Golf Club Face Thickness Layout for MOI and COR Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf club heads face challenges in balancing mass and performance properties such as CG location, COR, and MOI while maintaining stress limits, appearance, and overall weight, particularly in iron-type clubs.
Innovation Solution
A variable face thickness pattern is implemented in golf club heads, redistributing discretionary mass from the striking face to other areas to improve CG location, increase MOI, and enhance COR, while maintaining similar stress limits and overall weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If mass is added to improve MOI and CG location, then forgiveness and stability improve, but club head weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The face thickness is varied locally across different regions of the striking face. The peripheral region has greater thickness than the central region, concentrating mass where it is needed to increase MOI and improve forgiveness, while avoiding uniform thickening that would increase overall weight. This localized mass distribution achieves the desired stability without sacrificing weight constraints.
2Strength
If face thickness is increased to improve structural strength, then stress resistance improves, but COR decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The face thickness is optimized locally, with the peripheral region having greater thickness for structural strength and stress resistance, while the central region maintains thinner construction to preserve COR. This differentiated thickness pattern allows the face to withstand stress at the periphery while maintaining energy transfer efficiency at the center where impact occurs.
3Ease of operation
If CG is moved laterally to improve shot accuracy, then sweet spot alignment improves, but mass distribution complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The face thickness is designed with asymmetric variation across the striking face. The peripheral region has greater thickness than the central region, creating an asymmetric mass distribution that naturally positions the CG in an optimal location for improved sweet spot alignment and shot accuracy, eliminating the need for complex asymmetric shaping or additional weighting.
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club head includes a main body having a toe, a heel opposite the toe, a sole, and a top portion opposite the sole. The club head further includes a striking face or face insert with a central region including a face center, a first average thickness, and variable thickness. An upper region above the central region has a second average thickness less than the first average thickness and an upper groove having a width greater than 5.0 mm. A toe region toe-ward of the central region has a third average thickness less than the first average thickness and a toe side groove having a width greater than 2.0 mm. An intermediate region at least partially surrounds the central region between the central region and each of the upper region and the toe region. In one aspect, the intermediate region has a fourth average thickness greater than the first average thickness.