CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/570, 180, filed October 10, 2017, which the entire contents are incorporated by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a golf club, particularly a golf club head having one or more of a vertically balanced leading edge, a horizontally balanced front face, and a front face that is balanced such that the center of mass is positioned as the same height as the center of mass of a golf ball to provide improved design, weighting, and balance.

BACKGROUND

[0003] A golf club is a piece of sporting equipment having a grip, a shaft, and a club head. A user may grasp the golf club about the grip, and swing the club such that the head of the club strikes a golf ball. The club head typically connects to the shaft via a hosel, which is a socket portion of the golf club head into which the shaft fits. There are a few basic types of golf clubs, with each type of golf club corresponding to a particular type of club head. For example, there are "woods," which typically have a large, three-dimensional oblong-shaped head, "irons," which typically have a thin plate-shaped head, and "putters" that commonly have a flat box- shaped head. Each type of golf club has a front face for striking the golf ball. When oriented vertically, the face of a golf club may be offset from the shaft at an angle, known as the loft or loft angle. The loft angle of a club is designed to achieve a particular loft upon striking the ball, and varies for each type of golf club. For woods, a loft angle of a club may typically fall within a range of 8 degrees to 28 degrees. For irons, a loft angle of a club may typically fall within a range of 15 degrees to 62 degrees. For putters, the loft angle is typically 0-4 degrees, but may also range to negative 15 to 10 degrees.

[0004] The portion of a golf club head nearest the shaft may be referred to as the "heel" of the club, whereas the portion of a golf club head on the opposing edge may be referred to as the

"toe" of the club. Conventionally, irons and woods are typically designed so that the toe of the club has a greater average height than the heel of the club, thereby tending to position the horizontal center of mass of the club head closer to the toe than to the heel. This is because conventional clubs have a closed balance that may naturally tend to cause a hook/draw ball flight, so balancing the clubhead so that the toe is heavier may tend to keep the clubhead from closing over too quickly upon the club being swung, which may tend to keep the face square (i.e., not closed or open) when contacting the ball. In such conventional clubs, the weight is not balanced horizontally across the face of the club in the sense that the position of the vertical weight distribution tends to be at a relatively high height towards the toe and a low height towards the heel of the club, which may tend to cause the toe to lower and the heel to rise in reference to their starting positions when the club is in motion. Further, most conventional clubs have a hosel that is offset from the center of mass of the club head such that the club head has an open or closed balance of between approximately 8 to 30 degrees. These design features are disadvantageous because when in motion, the horizontal weight distribution of a conventional clubhead will cause the toe to lower and the heel to raise to match the ground plane, which may cause the shaft of the club to bend forward excessively as a result and put force on the hands to move forward and out of place in reference to their starting position. The open/closed center of mass relative to hosel is disadvantageous because at the fastest point of a swing, the direction of the clubface will be open or closed to the path of the swing, causing either strain on the golfer to square the clubface or the fastest point of the swing to be after the moment of impact. Putters often include a closed balance, a low center of gravity below the center of the ball, a low loft, and a somewhat rectangular face but these are different than woods and irons because putters are designed so that they are swung with the bottom surface of the putter being generally parallel to the ground throughout the duration of the swing, whereas woods and irons are swung in a circular fashion. Accordingly, putters are generally designed to have a horizontal weight distribution across the face of the putter that is low (i.e., close to the bottom of the club head) on the heel to low on the toe. In contrast to irons and woods, which are intended to launch a ball into the air upon being struck in a manner in which the spin and loft/trajectory of the ball may be manipulated by the swing, a putter is configured to launch a ball into a straight roll (assuming a flat surface), and thus, club head design considerations such as the balance of the leading edge, the horizontal balance, and the balance relative to the center of mass of a golf ball may be different with respect to putters than they are to the design of woods and irons.

[0005] Thus, it would be desirable to develop an improved golf club head with improved balance characteristics such as a clubhead having a vertically balanced leading edge, a club face that is horizontally balanced, and a club face that has a balance such that the center of mass of the clubhead is configured to align with the center of mass of a golf ball when the club addresses the ball. A clubhead having a vertically balanced leading edge may provide an advantage of allowing for the leading edge to be parallel to the shaft when striking the ball, allowing for the ball to fly straight. A clubhead having a club face that is horizontally balanced may provide an advantage of preventing the bottom of the club face of an iron from unevenly contacting the ground (e.g., the toe portion of the club digs into the ground further than the heel) when being swung and may allow for better swing mechanics by eliminating an imbalance that may tend to pull a golfer's hands out of place when the club is swung. Although clubs (e.g., drivers) and putters don't tend to break the surface of the ground when swung, a horizontally balanced club face of a club or putter may advantageously affect the motion of the club when it is swung, as the weighting of traditional clubs may tend to pull the toe downwards at the point of contact with the ball. Finally, a clubhead having a center of mass configured to align with the center of mass of a golf ball when struck is advantageous because a club transfers the most energy to a ball when it is struck in line with the center of mass. Traditional clubs (especially irons) typically have a center of mass that is positioned below the golf ball when the club is on the ground, meaning a golfer must strike the ball with a different impact position than the position used to address the ball before swinging. Accordingly, clubheads having a center of mass configured to align with the center of mass of a golf ball may promote better swing mechanics because the start and impact positions will be the same.

SUMMARY

[0006] This disclosure relates to improved golf club designs relating to the weighting and balance of putters, wedges, irons, woods, and drivers. Each of these clubs are specified as their own entity as defined by the United States Golf Association (USGA). Currently, it is standard for a club to have the club shaft intersect with the face at an offset. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be designed such that shaft intersects the club head directly in line with the center of mass of the club. This feature may balance the club in such a way that the leading edge of the club face is at 0 degrees from the vertical plane (i.e., 90 degrees from the ground plane) when the club is placed on a table such that the shaft of the club rest on top of the table and the head of the club freely dangles over the side of the table. Further innovations relating to the design, weighting, and balance of an improved golf club head may include golf club heads that are balanced vertically in the leading edge, balanced across the face horizontally, and balanced in the weight of the face in relation to the height of the ball being hit, such that the golf ball launches at the same angle as the orientation of the club face during impact. These improvements may make it possible for a golfer to improve their swing by increasing the likelihood of hitting the ball in the sweet spot at the best attack angle, resulting in a shot having a greater distance. Additionally, in embodiments where the center of mass of the club is positioned on the club face such that it aligns with the height of the center of mass of the golf ball being hit, driving distance and repeatability are both improved for the average golfer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0007] Reference will now be made to the accompanying figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

[0008] FIG. 1A, FIG. IB, and FIG. 1C show a wood golf club head, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 1A is a front view, FIG. IB is a side view, and FIG. 1C is a top view of the wood golf club head, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments.

[0009] FIG. ID, FIG. IE, FIG. IF, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, FIG. II, FIG. 1J, and FIG. IK show another embodiment of a wood golf club head, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment. Specifically, FIG. ID is a side view, FIG. IE is a top view, FIG. IF is a partial cross-sectional front perspective view, FIG. 1G is a bottom cutaway view, FIG. 1H is a side perspective cross-sectional view, FIG. II is a side cross-sectional view, FIG. 1J is a side cross- sectional view, and FIG. IK is a front perspective cross-sectional view.

[0010] FIG. 1L shows a top view of a conventional wood golf club head in which the hosel is offset from the center of mass of the club head.

[0011] FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, and FIG. 2C show an iron golf club head, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2A is a front view, FIG. 2B is a side view, and FIG. 2C is a top view of the iron golf club head, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments. [0012] FIG. 2D shows a conventional iron golf club head in which the hosel is offset from the center of mass of the club head.

[0013] FIG. 2E shows an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of an iron golf club head that is horizontally balanced and has an asymmetrical front face design.

[0014] FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3C show a putter golf club head, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 3A is a front view, FIG. 3B is a side view, and FIG. 3C is a top view of the wood golf club head, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, and FIG. 4C show a three-dimensional prototype of an iron golf club head, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 4A is a front perspective view, FIG. 4B is a top view, and FIG. 4C is a rear perspective view of the iron golf club head, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments.

[0016] FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C show examples of a conventionally balanced wood golf club, iron golf club, and putter golf club, respectively.

[0017] FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 6C show examples of golf clubs having vertically balanced golf club heads including a wood golf club head and two iron golf club heads, respectively, according to example embodiments.

[0018] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show examples of improved wedge iron golf club heads 200 according to exemplary embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 7A is a rear perspective view, and FIG. 7B is a top isometric view of improved wedge iron golf club heads 200, according to exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present disclosure can be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of example embodiments and the examples included herein. Before the example embodiments of the devices and methods according to the present disclosure are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that embodiments are not limited to those described within this disclosure. Numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art and remain within the scope of the disclosure. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. Some embodiments of the disclosed technology will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosed technology may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth therein.

[0020] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is to be understood that embodiments of the disclosed technology may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. References to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "example embodiment," "some embodiments," "certain embodiments," "various embodiments," etc., indicate that the embodiment(s) of the disclosed technology so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase "in one embodiment" does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may.

[0021] Unless otherwise noted, the terms used herein are to be understood according to conventional usage by those of ordinary skill in the relevant art. In addition to any definitions of terms provided below, it is to be understood that as used in the specification and in the claims, "a" or "an" can mean one or more, depending upon the context in which it is used. Throughout the specification and the claims, the following terms take at least the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or." Further, the terms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to mean one or more unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.

[0022] Unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives "first," "second," "third," etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0023] Also, in describing the example embodiments, terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. It is intended that each term contemplates its broadest meaning as understood by those skilled in the art and includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

[0024] To facilitate an understanding of the principles and features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, example embodiments are explained hereinafter with reference to their implementation in an illustrative embodiment. Such illustrative embodiments are not, however, intended to be limiting.

[0025] The materials described hereinafter as making up the various elements of the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable materials that would perform the same or a similar function as the materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the example embodiments. Such other materials not described herein can include, but are not limited to, materials that are developed after the time of the development of the invention, for example.

[0026] Embodiments of the disclosed technology include embodiments of an improved golf club head, including improved golf club heads for woods, irons, putters, and any variations thereof (e.g., hybrids, drivers, wedges, etc.). In various embodiments, an improved golf club head may include one or more innovations relating to the balance of the club head. In particular, an improved golf club head of the current disclosure may be balanced vertically with respect to the leading edge, balanced across the face horizontally, and balanced with respect to the height of the face of the golf club head such that the center of mass of the club head aligns to the height of the center of mass of the golf ball being hit (i.e., the height of a golf ball resting on the ground) so that the golf ball may tend to launch at the same angle as the orientation of the club face during impact. Further, an improved golf club head may have a hosel that is aligned with the center of mass of the club in the same vertical plane, which may provide advantageous balance properties, such as the parallel alignment of the shaft with leading edge of the clubhead that may result in a straighter flight path of the ball when struck. Further, during a swing with a conventional club, the club face will tend to close as the swing reaches its fastest point because the center of mass will line up with the hosel, perpendicular to the path, and conventional clubs start with the center of mass behind the hosel. Further, the clubface tends to close in relation to the path of the club or any tangent path of the club on the swing arc, including and especially the path at the fastest point. Accordingly, to hit the ball straight with a conventional club, a golfer must strike the ball before the club face closes (i.e., not at the maximum speed) or use additional strength to try to counteract the closing of the club face, which may lead to injuries and an overall slower club head speed at impact. Accordingly, aligning the hosel with the center of mass of the club in the same vertical plane may enable the club to strike the ball at the maximum speed, thus increasing the distance of the shot.

[0027] Throughout this disclosure, certain embodiments are described in exemplary fashion in relation to an improved golf club head. However, it should be understood that a golf club head is an integral part of a golf club, and accordingly, this disclosure contemplates the creation of golf clubs that integrate the embodiments of the improved golf club heads described herein. As those of skill in the art will appreciate, a golf club may be constructed by attaching a shaft with a grip into the hosel of an improved golf club head described herein.

[0028] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1A, FIG. IB, and FIG. 1C illustrate an example embodiment of an improved wood golf club head 100. As shown in FIGS. 1A-1C improved wood golf club head 100 has a front face 102 that may be used to strike a golf ball, a leading edge 104 positioned along the bottom edge of front face 102, a hosel 106 that may be configured to attachably receive a golf club shaft (not shown), and a body 108 that is a three-dimensional shape behind front face 102 that may provide mass that generates a momentum force when a club is including improved wood golf club head 100 is swung. Improved wood golf club head 100 may also have a center of mass 110 that may be a point that represents the mean position of matter of improved wood golf club head 100 (including hosel 106).

[0029] According to some embodiments, improved wood golf club head 100 may be advantageously designed such that leading edge 104 may be balanced vertically, which may provide advantages such as increased club head speed at the ball, reduced force from the club on the golfer, improved swing biomechanics resulting from the maximum swing speed occurring at the time of contact with the ball, reduced stress on the shaft of the club, reduced contact with the ground resulting from the maximum club head speed occurring at the ball, increased ball speed from a center strike of the ball, and enabling a golfer to line up their hands with the center of the club head rather than in front of or behind the club head. In other words, if the shaft of a golf club including improved wood golf club head 100 were to be placed on top of a flat table such that improved wood golf club head 100 freely dangled over the edge of the table, the weight distribution of improved wood golf club head 100 may be such that improved wood golf club head 100 may naturally come to rest in a position where leading edge 104 may point directly downwards so that it is oriented in a plane that intersects with the ground at a 90 degree angle (assuming that the ground is perpendicular to the legs of the table). This characteristic may be referred to as having a "vertically balanced leading edge" or having a "90 degree leading edge" or a "0 degree leading edge" (i.e., 90 degrees relative to the ground or 0 degrees relative to the vertical plane). In contrast, although not strictly limited to this range, conventional clubs are typically closed from the vertical plane by roughly 8-15 degrees. In other words, when a conventional club is balanced on a table in the same manner as describe above, when at rest the leading edge of the club may point to the ground at an angle roughly within the range of 8-15 degrees from the vertical plane (i.e., the plane that intersects the ground at a 90 degree angle). This is due to the fact that conventional clubs typically include a conventional offset (i.e., the offset between the forward most edge of the hosel and the leading edge of the club head) of zero (i.e., the forward most edge of the hosel is aligned with the leading edge of the club head) or greater (i.e., the forward most edge of the hosel is positioned in front of the leading edge of the club head). Typically, a conventional offset of zero from the leading edge of the club head will result in an approximately 8 degree balance offset (i.e., offset from the center of mass and the hosel). According to some embodiments, improved wood golf club head 100 has no such offset, which may cause improved wood golf club head 100 to have a vertically balanced leading edge. In some embodiments, a vertically balanced leading edge may be perpendicular to the same target/direction of the loft.

[0030] According to some embodiments, vertically balancing the leading edge may be achieved by aligning hosel 106 to intersect with body 108 in the same plane as center of mass 110 of the improved club head 100. In other words, hosel 106 may be positioned such that a centerline axis of hosel 106 (i.e., the line that extends along the center of the cylindrical portion of hosel 106) lies in the same vertical plane as center of mass 110. In various embodiments, center of mass 110 may be positioned at different points in body 108. For example, in some embodiments center of mass 110 may be positioned close to front face 102 and in other embodiments center of mass 110 may be positioned closer to the center of body 108. Accordingly, in various embodiments, hosel 106 may attach to body 108 at different points of body 108 so that it is aligned in the same vertical plane as center of mass 110 along the length of body 108. Thus, in some embodiments, hosel 106 may attach to body 108 such that the centerline axis of hosel 108 is in the same vertical plane as center of mass 110. In some embodiments, the vertical plane that includes both the centerline of hosel 108 and center of mass 110 may be a vertical plane that is oriented parallel to leading edge 104.

[0031] As mentioned above, the position of center of mass 110 of improved wood golf club head 100 may vary in different embodiments. According to some embodiments, the position of center of mass 110 may be influenced and/or determined by the shape, loft, length, width, height, thickness, and/or density of improved wood golf club head 100 and various embodiments of improved golf club head 100 may have different shape and/or density characteristics. For example, in some embodiments, body 108 of improved wood golf club head 100 may be a continuous material of approximately equally distributed density. However, in some embodiments, body 108 of improved wood golf club head 100 may include a hollow cavity filled with air or other materials. In some embodiments where body 108 includes a hollow cavity that is filled with air for example, the thickness of front face 102 may be thicker, the same, or thinner than the other walls of body 108 to influence the positioning of center of mass 110. For example, if front face 102 is thicker than the other walls of body 108, this may have the effect of positioning center of mass 110 closer to front face 102 relative to an embodiment where front face 102 is thinner than the other walls of body 108. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. IB and 1C, center of mass 110 of improved wood golf club head 100 may be positioned close to front face 102. For example, in some embodiments, a driver comprising an improved wood golf club head 100 may have a center of mass approximately 8-30 millimeters behind leading edge 104, 5-25 millimeters high, and 15-23 millimeters across front face 102 from the edge of hosel 106. It should be understood that these distances are illustrative only and that the position of the center of mass may vary as individual shapes and designs of club heads vary.

[0032] Further, FIG. ID, FIG. IE, FIG. IF, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, FIG. II, FIG. 1J, FIG. IK illustrate an example embodiment of another improved wood golf club head 100 with a weighted insert 112 into a hollow cavity of wood golf club head 100. The weighted insert 112 may influence the center of mass 110. The improved wood golf club head 100 of FIGS. 1D-1K has a similar front face 102, leading edge 104, hosel 106, body 108, and center of mass 110 as described with respect to FIGS. 1A-1C. For brevity, these features and their functions will not be described again. [0033] As shown in FIG. IF, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, FIG. II, FIG. 1J, FIG, IK, in some embodiments, weighted insert 112 may be a triangular or pyramidal structure that is placed within a hollow cavity of improved wood golf club head 100 to add and distributed weight in a predesigned manner. According to some embodiments, a triangular weighted insert 112 may be positioned within a hollow cavity of improved wood club head 100 such that a first and second arm 114a, 114b, extend out of the interior surface of front face 102 and meet at a point of intersection 116 towards the rear end of body 108. Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 1H shows that the triangular weighted insert 112 is hollow (i.e., there is an empty space between first and second arms 114a, 114b), in some embodiments weighted insert 112 may be a continuous piece of material (i.e., it may not be hollow). Further, in some embodiments, weighted insert 112 may also include a front weight portion 118 that is attached to the interior surface of front face 112 to add more weight to front face 112. According to some embodiments, front weight portion 118 may be a solid triangular protrusion from the interior surface of front face 102, as shown in FIG. 1H.

[0034] Although the preceding description relates to an improved wood golf club head 100 having a vertically balanced leading edge, in some embodiments it may be desirable for the leading edge to be offset from the vertical plane slightly (i.e., the vertical plane referred to when the golf club is balanced on a table as previously described above). To avoid confusion, the vertical plane referenced in relation to the vertical balance of the leading edge (i.e., the vertical plane relative to leading edge 104 of the club head when the club head is balanced on a table as described previously above) may be referred to as the "absolute vertical plane." In some embodiments, an improved wood golf club head 100 may be open or closed from the absolute vertical plane by approximately 1 degree, 2 degrees, 3 degrees, 4 degrees, or 5 degrees. According to some embodiments, an improved wood golf club head 100 may be open or closed from the absolute vertical plane by any angle between 0 degrees and 5 degrees. According to some embodiments, improved wood golf club head 100 may be designed to have a leading edge 104 that is offset from the absolute vertical plane by an amount that is within the range of 0-5 degrees by, for example, adjusting the position at which hosel 106 attaches to body 108 so that the centerline axis of hosel 106 is not positioned in the same vertical plane as center of mass 110, but is offset from center of mass 110 by some amount. For example, hosel 106 may be positioned so that it attaches to body 108 in a vertical plane that is slightly in front of or slightly behind center of mass 110. If hosel 106 is positioned in a vertical plane that is slightly in front of center of mass 110, it may cause leading edge 104 to be closed from the absolute vertical plane by some amount, whereas if hosel 106 is positioned in a vertical plane that is slightly behind center of mass 110, it may cause leading edge 104 to be open from the absolute vertical plane. For example, FIG. 1L shows a conventional wood golf club head 100A with a front face 102A, a leading edge 1204A, a hosel 106A, a body 108A, and a center of mass 210A. The hosel 106A is positioned slightly in front of center of mass 11 OA, creating in this case, an angle of approximately 82 degrees from center of mass 110A to the centerline axis of hosel 106A. In this case, the balance of leading edge 104A is closed by 8 degrees. According to some embodiments, the balance of leading edge 104 may be closed by an amount that is equal to 90 degrees minus the angle between center of mass 110 to the centerline axis of hosel 106.

[0035] According to some embodiments, improved wood golf club head 100 may be advantageously designed so that the weight is horizontally balanced across front face 102 of the club head, which may contribute to improved swing mechanics and increased energy transfer from wood golf club head 100 to a golf ball. According to some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the average position of the height of the center of mass across the horizontal axis of the front face 102 of the club is at the same height or is at approximately the same height. In some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the position of the vertical height of the mass across the front face 102 from the heel to the toe forms a trend line that is approximately level to the ground (when the club is addressing the ball). In some embodiments, the weight of improved wood golf club head 100 may be horizontally balanced such that center of mass 110 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 102. Accordingly, in some embodiments, center of mass 110 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the midpoint of leading edge 104 at a perpendicular angle. In some embodiments, center of mass 110 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the top edge of front face 102 at a perpendicular angle. Balancing of the weight across front face 102 of the club head may be achieved, in some embodiments, by shaping front face 102 so that, for example, front face 102 is symmetrical about a line that intersects the midpoint of leading edge at a perpendicular angle to leading edge. In some embodiments, balancing the weight of improved wood golf club head 100 such that center of mass 110 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 102 may be achieved by the design of the shape of front face 102 and body 108 balanced with the weight of hosel 108. According to some embodiments, wood golf club head 100 may have more weight on the upper part of the toe in an embodiment where front face 102 is approximately symmetrical in order to counterbalance the weight of hosel 106.

[0036] Conventional woods do not have a symmetrical front face and/or body, but are typically thicker towards the toe of the club head than the heel, resulting in the weight of the club being unbalanced across the face of the club. However, according to some embodiments, wood golf club head 100 may have an asymmetrical face and may still be horizontally balanced across the front face 102 of wood golf club head 100 by, for example, varying the thickness of the wood golf club head 100 so that center of mass 110 is at the same height across front face 102 from the heel to toe of wood gold club head 100.

[0037] Further, because the leading edge of the face of a typical wood is onset form the front edge of the hosel and offset from the center of mass, a typical club head requires more weight to be concentrated in the toe portion of the club head to keep the club face open and/or prevent it from closing over. Improved wood golf club head 100 does not have this problem because it does not include an offset. Further, because improved wood golf club head 100 may have a neutral balance, the club may have a flatter/lower lie angle of hosel 106 biomechanically, which may allow for longer clubs to work in the same situations and which may create faster speeds that can lead to longer distance shots.

[0038] In some embodiments, a nearly symmetrical shape of improved wood golf club head 100 may improve proprioception and special awareness of where the player should hit the golf ball on the club. Further, according to some embodiments, a high level of stability may be achieved by positioning hosel 106 directly across from the further part of the toe of improved wood golf club head 100.

[0039] According to some embodiments, improved wood golf club head 100 may advantageously be designed such that center of mass 110 of improved wood golf club head 100 relative to front face 102 may be positioned at the same height as the center of mass of a golf ball, which may beneficially cause a golf ball to launch at the same angle as the club face when struck by the club. Although this feature refers to center of mass 110 being positioned at the same height as the center of mass as of the golf ball, it should be understood that the intent is for the design to facilitate the striking of the ball by improved wood golf club head 100 in a manner that the center of masses of both the club head 100 and the ball are aligned at the point of impact. Accordingly, it is anticipated that when using woods, such as a driver, many players will elevate the golf ball using a golf tee, and so to account for this fact, in some embodiments, center of mass 110 of improved wood golf club head may actually be higher than the center of mass of a golf ball by resting on the ground by a distance that approximates the height of a tee (e.g., approximately 5-10 millimeters). The weight of a conventional wood golf club may have more weight distributed in the upper portions of the toe and heel of the club head, and thus, and so improved wood golf club head 100 may be designed to have a lower center of mass 110 than conventional woods, by for example, adding more to the lower portion of improved wood club head 100 using, for example, a weighted insert 112 as described above with respect to FIGS. 1F- 1K. A typical golf ball is roughly 41-43 millimeters tall, and its center of mass may typically be at around 21 millimeters in height. Accordingly, in some embodiments, improved wood golf club head 100 may have a front face 102 having a center of mass 110 positioned approximately 21 millimeters above leading edge 104. In some embodiments, center of mass 110 may be positioned higher than 21 millimeters above leading edge 104 by approximately 5-10 millimeters to account for use of a tee. In some embodiments, positioning of center of mass 110 may be achieved by, for example, designing front face 102 to be symmetrical and to have the same total height as a golf ball such that the middle of the face would be half the height of the golf ball. Alternatively, weighted insert 112 may be used to adjust the vertical height of center of mass 110 as described previously.

[0040] FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, and FIG. 2C illustrate an example embodiment of an improved iron golf club head 200. As shown in FIG. 2A, improved iron golf club head 200 has a front face 202 that may be used to strike a golf ball, a leading edge 204 positioned along the bottom edge of front face 202, a hosel 206 that may be configured to attachably receive a golf club shaft (not shown), and a body 208 that is a three-dimensional shape behind front face 202 that may provide mass that generates a momentum force when a club is including improved iron golf club head 200 is swung. Improved iron golf club head 200 may also have a center of mass 210 that may be a point that represents the mean position of matter of improved iron golf club head 200.

[0041] According to some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 may be advantageously designed such that leading edge 204 may be balanced vertically, which may provide advantages such as increased club head speed at the ball, reduced force from the club on the golfer, improved swing biomechanics resulting from the maximum swing speed occurring at the time of contact with the ball, reduced stress on the shaft of the club, reduced contact with the ground resulting from the maximum club head speed occurring at the ball, increased ball speed from a center strike of the ball, and enabling a golfer to line up their hands with the center of the club head rather than in front of or behind the club head. In other words, if the shaft of a golf club including improved iron golf club head 200 were to be placed on top of a flat table such that improved iron golf club head 200 freely dangled over the edge of the table, the weight distribution of improved iron golf club head 200 may be such that improved iron golf club head 200 may naturally come to rest in a position where leading edge 202 may point directly downwards so that it is oriented in a plane that intersects with the ground at a 90 degree angle (assuming that the ground is perpendicular to the legs of the table). This characteristic may be referred to as having a "vertically balanced leading edge" or having a "90 degree leading edge" or a "0 degree leading edge" (i.e., 90 degrees relative to the ground or 0 degrees relative to the vertical plane). In contrast, conventional clubs are typically closed from the vertical plane by roughly 8-15 degrees. In other words, when a conventional club is balanced on a table in the same manner as describe above, when at rest the leading edge of the club may point to the ground at an angle roughly within the range of 8-15 degrees from the vertical plane (i.e., the plane that intersects the ground at a 90 degree angle). This is due to the fact that conventional clubs typically include a conventional offset (i.e., the offset between the forward most edge of the hosel and the leading edge of the club head) of zero (i.e., the forward most edge of the hosel is aligned with the leading edge of the club head) or greater (i.e., the forward most edge of the hosel is positioned in front of the leading edge of the club head). Typically, a conventional offset of zero from the leading edge of the club head will result in an approximately 8 degree balance offset (i.e., offset from the center of mass and the hosel). According to some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 has no such offset, which may cause improved iron golf club head 200 to have a vertically balanced leading edge.

[0042] According to some embodiments, vertically balancing the leading edge may be achieved by aligning hosel 206 to intersect with body 208 in the same plane as center of mass 210 of the improved club head 200. In other words, hosel 206 may be positioned such that a centerline axis of hosel 206 (i.e., the line that extends along the center of the cylindrical portion of hosel 206) lies in the same vertical plane as center of mass 210. In various embodiments, center of mass 210 may be positioned at different points in body 208. For example, in some embodiments center of mass 210 may be positioned close to front face 202 and in other embodiments center of mass 210 may be positioned closer to the center of body 208. Accordingly, in various embodiments, hosel 206 may attach to body 208 at different points of body 208 so that it may be aligned in the same vertical plane as center of mass 210 along the length of body 208. Thus, in some embodiments, hosel 206 may attach to body 208 such that the centerline axis of hosel 208 is in the same vertical plane as center of mass 210. In some embodiments, the vertical plane that includes both the centerline of hosel 208 and center of mass 210 may be a vertical plane that is oriented parallel to leading edge 204. Although not shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, in some embodiments, hosel 206 may attach to body 208 of improved iron golf club head 200 at the same vertical height as center of mass 210.

[0043] As mentioned above, the position of center of mass 210 of improved iron golf club head 200 may vary in different embodiments. According to some embodiments, the position of center of mass 210 may be influenced and/or determined by the shape, loft, length, width, height, thickness, and/or density of improved iron golf club head 200 and various embodiments of improved golf club head 200 may have different shape and/or density characteristics. For example, in some embodiments, body 208 of improved iron golf club head 200 may be a continuous material of approximately equally distributed density. However, in some embodiments, body 208 of improved iron golf club head 200 may include a hollow cavity filled with air or other materials. In some embodiments where body 208 includes a hollow cavity that is filled with air for example, the thickness of front face 202 may be thicker, the same, or thinner than the other walls of body 208 to influence the positioning of center of mass 210. For example, if front face 202 is thicker than the other walls of body 208, this may have the effect of positioning center of mass 210 closer to front face 202 relative to an embodiment where front face 202 is thinner than the other walls of body 208. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, center of mass 210 of improved iron golf club head 200 may be positioned close to front face 202. For example, in some embodiments an improved iron golf club head 200 may have a center of mass approximately 8-30 millimeters behind leading edge 104, 5-25 millimeters high, and 15-23 millimeters across front face 202 from the edge of hosel 206. It should be understood that these distances are illustrative only and that the position of the center of mass may vary as individual shapes and designs of club heads vary. In various embodiments, iron golf club head 200 may be designed to have a center of gravity at different heights to achieve different results. For example, in some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 may be designed to have a high center of gravity 210 by including a weighted triangular feature on the rear side of front face 202 that has its apex at the height of the middle of the club head, which may result in increased distance when striking the ball. In some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 may be designed to have a low center of gravity 210 by including a weighted triangular feature on the rear side of front face 202 that has its apex underneath the center of the front face 202. The position of center of mass 1 10 of improved wood golf club head 100 may similarly be changed by adjusting the height of the apex of weighted insert 112.

[0044] Although the preceding description relates to an improved iron golf club head 200 having a vertically balanced leading edge, in some embodiments it may be desirable for the leading edge to be offset from the vertical plane slightly (i.e., the vertical plane referred to when the golf club is balanced on a table as previously described above). To avoid confusion, the vertical plane referenced in relation to the vertical balance of the leading edge (i.e., the vertical plane relative to leading edge 204 of the club head when the club head is balanced on a table as described previously above) may be referred to as the "absolute vertical plane." In some embodiments, an improved iron golf club head 200 may be open or closed from the absolute vertical plane by approximately 1 degree, 2 degrees, 3 degrees, 4 degrees, or 5 degrees. According to some embodiments, an improved iron golf club head 200 may be open or closed from the absolute vertical plane by any angle between 0 degrees and 5 degrees. According to some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 may be designed to have a leading edge 204 that is offset from the absolute vertical plane by an amount that is within the range of 0-5 degrees by, for example, adjusting the position at which hosel 206 attaches to body 208 so that the centerline axis of hosel 206 is not positioned in the same vertical plane as center of mass 210, but is offset from center of mass by some amount. For example, hosel 206 may be positioned so that it attaches to body 208 in a vertical plane that is slightly in front of or slightly behind center of mass 210. If hosel 206 is positioned in a vertical plane that is slightly in front of center of mass 210, it may cause leading edge 204 to be closed from the absolute vertical plane by some amount, whereas if hosel 206 is positioned in a vertical plane that is slightly behind center of 210, it may cause leading edge 204 to be open from the absolute vertical plane. For example, FIG. 2D shows an example of a conventional iron golf club head 200A with a front face 202A, a leading edge 204A, a hosel 206A, a body 208 A, and a center of mass 210A. The hosel 206A is positioned slightly in front of center of mass 21 OA, creating in this case, an angle of approximately 82 degrees from center of mass to the centerline axis of hosel 206A. In this case, the balance of leading edge 204A is closed by 8 degrees. According to some embodiments, the balance of leading edge 204 may be closed by an amount that is equal to 90 degrees minus the angle between center of mass 210 to the centerline axis of hosel 206.

[0045] According to some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 may be advantageously designed so that the weight is horizontally balanced across front face 202 of the club head, which may contribute to improved swing mechanics and increased energy transfer from iron golf club head 200 to a golf ball. According to some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the average position of the height of the center of mass across the horizontal axis of the face of the club is at the same height or is at approximately the same height. In some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the position of the vertical height of the mass across the front face 202 from the heel to the toe forms a trend line that is approximately level to the ground (when the club is addressing the ball). In some embodiments, the weight of improved iron golf club head 200 may be horizontally balanced such that center of mass 210 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 202. Accordingly, in some embodiments, center of mass 210 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the midpoint of leading edge 204 at a perpendicular angle. In some embodiments, center of mass 210 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the top edge of front face 202 at a perpendicular angle. Balancing of the weight across front face 202 of the club head may be achieved, in some embodiments, by shaping front face 202 so that, for example, front face 202 is symmetrical about a line that intersects the midpoint of leading edge at a perpendicular angle to leading edge. In some embodiments, balancing the weight of improved iron golf club head 200 such that center of mass 210 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 202 may be achieved by the design of the shape of front face 202 and body 208 balanced with the weight of hosel 208.

[0046] Conventional irons do not have a symmetrical front face and/or body, but are typically thicker towards the toe of the club head than the heel, resulting in the weight of the club being unbalanced across the face of the club. However according to some embodiments, iron golf club head 200 may have an asymmetrical face and may still be horizontally balanced across the face. For example, FIG. 2E shows an illustration of an embodiments of an iron golf club head 200 that has an asymmetrical face (i.e., the toe has a greater height than the heel), but may nonetheless be horizontally balanced by, for example, varying the thickness of iron golf club head 200 so that center of mass 210 is at the same height across front face 202 from the heel to the toe of iron golf club head 200. According to some embodiments, the toe of iron golf club head 200 may have a height that is greater the heel or a middle portion of iron golf club 200 to counterbalance hosel 206, as shown in FIG. 2E. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the length of hosel 206 may vary from design to design depending on the thickness of the front face 202. Generally, hosel 206 may be less thick than front face 202 and so hosel 206 may be taller than front face 202 to compensate for the difference in height to create balance between hosel 206 and the toe of iron golf club head 200. According to some embodiments, some portion of the weight of hosel 206 may be ignored because it may act as a part of the shaft that it is attached to and on the same plane with the same geometry.

[0047] Further, because the leading edge of the face of a typical iron is offset from the front edge of hosel 206, a typical club head requires more weight to be concentrated in the toe portion of the club head to keep the club face open and/or prevent it from closing over. Improved iron golf club head 200 does not have this problem because it does not include an offset. Further, because improved iron golf club head 200 may have a neutral balance, the club may have a flatter/lower lie angle of hosel 206 biomechanically, which may allow for longer clubs to work in the same situations and which may create faster speeds that can lead to longer distance shots. Additionally, when going through thick grass, a conventional club will generally tend to close over immediately and the neutral balance provided by improved golf club head 200 may leave the face square regardless of the amount of turf resistance.

[0048] According to some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 may advantageously be designed such that center of mass 210 of improved golf club head 200 relative to front face 202 may be positioned at the same height as the center of mass of a golf ball, which may beneficially cause a golf ball to launch at the same angle as the club face when struck by the club. In contrast, conventional iron clubs generally have a center of mass positioned below the center of mass of the golf ball such that the golf ball launches at a higher angle than the angle of the club face when struck. Accordingly, in some embodiments, improved iron golf club head 200 may have a front face 202 having a center of mass 210 that is positioned approximately 21 millimeters above leading edge 204, approximating the height of the center of mass of a golf ball resting on the ground. This may be achieved by, in some embodiments, for example, designing front face 202 to have the same height as a golf ball at the horizontal position of front face 202 corresponding to the plane that aligns with center of mass 210.

[0049] FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3C illustrate an example embodiment of an improved putter golf club head 300. As shown in FIG. 3 A, improved putter golf club head 300 has a front face 302 that may be used to strike a golf ball, a leading edge 304 positioned along the bottom edge of front face 302, a hosel 306 that may be configured to attachably receive a golf club shaft (not shown), and a body 308 that is a three-dimensional shape behind front face 302 that may provide mass that generates a momentum force when a club is including improved putter golf club head 300 is swung. Improved putter club head 300 may also have a center of mass 310 that may be a point that represents the mean position of matter of improved putter golf club head 300.

[0050] According to some embodiments, improved putter golf club head 300 may be advantageously designed such that leading edge 304 may be balanced vertically, which may provide advantages such as increased club head speed at the ball, reduced force from the club on the golfer, improved swing biomechanics resulting from the maximum swing speed occurring at the time of contact with the ball, reduced stress on the shaft of the club, increased ball speed from a center strike of the ball, and enabling a golfer to line up their hands with the center of the club head rather than in front of or behind the club head. In other words, if the shaft of a golf club including improved putter golf club head 300 were to be placed on top of a flat table such that improved putter golf club head 300 freely dangled over the edge of the table, the weight distribution of improved putter golf club head 300 may be such that improved putter golf club head may naturally come to rest in a position where leading edge 302 may point directly downwards so that it is oriented in a plane that intersects with the ground at a 90 degree angle (assuming that the ground is perpendicular to the legs of the table). This characteristic may be referred to as having a "vertically balanced leading edge" or having a "90 degree leading edge" or a "0 degree leading edge" (i.e., 90 degrees relative to the ground or 0 degrees relative to the vertical plane). In contrast, conventional clubs are typically closed from the vertical plane by roughly 8-15 degrees. In other words, when a conventional club is balanced on a table in the same manner as describe above, when at rest the leading edge of the club may point to the ground at an angle roughly within the range of 8-15 degrees from the vertical plane (i.e., the plane that intersects the ground at a 90 degree angle). This is due to the fact that conventional clubs typically include a conventional offset (i.e., the offset between the forward most edge of the hosel and the leading edge of the club head) of zero (i.e., the forward most edge of the hosel is aligned with the leading edge of the club head) or greater (i.e., the forward most edge of the hosel is positioned in front of the leading edge of the club head). Typically, a conventional offset of zero from the leading edge of the club head will result in an approximately 8 degree balance offset (i.e., offset from the center of mass and the hosel). According to some embodiments, improved putter golf club head 300 has no such offset, which may cause improved putter golf club head 300 to have a vertically balanced leading edge.

[0051] According to some embodiments, vertically balancing the leading edge may be achieved by aligning hosel 306 to intersect with body 308 in the same plane as center of mass 310 of the improved putter golf club head 300. In other words, hosel 306 may be positioned such that a centerline axis of hosel 306 (i.e., the line that extends along the center of the cylindrical portion of hosel 306) lies in the same vertical plane as center of mass 310. In various embodiments, center of mass 310 may be positioned at different points in body 308. For example, in some embodiments, center of mass 310 may be positioned close to front face 302 and in other embodiments center of mass 310 may be positioned closer to the center of body 308. Accordingly, in various embodiments, hosel 306 may attach to body 308 at different points so that it is aligned in the same vertical plane as center of mass 310 along the length of body 308. Thus, in some embodiments, hosel 306 may attach to body 308 such that the centerline axis of hosel 308 is in the same vertical plane as center of mass 310. In some embodiments, the vertical plane that includes both the centerline of hosel 308 and center of mass 310 may be a vertical plane that is oriented parallel to leading edge 304.

[0052] As mentioned above, the position of center of mass 310 of improved putter golf club head 300 may vary in different embodiments. According to some embodiments, the position of center of mass 310 may be influenced and/or determined by the shape, loft, length, width, height, thickness, and/or density of improved putter golf club head 300 and various embodiments of improved golf club head 300 may have different shape and/or density characteristics. For example, in some embodiments, body 308 of improved putter golf club head 300 may be a continuous material of approximately equally distributed density. However, in some embodiments, body 308 of improved putter golf club head 300 may include a hollow cavity filled with air or other materials. In some embodiments where body 308 includes a hollow cavity that is filled with air for example, the thickness of front face 302 may thicker, the same, or thinner than the other walls of body 308 to influence the positioning of center of mass 310. For example, if front face 302 is thicker than the other walls of body 308, this may have the effect of positioning center of mass 310 closer to front face 302 relative to an embodiment where front face 302 is thinner than the other walls of body 308. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, center of mass 310 of improved putter golf club head 300 may be positioned close to front face 302. For example, in some embodiments, a putter comprising an improved putter golf club head 300 may have a center of mass approximately 8-30 millimeters behind leading edge 104, 5-25 millimeters high, and 15-23 millimeters across front face 302 from the edge of hosel 306. It should be understood that these distances are illustrative only and that the position of the center of mass may vary as individual shapes and designs of club heads vary.

[0053] Although the preceding description relates to an improved putter golf club head 300 having a vertically balanced leading edge, in some embodiments it may be desirable for the leading edge to be offset from the vertical plane slightly (i.e., the vertical plane referred to when the golf club is balanced on a table as previously described above). To avoid confusion, the vertical plane referenced in relation to the vertical balance of the leading edge (i.e., the vertical plane relative to leading edge 304 of the club head when the club head is balanced on a table as described previously above) may be referred to as the "absolute vertical plane." In some embodiments, an improved putter golf club head 300 may be open or closed from the absolute vertical plane by approximately 1 degree, 2 degrees, 3 degrees, 4 degrees, or 5 degrees. According to some embodiments, an improved putter golf club head 300 may be open or closed from the absolute vertical plane by any angle between 0 degrees and 5 degrees. According to some embodiments, improved putter golf club head 300 may be designed to have a leading edge 304 that is offset from the absolute vertical plane by an amount that is within the range of 0-5 degrees by, for example, adjusting the position at which hosel 306 attaches to body 308 so that the centerline axis of hosel 306 is not positioned in the same vertical plane as center of mass 310, but is offset from center of mass by some amount. For example, hosel 306 may be positioned so that it attaches to body 308 in a vertical plane that is slightly in front of or slightly behind center of mass 310. If hosel 306 is positioned in a vertical plane that is slightly in front of center of mass 310, it may cause leading edge 304 to be closed from the absolute vertical plane by some amount, whereas if hosel 306 is positioned in a vertical plane that is slightly behind center of 310, it may cause leading edge 304 to be open from the absolute vertical plane.

[0054] According to some embodiments, improved putter golf club head 300 may be advantageously designed so that the weight is horizontally balanced across front face 302 of the club head, which may contribute to improved swing mechanics and increased energy transfer from putter golf club head 300 to a golf ball. According to some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the height of the center of mass across the horizontal axis of the front face 302 of the club is at the same height or is at approximately the same height. In some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the position of the vertical height of the mass across the front face 302 from the heel to the toe forms a trend line that is approximately level to the ground (when the club is addressing the ball). In some embodiments, the weight of improved putter golf club head 300 may be horizontally balanced such that center of mass 310 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 302. Accordingly, in some embodiments, center of mass 310 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the midpoint of leading edge 304 at a perpendicular angle. In some embodiments, center of mass 310 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the top edge of front face 302 at a perpendicular angle. Balancing of the weight across front face 302 of the club head may be achieved, in some embodiments, by shaping front face 302 so that, for example, front face 302 is symmetrical about a line that intersects the midpoint of leading edge at a perpendicular angle to leading edge. In some embodiments, balancing the weight of improved putter golf club head 300 such that center of mass 310 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 302 may be achieved by the design of the shape of front face 302 and body 108 balanced with the weight of hosel 308. According to some embodiments, improved putter golf club head 100 may have more weight on the upper part of the toe of in an embodiment where front face 302 is approximately symmetrical in order to counterbalance the weight of hosel 306. According to some embodiments, an improved putter golf club head 300 may be designed to be horizontally balanced in a manner similar to wood golf club head 100 described above by including more weight on the upper part of the toe in order to counterbalance the weight of hosel 306.

[0055] According to some embodiments, improved putter golf club head 300 may advantageously be designed such that the center of mass 310 of improved golf club head 300 relative to front face 302 may be positioned at the same height as the center of mass of a golf ball, which may beneficially cause a more efficient strike of the ball and/or consistent transfer of force from improved putter golf club head 300 to the golf ball. Accordingly, in some embodiments, improved putter golf club head 300 may have a front face 302 center of mass 310 positioned approximately 21 millimeters above leading edge 304 to align with the center of mass of a typical golf ball. In some embodiments, center of mass 310 may be positioned a slight distance below the height of the center of mass of a golf ball to account for the fact that improved putter golf club head 300 will typically be slightly elevated off the ground when putting a golf ball. In some embodiments, positioning of center of mass 310 may be achieved by, for example, designing front face 302 to be symmetrical and to have the same total height as a golf ball such that the middle of the face would be half the height of the golf ball, or in some embodiments front face 302 may be designed to have slightly less than the same total height of a golf ball to account for the elevated position of improved putter golf club head 300 when striking the ball. Alternatively, a weighted insert or attachment may be used to adjust the vertical height of center of mass 310 in a manner similarly described with respect to improved wood golf club head 100 and/or improved iron golf club head 200.

[0056] FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B., and FIG. 4C show images of a three-dimensional model of an exemplary iron golf club head 200 reflecting the design described above with respect to FIGS. 2A-E. As shown in FIG. 4A, improved iron golf club head 200 has a front face 202 that may be used to strike a golf ball, a leading edge 204 positioned along the bottom edge of front face 202, a hosel 206 that may be configured to attachably receive a golf club shaft (not shown), and a body 208 that is a three-dimensional shape behind front face 202 that may provide mass that generates a momentum force when a club is including improved iron golf club head 200 is swung. Improved iron golf club head 200 may also have a center of mass (not shown) that may be a point that represents the mean position of matter of improved iron golf club head 200. FIGS. 4B-4C show the improved golf club head 200 from various other perspectives, according to exemplary embodiments.

[0057] FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, and FIG. 5C show examples of a conventionally balanced wood golf club 500A, iron golf club 500B, and putter golf club 500C, respectively. For comparison to conventionally balanced clubs, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 6C show example clubs having vertically balanced golf club heads. In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, FIG. 6A show wood golf club head 100, FIG. 6B shows an offset view of an iron golf club head 200, and FIG. 6C shows a different offset view of an iron golf club head 200.

[0058] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show examples of improved wedge iron golf club heads 200 according to exemplary embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 7A is a rear perspective view, and FIG. 7B is a top isometric view of improved wedge iron golf club heads 200, according to exemplary embodiments. FIG. 7A includes the features of improved iron golf club heads 200 as described with reference to FIGS. 2A-2E. Improved wedge iron golf club head 200 includes a front face 202 (shown in FIG. 7B), a leading edge 204 (shown in FIG. 7B), a hosel 206, and a body 208.

[0059] As further seen in FIG. 7B, improved wedge iron golf club head 200 may have a front face 202 that may be used to strike a golf ball, a leading edge 204 positioned along the bottom edge of front face 202, a hosel 206 that may be configured to attachably receive a golf club shaft (not shown), and a body 208 that is a three-dimensional shape behind front face 202 that may provide mass that generates a momentum force when a club is including improved iron golf club head 200 is swung. Improved iron golf club head 200 may also have a center of mass 210 that may be a point that represents the mean position of matter of improved iron golf club head 200. According to some embodiments, improved wedge iron golf club head 200 may be configured to have a vertically balanced leading edge.

[0060] According to some embodiments, improved wedge iron golf club head 200 may be advantageously designed so that the weight is horizontally balanced across front face 202 of the club head, which may contribute to improved swing mechanics and increased energy transfer from wedge iron golf club head 200 to a golf ball. According to some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the average position of the height of the center of mass across the horizontal axis of the face of the club is at the same height or is at approximately the same height. In some embodiments, a horizontally balanced club face may refer to a club face where the position of the vertical height of the mass across the front face 202 from the heel to the toe forms a trend line that is approximately level to the ground (when the club is addressing the ball). In some embodiments, the weight of improved wedge iron golf club head 200 may be horizontally balanced such that center of mass 210 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 202. Accordingly, in some embodiments, center of mass 210 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the midpoint of leading edge 204 at a perpendicular angle. In some embodiments, center of mass 210 may be located in a vertical plane that intersects the top edge of front face 202 at a perpendicular angle. Balancing of the weight across front face 202 of the club head may be achieved, in some embodiments, by shaping front face 202 so that, for example, front face 202 is symmetrical about a line that intersects the midpoint of leading edge at a perpendicular angle to leading edge. In some embodiments, balancing the weight of improved wedge iron golf club head 200 such that center of mass 210 is positioned at the horizontal midpoint of front face 202 may be achieved by the design of the shape of front face 202 and body 208 balanced with the weight of hosel 208.

[0061] According to some embodiments, improved wedge iron golf club head 200 may advantageously be designed such that center of mass 210 of improved wedge iron golf club head 200 relative to front face 202 may be positioned at the same height as the center of mass of a golf ball, which may beneficially cause a golf ball to launch at the same angle as the club face when struck by the club. In contrast, conventional iron clubs generally have a center of mass positioned below the center of mass of the golf ball such that the golf ball launches at a higher angle than the angle of the club face when struck. Accordingly, in some embodiments, improved wedge iron golf club head 200 may have a front face 202 having a center of mass 210 that is positioned approximately 21 millimeters above leading edge 204, approximating the height of the center of mass of a golf ball resting on the ground. This may be achieved by, in some embodiments, for example, designing front face 202 to have the same height as a golf ball at the horizontal position of front face 202 corresponding to the plane that aligns with center of mass 210.

[0062] While certain embodiments of the disclosed technology have been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosed technology is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

[0063] This written description uses examples to disclose certain embodiments of the disclosed technology, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice certain embodiments of the disclosed technology, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of certain embodiments of the disclosed technology is defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.