Golf club

Abstract

Golf clubs have a primary alignment feature including a paint or masking line which delineates the transition between at least a first portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color with the shade or color of the face. Some have a primary alignment feature including a paint or masking line which delineates the transition between a first portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color and the area of shade or color of the face. A secondary alignment feature includes a paint or masking line that delineates the transition between the first portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color with the shade or color of the face and a second portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color with the shade or color of the first portion.

1 . A golf club head comprising:
 a golf club body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity, the golf club body including a heel and a toe portion and having an x, y and z axes which are orthogonal to each other having their origin at USGA center face,   wherein the golf club body has a volume between about 100 cm 3  and about 460 cm 3 ,   wherein at least one of the sole or the crown is at least in part a composite material,   wherein the x-axis is tangential to the face and parallel to a ground plane,   wherein negative locations on the x-axis extend from the center face to the toe portion,   wherein positive locations on the x-axis extend from the center face to the heel portion,   wherein negative locations on the z-axis extend from the center face to the sole,   wherein positive locations on the z-axis extend from the center face to the crown,   wherein a center of gravity of the golf club body with respect to the x-axis (CG x ) is oriented from about 0 mm to about −10 mm,   wherein the golf club head has a primary alignment feature comprising a paint or masking line which delineates a transition between at least a portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color with a shade or color of the face, and   wherein the primary alignment feature has:
 a Sight Adjusted Perceived Face Angle (SAPFA) of from about −2 to about 10 degrees; and 
 a Radius of Curvature (circle fit) of from about 300 to about 1000 mm. 
   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the CGx is oriented from about −1 mm to about −4 mm,
 wherein a center of gravity of the golf club body with respect to the z-axis (CGz) is positioned below a geometric center of the face, 
 wherein a Delta 1 of the golf club body is greater than 20, and 
 wherein a moment of inertia about the z-axis is greater than 400 kg·mm 2 . 
 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the SAPFA is altered about 1 degree with respect to the intended target line for about every 5 yards of lateral dispersion from the intended target line. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the SAPFA is altered about 1 degree with respect to the intended target line for about every 3 yards of lateral dispersion from the intended target line. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the SAPFA is altered about 1 degree with respect to the intended target line for each 5 percent change of the CG x  orientation. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein score lines on the face are centered about a location on the face having an x-axis coordinate corresponding to the CG x  orientation. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the golf club head has a crown height to face height ratio of at least 1.12. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the paint or masking line is more rounded proximate to the toe and less rounded proximate to the heel. 
     
     
         9 . A golf club head comprising:
 a golf club body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity, the golf club body including a heel and a toe portion and having an x, y and z axes which are orthogonal to each other having their origin at USGA center face,   wherein the golf club body has a volume between about 100 cm 3  and about 460 cm 3 ,   wherein at least one of the sole or the crown is at least in part a composite material,   wherein the x-axis is tangential to the face and parallel to a ground plane,   wherein negative locations on the x-axis extend from the center face to the toe portion,   wherein positive locations on the x-axis extend from the center face to the heel portion,   wherein positive locations on the y-axis extend from the center face to a rear portion of the golf club body,   wherein negative locations on the z-axis extend from the center face to the sole,   wherein positive locations on the z-axis extend from the center face to the crown,   wherein the golf club body has a discretionary mass on the sole positioned at an angle with respect to the striking face,   wherein the discretionary mass is positioned toeward along the negative x-axis and rearward along the positive y-axis,   wherein a center of gravity of the golf club body with respect to the x-axis (CGx) is oriented from about 0 mm to about −10 mm,   wherein the golf club head has a primary alignment feature comprising a paint or masking line which delineates a transition between at least a portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color with a shade or color of the face, and   wherein the primary alignment feature has:
 a Sight Adjusted Perceived Face Angle (SAPFA) of from about −2 to about 10 degrees; and 
 a Radius of Curvature (circle fit) of from about 300 to about 1000 mm. 
   
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the CGx is oriented from about −1 mm to about −4 mm,
 wherein a center of gravity of the golf club body with respect to the z-axis (CG z ) is positioned below a geometric center of the face, 
 wherein a Delta 1 of the golf club body is greater than 20, and 
 wherein a moment of inertia about the z-axis is greater than 400 kg·mm 2 . 
 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein score lines on the face are centered about a location on the face having an x-axis coordinate corresponding to the CG x  orientation. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the golf club head has a crown height to face height ratio of at least 1.12. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , further comprising a weight port located on the sole near the rear portion of the golf club head. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the paint or masking line is more rounded proximate to the toe and less rounded proximate to the heel. 
     
     
         15 . A golf club head comprising:
 a golf club body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity, the golf club body including a heel and a toe portion and having an x, y and z axes which are orthogonal to each other having their origin at a center face,   wherein the golf club body has a volume between about 100 cm 3  and about 460 cm 3 ,   wherein at least one of the sole or the crown is at least in part a composite material,   a center face vertical plane passing through the center face, the center face vertical plane extending from adjacent the crown to adjacent the sole and intersecting with the face to define a center face roll contour,   a toe side vertical plane being spaced away from the center face vertical plane by 30 mm toward the toe portion, the toe side vertical plane extending from adjacent the crown to adjacent the sole and intersecting with the face to define a toe side roll contour,   a heel side vertical plane being spaced away from the center face vertical plane by 30 mm toward the heel portion, the heel side vertical plane extending from adjacent the crown to adjacent the sole and intersecting with the face to define a heel side roll contour,   a center face horizontal plane passing through the center face, the center face horizontal plane extending from adjacent the toe portion to adjacent the heel portion and intersecting with the face to define a center face bulge contour,   a crown side horizontal plane being spaced away from the center face horizontal plane by 15 mm toward the crown, the crown side horizontal plane extending from adjacent the toe portion to adjacent the heel portion and intersecting with the face to define a crown side bulge contour,   a sole side horizontal plane being spaced away from the center face horizontal plane by 15 mm toward the sole, the sole side horizontal plane extending from adjacent the toe portion to adjacent the heel portion and intersecting with the face to define a sole side bulge contour,   wherein the toe side roll contour is more lofted than the center face roll contour, the heel side roll contour is less lofted than the center face roll contour, the crown side bulge contour is more open than the center face bulge contour, and the sole side bulge contour is more closed than the center face bulge contour,   wherein the x-axis is tangential to the face and parallel to a ground plane,   wherein negative locations on the x-axis extend from the center face to the toe portion,   wherein positive locations on the x-axis extend from the center face to the heel portion,   wherein negative locations on the z-axis extend from the center face to the sole,   wherein positive locations on the z-axis extend from the center face to the crown,   wherein the golf club head has a primary alignment feature comprising a paint or masking line which delineates a transition between at least a portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color with a shade or color of the face, and   wherein the primary alignment feature has:
 a Sight Adjusted Perceived Face Angle (SAPFA) of from about −2 to about 10 degrees; and 
 a Radius of Curvature (circle fit) of from about 300 to about 1000 mm. 
   
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the center of gravity is from about −1 mm to about −10 mm from the center face with respect to the x-axis. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 16 , wherein the CGx is oriented from about −1 mm to about −4 mm,
 wherein a center of gravity of the golf club body with respect to the z-axis (CG z ) is positioned below a geometric center of the face, 
 wherein a Delta 1 of the golf club body is greater than 20, and 
 wherein a moment of inertia about the z-axis is greater than 400 kg·mm 2 . 
 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the face is at least in part a composite material. 
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the paint or masking line is more rounded proximate to the toe and less rounded proximate to the heel. 
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein score lines are provided in a location on the face corresponding to center of gravity at the negative location with respect to the x-axis.