Acushnet Company

William B Lacy

Michael J Sullivan

Brian Comeau

Herbert C Boehm

Donald T Cameron

Derek A Ladd

David A Bulpett

Edmund A Hebert

Kevin M Harris

Robert Blink

A golf ball includes an inner core layer including a thermoplastic highly-neutralized ionomer formed from a copolymer of ethylene and an &#x3b1;,&#x3b2;-unsaturated carboxylic acid, an organic acid or salt thereof, and sufficient cation source to neutralize the acid groups of the copolymer by 80% or greater. The inner core has a geometric center hardness and a surface hardness to define a first positive hardness gradient having a first slope, S. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core and is formed from a second thermoplastic highly-neutralized ionomer. The outer core layer has an interior hardness and an outer surface hardness greater than the interior hardness to define a second positive hardness gradient having a second slope, S. The golf ball also includes a cover layer.

Thermoplastic dual core having positive hardness gradient inner and outer core layers

A golf ball including a thermoplastic inner core layer that has a geometric center hardness greater than its surface hardness to define a negative hardness gradient. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core and is formed from a thermoplastic material and has an inner surface hardness substantially less than its outer surface hardness to define a positive hardness gradient. An inner cover layer is disposed about the outer core layer and an outer cover layer is disposed about the inner cover layer.

Thermoplastic dual core having a negative gradient inner core and a positive gradient outer core

A golf ball includes a core including a thermoplastic inner core and a thermoset outer core layer. The inner core has a surface hardness of about 40 to 80 Shore C and a center hardness of about 30 to 75 Shore C. The center hardness is less than the surface hardness to define a positive hardness gradient. A cover is formed over the core and includes an inner cover layer and an outer cover layer. The thermoplastic inner core includes a highly-neutralized ionomer formed from a copolymer of ethylene and an &#x3b1;,&#x3b2;-unsaturated carboxylic acid, an organic acid or salt thereof, and sufficient cation source to neutralize the acid groups of the copolymer by 80% or greater. The outer core layer comprises a polybutadiene rubber and has a positive hardness gradient of less than 25 Shore C.

Dual core golf ball having positive-hardness-gradient thermoplastic inner core and positive-hardness-gradient thermoset outer core layer

A golf ball includes an inner core layer formed from a thermoplastic material comprising a highly-neutralized ionomer comprising 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 by 80% or greater. The inner core has a geometric center hardness less than its surface hardness to define a positive hardness gradient. An outer core layer is formed over the inner core and is formed from a substantially homogenous thermoset composition. The outer core layer has an interior hardness substantially less than an outer surface hardness to define a steep positive hardness gradient. An inner cover layer and an outer cover layer are formed over the outer core layer.

Dual core golf ball having negative-hardness-gradient thermoplastic inner core and steep positive-hardness-gradient thermoset outer core layer

A golf ball includes an inner core layer formed from a thermoplastic material. The inner core has a center hardness that is greater than the surface hardness to define a negative hardness gradient. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core. The outer core has a surface hardness that is greater than the surface hardness of the inner core to define a positive hardness gradient. An inner cover layer and an outer core layer are formed over the outer core layer. The negative hardness gradient of the inner core is about &#x2212;1 to &#x2212;5 Shore C, the positive hardness gradient of the outer core layer is less than 25 Shore C, the surface hardness of the outer core layer is about 45 Shore D to about 70 Shore D, and the surface hardness of the inner core is about 20 Shore D to about 60 Shore D.

Dual core golf ball having negative-hardness-gradient thermoplastic inner core and shallow positive-hardness-gradient thermoset outer core layer

A golf ball comprising a core and a cover layer. The cover layer, clearcoat, or indicia include an additive, invisible to the naked eye without an external excitation source, the additive including an engineered taggant formed from a crosslinked melamine and rare earth elements.

Anti-counterfeiting system using compound additives

A golf ball including a thermoplastic inner core and a thermoset outer core layer is described. The inner core has a surface hardness of 43 to about 65 Shore D and a center hardness of about 30 to 43 Shore D that is less than the surface hardness to define a positive hardness gradient. A cover includes an inner and outer cover layer. The thermoplastic inner core is formed from a highly-neutralized ionomer comprising 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 by 80% or greater. The outer core layer includes a polybutadiene rubber and has a surface hardness greater than an interior hardness by about 6 to 11 Shore D points to define a shallow positive hardness gradient.

A golf ball comprising a thermoplastic inner core layer that has a geometric center hardness greater than its surface hardness to define a 'negative' hardness gradient. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core and is formed from a substantially homogenous thermoset composition, typically rubber, and has an inner surface hardness substantially less than its outer surface hardness to define a 'positive' hardness gradient. An inner cover layer is disposed about the outer core layer and an outer cover layer is disposed about the inner cover layer.

A golf ball comprising a thermoplastic inner core layer that has a geometric center hardness greater than its surface hardness to define a 'negative' hardness gradient. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core and is formed from a substantially homogenous thermoset composition, typically rubber, and has an inner surface hardness less than its outer surface hardness to define a 'positive' hardness gradient. An inner cover layer is disposed about the outer core layer and an outer cover layer is disposed about the inner cover layer. The &#x201c;negative&#x201d; hardness gradient of the inner core is typically &#x2212;1 to &#x2212;5 Shore C and the &#x201c;positive&#x201d; hardness gradient of the core layer is less than 25 Shore C points. The difference between the inner core surface hardness and the outer core inner surface hardness, &#x394;h, should be less than 25 Shore C points.

A golf ball comprising a thermoplastic inner core layer that has a geometric center hardness greater than its surface hardness to define a first 'negative' hardness gradient. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core and is formed from a substantially homogenous thermoset composition, typically rubber, and has an inner surface hardness greater than its outer surface hardness to also define a 'negative' hardness gradient. An inner cover layer is disposed about the outer core layer and an outer cover layer is disposed about the inner cover layer. The &#x201c;negative&#x201d; hardness gradient of the inner core is typically &#x2212;1 to &#x2212;5 Shore C and the &#x201c;negative&#x201d; hardness gradient of the core layer is typically at least &#x2212;1 Shore C but less than &#x2212;7 Shore C. The difference between the inner core surface hardness and the outer core inner surface hardness, &#x394;h, should be at least &#x2212;3 Shore C.

Dual core golf ball having negative-hardness-gradient thermoplastic inner core and shallow negative-hardness-gradient outer core layer

A golf ball comprising a thermoplastic inner core layer that has a geometric center hardness greater than its surface hardness to define a 'negative' hardness gradient. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core and is formed from a substantially homogenous thermoset composition, typically rubber, and has an inner surface hardness substantially less than its outer surface hardness to define a 'positive' hardness gradient. An inner cover layer is disposed about the outer core layer and an outer cover layer is disposed about the inner cover layer. The &#x201c;negative&#x201d; hardness gradient of the inner core is typically &#x2212;1 to &#x2212;5 Shore C and the &#x201c;positive&#x201d; hardness gradient of the core layer is typically at least 25 Shore C. The difference between the inner core surface hardness and the outer core inner surface hardness, &#x394;h, should be at least 25 Shore C.

A golf ball comprising a thermoplastic inner core layer that has a geometric center hardness greater than its surface hardness to define a first 'negative' hardness gradient. An outer core layer is disposed about the inner core and is formed from a substantially homogenous thermoset composition, typically rubber, and has an inner surface hardness greater than its outer surface hardness to also define a 'negative' hardness gradient. An inner cover layer is disposed about the outer core layer and an outer cover layer is disposed about the inner cover layer. The &#x201c;negative&#x201d; hardness gradient of the inner core is typically &#x2212;1 to &#x2212;5 Shore C and the &#x201c;negative&#x201d; hardness gradient of the core layer is typically at least &#x2212;7 Shore C. The difference between the inner core surface hardness and the outer core inner surface hardness, &#x394;h, should be at least &#x2212;3 Shore C.

Dual core golf ball having negative-hardness-gradient thermoplastic inner core and steep negative-hardness-gradient outer core layer

A golf ball comprising a pre-formed non-spherical inner core insert; an outer core molded about the insert to form a sphere having an outer surface; and a cover disposed about the outer core, the cover having an outer dimpled surface; wherein the outer core and cover are optically transparent or translucent.

Golf ball having visible non-spherical insert

A golf ball including a core; a cover having a first water vapor transmission rate; and a vapor barrier layer disposed between the core and the cover, the barrier layer being formed from a polymer including a nano-material having an average particle size of 100 nm or less; wherein the nano-material creates a tortuous path across the barrier layer such that the barrier layer has a second water vapor transmission rate less than the first.

Nano-particulate compositions for decreasing the water vapor transmission rate of golf ball layers

A golf ball comprising a pre-formed selectively-weighted inner core insert including a hub having a specific gravity of greater than 1.2 and a plurality of outer elements connected to the hub and having a specific gravity of less than 0.9; an outer core molded about the insert to form a sphere having an outer surface; and a cover disposed around the outer core, the cover having an outer dimpled surface; wherein the outer core and cover are optically transparent or translucent.

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Plymouth, MA, United States of America

William B Lacy