Golf club head with low hosel bore

Abstract

Iron-type golf club heads have a shortened hosel and lengthened hosel bore. The iron-type golf club head allows for a range of loft and lie adjustability post-manufacture with maintained or reduced visible surface deformation and durability loss, and also creates discretionary mass that can be placed strategically for performance benefits. Additionally, an insert having weight members is coupled to a rear of the club head to facilitate swing weighting.

1 . An iron-type club head, comprising:
 a club head body, including:
 a strike face with a strike face front surface intended to impact a golf ball; 
 a strike face rear surface opposite the strike face front surface; 
 a heel end; 
 a toe end, opposite the heel end; 
 a hosel, adjacent the heel end and configured to receive a shaft, the hosel comprising:
 a hosel bore proximal end defined by a hosel outer transition plane; 
 a hosel bore distal end; 
 a hosel axis extending through a geometric center of a hosel bore tip between the hosel bore proximal end and the hosel bore distal end; 
 a hosel length, measured between the hosel bore distal end and the hosel outer transition plane between 0.75 inch and 2.25 inches; and the hosel does not comprise a tip weight; 
 
 an interior cavity, in open communication with an exterior of the iron-type club head; and 
 a rear on an opposite side of the interior cavity from the strike face comprising an interior cavity opening perimeter circumscribing the rear and defining an opening into the interior cavity; 
 a mass pad formed as an integral part of the club head body and defining a mass pad depth which varies in a top rail-to-sole direction; 
 a strut extending between two non-adjacent portions of the interior cavity opening perimeter, the strut comprising:
 a strut angle between 15 degrees and 165 degrees; 
 a strut width between 0.10 inch and 0.60 inch; and 
 an insert undercut further comprising an insert undercut width of less than 0.55 inch; and 
 
   an insert, comprising:
 an insert front surface; 
 an insert rear surface opposite the insert front surface and adhesively secured to the strike face rear surface; 
 at least one aperture configured to receive a weight member; and 
 at least one weight member. 
   
     
     
         2 . The iron-type club head of  claim 1 , wherein the hosel length is between 0.75 inch and 1.25 inches. 
     
     
         3 . The iron-type club head of  claim 1 , wherein the strut angle is between 45 degrees and 60 degrees. 
     
     
         4 . The iron-type club head of  claim 1 , wherein the strut width is between 0.20 inches and 0.30 inches. 
     
     
         5 . The iron-type club head of  claim 4 , wherein the insert undercut width is less than 0.30 inches. 
     
     
         6 . The iron-type club head of  claim 1 , wherein the insert comprises an insert thickness between 0.50 inch and 1.50 inches measured between the insert front surface and the insert rear surface in a direction perpendicular to a loft plane. 
     
     
         7 . The iron-type club head of  claim 6 , wherein the insert thickness is variable. 
     
     
         8 . The iron-type club head of  claim 1 , wherein the insert comprises an insert surface area ratio defined as the ratio between a surface area of the insert rear surface and a surface area of the strike face rear surface which is greater than 0.700. 
     
     
         9 . The iron-type club head of  claim 1 , wherein an insert perimeter wall and the interior cavity opening perimeter are separated by a gap. 
     
     
         10 . The iron-type club head of  claim 9 , wherein the gap defines a gap width between 0.01 inch and 0.05 inch which is variable about the interior cavity opening perimeter. 
     
     
         11 . An iron-type club head, comprising:
 a club head body, comprising:
 a strike face, a top rail, a sole, a toe end, a heel end, and a hosel; 
 a strike face front surface intended for impacting a golf ball and a strike face rear surface opposite the strike face front surface; 
 an interior cavity defined by an area partially enclosed by the top rail, sole, heel end, toe end, and rear surface of the strike face; 
 a hosel bore extending into the hosel and defining a hosel bore length measured from a hosel bore proximal end to the hosel bore distal end; 
 wherein the hosel length is less than the hosel bore length; 
 a hosel length measured from a hosel bore distal end to a transition plane along a hosel axis; and 
   an insert, comprising:   an insert rear surface permanently affixed to the strike face rear surface;   an insert volume less than a volume of the interior cavity; and   a plurality of weight members permanently affixed to the insert, wherein the plurality of weight members are selected from a group of weight members which have a mass of between 5 grams and 15 grams.   
     
     
         12 . The iron-type club head of  claim 11 , wherein the hosel bore comprises a hosel bore height between 120% and 130% of the hosel length. 
     
     
         13 . The iron-type club head of  claim 11 , wherein the interior cavity comprises an interior cavity volume and the insert comprises an insert volume which is greater than 40% of the interior cavity volume. 
     
     
         14 . The iron-type club head of  claim 11 , wherein the strike face comprises a maximum strike face thickness and a minimum strike face thickness which is less than the maximum strike face thickness. 
     
     
         15 . The iron-type club head of  claim 11 , wherein minimum strike face thickness is between 70% and 75% of a maximum strike face thickness. 
     
     
         16 . An iron-type club head body, comprising:
 a strike face with a strike face front surface intended to impact a golf ball and a strike face rear surface opposite the strike face front surface;   a heel end;   a toe end, opposite the heel end;   a hosel, adjacent the heel end and configured to receive a shaft;   an interior cavity, in open communication with an exterior of the iron-type club head body;   a rear on an opposite side of the interior cavity from the strike face, the rear comprising an interior cavity opening perimeter circumscribing the rear and defining an opening into the interior cavity;   an insert, adhesively secured to the strike face rear surface and comprising:
 a first aperture; 
 a first weight member disposed in the first aperture on a front surface of the insert proximate the toe end and having a first weight member mass; 
 a second aperture; 
 a second weight member disposed in the second aperture on the front surface of the insert heelward of the first weight member and having a second weight member mass; 
 wherein: 
 the first weight member has a first weight member mass; 
 the second weight member has a second weight member mass; 
 the first weight member mass is less than the second weight member mass; 
 the hosel does not receive a weight member; 
 the hosel comprises a hosel bore, a hosel bore distal end, a hosel bore proximal end, and a hosel axis which passes through a geometric center of the hosel bore proximal end and a geometric center of the hosel bore hosel bore distal end; 
 the hosel has a hosel bore height defined as a distance between the hosel bore distal end and the hosel bore proximal end measured along the hosel axis; 
 the hosel bore height is between 1.0 inch and 2.5 inches; 
 the first weight member has a first weight member center of gravity; 
 the second weight member has a second weight member center of gravity; 
 the iron-type club head body has a club head center of gravity; and 
 a distance between the club head center of gravity and the first weight member center of gravity is greater than a distance between the club head center of gravity and the second weight member center of gravity. 
   
     
     
         17 . The iron-type club head body of  claim 16 , wherein each of a material forming the first weight member and a material forming the second weight member has a density greater than a density of the material of the iron-type club head body. 
     
     
         18 . The iron-type club head body of  claim 16 , wherein the insert comprises a tungsten-filled elastomeric material. 
     
     
         19 . The iron-type club head body of  claim 16 , wherein the strike face comprises a maximum strike face thickness and a minimum strike face thickness, and the minimum strike face thickness is between 75% and 80% of the maximum strike face thickness. 
     
     
         20 . The iron-type club head body of  claim 16 , wherein the strike face defines a strike face height which is between 1.5 inches and 2.2 inches.