Golf club heads with slits and flexure inserts

Abstract

A golf club head with a slit and cantilevered arm extending from an interior surface of the sole forward into the slit. The cantilevered arm has a fixed end coupled to the interior surface of the sole rearward of the slit, and a tip end opposite the fixed end. The cantilevered arm extends arcuately from the fixed end and over the rear wall so that the tip end is disposed between the front and rear wall and is configured to abut the front wall of the slit during impact with a golf ball.

1 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a strike face comprising a striking surface for impacting a golf ball;   a body coupled to the strike face to enclose a hollow interior cavity, the body having a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a rear end, wherein the sole includes a front wall and a rear wall positioned proximate the strike face and spaced to define a slit open to the hollow interior cavity;   a cantilevered arm comprising a fixed end coupled to an interior surface of the sole rearward of the rear wall, and a tip end opposite the fixed end, wherein the cantilevered arm extends arcuately from the fixed end and over the rear wall so that the tip end is disposed between the front and rear wall; and   a bumper coupled to the tip end.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the cantilevered arm comprises a spring steel. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a cap is configured to be received by the slit to seal the hollow interior cavity. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein the cap comprises a central cutout through which the front wall of the slit is exposed to the hollow interior cavity. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the fixed end of the cantilever arm is coupled to the interior surface of the sole at a location between 0.1 and 0.5 inch rearward of the rear wall. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the fixed end of the cantilever arm is coupled to a mass pad. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the bumper is configured to contact a center portion of the front wall of the slit. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the cantilever arm comprises a loaded position and an unloaded position;   the loaded position is defined by the bumper contacting the front wall; and   the unloaded position defined by the bumper spaced rearward of the front wall such that it does not touch the front wall.   
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the bumper is formed from a polyoxymethylene material. 
     
     
         10 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a strike face comprising a striking surface for impacting a golf ball;   a body coupled to the strike face to enclose a hollow interior cavity, the body having a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a rear end, wherein the sole includes a front wall and a rear wall positioned proximate the strike face and spaced to define a slit open to the hollow interior cavity; and   an insert disposed in the slit and comprising:
 a first lattice zone located in a toe portion and comprising a first plurality of interconnected walls forming a first lattice structure having voids; 
 a second lattice zone located in a heel portion and comprising a second plurality of interconnected walls forming a second lattice structure having voids; and 
 a central zone disposed between the first lattice zone and the second lattice zone, wherein the central zone is solid. 
   
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the insert comprises a polymer material. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein each of the first and second lattice zones has an effective density between 0.75 and 2.0 g/cm 3 . 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , further comprising a solid base layer sized to engage the front and rear walls thereby to seal the slit. 
     
     
         14 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a strike face comprising a striking surface for impacting a golf ball;   a body coupled to the strike face to enclose a hollow interior cavity, the body having a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a rear end, wherein the sole includes a front wall and a rear wall positioned proximate the strike face and spaced to define a slit open to the hollow interior cavity; and   an insert disposed in the slit and comprising:
 a cap comprising a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall, a heel side wall, and a toe side wall, that together form an opening, the cap comprising a first material having a first elastic modulus; and 
 a spring component sized for insertion into the opening and extending between the front wall, rear wall, heel side wall, and toe side wall of the cap, the spring component comprising a second material having a second elastic modulus greater than the first elastic modulus. 
   
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 14 , wherein the second material comprises aluminum. 
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the spring component comprises a thickness between 0.10 and 0.30 inch. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 14 , wherein the spring component is embedded within the cap. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 14 , wherein the spring component comprises:
 a central portion contacting the front wall;   a toe end contacting the rear wall and joined to the central portion by a first stepped portion; and   a heel end contacting the rear wall and joined to the central portion by a second stepped portion.   
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 18 , wherein the front wall of the cap defines a recess sized to receive the central portion of the spring component.