Golf club head with sole rails

Abstract

A wood-type golf club head includes a depth in a front to rear direction no less than 80 mm, a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane aligned with the face center and extending in the front to rear direction, a rear portion opposite the striking face, a heel portion, a toe portion opposite the heel portion, a crown, and a sole opposite the crown. The sole includes a first rail and a second rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length and a second length, respectively, in the front to rear direction that are less than 75% of the front to rear depth of the club head and the first rail and the second rail are entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wood-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position relative to a virtual ground plane, comprises:
 a loft greater than 13 degrees;   a depth in a front to rear direction no less than 80 mm;   a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane aligned with the face center and extending in the front to rear direction;   a rear portion opposite the striking face;   a heel portion;   a toe portion opposite the heel portion;   a crown; and   a sole opposite the crown, the sole including:
 a sole base surface defining a general contour of the sole; 
 a first rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length in the front to rear direction that is less than 75% of the depth of the club head and is entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane; and 
 a second rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a second length in the front to rear direction that is less than 75% of the depth of the club head and the second rail being entirely spaced in the heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane. 
   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the second rail extends substantially parallel to the first rail. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the second length is less than the first length and the second length is less than 65% of the front to rear depth of the club head. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a third rail disposed between the first rail and the second rail, wherein a height of the third rail follows the general contour of the sole. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 4 , wherein a third length of the third rail is at least 95% of the front to rear depth of the golf club head. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 4 , wherein the third rail includes a first width proximate a front portion of the golf club head and a second width proximate a rear portion of the golf club head, wherein the second width is less than the first width such that a width of the third rail decreases in the front to rear direction. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 4 , further comprising a first stepped-down portion leading to a first recess disposed between the first rail and the third rail, and a second-stepped down portion leading to a second recess disposed between the second rail and the third rail, the first stepped-down portion and the second stepped-down portion located between 35 mm and 45 mm rearward of a forwardmost point of the golf club head. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first rail includes a maximum height located rearward of a front portion of the golf club head and a height of the first rail decreases from the location of the maximum height towards the front portion and the rear portion of the golf club head. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the second rail includes a maximum height located rearward of a front portion of the golf club head and a height of the second rail decreases from the location of the maximum height towards the front portion and the rear portion of the golf club head. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the maximum height location is located between 5 mm and 10 mm rearward of a forwardmost point of the sole. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first rail and the second rail each include a substantially constant width between 5 mm and 10 mm. 
     
     
         12 . A golf club head comprising:
 a loft greater than 13 degrees;   a depth in a front to rear direction no less than 80 mm;   a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane that extends in the front to rear direction;   a rear portion opposite the striking face;   a heel portion;   a toe portion opposite the heel portion;   a crown; and   a sole opposite the crown, the sole including:
 a sole base surface defining a general contour of the sole; 
 a first rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length in the front to rear direction, the first length being between 45 mm and 70 mm, and the first rail being entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane; and 
 a second rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a second length in the front to rear direction, the second length being between 35 mm and 60 mm, and the second rail being entirely spaced in the heel to toe direction more than 15 mm from the virtual vertical center plane. 
   
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the second length is at least 8 mm less than the first length. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the second rail is substantially parallel to the first rail. 
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , further comprising a third rail disposed between the first rail and the second rail, wherein a height of the third rail following the general contour of the sole. 
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , further comprising a first stepped-down portion leading to a first recess disposed between the first rail and the third rail, and a second-stepped down portion leading to a second recess disposed between the second rail and the third rail, the first stepped-down portion and the second stepped-down portion located between 35 mm and 45 mm rearward of a forwardmost point of the golf club head. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the first rail and the second rail each include a substantially constant width between 5 mm and 10 mm. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , further comprising a volume no less than 145 cc. 
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the first rail includes a maximum height located rearward of a leading edge of the golf club head and a height of the first rail decreases from the location of the maximum height towards the leading edge and a trailing edge of the golf club head. 
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the second rail includes a maximum height located rearward of a leading edge of the golf club head and a height of the second rail decreases from the location of the maximum height towards the leading edge and a trailing edge of the golf club head. 
     
     
         21 . A hollow-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position relative to a virtual ground plane, comprises:
 a depth in a front to rear direction less than 75 mm;   a striking face including a face center located in a virtual vertical center plane aligned with the face center and extending in the front to rear direction;   a rear portion opposite the striking face;   a heel portion;   a toe portion opposite the heel portion;   a crown; and   a sole opposite the crown, the sole including:
 a sole base surface defining a general contour of the sole; 
 a first rail projecting from the sole base surface and having a first length in the front to rear direction that is greater than 90% of the front to rear depth of the club head, the virtual vertical center plane passing through the first rail such that the first rail is asymmetric about the virtual vertical center plane; 
 a second rail located toe-ward of the first rail and projecting from the sole base surface, the second rail having a second length in the front to rear direction that is less than 65% of the depth of the club head; and 
 a third rail located heel-ward of the first rail and projecting from the sole base surface, the third rail having a third length in the front to rear direction that is less than 65% of the depth of the club head. 
   
     
     
         22 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the second rail is entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction more than 25 mm from the virtual vertical center plane. 
     
     
         23 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the third rail is entirely spaced in a heel to toe direction between 20 mm and 25 mm from the virtual vertical center plane. 
     
     
         24 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the third rail is less than 55% of the front to rear depth of the golf club head. 
     
     
         25 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , further comprising a forwardmost point, wherein the first rail extends closer to the forwardmost point than the second rail and the third rail by a distance of at least 5 mm. 
     
     
         26 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein:
 the first length is between 60 mm and 75 mm,   the second length is between 30 mm and 45 mm, and   the third length is between 25 mm and 40 mm.   
     
     
         27 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the first rail is positioned such that a majority of the first rail is disposed toe-ward of the virtual vertical center plane. 
     
     
         28 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the first rail includes a first width proximate a front portion of the golf club head and a second width proximate a rear portion of the golf club head, wherein the second width is less than the first width such that a width of the first rail decreases in the front to rear direction. 
     
     
         29 . The golf club head of  claim 28 , wherein the first width is at least 15 mm and the second width is at least 5 mm less than the first width. 
     
     
         30 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the first rail includes a maximum height located at least 5 mm rearward of a front portion of the golf club head and a height of the first rail decreases from the location of the maximum height towards the front portion and the rear portion of the golf club head. 
     
     
         31 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the first rail and the second rail each include a width of at least 6 mm. 
     
     
         32 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 a first stepped-down portion leading to a first recess disposed between the first rail and the second rail, the first stepped-down portion having a height of at least 3 mm; and   a second stepped-down portion leading to a second recess disposed between the first rail and the third rail, the second stepped-down portion having a height of at least 3 mm.   
     
     
         33 . The golf club head of  claim 32 , wherein the first stepped-down portion and the second stepped-down portion are each located at least 3 mm rearward of a forwardmost point of the golf club head. 
     
     
         34 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , wherein the depth of the golf club head is between 45 mm and 75 mm. 
     
     
         35 . The golf club head of  claim 21 , further comprising a loft between 15 degrees and 32 degrees.