US20130165251A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20130165251A1
Application number: US13/337,850
Authority: US
Inventors: Douglas C. Jorgensen
Original assignee: Acushnet Co
Current assignee: Acushnet Co
Priority date: 2011-12-27
Filing date: 2011-12-27
Publication date: 2013-06-27

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a golf club having a reversible sole member. The reversible sole member provides a plurality of bounce contours. The user may select one of the plurality of bounce contours and orient the sole member so that the selected bounce contour forms the sole contour of the golf club head.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to golf clubs, and more specifically to the sole configuration of iron-type golf clubs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Iron-type golf clubs generally include a face that includes a ball striking surface and a body that supports the face, provides desired mass properties and includes a sole that is configured to contact the ground during a swing. The face includes a ball striking surface that generally includes a plurality of score lines or grooves that are positioned to impart spin on the ball during impact. The body is generally designed to provide mass that is distributed to tailor the behavior of the club, especially during impact with the ball. The sole configuration also dictates the behavior of the club caused by its interaction with the ground at address and during a swing.

Each golfer has a unique swing. It is impossible to design a golf club that is perfectly suited to every golfer. However, golf club designers are forced to provide a limited number of models that are intended to suffice for the majority of golfers. Typically, the construction of the golf club, especially for iron-type golf clubs, includes a single structural component that includes the body, the face, the sole and a hosel. In multi-material constructions, the parts of the golf club head are formed separately and then coupled during manufacturing of the club head.

Prior golf clubs have utilized multi-component constructions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,213 describes a golf club head that includes a metal head body and a fiber reinforced resin face plate. A support pin extends through the body and retains the face plate.

In another multi-component golf club head construction, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,068, a golf club head includes a head attachment portion at the rear of a face that is horizontally connected to a base of a shaft attachment portion.

There is a need for an improved golf club construction that provides greater ability to alter the physical attributes of the golf club head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a golf club with a reversible sole member. The inventive golf club includes a sole member that includes a plurality of bounce contours. The sole member may be coupled to the remainder of the golf club head in a plurality of orientations so that a selected on of the plurality of bounce contours forms the sole contour of the club head.

In an embodiment, a golf club head includes a main body member, a sole member and a mechanical fastener. The main body member defines a hosel, and a face, and the face defines a ball-striking surface, a leading edge and a rear surface. The sole member includes a mounting surface, a first bounce contour and a second bounce contour. The mounting surface abuts a lower portion of the rear surface of the main body member so that the sole member forms a muscle portion of the golf club head. One of the first bounce contour and the second bounce contour forms an upper surface of the muscle portion and the other of the first bounce contour and the second bounce contour forms a majority of the sole contour of the golf club head. The mechanical fastener removably couples the sole member to the body member. The sole member is shaped to be selectively attached to the main body in a first configuration or a second configuration of the golf club head, and the first bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the first configuration and the second bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the second configuration.

In another embodiment, a golf club head includes a main body member, a sole member and a mechanical fastener. The main body member defines a hosel, and a face, and the face defines a ball-striking surface, a leading edge and a rear surface. The sole member includes a first bounce contour and a second bounce contour. The sole member is shaped to be selectively attached to the main body in a first configuration or a second configuration of the golf club head, and the first bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the first configuration and the second bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the second configuration. The mechanical fastener removably couples the sole member to the body member. The main body member and the sole member form the entire sole surface of the golf club head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded rear perspective view of the golf club head ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the golf club head ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the golf club head ofFIG. 1 in a first configuration;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the golf club head ofFIG. 1 in a second configuration;

FIG. 6 is side view of a sole member of the golf club head ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the golf club head ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an exploded rear perspective view of another golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the golf club head ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the golf club head ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a side view of a main body member of the golf club head ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is side view of a sole member of the golf club head ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the sole member ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is an exploded rear perspective view of another golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a side view of the golf club head ofFIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is side view of a sole member of the golf club head ofFIG. 14; and

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the golf club head ofFIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to modular golf clubs. In particular, the inventive golf clubs generally include a multi-component structure that allows various attributes to be altered.

Other than in the operating examples, or unless otherwise expressly specified, all of the numerical ranges, amounts, values and percentages such as those for amounts of materials, moments of inertias, center of gravity locations, loft and draft angles, and others in the following portion of the specification may be read as if prefaced by the word “about” even though the term “about” may not expressly appear with the value, amount, or range. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements. Furthermore, when numerical ranges of varying scope are set forth herein, it is contemplated that any combination of these values inclusive of the recited values may be used.

Referring toFIGS. 1-7, an iron-typegolf club head10 generally includes amain body12 and asole member13.Main body12 includes aface14 and ahosel16.Face14 includes a generally planarball striking surface18 that extends between atop line20, a leadingedge22, atoe24 and aheel26.Ball striking surface18 includes a plurality ofscore lines28, or grooves, that extend intoface14 fromball striking surface18.Score lines28 assist in imparting spin to a golf ball and allow debris to move away from the ball during impact.Score lines28 may have various configurations to produce desired spin characteristics and debris behavior.

Body

12 provides the majority of the mass ofclub head10 and is configured to distribute the mass so that club head has a desired behavior during impact with a golf ball. For example, the upper portion offace14 may be have a generally constant thickness or the thickness may vary, such as by providing perimeter weighting, to provide the desired mass distribution. As illustrated, the upper portion offace14 has a generally constant thickness so that whenbody12 is combined withsole member13,golf club head10 generally has a muscle-back configuration. Additionally, the constant thickness of the upper portion ofbody12 results in a planarrear surface30.

Sole member

13 is coupled to a lower portion offace14, onrear surface30, and provides the majority of the sole contour ofgolf club head10, so thatsole member13 provides the majority of the surface area of the sole surface of the completegolf club head10. Additionally,sole member13 provides the majority of the arc length L from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the sole surface of the completegolf club head10 in a central portion of the sole surface, where the central portion is a portion ofclub head10 that extends approximately 12.0 mm both heelward and toeward from the heel-to-toe center of the ball striking surface of thegolf club head10. Preferably,sole member13 provides greater than about 60%, and more preferably greater than about 75% of that arc length of the sole surface of the center portion ofgolf club head10. It should be appreciated that the sole contour may include a combination of planar and curved surfaces and in embodiments utilizing a sole contour that includes at least one planar surface, the “arc length” includes the linear length of the at least one planar surface.

Sole member

13 is generally an elongate body that includes a generally planar mountingsurface32, afirst bounce contour34, and asecond bounce contour36.Sole member13 is shaped so that a user may configuregolf club10 to have one of two sole configurations with a singlesole member13. For example,sole member13 is rotated to orient eitherfirst bounce contour34 orsecond bounce contour36 lower onbody12 so that the selected contour forms the sole contour of the completegolf club head10.Sole member13 is generally rotated about a longitudinal axis of afastener38 that is normal to the planarrear surface30 ofbody12. Because the longitudinal axis of thefastener38 is utilized as the pivot axis ofsole member13,sole member13 may be re-oriented simply by partially disengagingfastener38 andsole member13 frombody12, rotatingsole member13 relative tobody12, and tighteningfastener38 tobody12. As an alternative,fastener38 andsole member13 may be fully disengaged, if desired.

First bounce contour

34 andsecond bounce contour36 are shaped to provide different sole contours forgolf club head10. For example, the bounce contours may be shaped to provide full sole surfaces with different bounce angles, as shown in detail inFIGS. 3-5.First bounce contour34 andsecond bounce contour36 are shaped to provide full sole configurations with different bounce angles. As shown inFIG. 4, whenfirst bounce contour34 is oriented onmain body12 to provide the sole contour ofgolf club head10, it provides a full sole surface having a first bounce angle α₁. As shown inFIG. 5, whensecond bounce contour36 is oriented onmain body12 to provide the sole contour ofgolf club head10, it provides a full sole surface having a second bounce angle α₂that is greater than first bounce angle α₁. First bounce angle α₁is preferably between about 4° and about 9°, and second bounce angle α₂is preferably between about 10° and about 15°.

Alternatively, one bounce contour may be shaped to provide a full sole surface and the second bounce contour may be shaped to provide a desired sole grind shape. As a further alternative, the bounce contours may be shaped to provide two different sole grind shapes.

Sole member

13 is constructed separate frombody12 and coupled thereto.Sole member13 includes alignment features that engage alignment features ofbody12 whensole member13 is fully installed onbody12. The engagement of the alignment features ensures that thesole member13 is oriented relative tomain body12 so that one offirst bounce contour34 andsecond bounce contour36 forms the sole contour ofgolf club head10. In that orientation,sole member13 generally extends betweenheel26 andtoe24 ofmain body12 and the upper bounce contour generally forms an upper surface of a muscle portion ofclub head10. For example, in the configuration ofFIGS. 1,3 and4,sole member13 is oriented so thatfirst bounce contour34 is lower onmain body12 and forms the sole contour ofgolf club head10, whilesecond bounce contour36 is adjacent an upper portion ofmain body12 and generally forms an upper surface of a muscle portion of thegolf club head10.

The alignment features ofmain body12 include a plurality of tapered protrusions that extend from a lower portion ofrear surface30 ofmain body12. In the present embodiment, the alignment features include a plurality oftruncated cones40 and aboss42 that is also generally shaped as a truncated cone.Boss42 is configured to be coupled tofastener38 in the assembledgolf club head10. For example,boss42 includes a threadedbore44 bore that is coupled to a threaded shank offastener38.Cones40 are spaced fromboss42 so that whensole member13 is mounted onmain body12, the interaction betweencones40 andsole member13 prevent sole member from rotating aboutboss42. The height ofcones40 relative torear surface30 is selected so thatsole member13 does not have to be fully removed fromboss42 in order to rotatesole member13 relative tomain body12 aboutboss42 and the longitudinal axis offastener38. As a result, the orientation ofsole member13 may be altered without fully disengagingsole member13 frommain body12. Preferably, the height ofcones40 fromrear surface30 is less than the height ofboss42 fromrear surface30.

The alignment features ofsole member13 include a plurality of depressions that receivecones40 andboss42. In particular,sole member13 includes a pair ofconical depressions46 that are sized and shaped to receivetruncated cones40 ofmain body12 so that relative motion between eachcone40 anddepression46 is minimized or prevented. Similarly, aboss depression48 is provided insole member13 that is sized and shaped to receiveboss42.

A fastener bore50 extends throughsole member13 and intersectsboss depression48 so thatfastener38 extends throughsole member13, throughboss depression48 and intoboss42 in the assembledgolf club head10. Fastener bore50 also preferably includes acounterbore52 so that the head offastener38 may be received therein so that the outer surface offastener38 may be flush, or below, an outer surface ofsole member13.

Sole member

13 is spaced fromball striking surface18 so thatmain body12 provides the leading edge ofgolf club head10. Furthermore,sole member13 is shaped so that the sole contour ofgolf club head10 is smooth over the interface betweensole member13 andmain body12. As an alternative, the sole contour of the club head may be stepped at the interface so that the forward-most edge ofsole member13 is recessed relative to the adjacent sole surface ofmain body12.

The mass properties ofsole member13 such as by including empty cavities and/or filled cavities in selected portions ofsole member13. For example,sole member13 includes anempty cavity54 and a filledcavity56 to alter the mass distribution ofsole member13. In the present embodiment,empty cavity54 is located adjacentsecond bounce contour36 to remove mass from that portion ofsole member13. Filledcavity56 is located adjacentfirst bounce contour34 and includes aweight insert58 to increase the mass ofsole member13 on the side offirst bounce contour34. The mass properties ofsole member13 may be altered so that the center of gravity is located on the axis of rotation ofsole member13, e.g., along the longitudinal axis offastener38, so that the center of gravity ofgolf club head10 remains in the same location in both orientations ofsole member13.

In another embodiment, illustrated inFIGS. 8-10, agolf club head70 includes amain body72 and asole member73. In the present embodiment,sole member73 is coupled tomain body72 by a fastener that is retained insole member73.Main body72 includes aface74 and ahosel76.Face74 includes a generally planarball striking surface78 that extends between atop line80, a leadingedge82, atoe84 and aheel86.Ball striking surface78 includes a plurality ofscore lines88, or grooves, that extend intoface74 fromball striking surface78. Leadingedge82 may be contoured to provide a desired behavior during turf interaction, such as by including a leading edge chamfer83.

Main body

72 also includes anelongate face support90 that provides an alignment feature. Facesupport90 extends in a generally heel to toe direction and projects outward from arear surface92 ofmain body72, so that it forms a bar or strut. Preferably, the thickness ofmain body72 betweenball striking surface78 andrear surface92 is less than, or equal to, about 6.0 mm, and the thickness offace support90 is less than, or equal to, about 6.0 mm. In the present embodiment,face support90 generally extends acrossrear surface92 so that it is approximately parallel to a ground surface G whenclub head70 is placed in the address position and oriented with the designed lie and loft angles. Alternatively, facesupport92 may be oriented so that it extends diagonally acrossrear surface92, such as from high toe to low heel, or from low toe to high heel. Facesupport90 intersects aboss91 that extends further outward fromrear surface92 thanface support90.Boss91 includes a threadedbore93 that receives a threaded shank of afastener100 that removably couplessole member73 tomain body72.Boss91 is shaped as a truncated cone. Preferably, the portion offace support90, excludingboss91, has a thickness of between about 1.0 mm and about 3.0 mm.

Sole member

73 is coupled to a lower portion offace74, onrear surface92, and provides the majority of the sole contour ofgolf club head70.Sole member73 is generally an elongate body that includes a mountingsurface94, afirst bounce contour96, and asecond bounce contour98.Sole member73 is shaped so that a user may configuregolf club70 to have one of two sole configurations with a singlesole member73 by rotatingsole member73 relative tomain body72 as described above with respect to the previous embodiment.

First bounce contour

96 andsecond bounce contour98 are shaped to provide different sole contours forgolf club head70. For example, one of the bounce contours may be shaped to provide a full sole surface with a selected bounce angle and the other may be shaped to provide a specific shape, also referred to as a “sole grind,” which may include one or more relieved portions adjacent a primary bounce surface. A variety of sole shapes may be included to provide desired turf interaction and behavior when the club face is opened or closed by a user. As illustrated inFIGS. 8 and 9,first bounce contour96 is shaped to provide a full sole configuration with a selected bounce angle that is preferably between about 4° and about 15°.Second bounce contour98 is shaped to provide a shape that includes aprimary bounce surface102 that is interposed between atoe relief104 and aheel relief106, and a chamfered trailingedge108.

Sole member

73 is constructed separate frombody72 and is coupled tomain body72 byfastener100.Sole member73 includes alignment features that engageface support90 whensole member73 is fully installed onbody72. The engagement of the alignment features ensures that thesole member73 is oriented relative tomain body72 so that one offirst bounce contour96 andsecond bounce contour98 forms the sole contour ofgolf club head70. The alignment features ofsole member73 include an elongate depression110 that receivesface support90 andboss91. As shown inFIG. 12, depression110 is intersected by acavity112 so that the elongate depression110 is divided into heel/toe portions114 and acentral portion116 that is shaped to receiveboss91.

In the assembledgolf club head70,fastener100 extends throughsole member73 and intoboss91 where it is threaded intomain body72. Ahead118 offastener100 is received in acounterbore120 included at an outer end of afastener bore101 that extends throughsole member73.Head118 includes acircumferential groove122 andcounterbore120 includes agroove124 that aligns withgroove122 whenfastener100 is fully inserted insole member73. A retainingring126 is interposed betweenhead118 andsole member73 and at least partially within each of the

grooves

122,124 so thatfastener100 is coupled tosole member73.Fastener100 is coupled tosole member73 so that fastener is rotatable relative tosole member73, but remains coupled tosole member73 when it is removed frommain body72. An additional benefit of retainingfastener100 insole member73 is that asfastener100 is disengaged fromboss91,sole member73 is pulled away frommain body72 and becomes disengaged from the alignment features ofmain body72.

Referring toFIGS. 14-17, agolf club head140 will be described.Golf club head140 includes amain body142 and asole member143 that is coupled tomain body142. In the present embodiment,sole member143 is spring-loaded onmain body142 to simplify the process of re-orientingsole member143 relative tomain body142.Main body142 includes aface144 and ahosel146. Face144 includes a generally planarball striking surface148 that extends between atop line150, aleading edge152, atoe154 and aheel156.Ball striking surface148 includes a plurality ofscore lines158, or grooves, that extend intoface144 fromball striking surface148.

Main body

142 also includes anelongate face support160 that provides an alignment feature and that extends in a generally heel to toe direction and projects outward from arear surface162 ofmain body142.Face support160 intersects a boss161 that extends further outward fromrear surface162 thanface support160. Boss161 includes a threadedbore163 that receives a threaded shank of afastener164 that removably couplessole member143 tomain body142. Similar to the previous embodiments, boss161 is shaped as a truncated cone. Boss161 also includes anannular channel165 that receives aspring167 so that in the assembled golf club head,spring167 is interposed and compressed betweensole member143 andmain body142. As a result, asfastener164 is disengaged from boss161,spring167 forcessole member143 to separate frommain body142 and its alignment features, thereby simplifying the re-orientation ofsole member143 relative tomain body142.

Sole member

143 is coupled to a lower portion offace144, onrear surface162, and provides the majority of the sole contour ofgolf club head140.Sole member143 is generally an elongate body that includes a mountingsurface166, afirst bounce contour168, and asecond bounce contour170.Sole member143 is shaped so that a user may configuregolf club140 to have one of two sole configurations with a singlesole member143 by rotatingsole member143 relative tomain body142 as described above with respect to previous embodiments.

First bounce contour

168 andsecond bounce contour170 are shaped to provide different sole contours forgolf club head140. For example, each of the two bounce contours may be shaped to provide a specific shape, or “sole grind.” As illustrated inFIGS. 14 and 15,first bounce contour168 is shaped to include aprimary bounce surface172 that is interposed between atoe relief174 and aheel relief176, and a chamfered trailingedge178. In the illustrated configuration,sole member143 is oriented so thatsecond bounce contour170 forms the sole surface ofgolf club head140 andfirst bounce contour168 forms an upper portion of a muscle portion ofgolf club head140. As a result,heel relief176 andtoe relief174 offirst bounce contour168 are located on toe and heel sides ofclub head140, respectively.Second bounce contour170 is shaped to include aheel relief180, aprimary bounce surface182 that extends fromheel relief180 toward toe without a toe relief, and a chamfered trailingedge184.

Sole member

143 is constructed separate frombody142 and is coupled tomain body142 byfastener164.Sole member143 includes alignment features that engageface support160 whensole member143 is fully installed onbody142. The engagement of the alignment features ensures that thesole member143 is oriented relative tomain body142 so that one offirst bounce contour168 andsecond bounce contour170 forms the sole contour ofgolf club head140. The alignment features ofsole member143 include anelongate depression186 that receivesface support160 and boss161.

In the assembledgolf club head140,fastener164 extends throughsole member143 and into boss161 where it is threaded intomain body142. Ahead188 offastener100 is received in acounterbore190 included at an outer end of afastener bore192 that extends throughsole member143.

While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the invention disclosed herein fulfill the objectives stated above, it is appreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art. Elements from one embodiment can be incorporated into other embodiments. Therefore, it will be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and embodiments, which would come within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

We claim:

1. A golf club head, comprising:

a main body member defining a hosel, and a face, wherein the face defines a ball-striking surface, a leading edge and a rear surface;

a sole member including a mounting surface, a first bounce contour and a second bounce contour, wherein the mounting surface abuts a lower portion of the rear surface of the main body member so that the sole member forms a muscle portion of the golf club head, and wherein one of the first bounce contour and the second bounce contour forms an upper surface of the muscle portion and the other of the first bounce contour and the second bounce contour forms a majority of the sole contour of the golf club head, and

a mechanical fastener removably coupling the sole member to the body member,

wherein the sole member is shaped to be selectively attached to the main body in a first configuration or a second configuration of the golf club head, and wherein the first bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the first configuration and the second bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the second configuration.

2. The golf club head ofclaim 1, wherein the main body further comprises an elongate support extending across the rear surface in a heel-to-toe direction.

3. The golf club head ofclaim 2, wherein the rear surface is planar, and wherein the elongate support extends rearward from the planar rear surface by about 1.0 mm to about 3.0 mm.

4. The golf club head ofclaim 1, wherein the golf club head has a first bounce angle in the first configuration and a second bounce angle in the second configuration and the first bounce angle is different than the second bounce angle.

5. The golf club head ofclaim 1, wherein the first bounce contour includes at least one of a heel relief and a toe relief.

6. The golf club head ofclaim 5, wherein the second bounce contour includes at least one of a heel relief and a toe relief.

7. The golf club head ofclaim 1, wherein the rear surface is planar, and wherein the thickness of the main body between the ball-striking surface and the rear surface is less than about 6.0 mm.

8. The golf club head ofclaim 1, wherein the sole member provides more than about 60% of the arc length of the sole surface of the golf club head in a central portion of the sole surface of the golf club head.

9. The golf club head ofclaim 8, wherein the sole member provides more than about 75% of the arc length of the sole surface of the golf club head in a central portion of the sole surface of the golf club head.

10. The golf club head ofclaim 1, wherein the main body further comprises a boss that extends rearward from the rear surface by about 3.0 mm to about 6.0 mm, and wherein the boss includes a bore that receives a portion of the fastener.

11. A golf club head, comprising:

a sole member including a first bounce contour and a second bounce contour, wherein the sole member is shaped to be selectively attached to the main body in a first configuration or a second configuration of the golf club head, and wherein the first bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the first configuration and the second bounce contour forms the majority of the sole contour of the golf club head in the second configuration, and

a mechanical fastener removably coupling the sole member to the body member, and

wherein the main body member and the sole member form the entire sole surface of the golf club head.

12. The golf club head ofclaim 11, wherein the main body further comprises an elongate support extending across the rear surface in a heel-to-toe direction.

13. The golf club head ofclaim 12, wherein the rear surface is planar, and wherein the elongate support extends rearward from the planar rear surface by about 1.0 mm to about 3.0 mm.

14. The golf club head ofclaim 11, wherein the golf club head has a first bounce angle in the first configuration and a second bounce angle in the second configuration and the first bounce angle is different than the second bounce angle.

15. The golf club head ofclaim 11, wherein the first bounce contour includes at least one of a heel relief and a toe relief.

16. The golf club head ofclaim 15, wherein the second bounce contour includes at least one of a heel relief and a toe relief.

17. The golf club head ofclaim 11, wherein the rear surface is planar, and wherein the thickness of the main body between the ball-striking surface and the rear surface is less than about 6.0 mm.

18. The golf club head ofclaim 11, wherein the sole member provides more than about 60% of the arc length of the sole surface of the golf club head in a central portion of the golf club head.

19. The golf club head ofclaim 18, wherein the sole member provides more than about 75% of the arc length of the sole surface of the golf club head in a central portion of the golf club head.

20. The golf club head ofclaim 11, wherein the second bounce contour forms an upper surface of a muscle portion of the golf club head in the first configuration and the first bounce contour forms an upper surface of a muscle portion of the golf club head in the second configuration.