US 12,172,057 B2
Golf club head with sole rails
Darius Cyrulik, Huntington Beach, CA (US); and Anthony Munson, Huntington Beach, CA (US)
Assigned to SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD., Kobe (JP)
Filed by SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD., Kobe (JP)
Filed on Mar. 16, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/122,398.
Application 18/122,398 is a continuation of application No. 16/502,631, filed on Jul. 3, 2019, granted, now 11,612,789.
Prior Publication US 2023/0218954 A1, Jul. 13, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A63B 53/04 (2015.01); A63B 60/52 (2015.01)
CPC A63B 53/04 (2013.01) [A63B 60/52 (2015.10); A63B 53/0433 (2020.08)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:
a striking face having a face center;
a top portion;
a sole portion opposite the top portion, the sole portion comprising:
a leading edge;
a trailing edge;
a sole base surface defining a general contour of the sole portion;
a first sole rail projecting from the sole base surface and centered in a heel-to-toe direction, the first sole rail generally elongate in a front-to-rear direction and including:
a forward end,
a rearward end, and
a minimum width that corresponds with a location intermediate the forward end and the rearward end, wherein the location is closer to the forward end such that the location is between 10% and 25% of a sole length (Ls) measured in the front-to-rear direction from the leading edge to the trailing edge;
a second sole rail projecting from the sole base surface, located heel-ward of the first sole rail, and generally elongate in the front-to-rear direction;
a third sole rail projecting from the sole base surface, located toe-ward of the first sole rail, and generally elongate in the front-to-rear direction;
a first recess formed between the first sole rail and the second sole rail and recessed relative the sole base surface, the first recess having a first width at a first location and a second width at a second location rearward of the first location, the second width being greater than the first width; and
a second recess formed between the first sole rail and the third sole rail and recessed relative the sole base surface, the second recess having a first width at a first location and a second width at a second location rearward of the first location, the second width being greater than the first width.