A ball striking device, such as a golf club, includes a head with a face having a ball-striking surface configured for striking a ball, a body connected to the face, and at least one channel in the ball-striking surface of the face. The region of highest COR response of the face is directionally enlarged toward the channel. Depending on the size, shape, and location of the channel, the face can be altered to provide greater COR response and increased energy transfer for impacts at specific locations on the face.

Disclosed herein is a casting cluster for casting a body of a golf club head made of titanium or a titanium alloy. The casting cluster comprises a receptor and a plurality of runners coupled to the receptor and configured to receive molten metal from the receptor. The casting cluster also includes at least twenty-eight main gates. At least two of the main gates are coupled to each of the runners and each main gate is configured to receive molten metal from a corresponding one of the plurality of runners. The casting cluster further comprises at least twenty-eight molds. Each mold of the at least twenty-eight molds is configured to receive molten metal from a corresponding one of the main gates and to cast a body of a golf club head that has a volume of at least 100 cm.sup.3.

The present disclosure relates to methods for forming a golf club head assembly comprising a golf club head body and a high strength faceplate. The high strength faceplate can be heat treated. After welding the faceplate to the club head body, vibrational waves can be used to relive stress in the weld heat affected zones of the golf club body and faceplate.

A golf club head includes a metallic front body coupled with a rear body to define a substantially hollow structure. The metallic front body includes a strike face and a surrounding frame that extends rearward from a perimeter of the strike face. The rear body includes a crown member and a sole member coupled to the crown member. The sole member comprises a structural layer formed from a filled thermoplastic material and a fiber reinforced composite resilient layer bonded to an external surface of the structural layer. The structural layer includes a plurality of stiffening members extending from a forward portion to a rear peripheral portion of the sole member. The resilient layer can comprise a uniform thickness. The structural layer and the resilient layer each include a common thermoplastic resin component, and are directly bonded to each other without an intermediate adhesive.

A wood-style golf club head includes a strike face and a body that cooperate to define a hollow internal club head volume. The strike face formed from a strike plate having an outer perimeter and a frame surrounding the strike plate. The strike plate is affixed to the frame across the entire outer perimeter. The strike plate and frame define a continuous ball striking surface that has a surface texture characteristic of milling that extends continuously across both the strike plate and the frame.

A golf club head that includes a plate opening, a plate-opening recessed ledge defining the plate opening, and a strike plate attached to the plate-opening recessed ledge. The golf club head also comprises a hollow interior cavity. At least a portion of a top half of the plate-opening recessed ledge is made of a first material having a first density and at least a portion of a bottom half of the plate-opening recessed ledge is made of a second material having a second density that is greater than the first density. The top half of the plate-opening recessed ledge is closer to a crown portion of the golf club head than the bottom half of the plate-opening recessed ledge and the bottom half of the plate-opening recessed ledge is closer to a sole portion of the golf club head than the top half of the plate-opening recessed ledge.

A co-forged iron type golf club is disclosed. More specifically, the present invention discloses a co-forged iron type golf club with the body portion made out of a first material and at least one weight adjustment portion monolithically encased within the body portion of the co-forged iron type golf club head without the need for secondary attachment or machining operations. The present invention also includes a combination internal cavities and weight adjustment portions that improve the inertial and performance attributes of the iron type golf club head.

A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, includes a face having a ball striking surface, an inner surface opposite the ball striking surface, and a thickness defined between the ball striking surface and the inner surface, and a body connected to the face and extending rearward from the face. The face has a modulus gradient across the thickness of the face, such that the modulus of the face varies at different distances from the ball striking surface. The face may also include at least one of an insert, a composite material, a multi-layered structure, and/or a portion treated by a surface treatment to contribute to the modulus gradient.

Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion having an interior cavity, a port connected to the interior cavity, a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, a sole portion, a back portion, a port, and a front portion having a perimeter ledge portion defining at least a portion of an outer boundary of the front portion. The example golf club head may also include a face portion having a front surface with at least one groove and a back surface opposite the front surface and associated with a total back surface area. The back surface may include a first back surface region associated with a first back surface area and a second back surface region associated with a second back surface area. The total back surface area may equal to the sum of the first back surface area and the second back surface area. The first back surface region may be located at or proximate to a perimeter portion of the back surface and coupled to the perimeter ledge portion. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.

Examples of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a top portion of a golf club head includes an alignment aid having a first plurality of strip portions and a second plurality of strip portions bounded by a virtual outline. The first plurality of strip portions have different surface areas. The second plurality of strip portions have different surface areas. The first plurality of strip portions and the second plurality of strip portions touch or border upon the virtual outline. The first plurality of strip portions are spaced apart in a rear-to-front direction of the golf club head and are ordered by decreasing surface area. The second plurality of strip portions are spaced apart in the rear-to-front direction and are ordered by decreasing surface area. Other examples and examples may be described and claimed.