Golf club head with impact response modulator

Abstract

Embodiments of a golf club head comprising an Impact Response Modulator disposed in the sole. The Impact Response Modulator comprises a casing with a plurality of casing walls that form an aperture therebetween. The casing walls comprises specific geometries and dimensions that improve the performance and durability of the Impact Response Modulator when implemented into a fairway wood type club head.

1 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a body, a faceplate at least partially forming a strike face and having a crown return, a sole, an adjustable shaft-receiving mechanism, a club head volume between 160 and 200 cc, a body depth between 3.0 and 4.0 inches, a body height between 1.25 and 1.75 inches, and a coordinate system centered about a face center comprising:   an x-axis extending in a heel-to-toe direction parallel to a ground plane;   a y-axis extending in a crown-to-sole direction and orthogonal to both the x-axis and the ground plane; and   a z-axis extending in a front-to-rear direction and is orthogonal to both the x-axis and y-axis;   the golf club head further comprising an Impact Response Modulator (IRM) including a casing having:   a front wall having a front wall front surface, a front wall rear surface, a front wall bottom rear edge, a front wall top surface, and a front wall top edge rear edge that is a junction between the front wall rear surface and the front wall top surface;   a rear wall having a rear wall front surface, a rear wall rear surface, a rear wall base, and a rear wall top surface;   a toe wall and a heel wall, wherein the front wall, the rear wall, the toe wall, and the heel wall define an aperture;   a toe relief portion angled rearwardly away from the strike face; and   an insert disposed within the aperture;   
       wherein the IRM satisfies the following inequality: 
       
         
           
             
               
                 14 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 
                   in 
                   
                     - 
                     2 
                   
                 
               
               ≤ 
               
                 PC 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   
                     ( 
                     TL 
                     ) 
                   
                   
                     
                       ( 
                       OD 
                       ) 
                     
                     ⁢ 
                     
                       ( 
                       FWT 
                       ) 
                     
                     ⁢ 
                     
                       ( 
                       FWH 
                       ) 
                     
                   
                 
               
               ≤ 
               
                 18 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 
                   in 
                   
                     - 
                     2 
                   
                 
               
             
           
         
         wherein L is a length of the casing measured parallel to the x-axis between an absolute heel point of the casing and an absolute toe point of the casing, 
         wherein OD is an offset distance of the casing measured parallel to the z-axis, in a midplane, between a leading edge and the front wall bottom rear edge, 
         wherein FWT is a front wall thickness is measured in a YZ plane, that extends vertically along the y-axis and z-axis, as a distance between the front wall front surface and the front wall rear surface, 
         wherein FWH is a front wall height measured within the YZ plane and along the front wall rear surface, between the front wall bottom edge to the front wall top rear edge, and 
         wherein PC is a performance coefficient that is equal to 0.032. 
       
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a variable face thickness having a central region comprising a maximum thickness of the strike face and an intermediate region at least partially surrounding the central region and comprising a minimum thickness of the strike face. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein the central region comprises a central region center point located above a face center of the strike face. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a weight removably coupled to a rearward portion of the sole, the weight having a mass between 1 and 35 grams. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the insert comprises an insert base that extends from the front wall to the rear wall of the casing, an insert front wall that extends upward from the insert base, and an insert front flange that extends from a top end of the insert front wall towards the strike face. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the front wall is separated from the strike face by a forward sole region, and wherein the forward sole region has a forward sole thickness less than 0.080 inch measured as the distance from an interior sole surface to an exterior sole surface. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the casing further comprises:
 a toe plane that is perpendicular to the leading edge plane and the ground plane and intersects the front wall rear surface at the toe end where the front wall rear surface deviates to the toe relief; and   a toe relief angle measured as an angle between a line that extends between an intersection of the toe plane and the front wall bottom rear edge to the absolute toe point and a leading edge plane.   
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the body further comprises a body material and the faceplate further comprises a faceplate material that has a higher yield strength than the body material. 
     
     
         9 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a body, a faceplate at least partially forming a strike face and having a crown return, a sole, an adjustable shaft-receiving mechanism, a club head volume between 160 and 200 cc, a body depth between 3.0 and 4.0 inches, a body height between 1.25 and 1.75 inches, a crown panel formed of a composite material having a toe wrap and a heel wrap, and a coordinate system centered about a face center comprising:   an x-axis extending in a heel-to-toe direction parallel to a ground plane;   a y-axis extending in a crown-to-sole direction and orthogonal to both the x-axis and the ground plane; and   a z-axis extending in a front-to-rear direction and is orthogonal to both the x-axis and y-axis;   
       the golf club head further comprising an Impact Response Modulator (IRM) including a casing having:
 a front wall having a front wall front surface, a front wall rear surface, a front wall bottom rear edge, a front wall top surface, and a front wall top edge rear edge that is a junction between the front wall rear surface and the front wall top surface; 
 a rear wall having a rear wall front surface, a rear wall rear surface, a rear wall base, and a rear wall top surface; 
 a toe wall and a heel wall, wherein the front wall, the rear wall, the toe wall, and the heel wall define an aperture; 
 a toe relief portion angled rearwardly away from the strike face; and 
 an insert disposed within the aperture; 
 
       wherein the IRM satisfies the following inequality: 
       
         
           
             
               
                 14 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 
                   in 
                   
                     - 
                     2 
                   
                 
               
               ≤ 
               
                 PC 
                 ⁢ 
                 
                   
                     ( 
                     TL 
                     ) 
                   
                   
                     
                       ( 
                       OD 
                       ) 
                     
                     ⁢ 
                     
                       ( 
                       FWT 
                       ) 
                     
                     ⁢ 
                     
                       ( 
                       FWH 
                       ) 
                     
                   
                 
               
               ≤ 
               
                 18 
                 ⁢ 
                     
                 
                   in 
                   
                     - 
                     2 
                   
                 
               
             
           
         
         wherein L is a length of the casing measured parallel to the x-axis between an absolute heel point of the casing and an absolute toe point of the casing, 
         wherein OD is an offset distance of the casing measured parallel to the z-axis, in a midplane, between a leading edge and the front wall bottom rear edge, 
         wherein FWT is a front wall thickness is measured in a YZ plane, that extends vertically along the y-axis and z-axis, as a distance between the front wall front surface and the front wall rear surface, 
         wherein FWH is a front wall height measured within the YZ plane and along the front wall rear surface, between the front wall bottom edge to the front wall top rear edge, and 
         wherein PC is a performance coefficient between 0.030 and 0.034. 
       
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , further comprising a variable face thickness having a central region comprising a maximum thickness of the strike face and an intermediate region at least partially surrounding the central region and comprising a minimum thickness of the strike face. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the central region comprises a central region center point located above a face center of the strike face. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , further comprising a weight removably coupled to a rearward portion of the sole, the weight having a mass between 1 and 35 grams. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the insert comprises an insert base that extends from the front wall to the rear wall of the casing, an insert front wall that extends upward from the insert base, and an insert front flange that extends from a top end of the insert front wall towards the strike face. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the front wall is separated from the strike face by a forward sole region, and wherein the forward sole region has a forward sole thickness less than 0.080 inch measured as the distance from an interior sole surface to an exterior sole surface. 
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the casing further comprises:
 a toe plane that is perpendicular to the leading edge plane and the ground plane and intersects the front wall rear surface at the toe end where the front wall rear surface deviates to the toe relief; and   a toe relief angle measured as an angle between a line that extends between an intersection of the toe plane and the front wall bottom rear edge to the absolute toe point and a leading edge plane.   
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the body further comprises a body material and the faceplate further comprises a faceplate material that has a higher yield strength than the body material. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the casing further comprises one or more tabs that extend rearward from the front wall and overhang at least a portion of the aperture, and wherein the one or more tabs are configured to engage the insert.