Acushnet Company

E.i. Dupont De Nemours and Company

Other

Achushnet Company

Asushnet Company

Murali Rajagopalan

Kevin M Harris

Michael J Sullivan

Shenshen Wu

David A Bulpett

Derek A Ladd

Christopher Cavallaro

Edmund A Hebert

Peter R Voorheis

Jeffrey L Dalton

Laurent C Bissonnette

Manjari Kuntimaddi

Mark N Wrigley

Shawn Ricci

Herbert C Boehm

Douglas E Jones

Pamela V Arnold

Brian Comeau

Michael D Jordan

Constantine A Kondos

Kelly J Gasper

William E Morgan

Mitchell E Lutz

Samuel A Pasqua, Jr

Steven M Gosetti

Scott Cooper

Douglas S Goguen

Robert J Statz

Michael Michalewich

Roman D Halko

Mark M Wrigley

Matthew F Hogge

Dean A Snell

Michael Allen Mayo

Steven R Zawacky

Craig A Wilson

Walter L Reid, Jr

Stephen K Scolamiero

Lawrence E Stanton

Ryan W Bosanko

Nathan Zieske

Christopher E Charleston

Padraic W Elliott

Robert Joseph Statz

Barbara Steffani Levitt

A golf ball includes an inner core layer formed from a thermoset rubber composition. The inner core layer has a first outer surface Shore D hardness and an outer diameter of about 0.8 to 1.40 inches. A thermoplastic outer core layer is formed around the inner core layer, has a second outer surface Shore D hardness, and is formed from a copolymer of ethylene and an &#x3b1;,&#x3b2;-unsaturated carboxylic acid, a magnesium salt of oleic acid, and sufficient cation source to fully-neutralize the acid groups of the copolymer. The golf ball includes an inner cover layer and an outer cover layer. The first outer surface Shore D hardness is greater than the second outer surface Shore D hardness and the outer core layer has a thickness of about 0.01 inches to 0.05 inches.

Three-layer-core golf ball having highly-neutralized polymer outer core layer

The present invention is directed to a golf ball and, more particularly, a golf ball core having a curable core composition comprising a dithiane compound, a rubber based compound comprising cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber, a crosslinking agent comprising a metallic salt of unsaturated carboxylic acid in an amount between 10 to 50 parts per hundred of rubber (pphr), a peroxide initiator, one or more filler materials, and optionally an organ sulfur compound, are used to provide soft and resilient cores.

Use of curable compositions containing dithiane monomers for golf ball cores

The present invention provides golf balls having a rubber core, and a cover layer made from a thermoset polyurethane of polyurethane-urea that is the reaction product of a polyisocyanate with moisture-resistant polyol and curing agent. An intermediate layer, formed from an olefin-based acid copolymer ionomer composition and preferably an ethylene acid copolymer, is disposed between the rubber core and cover. The moisture-resistant polyol is preferably a reaction product of dimer acid or dimer ester and a polyolefin diol, or a polybutadiene polyol, or a polyisoprene. Preferably, the cover layer has a moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) between 3 grams&#xb7;mm/m&#xb7;day to 4 grams&#xb7;mm/m&#xb7;day.

Thermoset polyurethanes based on moisture-resistant polyols for use in golf balls

Golf balls that have at least one layer formed from a cationic polyurea material. In particular, the compositions of the invention, which include a polymer backbone including urea linkages with cationic groups, may be formed from an isocyanate-containing component and an isocyanate-reactive component, at least one of which includes precursor cationic groups, in the presence of an alkylating, quaternizing, or ternarizing agent.

Cationic polyurea cover compositions for a multi-layer golf ball

Compositions for golf balls including modified highly neutralized polymeric compositions that have improved processability including improved melt flow index and improved performance characteristics when included in a layer of a golf ball. In addition, the compositions of the invention have less moisture transmission and higher flexural modulus than non-modified highly neutralized polymers.

Highly neutralized polymeric compositions for golf ball layers

Golf equipment having improved cut and shear resistance that includes a polyurea composition, preferably saturated and/or water resistant, formed of a polyurea prepolymer and a curing agent, wherein the polyurea prepolymer includes an isocyanate and an amine-terminated compound, and wherein the curing agent includes a hydroxy-terminated curing agent, amine-terminated curing agent, or a mixture thereof.

Polyurea and polyurethane compositions for golf equipment

Compositions for golf balls including multi-modal ionomers that can be used in any layer of a golf ball, e.g., an outer cover layer or inner cover layer. The compositions of the invention can be a blend of a multi-modal ionomer and a conventional ionomer, highly neutralized polymer, acid copolymer, or other suitable thermoplastic polymer.

Multi-modal ionomeric golf ball compositions

Golf balls containing at least one layer made from a thermoset polyurethane or polyurethane-urea that is the reaction product of a polyisocyanate with moisture-resistant polyol and a curing agent are provided. The moisture-resistant polyol may be prepared by dimerizing unsaturated aliphatic monocarboxylic acid or ester containing 10 to 60 carbon atoms followed by reacting it with a monomeric, oligomeric, or polymeric diol. In one preferred version, the moisture-resistant polyol is a branched polyester polyol containing 36 carbon atoms. The composition can be prepared using prepolymer or one-shot manufacturing techniques. The thermoset composition has good cross-link density. The resulting golf ball has desirable playing performance properties including high resiliency, toughness, impact durability, moisture-resistance, and soft feel.

Thermoset polyurethanes based on moisture-resistance polyols for use in golf balls

A golf ball including an inner core layer formed from a thermoset rubber composition and having a first surface hardness; a thermoplastic outer core layer having a second surface hardness, an inner surface hardness, and being formed from a copolymer of ethylene and an &#x3b1;,&#x3b2;-unsaturated carboxylic acid, an organic acid or salt thereof, and sufficient cation source to fully-neutralize the acid groups of the copolymer; an inner cover layer; and an outer cover layer; wherein the first surface hardness is substantially the same as the second surface hardness and the inner surface hardness.

A golf ball includes a core having a diameter, a first Shore D hardness and a compression; and a cover having a second Shore D hardness that is at least 5 points less than the first Shore D hardness. The cover includes an ionomer of an alternate copolymer, the alternate copolymer being formed from the reaction product of a copolymer of ethylene and maleic anhydride monomer in the presence of a suitable base, the maleic anhydride monomer being present in an amount of about 78 wt %.

Golf balls comprising highly- and partially-neutralized alternate copolymers

The present invention is directed to a golf ball that contains an interpenetrating polymer network, or IPN, including at least two polymeric components. These IPNs may be present in any golf ball layer, although in an intermediate or cover layer in one preferred embodiment. The present invention is also directed to methods of forming a golf ball containing an IPN in one or more of the layers.

Golf balls containing interpenetrating polymer networks

The present invention is directed to golf balls having at least one layer which comprises a polymer produced by a process wherein one or more monomers are contacted with a composition comprising the admixture or reaction product resulting from combining (A) a first olefin polymerization catalyst, (B) a second olefin polymerization catalyst capable of preparing polymers differing in chemical or physical properties from the polymer prepared by the first olefin polymerization catalyst under equivalent polymerization conditions, and (C) a chain shuttling agent. Golf balls of the present invention include one-piece, two-piece, and multi-layer golf balls. In two-piece and multi-layer golf balls of the present invention, the polymer may be present in a core layer, a cover layer, an intermediate layer (in the case of multi-layer balls), or a combination thereof.

Catalyst compositions comprising chain shuttling agents and the use thereof to produce golf ball compositions

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South Dartmouth, MA, United States of America

Murali Rajagopalan