Patent ID: 7708655
Filing Date: 2010-05-04
Classification: A63B

Abstract:
1. A golf ball comprising a core, a cover having a plurality of dimples on an outside surface thereof, and an intermediate layer disposed between the core and the cover, wherein the intermediate layer is formed of a material composed primarily of a heated mixture of: 100 parts by weight of a resin component composed of, in admixture, (e) a non-ionomeric thermoplastic elastomer in a weight ratio between 100:0 and 50:50; (c) from about 15 to about 150 parts by weight of a fatty acid and/or fatty acid derivative having a molecular weight of from 228 to 1500; and (d) from about 0.1 to about 17 parts by weight of a basic inorganic metal compound capable of neutralizing un-neutralized acid groups in the base resin and component (c); wherein 100 mol % of the acid groups in the base resin and component (c) are neutralized; the intermediate layer has a Shore D hardness of less than about 50 and a thickness of at least about 1.7 mm but not more than about 6.0 mm; the cover and the intermediate layer have a difference in Shore D hardness therebetween (cover Shore D hardness—intermediate layer Shore D hardness) of from about 13 to about 35; the cover and the intermediate layer have a combined thickness greater than about 3 mm; and the ball as a whole has a deflection, when compressed under a final load of 130 kgf from an initial load of 10 kgf, of at least about 2.0 mm but not more than about 4.0 mm, and the sphere composed of the core encased by the intermediate layer has a deflection of about 2.5 to 3.6 mm when compressed under a final load of 130 kgf from an initial load of 10 kgf.