Internally damped golf club head

Abstract

A golf club head includes a striking face including an exterior surface having a lower leading edge and an opposite upper topline edge, and an interior surface opposite to the exterior surface; a sole extending from the lower leading edge and having a rearward portion opposite to the lower leading edge; a back portion coupled between the upper topline edge and the rearward portion; a cavity at least partially enclosed by the striking face, the sole, and the back portion; and a first constrained damping layer including a metal or carbon fiber directly attached to the interior surface of the striking face by an adhesive.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a striking face having an exterior surface having a lower leading edge and an opposite upper topline edge, and an interior surface opposite to the exterior surface;   a sole extending from the lower leading edge and having a rearward portion opposite to the lower leading edge;   a top portion extending from the upper topline edge;   a back portion coupled between the top portion and the rearward portion of the sole;   a cavity at least partially enclosed by the striking face, the sole, and the back portion; and   a first constrained damping layer comprising a metal or a carbon fiber directly attached to the interior surface of the striking face by an adhesive, a rear surface of the first constrained damping layer being entirely exposed to the cavity, and the first constrained damping layer being positioned entirely heel-ward or entirely toe-ward from a center of the striking face.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a second constrained damping layer on the interior surface of the striking face and spaced apart from the first constrained damping layer. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein the first constrained damping layer is positioned entirely heel-ward from the center of the striking face, and the second constrained damping layer is positioned entirely toe-ward from the center of the striking face. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein an area of the interior surface of the striking face covered by the first constrained damping layer is 1.1 to 1.5 times an area of the interior surface of the striking face covered by the second constrained damping layer. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the striking face extends between a toe and a heel of the golf club head, and the first constrained damping layer is spaced apart from the sole, the top portion, the toe, and the heel. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a damping element overlapping a center of the striking face and comprising a polymer. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a first support arm extending from the top portion part way through the cavity, the damping element being supported between the striking face and a front surface of the first support arm; and   a second support arm extending from at least one of the sole or the back portion to a rear surface of the first support arm.   
     
     
         8 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a striking face comprising an exterior surface having a lower leading edge and an opposite upper topline edge, and an interior surface opposite to the exterior surface;   a sole extending from the lower leading edge and having a rearward portion opposite to the lower leading edge;   a back portion coupled between the upper topline edge and the rearward portion;   a cavity at least partially enclosed by the striking face, the sole, and the back portion; and   a first constrained damping layer comprising a metal or carbon fiber directly attached to the interior surface of the striking face by an adhesive.   
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , further comprising a second constrained damping layer attached to the interior surface of the striking face. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , further comprising a third constrained damping layer attached to the interior surface of the striking face, the first, second, and third constrained damping layers being spaced apart from each other. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the first and second constrained damping layers comprise a same material. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the second constrained damping layer is positioned toe-ward from the first constrained damping layer and is spaced farther from the sole than the first constrained damping layer is spaced from the sole. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein an area of the interior surface of the striking face covered by the first constrained damping layer is different from an area of the interior surface of the striking face covered by the second constrained damping layer. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , wherein the first constrained damping layer covers a center of the striking face. 
     
     
         15 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a body, comprising:
 a striking face comprising an exterior surface having a lower leading edge and an opposite upper topline edge, and an interior surface opposite to the exterior surface, 
 a sole extending from the lower leading edge and having a rearward portion opposite to the lower leading edge, and 
 a back portion coupled between the upper topline edge and the rearward portion; 
   a cavity at least partially enclosed by the striking face, the sole, and the back portion;   a damping layer directly contacting the interior surface of the striking face and covering a center of the striking face, the damping layer comprising a polymer; and   a constrained damping layer comprising a metal or a carbon fiber directly attached to the interior surface of the striking face by an adhesive, a rear surface of the constrained damping layer being entirely exposed to the cavity,   wherein a first surface of the constrained damping layer opposite to the rear surface of the constrained damping layer faces the interior surface of the striking face.   
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the body further comprises a toe and a heel, the striking face extends along a toe-heel direction between the toe and the heel, and each of the damping layer and the constrained damping layer are spaced apart from the toe and the heel. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the constrained damping layer comprises the carbon fiber. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the constrained damping layer comprises the metal. 
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , further comprising a stiffening arm extending part way through the cavity from at least one of the sole or the back portion, the damping layer being positioned between the striking face and the stiffening arm. 
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 19 , wherein the stiffening arm extends at least partially from the back portion.