horizontally extending spin control grooves formed in and extending across the face of the club head. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head recited in  claim 5 , wherein each of the upwardly inclined first portion and the horizontally extending second portion of said top edge runs continuously in a straight line path. 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A golf club head attached to a hosel and comprising a face at which a golf ball is to be struck, a plurality of spin control grooves extending horizontally across the face of the golf club head, a sweet spot located on the face at which to apply an impact force to the golf ball without causing the golf club head to rotate in the hand of a golfer when the golf club head strikes the golf ball, an inside end at which the hosel is attached, an outside end located opposite the inside end, and a top edge which runs above the face of the club head between the inside and outside ends thereof, said top edge having a first straight line portion and a second straight line portion that lies adjacent said first straight line portion, such that the first and second straight line portions of said top edge are aligned with one another to form an angle, wherein a perceptively visible boundary line is located at the intersection of said first and second straight line portions, said perceptively visible boundary line being located in a vertical sweet spot reference plane which is aligned perpendicular to the plurality of horizontally extending spin control grooves and includes the center of the sweet spot that is located on the face of the golf club head, and wherein the first straight line portion of the top edge of said golf head extends continuously in an upsloping direction between the hosel and said visible boundary line, and the second straight line portion of the top edge of said golf club head extends continuously in a downsloping direction between said visible boundary line and the outside end of said golf club head. 
     
     
         15 . A golf club head attached to a hosel and comprising a face at which a golf ball is to be struck, a plurality of spin control grooves extending horizontally across the face of the golf club head, a sweet spot located on the face at which to apply an impact force to the golf ball without causing the golf club head to rotate in the hand of a golfer when the golf club head strikes the golf ball, an inside end at which the hosel is attached, an outside end located opposite the inside end, and a top edge which runs above the face of the club head between the inside and outside ends thereof, said top edge having a first portion and a second portion that lies adjacent said first portion, wherein a perceptively visible boundary line is located at the intersection of said first and second portions, said perceptively visible boundary line being located in a vertical sweet spot reference plane which is aligned perpendicular to said plurality of horizontally extending spin control grooves and includes the center of the sweet spot that is located on the face of the golf club head, and wherein the first portion of the top edge of said golf head extends continuously in an upsloping straight line direction between the hosel and said visible boundary line, and the second portion of the top edge of said golf club head is round and curves continuously downward between said visible boundary line and the outside end of said golf club head.