Multi-component golf club head

Abstract

Embodiments of wood-type club heads comprising one or more components are described herein. The wood-type club head comprises a first, metallic component, and a second, non-metallic component. The first component comprises the load bearing structure that forms the striking face, and portions of the crown, the heel, the toe, and the sole. The second component comprises a lightweight structure that wraps around the first component to form portions of the crown, the heel, the toe, and the sole. The first component comprises mass pads and receives removable weights to adjust the weight properties of the club head. The two-component design allows for additional discretionary mass redistribution to improve center of gravity location and moment of inertia.

1 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a crown, a sole opposite the crown, a heel end, a toe end opposite the heel end, a rear end, and a skirt extending between the crown and the sole;   a metallic first component comprising a strike face, a return portion extending rearward from the strike face, and a loft plane defining a loft angle of the strike face; and   a non-metallic second component configured to be secured to the metallic first component to enclose a hollow interior cavity;   a loft normal axis extending through a face center, substantially normal to the strike face;   a club head center of gravity located at a CG loft-normal distance from the loft normal axis measured in a direction parallel to the loft plane;   a hosel structure configured to receive a hosel sleeve and a golf club shaft, the hosel sleeve is coupled to the hosel structure in a plurality of configurations to permit the golf club shaft to be secured to the hosel structure at a plurality of angles;   wherein:   the return portion forms a portion of the sole and a portion of the crown;   a loft angle of the golf club head is between 12 degrees and 27 degrees;   a volume of the golf club head is between 135 cc and 190 cc;   a first mass pad extends arcuately around the rear skirt towards the heel end and has a first end and a second end;   a second mass pad is integrally formed with the sole and has a forward region and rearward region, the forward region has a maximum thickness that gradually tapers towards the rearward region;   the second mass pad is integrally formed with an interior surface of the hosel structure;   a rib having a first end and a second end and a rib axis extending therebetween, the rib intersects the second end of the first mass pad;   an absolute value of the CG loft-normal distance is less than 0.225 inch and;   a standard deviation of a loft-to-CG loft-normal distance ratio, equal to the loft angle divided by the CG loft-normal distance, across at least two different lofts, is less than 1.5.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , further comprising a weight port located on the sole. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first mass pad comprises a width measured from a inner wall to an outer wall of the first mass pad, the width is approximately uniform from the first end to the second end of the first mass pad. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first end of the rib extends into the skirt in the toe end. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic first component is formed from a titanium, and the non-metallic second component is formed from a thermoplastic composite, a filled thermoplastic or fiber-reinforced composite. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic first component is formed from a stainless steel, and the non-metallic second component is formed from a filled thermoplastic or fiber-reinforced composite. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the first mass pad comprises a mass ranging from 25 grams to 78 grams; and wherein the second mass pad comprises a mass ranging from 9 grams to 26 grams. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the strike face defines a geometric center, the geometric center defining an origin for a coordinate system including a x-axis extending parallel to a ground plane and comprises a positive direction toward the heel end when the club head is at an address position, a y-axis extending perpendicular to the ground plane and comprises a positive direction toward the crown when the club head is at the address position, and a z-axis extending parallel to the ground plane and comprises a positive direction toward the strike face when the club head is at the address position;   a center of gravity of the golf club head is located within the coordinate system, and includes a CGx location along the x-axis, a CGy location along the y-axis, and a CGz location along the z-axis;   wherein:   a moment of inertia Ixx ranges from 1400 g*cm 2  to 2000 g*cm 2 ;   a moment of inertia Iyy ranges from 2800 g*cm 2  to 3600 g*cm 2 ;   the CGx location ranges from −7 mm to 1 mm;   the CGy location ranges from −3 mm to −12 mm; and   the CGz location ranges from −25 mm to −40 mm.   
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , wherein the rib axis is at an angle between 0 and 10 degrees with the x-axis. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the second component comprises a second component mass, the second component mass comprising 3 percent to 15 percent of a total mass of the golf club head. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the second mass pad further comprises a generally semi-circular profile such that a width of the second mass pad is greatest in a center and tapers towards the heel end and toe end. 
     
     
         12 . A golf club head comprising:
 a crown, a sole opposite the crown, a heel end, a toe end opposite the heel end, a rear end, and a skirt extending between the crown and the sole;   a strike face having a loft plane defining a loft angle;   a loft normal axis extending through a face center, substantially normal to the strike face;   a club head center of gravity located at a CG loft-normal distance from the loft normal axis measured in a direction parallel to the loft plane;   wherein:   a loft angle of the golf club head is between 21 and 37 degrees;   a volume of the golf club head is between 100 cc and 125 cc;   a toe mass pad having an inner wall and an outer wall, the inner wall having a front linear segment, an intermediate linear segment, and a rear linear segment that form a rectilinear profile, and the outer wall follows a contour of the skirt;   a heel mass pad having an inner wall and an outer wall, the inner wall having a front linear segment, an intermediate linear segment, and a rear linear segment that form a rectilinear profile;   a center mass pad extending from the intermediate linear segment of the toe mass pad to the intermediate linear segment of the heel mass pad; and   a standard deviation of a loft-to-CG loft-normal distance ratio, equal to the loft angle divided by the CG loft-normal distance, across at least two different lofts, is less than 1.5.   
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein a hosel structure configured to receive a hosel sleeve and a golf club shaft, the hosel sleeve is coupled to the hosel structure in a plurality of configurations to permit the golf club shaft to be secured to the hosel structure at a plurality of loft angles. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the golf club head further comprises a stepped zone located on an interior surface of the sole and has a forward step and a rearward step, wherein a thickness of the stepped zone decreases from the forward step to the rearward step. 
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , further comprising a non-metallic second component secured to a first metallic first component to enclose a hollow interior cavity. 
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the first metallic component is formed from a titanium, and the non-metallic second component is formed from a filled thermoplastic or fiber-reinforced composite. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the first component is formed from a stainless steel, and the second component is formed from a filled thermoplastic or fiber-reinforced composite. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the toe mass pad comprises a mass ranging from 3 grams to 10 grams, the heel mass pad comprises a mass ranging from 20 grams to 40 grams, and the center mass pad comprises a mass ranging from 15 grams to 40 grams. 
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , further comprising a weight port located on the sole. 
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the second component comprises a second component mass, the second component mass comprising 3 percent to 15 percent of a total mass of the golf club head.