Patent ID: 7722481

Claim:
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 core has a deflection, when compressed under a final load of 130 kgf from an initial load of 10 kgf, of at least 3.0 mm but not more than 5.0 mm; 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, a base resin of (a) an olefin-unsaturated carboxylic acid random copolymer and/or a metal ion neutralization product of an olefin-unsaturated carboxylic acid random copolymer mixed with (b) an olefin-unsaturated carboxylic acid-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester random terpolymer and/or a metal ion neutralization product of an olefin-unsaturated carboxylic acid-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester random terpolymer in a weight ratio between 100:0 and 0:100, and (e) a non-ionomeric thermoplastic elastomer in a weight ratio between 100:0 and 50:50; (c) 5 to 150 parts by weight of a fatty acid and/or fatty acid derivative having a molecular weight of from 228 to 1500; and (d) 0.1 to 17 parts by weight of a basic inorganic metal compound capable of neutralizing un-neutralized acid groups in the base resin and component (c); the intermediate layer has a Shore D hardness of at least 40 but not more than 60, and has a thickness of at least 3.1 mm but not more than 4.0 mm; and the number of dimples is at least 272 but not more than 348, and wherein the cover is formed of a resin material which is an ionomer resin neutralized with zinc ions, and 100 mol % of the acid groups in the base resin and component (c) are neutralized.