Mixed material golf club head

Abstract

A golf club head includes a metallic front body coupled with a rear body to define a substantially hollow structure. The metallic front body includes a strike face and a surrounding frame that extends rearward from a perimeter of the strike face. The rear body includes a crown member and a sole member coupled to the crown member. The sole member comprises a structural layer formed from a filled thermoplastic material and a fiber reinforced composite resilient layer bonded to an external surface of the structural layer. The structural layer includes a plurality of stiffening members extending from a forward portion to a rear peripheral portion of the sole member. The resilient layer can comprise a uniform thickness. The structural layer and the resilient layer each include a common thermoplastic resin component, and are directly bonded to each other without an intermediate adhesive.

1 . A golf club head comprising:
 a metallic front body including a strike face and a surrounding frame that extends rearward from a perimeter of the strike face;   a rear body coupled to the metallic front body to define a substantially hollow structure, the rear body including a crown member coupled with a sole member;   wherein the sole member comprises:
 a structural layer including: 
 a forward portion in contact with and bonded to the metallic front body; 
 a rear peripheral portion that defines an outer perimeter of the sole member; a 
 weighted portion spaced apart from the forward portion; 
 a first structural member extending from the forward portion to the weighted portion, the first structural member integrally molded with both the forward portion and the weighted portion; 
 a metallic weight removably coupled to the weighted portion; and 
   a resilient layer thermally bonded to the structural layer without an intermediate adhesive such that the resilient layer abuts the metallic front body, wherein the structural layer and the resilient layer each comprise a composite material; and
 wherein the resilient layer comprises a resilient layer thickness that ranges from 0.5 mm to 1.00 mm. 
   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient layer thickness ranges from 1.0 mm to 1.5 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the weighted portion is coupled to the rear peripheral portion; and   the weighted portion defines one or more weight-receiving channels that comprise non-uniform thicknesses.   
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the structural layer defines a plurality of apertures located around a perimeter of the structural layer. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club of  claim 4 , further comprising a second structural member extending from the forward portion and between adjacent apertures of the plurality of apertures. 
     
     
         6 . A golf club head comprising:
 a metallic front body including a strike face and a surrounding frame that extends rearward from a perimeter of the strike face;   a rear body coupled to the metallic front body to define a substantially hollow structure, the rear body including a crown member coupled with a sole member;   wherein the sole member comprises:
 a structural layer including: 
 a forward portion in contact with and bonded to the metallic front body; 
 a rear peripheral portion that defines an outer perimeter of the sole member; 
 a weighted portion spaced apart from the forward portion and supported by the rear peripheral portion; 
 a metallic weight removably coupled to the weighted portion; 
   a resilient layer thermally bonded to the structural layer without an intermediate adhesive such that the resilient layer abuts the metallic front body. wherein the structural layer and the resilient layer each comprise a composite material; and
 wherein the resilient layer comprises a resilient layer thickness that ranges from 0.5 mm to 1.00 mm. 
   
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the weighted portion is integral to the rear peripheral portion; and   the weighted portion defines one or more weight-receiving channels that comprise non-uniform thicknesses.   
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 6 , wherein a recessed bonding flange encircles the strike face and extends from the frame across the crown member and the sole member. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , wherein the metallic front body further includes an extension wall that couples the frame to the recessed boding flange. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , further comprising a skirt formed of a reinforced band of material where the crown member meets the sole member. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the skirt operatively stiffens the sole and provides an additional load path from the weighted portion and the extension wall during an impact between the strike face and a golf ball.