Acushnet Company

Douglas E Jones

Derek A Ladd

Michael J Sullivan

Edmund A Hebert

Brian Comeau

Murali Rajagopalan

Kevin M Harris

Steven Aoyama

Scott Cooper

William E Morgan

Donald A Serino

Christopher Cavallaro

Jeffrey L Dalton

Herbert C Boehm

Manjari Kuntimaddi

Antonio U DeSimas

David A Bulpett

Nicholas M Nardacci

Shenshen Wu

Matthew F Hogge

Edmund A Herbert

Dual component cores having positive hardness and compression gradients and golf balls including these cores are disclosed. The hardness, compression, and diameter relationships in the core assemblage components help to reduce the spin rate of the ball off the driver while still providing desirable performance characteristics in and around the green.

Dual core golf balls having reduced driver spin

Multi-layer golf ball cores having positive hardness and compression gradients and golf balls including these cores are disclosed. The hardness, compression, and diameter relationships in the core assemblage components help to reduce the spin rate of the ball off the driver while still providing desirable performance characteristics in and around the green.

Golf balls having reduced driver spin

Golf ball comprising core; casing layer; cover layer; and plurality of outer coating layers. Casing layer comprises an ionomer blend of at least one ionomer and a color concentrate resin that is included in an amount of 3-10 wt. % of the ionomer blend. Cover layer is transparent and comprises thermoplastic/thermoset urethane composition. First outer coating layer is adjacent to cover layer and comprises clear water-borne or solvent-borne primer; and second outer coating layer is adjacent to first outer coating layer and comprises gold pearl primer, white sparkle primer, or combination thereof; third outer coating layer is adjacent to second outer coating layer and comprises a clear topcoat. Alternatively, second outer coating layer comprises matte topcoat, clear glossy topcoat, or combination thereof. In all embodiments, first outer coating layer and/or second outer coating layer may be colorless.

Colored golf ball and method of making same

A golf ball includes a core having an outer surface and a geometric center. The core is formed from a substantially homogenous rubber composition. An ionomeric inner cover layer is formed about the core and has a material hardness of about 60 Shore D or greater. The golf ball includes an outer cover layer formed from a polyurea or a polyurethane and having a material hardness of about 60 Shore D or less. The outer surface of the core has a trans content of about 12% or less and a hardness of about 71 to 88 Shore C. The geometric center of the core has a trans content of about 10% or less and a hardness of about 60 to 80 Shore C. The core has an outer surface hardness greater than a geometric center hardness by about 5 to 19 Shore C to define a positive hardness gradient.

Golf balls comprising medium hardness gradient core

Golf ball having at least three layers comprising ionomeric and/or HNP compositions, wherein for each two adjacent layers, a relationship is established between a ratio of the volumes of the two adjacent layers and a ratio of the percent neutralizations of those two layers such that the volumes and % neutralizations of all layers are interrelated and interdependent to produce unique and desirable playing characteristics. In one embodiment, a golf ball of the invention has T layers, wherein T&#x2265;3 and each of T layers has a different volume 'V' and comprises an ionomeric and/or HNP composition having a different % neutralization 'N'. Furthermore, each of n inner layers of the T layers (n&#x3c;T) has an adjacent surrounding layer n+1 such that a volume Vand a % neutralization Nof each inner layer and a volume Vand % neutralization Nof each adjacent surrounding layer n+1 satisfy the relationship (V&#x2212;V)/V&#x2265;(N&#x2212;N)/N.

Golf ball incorporating at least three adjacent ionomeric and/or HNP-based layers having multiple related property gradients there between

Golf ball having at least three layers comprising ionomeric and/or HNP compositions, wherein for each two adjacent layers, a relationship is established between a ratio of the volumes of the two adjacent layers and a ratio of the percent neutralizations of those two layers such that the volumes and % neutralizations of all layers are interrelated and interdependent to produce unique and desirable playing characteristics. In one embodiment, a golf ball of the invention has T layers, wherein T&#x2265;3 and each of T layers has a different volume 'V' and comprises an ionomeric and/or HNP composition having a different % neutralization 'N'; and wherein each of n inner layers of the T layers (n&#x3c;T) has an adjacent surrounding layer n+1 such that a volume Vand a % neutralization Nof each inner layer and a volume Vand % neutralization Nof each adjacent surrounding layer n+1 satisfy the relationship (V&#x2212;V)/V&#x2264;(N&#x2212;N)/N.

The present invention is directed to multi-layer golf balls including a layer formed from a composition comprising a relatively soft or low modulus HNP, a layer formed from a composition comprising a relatively hard or high modulus HNP, an inner cover layer formed from a thermoplastic composition, and an outer cover layer.

Multi-layer golf ball

Multi-layer golf balls having a hard, high compression center, a relatively soft intermediate layer, and a stiff outer cover layer, are provided. The outer surface hardness of the intermediate layer is less than that of both the center and the outer cover layer.

A golf ball includes a single core having an outer surface and a geometric center. The core is formed from a substantially homogenous rubber composition. An inner cover layer is disposed about the core, the inner cover including a high-acid ionomer and having a material hardness of about 66 to 75 Shore D. The high-acid ionomer has an acid content of about 16% or greater. An outer cover layer is disposed about the inner cover layer, the outer cover including a polyurethane and having a material hardness of about 38 Shore D to about 56 Shore D. The core surface hardness is from 0 Shore C to 15 Shore C lower than the geometric center hardness to define a hardness gradient.

Multi-layer cover golf ball having a high acid casing layer

Golf ball having at least three layers comprising an ionomeric and/or HNP composition, wherein for each two adjacent layers, a relationship is established between a ratio of the volumes of the two adjacent layers and a ratio of the percent neutralizations of those two layers such that the volumes and % neutralizations of all layers are interrelated and interdependent to produce unique and desirable playing characteristics. In one embodiment, each of T layers, wherein T&#x2265;3, has a different volume 'V' and comprises an ionomeric/HNP composition having a different % neutralization 'N'; and wherein each of n inner layers of the T layers (n&#x3c;T) has an adjacent surrounding layer n+1 such that a volume Vand a % neutralization Nof each inner layer and a volume Vand % neutralization Nof each adjacent surrounding layer n+1 satisfy the relationship (V&#x2212;V)/V&#x2264;(N&#x2212;N)/N.

The present invention is directed to multi-layer golf balls including a layer formed from a relatively soft or low modulus HNP composition and a layer formed from a relatively hard or high modulus HNP composition. Optionally, the soft (or low modulus) HNP composition and/or the hard (or high modulus) HNP composition is plasticized or is replaced with a different plasticized acid copolymer composition.

Growing community of inventors

Dartmouth, MA, United States of America

Douglas E Jones