Golf Club Head Faceplates with Lattices

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/493,727, filed on Oct. 4, 2021, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional No. 63/190,693, filed May 19, 2021, U.S. Provisional No. 63/198,218, filed Oct. 2, 2020, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/373,603, filed on Jul. 12, 2021, and is issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,745,062 on Sep. 5, 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/880,865, filed on May 21, 2020, and is issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,058,929 on Jul. 13, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent Ser. No. 16/510,737, filed on Jul. 12, 2019, and is issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,675,517 on Jun. 9, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional No. 62/697,304, filed Jul. 12, 2018. The contents of all the above-described disclosures are incorporated fully herein by reference in their entirely.

This invention generally relates to golf club head faceplates with lattices.

Golf club design takes into account several performance characteristics, such as ball speed. Typically, golf club designs aim to increase ball speed by increasing the deflection or flexibility capabilities of the faceplate. However, current designs are limited due to manufacturing or structural considerations. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a club head with a faceplate that further increases ball speed while minimizing stress concentrations.

The present embodiments discussed below are directed to golf club head faceplates comprising a lattice. The lattice comprises a plurality of flexure shapes that facilitate faceplate bending. The flexure shapes of the lattice comprise a reentrant shape (i.e. shape that points inward), a concave shape, or a non-convex shape. The lattice comprises a repeating pattern of flexure shapes that can be interconnected or spaced apart from one another. The dimensions, the shape, and the pattern of the lattice affects the bending of the faceplate during golf ball impacts. During golf ball impacts, the flexure shapes of the lattice act as tiny springs that store energy through linear and torsional bending. Storing energy through two modes of bending provides greater energy storage in the faceplate, which allows for greater ball speeds during golf ball impacts. Further, the flexure shapes of the lattice reduce the largest stresses concentrated in a small volume of the faceplate material (i.e. impact area of the faceplate) by displacing the reduced stress over a greater volume of the faceplate material. This allows the largest stresses to be moved away from an impact area of the faceplate thereby increasing the faceplate durability. The combination of spreading the stress over a larger volume of faceplate material and the two modes of bending leads to a 1 to 3 mph increase in ball speed.

Further, the lattice comprising the plurality of flexure shapes can adjust the characteristic time (CT) of the faceplate. The lattices described in this disclosure controls CT or reduces CT variability within the United States Golf Association (USGA) regulations. In one example, controlling CT can be accomplished by designing the faceplate lattice with flexure shapes oriented in a low-heel to high-toe direction, or in a low-toe to high-heel direction. The faceplate comprising the lattice with flexure shapes reduces characteristic time while maintaining similar ball speed performance when compared to a similar faceplate devoid of the lattice with flexure shapes. In some examples, the faceplate comprising the lattice with the flexure shapes decreases the center CT by about 1 to 10 μs, or 1 to 5 μs when compared to a similar faceplate devoid of the lattice with flexure shapes. The faceplate comprising the lattice with flexure shapes maintains similar ball speed performance compared to the similar faceplate devoid of the lattice with flexure shapes. The faceplates comprising the lattice with flexure shapes provides desirable, lower characteristic time values while not sacrificing high ball speed performance.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus.

The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the apparatus, methods, and/or articles of manufacture described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.

The term characteristic time “CT” is used herein to mean a measurement used to determine the amount of time, measured in microseconds (μs), that a golf ball contacts the club face at the moment of impact. The characteristic time is measured by impacting a specific spot on the striking surface several times using a small steel pendulum. The characteristic time measurement is for wood-type club heads such as drivers, fairway woods, or hybrids. A computer program measures the amount of time the steel pendulum contacts the club face at the moment of impact. CT values were based on the method outlined in the USGA's Procedure for Measuring the Flexibility of a Golf Clubhead. For example, Section 2 of the USGA's Procedure for Measuring the Flexibility of a Golf Clubhead (USGA-TPX3004, Rev. 2.0, Apr. 9, 2019) (the “Protocol For Measuring The Flexibility of A Golf Club Head”).

The terms “loft” or “loft angle” of a golf club, as described herein, refers to the angle formed between the club face and the shaft, as measured by any suitable loft and lie machine.

“Driver golf club heads” as used herein comprise a loft angle less than approximately 16 degrees, less than approximately 15 degrees, less than approximately 14 degrees, less than approximately 13 degrees, less than approximately 12 degrees, less than approximately 11 degrees, or less than approximately 10 degrees. “Driver golf club heads” as used herein comprise a volume greater than approximately 400 cc, greater than approximately 425 cc, greater than approximately 445 cc, greater than approximately 450 cc, greater than approximately 455 cc, greater than approximately 460 cc, greater than approximately 475 cc, greater than approximately 500 cc, greater than approximately 525 cc, greater than approximately 550 cc, greater than approximately 575 cc, greater than approximately 600 cc, greater than approximately 625 cc, greater than approximately 650 cc, greater than approximately 675 cc, or greater than approximately 700 cc. In other embodiments, the volume of drivers can be approximately 400 cc-600 cc, 425 cc-500 cc, approximately 500 cc-600 cc, approximately 500 cc-650 cc, approximately 550 cc-700 cc, approximately 600 cc-650 cc, approximately 600 cc-700 cc, or approximately 600 cc-800 cc.

“Fairway wood golf club heads” as used herein comprise a loft angle of less than approximately 35 degrees, less than approximately 34 degrees, less than approximately 33 degrees, less than approximately 32 degrees, less than approximately 31 degrees, or less than approximately 30 degrees. Further, in other embodiments, the loft angle of fairway woods can be greater than approximately 12 degrees, greater than approximately 13 degrees, greater than approximately 14 degrees, greater than approximately 15 degrees, greater than approximately 16 degrees, greater than approximately 17 degrees, greater than approximately 18 degrees, greater than approximately 19 degrees, or greater than approximately 20 degrees. In other embodiments still, the loft angle of fairway woods can be between 12 degrees and 35 degrees, between 15 degrees and 35 degrees, between 20 degrees and 35 degrees, or between 12 degrees and 30 degrees.

Further, “fairway wood golf club heads” as used herein comprise a volume less than approximately 400 cc, less than approximately 375 cc, less than approximately 350 cc, less than approximately 325 cc, less than approximately 300 cc, less than approximately 275 cc, less than approximately 250 cc, less than approximately 225 cc, or less than approximately 200 cc. In other embodiments, the volume of the fairway woods can be approximately 150 cc-200 cc, approximately 150 cc-250 cc, approximately 150 cc-300 cc, approximately 150 cc-350 cc, approximately 150 cc-400 cc, approximately 300 cc-400 cc, approximately 325 cc-400 cc, approximately 350 cc-400 cc, approximately 250 cc-400 cc, approximately 250-350 cc, or approximately 275-375 cc.

“Hybrid golf club heads” as used herein comprise a loft angle less than approximately 40 degrees, less than approximately 39 degrees, less than approximately 38 degrees, less than approximately 37 degrees, less than approximately 36 degrees, less than approximately 35 degrees, less than approximately 34 degrees, less than approximately 33 degrees, less than approximately 32 degrees, less than approximately 31 degrees, or less than approximately 30 degrees. Further, in other embodiments, the loft angle of hybrids can be greater than approximately 16 degrees, greater than approximately 17 degrees, greater than approximately 18 degrees, greater than approximately 19 degrees, greater than approximately 20 degrees, greater than approximately 21 degrees, greater than approximately 22 degrees, greater than approximately 23 degrees, greater than approximately 24 degrees, or greater than approximately 25 degrees.

Further, “hybrid golf club heads” as used herein comprise a volume less than approximately 200 cc, less than approximately 175 cc, less than approximately 150 cc, less than approximately 125 cc, less than approximately 100 cc, or less than approximately 75 cc. In some embodiments, the volume of the hybrid-type club head can be approximately 100 cc-150 cc, approximately 75 cc-150 cc, approximately 100 cc-125 cc, or approximately 75 cc-125 cc.

“Iron golf club heads” as used herein comprise a loft angle greater than approximately 17 degrees, greater than approximately 18 degrees, greater than approximately 19 degrees, greater than approximately 20 degrees, greater than approximately 21 degrees, greater than approximately 22 degrees, greater than approximately 23 degrees, greater than approximately 24 degrees, greater than approximately 25 degrees, greater than approximately 26 degrees, greater than approximately 27 degrees, greater than approximately 28 degrees, greater than approximately 29 degrees, greater than approximately 30 degrees, greater than approximately 31 degrees, greater than approximately 32 degrees, greater than approximately 33 degrees, greater than approximately 34 degrees, greater than approximately 35 degrees, greater than approximately 36 degrees, greater than approximately 37 degrees, greater than approximately 38 degrees, greater than approximately 39 degrees, greater than approximately 40 degrees, greater than approximately 41 degrees, greater than approximately 42 degrees, greater than approximately 43 degrees, greater than approximately 44 degrees, greater than approximately 45 degrees, greater than approximately 46 degrees, greater than approximately 47 degrees, greater than approximately 48 degrees, greater than approximately 49 degrees, greater than approximately 50 degrees, greater than approximately 51 degrees, greater than approximately 52 degrees, greater than approximately 53 degrees, greater than approximately 54 degrees, greater than approximately 55 degrees, greater than approximately 56 degrees, greater than approximately 57 degrees, greater than approximately 58 degrees, greater than approximately 59 degrees, or greater than approximately 60 degrees.

In other embodiments, the loft angle of irons can range from 17 degrees to 60 degrees. In other embodiments still, the loft angle of the irons can range from 17 degrees to 50 degrees, or 17 degrees to 40 degrees. For example, the loft angle of irons can be 60 degrees, 59 degrees, 58 degrees, 57 degrees, 56 degrees, 55 degrees, 54 degrees, 53 degrees, 52 degrees, 51 degrees, 50 degrees, 49 degrees, 48 degrees, 47 degrees, 46 degrees, 45 degrees, 46 degrees, 45 degrees, 44 degrees, 43 degrees, 42 degrees, 41 degrees, 40 degrees, 39 degrees, 38 degrees, 37 degrees, 36 degrees, 35 degrees, 34 degrees, 33 degrees, 32 degrees, 31 degrees, 30 degrees, 29 degrees, 28 degrees, 27 degrees, 26 degrees, 25 degrees, 24 degrees, 23 degrees, 22 degrees, 21 degrees, 20 degrees, 19 degrees, 18 degrees, or 17 degrees.

For ease of discussion and understanding, and for purposes of description only, the following detailed description illustrates a golf club head as a driver. It should be appreciated that the driver is provided for purposes of illustration of the faceplate lattices with the purpose of increasing ball speed. As described above, the disclosed faceplate with lattices can be used in association with any desired driver, fairway wood, hybrid, iron, wood generally, or iron generally.

Other features and aspects will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Before any embodiments of the disclosure are explained in detail, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details or embodiment and the arrangement of components as set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of supporting other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. It should be understood that the description of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the disclosure from covering all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Golf Club Head Faceplates with Lattice

Described herein is a golf club head faceplate comprising a lattice. The lattice comprises a plurality of flexure shapes that facilitate in faceplate bending. During golf ball impacts, the flexure shapes of the faceplate lattice act as tiny springs that store energy through linear and torsional bending. Storing energy through two modes of bending allows for greater faceplate energy storage, which results in greater ball speeds during golf ball impacts. Further, the flexure shapes of the lattice reduce the largest stresses that occur over a small volume of the faceplate material and displaces the reduced stress over a greater volume of the faceplate material.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to identify like or identical components in various views,schematically illustrates a front view of a golf club head. The golf club headincludes a faceplateand a bodythat are secured together to define a substantially closed/hollow interior volume. The club headincludes a crown, a soleopposite the crown, a heel, and a toeopposite the heel.

As illustrated in, the faceplateincludes a strike faceintended to impact a golf ball, and a back faceopposite the strike face. The faceplatefurther comprises a centerlocated at a geometric center of the faceplate, and a perimeterthat extends entirely around the faceplatenear the crown, toe, sole, and heelof the club head.

To withstand the impact stresses that occur when club headstrikes a golf ball, the faceplateis formed from a metal, or metal alloy, and preferably a light-weight metal alloy, such as, for example, a stainless steel or steel alloy, for example, but not limited to, C300, C350, Ni (Nickel)-Co(Cobalt)-Cr(Chromium)-Steel Alloy, 565 Steel, AISI type 304 or AISI type 630 stainless steel, a titanium alloy, for example, but not limited to Ti-6-4, Ti-3-8-6-4-4, Ti-10-2-3, Ti 15-3-3-3, Ti 15-5-3, Ti185, Ti 6-6-2, Ti-7s, Ti-9s, Ti-92, or Ti-8-1-1 Titanium alloy, an amorphous metal alloy, or other similar metals.

The faceplate of the club headfurther includes a latticehaving a plurality of flexure shapes recessed into the faceplate. The latticecan be recessed into the back faceof the faceplate. The latticecan be located within the closed/hollow interior volume of the club head, where the latticeis not exposed or visible to an exterior surface of the club head.

As illustrated in, the latticecan be positioned in a region of the faceplate. The faceplatecan comprise a center regionlocated near the faceplate centerof the faceplate, a toe regionlocated near the tocof the club head, a heel regionlocated near the heelof the club head, a bottom regionlocated near the soleof the club head, and a top regionlocated near the crownof the club head. The latticecan be positioned on the center region, the toe region, the heel region, the bottom region, the top region, or any combination thereof.

In other embodiments, as illustrated in, the faceplatecan further comprise a high-toe region, a low-toe region, a high-heel region, a low-heel region. The latticecan be positioned on the high-toe region, the low-toe region, the high-heel region, the low-heel region, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the latticecan cover a circular region, an elliptical region, or a combination thereof, centered around the geometric center of the faceplate. In some examples, the elliptical region is aligned from the low heel towards the high toe. For example, moving ahead,illustrate lattice patterns aligned approximately from the low heel towards the high toe. The lattice illustrated incovers both a circular region and an elliptical region. The location of the latticeon the faceplatecan affect how the faceplatebends during golf ball impacts.

In some embodiments, the latticecan provide a faceplatethat has asymmetric bending to achieve different golf ball shot shapes such as draw, fade, or straight. In one example, the latticecan be positioned in the high-toe regionand the low-heel regionto provide a draw bias shot shape (i.e. right-to-left ball flight). In another example, the latticecan be positioned in the high-heel regionand low-toe regionto provide a fade bias shot shape (i.e. left-to-right ball flight).

In other embodiments, the latticecan be positioned on an exterior surface of the club heador an interior surface of the club headlocated adjacent the closed/interior volume. More specifically, the latticecan be positioned on the crown, the sole, the toe, the heel, or any combination thereof. In other embodiments still, the latticecan be positioned in the faceplateand at least one of the crown, the sole, the toe, or the heel. In other embodiments, a portion of the crownor solecan be formed as an insert that can be attached to the club head, where the latticeis formed on the insert. In other embodiments still, the club headcan be integrally formed as one component or piece, where the latticecan be integrally formed along with the club headon at least one of the crown, the sole, the toe, or the heel. The latticepositioned in at least one of the crownor the solecan minimize the stress concentrations and move the largest stress concentrations away from the thinnest portions of the crownor sole.

The latticecan comprise a percentage of a surface area of the back face. In some embodiments, the latticecan comprise greater than 40%, greater than 45%, greater than 50%, greater than 55%, greater than 60%, greater than 65%, greater than 70%, or greater than 75% of the back face surface area. In other embodiments, the latticecan comprise 10% to 100% of the back face surface area. In some embodiments, the latticecan comprise 10% to 95%, 10% to 90%, 10% to 85%, 10% to 80%, 10% to 75%, 10% to 70%, 10% to 65%, 10% to 60%, 10% to 55%, or 10% to 50% of the back face surface area. In some embodiments, the latticecan comprise 10% to 25%, 25% to 40%, 40% to 55%, 55% to 70%, 70% to 85%, or 85% to 100% of the back face surface area. For example, the latticecan comprise 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100% of the back face surface area.

The latticecan comprise at least one repeating pattern. In some embodiments, the latticecan comprise a plurality of repeating patterns. For example, the latticecan comprise one, two, three, four, or five repeating patterns. In other embodiments, the at least one repeating pattern can be a radial pattern, where the pattern repeats in a direction of a radius (i.e. from the faceplate center to the faceplate perimeter).

In some embodiments, the latticecan comprise a plurality of rows. Adjacent rows can be staggered or offset from each other. The plurality of rows can be aligned linearly, radially, curvilinear, or arcuately. The plurality of rows can be angled in a low-heel to high-toc direction, a low-toe to high-heel direction, a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or any combination thereof.

The number of flexure shapes of the latticecan influence how the latticestores energy in the faceplate. In some embodiments, the number of flexure shapes can increase, decrease, or remain constant towards the center region, the toe region, the heel region, the bottom region, the top region, the high-toe region, the low-toe region, the high-heel region, or the low-heel region. For example, the number of flexure shapes can decrease towards the toe regionof the faceplate. In another example, the number of flexure shapes can decrease towards the bottom regionof the faceplate. In other example, the number of flexure shapes can decrease towards the heel regionof the faceplate. In another example, the number of flexure shapes can decrease towards the top regionof the faceplate.

The size (i.e. volume) of the flexure shapes of the latticecan influence how the latticestores energy in the faceplate. In some embodiments, the size of the flexure shapes can increase, decrease, or remain constant towards the center region, the toe region, the heel region, the bottom region, the top region, the high-toe region, the low-toc region, the high-heel region, or the low-heel region. For example, the size of the flexure shapes can be greater at the toe regionthan the heel regionto facilitate in toc bending of the faceplate. In another example, the size of the flexure shapes can be greater at the bottom regionthan the top regionto facilitate in sole bending of the faceplate. In another example, the size of the flexure shapes can be greater at heel regionthan the toc regionto facilitate in heel bending of the faceplate. In another example, the size of the flexure shapes can be greater at the top regionthan the bottom regionto facilitate in crown bending of the faceplate.

The number of flexure shapes can correspond with the size of the flexure shapes. The number of flexure shapes can have an inverse relationship with the size of the flexure shapes. As the size of the flexure shapes increases, the number of flexure shapes decreases. Stated another way, as the size of the flexure shapes decreases, the number of flexure shapes increases. The size and the number of flexure shapes along with the positioned of the flexure shapes on the faceplatecan further enhance a desirable golf ball shot shape such as draw, fade, or straight.

The plurality of flexure latticeshapes facilitate faceplate bending. The flexure shapes of the latticecan comprise a reentrant (i.e. shape pointing inward), concave, or non-convex shape. As illustrated in, the flexure shapes of the latticecan comprise a series of interconnected grooves. The series of interconnected grooves can comprise a base groove, and a plurality of ligament grooves connected to the base groove. The series of interconnected grooves can comprise a repeating pattern of base grooves, and a repeating pattern of ligament grooves, where the repeating pattern of base grooves and ligament grooves are interconnected to from the flexure shapes. The flexure shapes can be formed from a portion of the base groove and the ligament grooves, where portions of the flexure shape are either concave or convex relative to a center of the flexure shape. As described in more detail below, the series of interconnected grooves can be arranged in a sunburst pattern, a chiral pattern, or a windmill pattern.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in, the flexure shapes of the latticecan be formed from a plurality of land portions, where the plurality of land portions form a plurality of flexure shape recesses. The flexure shape recess can comprise at least two vertices that define acute interior angles and at least one vertex defining a reflex angle on a perimeter of the flexure shape recess. The at least one reflex angle vertex is positioned between the at least two acute interior angle vertices. The at least one reflex angle vertex does not define an acute interior angle. The acute interior angle can define an angle less than 90 degrees, and the reflex angle can define an angle greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees. The at least one reflex angle vertex of the flexure shape recess can define the reentrant, concave, or non-convex shape of the flexure shape recess. As described in more detail below, the flexure shape recesses formed from the land portions can comprise a plurality of Evan, arrowhead, four-pointed star, six-pointed star, three-pointed star, or bone flexure shape recesses.

In other embodiments, as illustrated in, the flexure shapes can be formed from a plurality of land portions, where the plurality of land portions form a plurality of flexure shape recesses. In these embodiments, the land portions can comprise a geometric shape between adjacent flexure shape recesses. The geometric shape of the land portions can comprise a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a rhombus, a parallelogram, or a hexagon. The plurality of land portions can comprise a plurality of interconnected shapes, where each land portion geometric shape can define a portion of one or more flexure shape recesses. As described in more detailed below, the flexure shapes recesses formed from the land portions with geometric shapes can comprise a plurality of triad, diamond, or slot flexure shape recesses.

Further, in some embodiments, the faceplate latticecan exhibit auxetic behavior. Auxetic behavior can be define as structures that have a near zero or negative Poisson's ratio. In other words, as the auxetic structure is stretched or a tension force is applied, the structure tends to become thicker (as opposed to thinner) or expand in a direction perpendicular to the applied force. In contrast, materials with a positive Poisson's ratio that are not near zero, contract in a direction perpendicular to the applied force. Auxetic structures are advantageous for club head faceplates because the expansive property of auxetic structures when stretched in tension increases the flexibility of the faceplate and the faceplate energy storage. Increasing the faceplate energy storage results in increases in ball speed during golf ball impacts.

Based on finite element simulations measuring the internal energy of the faceplateduring golf ball impacts, the faceplatecomprising a latticeincreases the internal energy storage by 10% to 20% compared to a faceplate devoid of the lattice. In some embodiments, the internal energy storage can increase by 10% to 15%, or 15% to 20%. This increase in internal energy storage equates to approximately a 1.0 to 3.0 mph increase in ball speed compared to a faceplate devoid of the lattice. In some embodiments, the ball speed increases by 1.0 to 2.0 mph, or 2.0 to 3.0 mph. In some embodiments, the ball speed increases by 1.0 to 1.5 mph, 1.5 to 2.0 mph, 2.0 to 2.5 mph, or 2.5 to 3.0 mph. This increase in ball speed equates to approximately a 5 to 15 yard increase in ball distance compared to a faceplate devoid of the lattice. In some embodiments, the ball distance increases by 5 to 10 yards, or 10 to 15 yards. In some embodiments, the ball distance increases by 5 to 7 yards, 7 to 9 yards, 9 to 11 yards, 11 to 13 yards, or 13 to 15 yards. The advantages of the faceplatecomprising the latticeare described in more detail below.

Based on coefficient of restitution (COR) faceplate tests measuring the faceplateduring golf ball impacts, the faceplatecomprising the latticeincreases the COR by 2% to 10% compared to a faceplate devoid of the lattice. In some embodiments, the COR can increase by 2% to 5%, or 5% to 10% compared to a faceplate devoid of the lattice. For example, the COR of the faceplatehaving the latticecan increase by 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% compared to a faceplate devoid of the lattice.

The dimensions of the latticecan influence how the lattice stores energy in the faceplate. For example, the latticecan comprise a depth measured as a distance from the back faceto a bottom surface of the latticein a direction perpendicular to the back face. The latticedepth can range from 0.025 inch to 0.075 inch. The latticedepth can range from 0.025 inch to 0.05 inch, or 0.05 inch to 0.075 inch. For example, the latticedepth can be 0.025, 0.03, 0.035, 0.04, 0.045, 0.05, 0.055, 0.06, 0.065, 0.07, or 0.075 inch. In one example, the latticedepth can be 0.05 inch.

In other embodiments, the latticedepth can range from 0.005 inch to 0.025 inch. In other embodiments, the latticedepth can range from 0.005 inch to 0.015 inch, or 0.015 to 0.025 inch. In other embodiments, the latticedepth can range from 0.005 inch to 0.01 inch, 0.01 inch to 0.015 inch, 0.015 inch to 0.020 inch, or 0.020 to 0.025 inch. In other embodiments still, the latticedepth can range from 0.006 inch to 0.011 inch, 0.007 inch to 0.012 inch, 0.008 inch to 0.013 inch, 0.009 inch to 0.014 inch, 0.01 inch to 0.015 inch, 0.011 to 0.016 inch, 0.012 to 0.017 inch, 0.013 to 0.018 inch, 0.014 inch to 0.019 inch, or 0.015 inch to 0.02 inch. For example, the latticedepth can be 0.005, 0.006, 0.007, 0.008, 0.009, 0.01, 0.011, 0.012, 0.013, 0.014, 0.015, 0.016, 0.017, 0.018, 0.019, 0.02, 0.021, 0.022, 0.023, 0.024, or 0.025 inch.

The dimensions of the faceplatecan influence how the lattice stores energy in the faceplate. For example, the faceplatecomprises a thickness measured from the strike faceto the back facein a direction perpendicular to the strike face. The faceplatecomprises a variable thickness profile extending between the faceplate centerand the faceplate perimeter. The faceplatethickness varies from the faceplate centerto the faceplate perimeter. The variable thickness profile can comprise a thickened center region that encompasses the faceplate center, a thinned perimeter region adjacent the faceplate perimeter, and a transition region that varies the faceplate thickness between the thickened center region and the thinned perimeter region. The faceplate thickness can facilitate in reducing the weight of the faceplate and allow the weight to be moved to other portions of the club head (e.g. sole) to facilitate in center of gravity location or moment of inertia.

A thicker faceplatecan minimize the energy storage capabilities of the latticeby restricting the flexing of the faceplate. A thinner faceplatecan increase the energy storage capabilities of the latticeby allowing the faceplateto freely flex. For example, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate centercan range from 0.075 inch to 0.2 inch. For example, the face thickness near the faceplate centercan range from 0.10 inch to 0.20, or 0.10 to 0.15 inch. In some embodiments, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate centercan range from 0.075 inch to 0.175 inch, or 0.075 inch to 0.15 inch. In other embodiments, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate centercan range from 0.08 inch to 0.175 inch, 0.08 inch to 0.15 inch, 0.09 inch to 0.175 inch, 0.09 inch to 0.15 inch. For example, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate centercan be 0.075, 0.08, 0.085, 0.09, 0.095, 0.097, 0.10, 0.102, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.135, 0.137, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.18, 0.19, or 0.20 inch.

In another example, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate perimetercan range from 0.06 inch to 0.14 inch. In some embodiments, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate perimetercan range from 0.06 inch to 0.10 inch, 0.06 inch to 0.12 inch, 0.07 inch to 0.10 inch, or 0.07 inch to 0.12 inch. In some embodiments, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate perimetercan range from 0.06 inch to 0.08 inch, 0.08 inch to 0.10 inch, 0.10 inch to 0.12 inch, or 0.12 inch to 0.14 inch. For example, the faceplate thickness near the faceplate perimetercan be 0.06, 0.07, 0.075, 0.077, 0.08, 0.085, 0.09, 0.095, 0.10, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, or 0.14 inch.

Lattice with Series of Interconnected Grooves

As discussed above, the lattice can comprise a plurality of flexure shapes. These flexure shapes can further comprise a series of interconnected grooves. The series of interconnected grooves can comprise a base groove and a plurality of ligament grooves extending outward from the base groove. The plurality of ligament grooves can be connected or integral with the base groove. The plurality of ligament grooves can be equally spaced along the base groove or unequally spaced. The series of interconnected grooves can comprise a repeating pattern of base grooves, and a repeating pattern of ligament grooves, where the repeating pattern of base grooves and ligament grooves are interconnected to from the flexure shapes. The flexure shapes can be formed from a portion of the base groove and the ligament grooves, where portions of the flexure shape are either concave or convex relative to a center of the flexure shape. The lattice having the flexure shapes formed from the series of interconnected grooves facilitates in storing greater energy in the faceplate to allow for greater ball speed during golf ball impacts. Described below are three examples of lattices comprising interconnected base grooves and ligament grooves.

In one example, as illustrated in, the faceplatecan comprise a lattice. The latticecan be similar to latticeas described above, but can differ in size, shape, or dimensions. The latticecan comprise a plurality of sunburst grooves. Stated another way, the latticecan comprise a plurality of grooves arranged in a sunburst pattern. Each sunburst groove can comprise a base groove, and six ligament groovesextending from the base groove. The base groovecan be circular, and the ligament groovescan be curved. The ligament groovescan extend non-linearly outward or away from the base groove.

The ligament groovescan comprise a first curve, a second curve, and an inflection pointpositioned between the first curveand the second curve. The position of the inflection pointindicates the change in direction of the ligament groovecurvature. In some embodiments, the first curveand the second curveof the ligament groovecan comprise similar widths. In other embodiments, the first curveand the second curveof the ligament groovecan comprise different widths.

The first curveand the second curvecan comprise an outer radius. The outer radius of the first curveand the second curvecan be similar or different. The outer radius of the first curveand the second curvecan range from 0.08 to 0.16 inch. In some embodiments, the outer radius of the first curveand the second curvecan range from 0.08 to 0.12 inch, or 0.12 to 0.16 inch. In some embodiments, the outer radius of the first curveand the second curvecan range from 0.08 to 0.1 inch, 0.1 to 0.12 inch, 0.12 to 0.14 inch, or 0.14 to 0.16 inch. For example, the outer radius of the first curveand the second curvecan be 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.14, or 0.15 inch.