Golf club components with complex structures such as lattice structures, beam structures, and complex surface-based structures, are described herein. A binder jet machine is used create complex structures within these golf club components to optimize weighting, sound, and performance of golf club heads. These components may be manufactured using a method that includes the steps of designing a golf club head component in CAD using optimization software, printing the component from a powdered material, and then removing excess powder from the component via port holes that extend into an external surface of the component and communicate with interior voids within the component.

A golf club head includes: a striking face including a front surface configured to strike a golf ball and a rear surface opposite to the front surface; a periphery portion surrounding and extending rearwards from the striking face; a cavity at least partially enclosed by the striking face and the periphery portion; a support arm extending at least partially through the cavity from the periphery portion and being spaced apart from the rear surface of the striking face; a first damping element between a first side of the support arm and the rear surface of the striking face; and a second damping element on a second side of the support arm opposite to the first side of the support arm.

A picture with multiple slices is encoded by generating a coded slice representation for each of the slices. A slice flag is set to a first value for the first slice in the picture and corresponding slice flags of the remaining slices are set to a second defined value. A respective slice address is generated for each remaining slice to enable identification of the slice start position within the picture for the slice. A coded picture representation of the picture comprises the coded slice representations, the slice addresses and the slice flags. The slice flags enable differentiation between slices for which slice addresses are required and the slice per picture for which no slice address is needed to identify its slice start position.

A golf club head includes a body and an insert. The body defines a top side, a toe side, and a heel side, and includes a sole extending between the toe side and the heel side at a location on the body opposite to the top side. The body defines an internal volume defined between a ball-striking face and an internal wall. The insert is arranged within the internal volume and is formed layer by layer via an additive manufacturing process. The insert includes a lattice structure arranged between a rear surface of the ball-striking face and the internal wall. The lattice structure is in engagement with the rear surface and formed integrally with the ball-striking face and the internal wall.

Some embodiments include a golf club head. The golf club head includes a front body having a front body front portion with a front body front surface and having a front body rear portion, and includes a rear body having a rear body front portion, a rear body rear portion, and multiple protrusions. The golf club head is configured such that (i) when the front body front surface strikes a golf ball with a first amount of force, the front body deflects toward the rear body with a first amount of deflection, and (ii) when the front body front surface strikes the golf ball with a second amount of force less than the first amount of force, the front body deflects toward the rear body with a second amount of deflection greater than the first amount of deflection. Other embodiments of related club heads and methods are also disclosed.

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 of lightweight and heavy density weight adjustment portions that could be introduced towards the final forging step of the co-forging process, allowing for more flexibility in the selection of materials.

A co-forged iron type golf club is disclosed. More specifically, the present invention discloses an iron type golf club head from a pre-form billet that already contains two or more materials before the actual forging process resulting in a multi-material golf club head that doesn't require any post manufacturing operations such as machining, welding, swaging, gluing, and the like. The resultant golf club head may be capable of achieving center of gravity locations previously unachievable without utilizing this co-forging technique. The resultant golf club head may be used to create a set of golf club heads with center of gravity locations that are more advantageous throughout a set of golf clubs.

An iron-type golf club incorporating an aperture extending through the shell on the sole. The location and size of the aperture selectively increase deflection of the face.

A co-forged iron type golf club is disclosed. More specifically, the present invention discloses an iron type golf club head from a pre-form billet that already contains two or more materials before the actual forging process resulting in a multi-material golf club head that doesn't require any post manufacturing operations such as machining, welding, swaging, gluing, and the like. The resultant golf club head may be capable of achieving center of gravity locations previously unachievable without utilizing this co-forging technique. The resultant golf club head may be used to create a set of golf club heads with center of gravity locations that are more advantageous throughout a set of golf clubs.

An iron-type golf club has a body that defines a rear void. The face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system. The body includes a central region in which −25 mm<x<25 mm. The sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness T.sub.FS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness T.sub.SB, such that 0.05<T.sub.FS/T.sub.SB<0.4. The sole portion includes a slot extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion, the slot defining a portion of a path that extends through the sole portion and into the rear void. The slot is at least partially filled with a filler material.