Iron Golf Club Head Weight Distribution for Inertia and Sweet Spot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing iron-type golf club heads fail to simultaneously optimize flying distance and directionality for average golfers, as they often struggle to consistently hit the ball at the sweet spot, leading to varying distances and poor directionality due to issues with center of gravity and moment of inertia.
Innovation Solution
An iron-type golf club head design featuring a club face with grooves in the toe-heel direction, a loft angle not exceeding 41 degrees, a thickness of no more than 23 mm, a club face height of at least 53 mm, and a specific ratio of moment of inertia to sweet spot height, which includes a weight distribution system with a toe-side and heel-side weight member having higher specific gravity than the sole cover, to achieve a low sweet spot height and increased moment of inertia.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the center of gravity is lowered to improve flying distance, then the sweet spot position moves lower and flying distance increases, but the club head becomes unstable and directionality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The club head is divided into multiple functional zones with different weight distributions. A first weight portion is positioned at the toe side and a second weight portion at the heel side, creating segmented weight zones that independently influence different aspects of ball flight and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the club head have different weight densities. The toe side and heel side each have weight portions with specific gravities different from the main body, creating local quality variations that optimize both flying distance and directionality simultaneously.
2Reliability
If the moment of inertia is increased to improve directionality, then the club head resists rotation better and directionality improves, but the sweet spot height increases and flying distance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The weight distribution is deliberately made asymmetric with different weight portions at the toe and heel sides having different specific gravities. This asymmetric configuration optimizes the moment of inertia for directionality while maintaining a low sweet spot height for flying distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The specific gravity of different portions of the club head is varied as a key parameter. The first weight portion has a first specific gravity and the second weight portion has a second specific gravity, different from the main body's specific gravity, allowing independent optimization of moment of inertia and sweet spot position.
3Ease of operation
If the club face height is increased to improve addressability, then the club is easier to address and directionality improves, but the thickness increases and overall club size becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing thickness in the vertical dimension, the design achieves addressability by optimizing the distribution of weight in the horizontal plane (toe-heel direction). The weight portions are positioned laterally to create the necessary moment of inertia without increasing vertical thickness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design significantly improves the flying distance and directionality of ball hits by average golfers by ensuring a larger moment of inertia while maintaining a low sweet spot height, making it easier to address the club and achieve consistent shots.
Implementation Method 1
the moment of inertia about the Y-axis (vertical axis) extending through the center of gravity of the club head is increased
Implementation Method 2
due to the gear effect, the excessive backspin of the ball is prevented
Data Source
AI summary
An iron-type golf club head having a club face provide with a plurality of grooves extending in the toe-heel direction, satisfies the following conditions (1) the loft angle of the club head is not more than 41 degrees, (2) the thickness of the club head is not more than 23 mm, (3) the height of the club face measured along the club face at the position of the most toe-side end of the grooves is not less than 53 mm, (4) in a standard state of the club head set on a horizontal plane at the lie angle and loft angle specified for the club head, the ratio M/Sh (g sq·cm/mm) of a moment M of inertia (g sq·cm) around a first axis passing through a sweet spot in parallel with the club face and perpendicularly to the grooves, and a sweet spot height Sh (mm) which is the vertical height from the horizontal plane to the sweet spot is not less than 152.