Patent ID: 8257199

Claim:
A golf ball comprising: a unitary core having a volume, an outer surface, a geometric center, and an outermost transition volume adjacent to the outer surface, the core being formed from a substantially homogenous composition; and a cover layer disposed about the unitary core, the cover layer comprising ionomer, metallocene-catalyzed polymer, polyester, polyamide, non-ionomeric thermoplastic elastomer, copolyether-ester, copolyether-amide, polycarbonate, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, or polystyrene block copolymer; wherein the core has an outer diameter of 1.0 to 1.64 inches and the outermost transition volume is disposed between the core outer surface and the geometric center, the transition volume has an outer portion congruent with the core outer surface, and comprises the outermost 5% to 40% of the core volume; and wherein both a hardness of the core outer surface and a hardness within the outermost transition volume are less than the hardness of the geometric center to define a negative hardness gradient, and the transition volume has an inner portion and the hardness within the transition volume decreases by at least 2 Shore C/mm in a direction away from the inner portion and towards the outer portion.