COMPOSITE PUTTER HEAD WITH GROOVES AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0001]Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to golf putters, and more particularly to techniques and apparatuses for improved putter heads with high moment of inertia and improving contact between the golf ball and striking face of the putter head.

BACKGROUND

[0002]A putter is a club used in the sport of golf to make relatively short, low-speed strokes to roll a golf ball into a cup (e.g., a cylindrical hole) from a relatively short distance, which is referred to as putting a golf ball. A putter is distinguished from other golf clubs (e.g., irons, woods, and wedges) by having a club head with a flat, low-profile, and low-loft striking face. Putters may have other features, such as bent shafts, non-circular grips, and positional guides. These features are not found on other clubs.

[0003]Putters are designed to roll the ball along grass, generally from a point on the green to the hole. Putters do have loft, typically a small number of degrees from perpendicular at impact. This loft assists in lifting the ball from any indentation the ball may have made in the grass. In addition, putters may include grooves on the face to encourage rolling rather than skidding or bouncing at impact. These grooves may increase rolling distance and may reduce bouncing over the turf.

[0004]Traditional putter designs struggle to balance the needs for optimal weight distribution, alignment aids, and feel, which are useful for precise putting. Despite advances in putters, there remains a need for further improvements in putter head designs to enhance control and consistency for golfers of all skill levels. In modern putter design, weight distribution and moment of inertia (MOI) are crucial factors that significantly influence the performance of the club. Optimal weight distribution is essential for achieving balance and stability during the stroke. Traditional putters often feature a centralized mass, which can result in less forgiving performance on off-center hits.

SUMMARY

[0005]Various aspects of the present disclosure relates broadly to a putter and a putter head having a high moment of inertia. The putter head includes a face plate having a striking face and a back side, weights coupled to the back side of the face plate, and an aft coupled to the back side. The face plate has a density of 7.7 g/cc or greater, the weights have a density higher than the face plate, and the aft has a lower density than the face plate. In an aspect, the face plate may be made of a copper-tungsten alloy which provides a higher density face plate with a desirable contact feel and sound, and the aft may be made of a composite material having a low density so the mass may be otherwise distributed to the face plate and heel and toe weights coupled to the face plate.

[0006]In some other aspects of the present disclosure, the face plate may include grooves along the length of the striking face. These grooves may be parallel to each other and spaced apart by about 0.1 to 0.01 inches, and the grooves extend into the striking face at an angle of about 5 to 20 degrees from an original plane line of the putter head. The grooves may cover the striking face, such that the striking face does not include any flat area between adjacent grooves. These grooves provide greater grip on the ball so that the ball begins rolling rather than bouncing.

[0007]Some other aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a method of making a putter head. The method includes forming a face plate having a striking face and a back side opposite the striking face, attaching a toe weight to a toe recess in the back side of the face plate, attaching a heel weight to a heel recess in the back side of the face plate, attaching an aft to the face plate via fasteners, and machining grooves into the striking face of the face plate. The grooves extend into the striking face at a downward angle.

[0008]The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described. The conception and specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the concepts disclosed, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]So that the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of a putter head, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the face plate of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012]FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective back view of the putter head of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the aft of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a perspective rear view of the putter head of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015]FIG. 6 is a perspective side view of the putter head of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016]FIG. 7A is an illustration of the process of introducing groove into a face plate of a putter head, showing the tool in a first tool path position, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017]FIG. 7B is another illustration of the process of introducing a groove into a face plate of a putter head, showing the tool in a second tool path position, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018]FIG. 7C is another illustration showing the dimensions of a putter head, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019]FIG. 7D is another illustration showing the dimensions of a putter head, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020]FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of fabricating a composite putter head with a high moment of inertia, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021]Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings, one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method, which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0022]Traditional putter designs struggle to balance the needs for optimal weight distribution, alignment aids, and feel, which are useful for precise putting. Despite advances in putters, there remains a need for further improvements in putter head designs to enhance control and consistency for golfers of all skill levels. Weight distribution and moment of inertia (MOI) are factors that may influence performance of the club. Optimal weight distribution is essential for achieving balance and stability during the stroke. Traditional putters often feature a centralized mass, which can result in less forgiving performance on off-center hits.

[0023]The United States Golf Association (USGA) places moment of inertia restrictions on drivers, which are restricted to a maximum moment of inertia of 5,900 g-cm². Putter heads have no such restrictions placed on moment of inertia. Moment of inertia indicates how much resistance a club head has to twisting. A higher moment of inertia provides more resistance and makes the club more forgiving in play. When a golf ball is struck with a golf club, the club twists, no matter where on the club face the ball is struck. The further away from the “sweet spot,” the more the club twists at impact, adversely affecting flight distance. For putters, a higher moment of inertia helps keep putts on the desired line and closer to the desired distance.

[0024]The moment of inertia for a golf club increases when the golf club has more weight at the extremes of the golf club. This is known as “perimeter weighting.” Moving weight to the outside edges of the club face provides more support to off-center strikes. This is especially useful for putting where precision is needed for both distance and the desired line to the pin.

[0025]Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a putter head with a high moment of inertia, including a relatively high density face plate, such as a face plate of a copper-tungsten alloy, along with an aft that is made of a low density material, such as carbon fiber. The putter also includes weights mounted to the back side of a face plate of the putter head. Using an aft having a low density allows for the putter head to have the desired mass properties, while still providing a putter head having a putter head weight that is desired. The face plate also provides a desired contact feel when striking the ball, while also considering the moment of inertia of the overall putter head.

[0026]The face plate may also include a striking face having grooves extending substantially along the striking face to provide additional grip when the putter head makes contact with the golf ball, so that the ball begins rolling rather than bouncing, thereby providing a putter head with more consistent performance. These grooves extend into the striking surface at a downward angle, which provides improved ball

[0027]striking properties compared to traditional grooves extending into the putter face at a perpendicular angle. The grooves may be arranged such that the grooves are parallel to each other and there are no remaining flat surfaces between adjacent grooves on the striking surface. In another aspect, a flat area may be present between each of the grooves 116.

[0028]The present disclosure also provides a method (e.g., process) of manufacturing a putter head with a high moment of inertia. The method includes forming a face plate, such as a face plate of a copper-tungsten alloy. The method also includes coupling weights to the back of the face plate. The method further includes coupling an aft section to the back side of the face plate, and the aft section may be made of a composite material having a low density, so that the weight may be distributed to produce a higher moment of inertia. The weights have a greater density than the face plate, and the aft has a lower density than the face plate. The method further includes machining grooves into the face plate, where the grooves are parallel to each other and extend across the entirety of the face plate. The grooves extend into the striking surface of the face plate at a downward angle.

[0029]FIGS. 1-6 illustrate an example of a putter head 100 in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The putter head 100 includes a face plate 102, a toe 104, and a heel 106. A hosel 108 is coupled to the putter head 100 at the top 112 of the face plate 102, proximal to the heel 106. The hosel 108 is adapted to couple to a shaft (not shown) having a grip portion. The hosel 108 may be coupled to the putter head via a screw (not shown) via the screw hole 103 (see FIG. 6) in the bottom 114 of the of the face plate 102, though it would be appreciated that other coupling techniques may also be suitable.

[0030]The face plate 102 includes a striking face 110 that extends from the top 112 to the bottom 114 of the face plate 102. The face plate 102 may optionally include a face insert 113, which is formed of the same material as the face plate 102 or a different material having a different density. The striking face 110 may have a loft angle of 0 to 10 degrees. The loft angle is measured from the putter head's 100 original plane (see 404 of FIG. 7D). This original plane may be perpendicular to the bottom 114 of the face plate 102. In some aspects, the striking face 110 may include multiple facets that each have a different loft angle than the other facets, discussed in more detail below. The

[0031]putter head 100 may be of multiple styles, including, but not limited to, a mallet, half-mallet, peripheral weighted, blade, etc.

[0032]Grooves 116 extend along the striking face 110 from the toe 104 to the heel 106. The grooves 116 are parallel with each other and are generally parallel to the ground. It would also be appreciated that the grooves 116 may extend partially across the striking face 110, such as only the area defined by the insert 113. The grooves 116 are formed so as to extend into the striking face 110 and at a downward angle.

[0033]For example, the grooves 116 may be formed by a tool that is used to cut the grooves 116 into the striking face 110, where the tool is at an angle from a perpendicular line (see 400 of FIG. 7D) which is perpendicular to the original plane of the putter head 100 (see 404 of FIG. 7D). The angle of the tool relative to the perpendicular line is a constant angle for each groove 116; however, the angle of the tool could be varied for grooves 116 that are higher or lower on the striking face 110. The tool may be at an angle of 5 to 40 degrees from the perpendicular line, including 10 to 20 degrees. The tool such as tool 300, shown in FIG. 7A-7D may be used to form grooves. The tool 300 includes a tool corner 302 having a radius of 0.015 inches, and a flat bottom 304 that together may be used form grooves 116 in the striking face 110. Thus, the tool 300 forms a groove having a radius that corresponds to the radius of the tool corner 304, and a flat wall that corresponds to the flat bottom 304 of the tool 300. The angle of the grooves 116 refers to the angle of the flat wall in relation to the original plane (see 404 of FIG. 7D). The angle of the grooves 116 is 1-20 degrees, including 4-13 degrees, and including 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 degrees. Based on the distance between the grooves 116 and the radius of the grooves 116, the striking face 110 may not have any flat area remaining between adjacent grooves, leaving only edges 119 that are between the grooves. The grooves 116 may be separated from each other by a distance of 0.1 to 0.01 inches apart, including 0.02 to 0.08 inches. For example the grooves 116 may be about 0.029 inches apart. The depth of the grooves may be about 0.004 to 0.005 inches. The edges 119 may be machined or sanded to smooth these edges 119 to avoid sharp points, and to comply with USGA regulations. These rounded edges 119 may be considered to have a small radius. A width of each groove may be about 0.02 to 0.03 inches, peak to peak. In one configuration, the width of each groove is about 0.029 inches, peak to peak. The geometry of the grooves, including the depth of the grooves 116, distance between the grooves 116, angle of the grooves 116 cooperatively produce a edge 119 that is not too sharp, to produce the desired striking face 110. The angle and proximity of the grooves 116 to adjacent grooves 116 provide greater “grip” or friction between the ball and the striking surface such that after the ball is contacted, the ball immediately begins to roll along the putting surface rather than bounce as it would with traditional putters having grooves that are perpendicular to the striking face.

[0034]FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a back side 117 of the face place 102, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the back side 117 of the face plate 102 is adapted to couple to a heel weight, 128, a toe weight 130, and an aft 132. The weights 128, 130 are respectively positioned proximal to the toe 104 and the heel 106 of the face plate 102 to increase the moment of inertia of the putter head 100 to resist twisting and to be more forgiving to mishits. The face plate 102 also includes a guide line 126 on the top 112 of the face plate 102 to aid in positioning the putter head 100 relative to a ball and to aim the putt.

[0035]As shown in FIG. 2, the face plate 102 includes a heel recess 118 and a toe recess 120 that are adapted to receive the respective heel weight 128 and toe weight 130, and allow the denser material of the weights 128, 130 to be closer to the striking face 110 to provide an increased moment of inertia by moving the center of gravity closer to the striking face 110. A heel protrusion 122 extends outward from the heel recess 118 away from the striking face 110 of the face plate 102. This heel protrusion 122 may include a first threaded hole 123 for receiving a threaded fastener, to secure the heel weight 128 to the face plate 102. The length of the heel protrusion 122 provides for a sufficient amount of threading inside the threaded hole 123, such that the heel weight 128 may be securely coupled to the face plate 102. Other fastening means would also be appreciated. Similarly, the toe recess 120 includes a toe protrusion 124 having a second threaded hole 125 for receiving a threaded fastener to secure the toe weight 130 to the face plate.

[0036]As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the backside 117 of the face plate 102 includes cut-outs 127A, 127B, and 127C. These cut-outs extend into the backside 117 of the face plate 102, and providing these cut-outs 127A-C reduces the weight of the face plate 102 that is proximal to the middle of the striking face 110 so that weight may be

[0037]distributed near the perimeter of the putter head 100 to improve the MOI. As shown in the figures, the first cut-out 127A is proximal to the heel 106, the second cut-out 127B is proximal to the toe 104, and the third cut-out 127C is between the first and second cut-outs 127A, 127B.

[0038]FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective back view of the putter head of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the putter head 100 includes a heel weight 128 and a toe weight 130 adapted to couple to the backside 117 of the face plate 102. The aft 132 is also adapted to couple to the backside 117 of the face plate 102.

[0039]As shown in FIG. 4, the aft 132 includes a heel depression 136 and a toe depression 138 to partially receive the heel weight 128 and the toe weight 130 (not shown in the example of FIG. 4), respectively. The aft 132 also includes apertures 134, 135 to receive fasteners 140, 141 (not shown in the example of FIG. 4) to couple the aft 132 to the face plate 102. The aft 132 may be formed from a carbon composite material having a lower density than the material of the face plate 102 and the weights 128, 130. Carbon fiber, Kevlar, fiberglass, quartz, zylon, plastics, polymers, and other fibers may be used to form the aft 132. The density of the aft 132 is preferably less than 5 g/cc, more preferably 2.0 g/cc or less, most preferably about 1.5 g/cc. By providing a low density aft 132, the putter head 100 may have different mass properties compared to a traditional putter that may be made of a single material or from heavier materials. By providing an aft 132 having a density of about 1.5 g/cc, the mass that would otherwise be present in the aft 132, can be redistributed, such as in the weights 128, 130, which are positioned to increase the moment of inertia, and also to move the center of gravity closer to the striking face 110 of the face plate 102. For example, if the aft 132 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 had a density of 7.7 g/cc (the density of stainless steel) rather than a density of 1.5 g/cc, the overall weight of the putter head 100 would increase by about 133 grams, which would limit the ability to manipulate the mass properties of the putter head 100 to provide a higher moment of inertia.

[0040]FIG. 5 is a perspective rear view of the putter head of FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in the example of FIG. 5, the aft 132 is coupled to the face place 102 via fasteners 140, 141 received in the apertures 134, 135 described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0041]The face plate 102 may be formed from a metal, preferably a metal having a density of 4.0 g/cc to 20.0 g/cc, more preferably 7.0 g/cc to 17 g/cc, and most preferably having a density of 7.7 g/cc or greater, including 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, 10.5, 11.0, 11.5, 12.0, 12.5, 13.0, 13.5, 14.0, 14.5, 15, 15.5, 16.0, 16.5, and 17 g/cc. The face plate 102 may be formed from stainless steel, aluminum, tungsten, a copper alloy, a tungsten alloy, or a tungsten-copper alloy, alloys thereof, and combinations thereof. Preferably the face plate 102 is a copper-tungsten alloy having a weight percentage of 25% copper and 75% tungsten having a density of about 17 g/cc. In another aspect, the face plate 102 is pure tungsten, which has a density of about 18.5 g/cc. The face insert 113 may be formed of tungsten or tungsten alloys. In one aspect, the face plate 102 may be formed of aluminum with a face insert 113 of tungsten or tungsten alloy.

[0042]The weights 128, 130 may be tungsten, brass, lead, alloys thereof, or other suitable materials with a desired density. The weights 128, 130 may be tungsten or tungsten alloys. For example, the tungsten may be MT-17C (available at Midwest Tungsten Service), which includes 90% tungsten, 6% nickel, and 4% copper, and has a density of 17 g/cc. In some examples, the weights 128, 130 have a density of about 17 g/cc or greater. The hosel 108 is preferably formed from stainless steel, and the aft 132 is preferably formed from a carbon composite material.

[0043]The overall weight of the putter head 100 may be about 400 to 420 grams. A typical putter head generally weighs about 365 to 385 grams. The heavier putter head 100 of the present disclosure provides for a desirable contact feel when striking a golf ball with the striking face 110, along with a higher moment of inertia, as the mass properties of the putter head 100 provide additional weight near the perimeter of the putter head. The center of gravity of the putter head 100 is also closer to the striking face 110 because the face plate 102 is a denser material, and the heel recess 118 and toe recess 120 allow for weights 128, 130 to be positioned closer to the striking face 110, which also increases the moment of inertia. The face plate 102 may be formed of a metal having a density of 7.7 g/cc or greater, while also providing a higher moment of inertia by including a heel weight 128 and a toe weight 130. The weights 128, 130 have a density that is greater than the material used to form the face plate 102. In some examples, the weights 128, 130 have a density of about 17 g/cc.

[0044]The face plate 102 may be formed by molding the face plate using metal injection molding techniques. The face plate 102 may also be formed by machining the grooves 116 into the striking face 110 of the face plate 102. The grooves 116 may be separated from each other by a distance of 0.1 to 0.01 inches apart, more preferably 0.2 to 0.8 inches, and most preferably about 0.035 inches apart. As the grooves 116 are parallel to each other, this distance is consistent along the length of the grooves 116. It is also possible to vary the distances between the grooves 116 along the height of the striking face 110, such that the grooves 116 proximal to the top 112 of the face plate are closer together (or farther apart) compared to the grooves 116 proximal to the bottom 114 of the face plate 102.

[0045]In another aspect, the striking face 110 may include multiple facets, known as descending loft technology (DLT) described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,840,488 and 9,764,209, incorporated by reference herein. For example, the striking face may include four facets where the facets have respective loft angles of 3, 4, 5, and 6 degrees, where the face proximal to the top 112 of the face plate 102 has a loft angle of 6 degrees, and the face proximal to the bottom 114 has a loft angle of 3 degrees. In order to provide grooves 116 that are consistent for each of the faces of the striking face 110, the angle of the grooves 116 relative to each facet is the same for each of the facets. The loft angles of each of the facets may be from 0 to 10 degrees. While each of the facets has a loft of one degree greater than the facet below it, the difference between facets may be greater or less than one degree.

[0046]As shown in FIGS. 7A-7D, the grooves 216 may be etched into the striking face by a tool 300 moving along a tool path 302 (each tool path extends into and out of the area illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B) to form the grooves into the facets 210A, 210B, 210C, 210D of the face plate 202. The tool 300 is positioned at the desired angle to provide the desired groove angle for each of the grooves.

[0047]As shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D, the dimensions of the grooves 216 and angles of the grooves 216 are shown. FIG. 7D illustrates the original plane 404, which would be parallel to a striking face having a 0 degree loft angle. The perpendicular line 400 is perpendicular to the original plane 404, and may be used to describe the angles of the grooves 216 and tool 300. The tool 300 includes a tool corner 304 having a radius of 0.015 inches that may be used form the groove 216 in the striking face 110. The tool corner 304 has a 90 degree angle to the sides of the tool 300. However, larger or smaller angled corners may also be provided to provide different groove geometries. The depth of the grooves 216 may be about 0.005 inches. The grooves 216 may be formed with a stepover of about 0.029 inches. That is, the tool paths 302 are about 0.029 inches apart. As shown in FIG. 7D, the first facet 210A has a loft angle of about 6 degrees, the second facet 210B has a loft angle of about 5 degrees, the third facet 210C has a loft angle of about 4 degrees, and the fourth facet 210D has a loft angle of about 3 degrees. The tool angle 402 relative to the perpendicular line 400 of the putter head 202 is about 11 degrees, so the angle of the tool relative to the surface of each facet is different. For example, the fourth facet 210D has a 3 degree loft angle so the tool angle relative to the first facet 210A is 14 degrees (3 degrees plus 11 degrees).

[0048]While the groove angles have generally been described with regard to the angle of a tool 300, the grooves 216 may also be understood to have a flat wall 218 that corresponds to the flat bottom 304 of the tool. This flat wall 218 may be at an angle of about 0 to 90 degrees in relation to original plane 404 (see FIG. 7D), and the angle of the flat walls 218 may be referred to as the groove angle. In an example, where the striking facet 210A has a loft angle of about 6 degrees, and the tool is angled at 11 degrees from the perpendicular line 400, the flat wall 218 is at an angle of about 11 degrees from the original plane 404, and about 17 degrees from the surface of the first facet 210A. It would be understood that the grooves 216 may be formed by other techniques, without using a tool 300 to etch grooves, such as molding the face plate 202 using a mold to form the grooves 216 having the desired geometry. The grooves 116 of FIG. 1-6 may include similar features to the grooves 216 of FIGS. 7A-7D.

[0049]Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a method of manufacturing a putter head with a high moment of inertia. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 800 of fabricating a putter head with a high moment of inertia, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The method begins in block 802, in which a face plate is formed, and it may be formed by using metal injection molding techniques or by machining to create the desired face plate. The face plate includes a heel recess 118 and a toe recess 120, along with a first threaded hole 123 in the heel recess 118 and a second threaded hole 125 in the toe recess, as shown in FIG. 2. Next, in block 804, a heel weight 128 is coupled to the face plate with a fastener, such that the heel weight is partially disposed in the heel recess 118. In block 806, a toe weight, such as toe weight 130, is coupled to the face plate with a fastener, such that the toe weight is partially disposed in the toe recess 120. Then, in block 808, an aft 132 is coupled to the face plate via fasteners, such as fasteners 140 and 141 as described with reference to FIG. 5. The aft 132 includes a heel depression 136 and a toe depression 138 as described with reference to FIG. 4.

[0050]In the next step, at block 810, the striking face of the face plate may be machined to have a desired groove configuration (e.g., grooves having a downward angle). For example, at block 810, a tool may be used to impart an angled groove into the striking face. The grooves are parallel to each other and extend across the entirety of the face plate. If necessary, the areas between adjacent grooves may need to be sanded or smoothed. In block 812, the striking face is smoothed to remove any sharp edges between the grooves for compliance with golf equipment rules and regulations. For example, the striking face may be sanded to remove any sharp edges. The striking face may be decorated with manufacturer's logos or other decorative elements and may also have alignment markers, such as circles or lines, optional block 814.

[0051]As used, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. As used, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software.

[0052]Some aspects are described in connection with thresholds. As used, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, and/or the like.

[0053]Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers

[0054]to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0055]No element, act, or instruction used should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore, as used, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items, and/or the like), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” and/or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.