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Golf balls with improved feel

Golf balls with improved feel description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/878,024, filed Dec. 29, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Disclosed herein are multilayered golf ball having a solid core, a multilayered construction and a polyurethane cover, and which, when struck by the golfer generates a sound of a specific frequency and loudness.

The application of synthetic polymer chemistry to the field of sports equipment has revolutionized the performance of athletes in many sports. One sport in which this is particularly true is golf, especially as relates to advances in golf ball performance and ease of manufacture. For instance, the earliest golf balls consisted of a leather cover filled with wet feathers. These “feathery” golf balls were subsequently replaced with a single piece golf ball made from “gutta percha,” a naturally occurring rubber-like material.

More recently wound balls typically have either a solid rubber or liquid filled center around which many yards of a stretched elastic thread or yarns are wound to form a core. The wound core is then covered with a durable cover material such as an ionomer or other thermoplastic material or a softer cover such as balata or cast polyurethane. Wound balls are generally soft and provide more spin, which enables a skilled golfer to have more control over the ball's flight. In particular, it is desirable that a golfer be able to impart backspin to a golf ball for purposes of controlling its flight and controlling the action of the ball upon landing on the ground. For example, substantial backspin will make the ball stop once it strikes the landing surface instead of bounding forward. The ability to impart backspin onto a golf ball is related to the extent to which the golf ball cover deforms when it is struck with a golf club. Because wound balls are traditionally more deformable than conventional two-piece balls, it is easier to impart spin to wound balls. However, wound higher spinning balls typically travel a shorter distance when struck as compared to a two-piece ball. Moreover, as a result of their more complex structure, wound balls generally require a longer time to manufacture and are more expensive to produce than a two-piece ball.

Golf balls having a two-piece construction generally are most popular with the recreational golfer, because they are relatively durable and provide increased distance as compared to a typical wound ball with a balata cover. Two-piece balls have a single solid core, usually formed of a cross-linked rubber, which is encased by a cover. Typically, the solid core is made of polybutadiene, which is chemically cross-linked with peroxide, or sulfur compounds together with co-cross-linking agent, such as zinc diacrylate. The cover of such balls often comprises tough, cut-proof blends of one or more materials known as ionomers, which typically are ethylene/acrylic acid copolymers or ethylene/acrylic acid/acrylate terpolymers in which some or all of the acid groups are neutralized with metal cations. Such ionomers are commercially available under trademarks such as SURLYN®, which are resins sold commercially by E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, of Wilmington, Del., or IOTEK® which is sold commercially by ExxonMobil, of Irving, Tex.

In one embodiment, the golf ball includes a polyurethane cover layer, a solid core, and one or more intermediate layers, and wherein the ball has a Sound Pressure Level, S, of less than 81.5 dB.

In a further embodiment the golf ball includes a polyurethane cover layer, a solid core, and one or more intermediate layers, and wherein the ball has a Sound Pressure Level, S, of less than 81.5 dB and wherein S meets the following inequality;

S<−0.032143F+189.5;

where F is the golf ball frequency in Hz.

In a further embodiment the golf ball includes a polyurethane cover layer, a solid core, and one or more intermediate layers, and wherein the ball has a Sound Pressure Level, S, of less than 81.5 dB and wherein S meets the following inequality;

S<−0.01F+112;

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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