Bridgestone Is Determined To Maintain High-Spin Wedges

Regular readers of the Golf-Patents blog know that Bridgestone has not taken the new groove regulations laying down. In the past I have posted on their face texturing designs and groove designs. Recently Bridgestone has bolstered their spin-related IP portfolio even further with the issuance of a patent directed to the orientation of face striations and had a patent application publish related to score lines.

First, the patent issued as USPN 7,594,863 titled “Golf Club Head,” which explains the invention as:

A golf club head of this invention includes a face, a plurality of score line grooves formed on the face, and a plurality of striations formed on the face. The angle formed by an arrangement direction of the plurality of striations and the score line grooves is between 40 degrees and 70 degrees, inclusive, as viewed clockwise from a toe side end of the score line grooves.

The following drawings do a good job of explaining the invention.

Second, the patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090247318 titled “Golf Club Head,” which explains the invention as:

This invention provides a golf club head including a plurality of score lines on the face. The golf club head includes a plurality of striations formed on the face and extending from a toe side to a heel side. The cross-sectional shape of each of the striations is a triangle asymmetric with regard to a virtual center line in the width direction, and the smallest interior angle among three interior angles of the triangle is placed at the sole side of the golf club head. A depth D from the face to the deepest portion of each of the striation satisfies 10 micrometers ≤ D ≤ 40 micrometers.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf club head which can provide the higher backspin amount while suppressing damage to a ball.

[0009] According to the present invention, there is provided a golf club head including a plurality of score lines on a face, comprising a plurality of striations formed on the face and extending from a toe side to a heel side, wherein a cross-sectional shape of each striation is a triangle asymmetric with regard to a virtual center line in a width direction, the smallest interior angle among three interior angles of the triangle being placed at a sole side of the golf club head, and a depth D from the face to the deepest portion of each striation satisfies 10 micrometers <D<40 micrometers.

I wonder what the USGA has to say about these inventions.

Dave Dawsey  – Monitoring Golf Groove Technology

PS – Check out the post “Does Your Club Face Need Some Engineered Texturing? Taylor Made Thinks So!”

PPS – Check out other golf iron invention posts HERE