Search

US-12623121-B1 - Golf ball

US12623121B1US 12623121 B1US12623121 B1US 12623121B1US-12623121-B1

Abstract

A golf ball having contact time, CT 143 of greater than or equal to about 400 microsecs, a Coefficient of Restitution, COR 143 of greater than or equal to about 0.720, an Initial Velocity (IV) of greater than or equal to about 255 ft/sec and a relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 each of greater than or equal to about 1.01, or a relative ratio, RR 90/127 or RR 90/125 or RR 90/123 each of greater than or equal to about 1.03.

Inventors

  • Ben RAYMOND
  • Dana Ehyaei
  • Todd P. Beach
  • David Anderson
  • Balachandra Reddy Mettu
  • Joshua DIPERT

Assignees

  • TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20230331

Claims (9)

  1. 1 . A golf ball having; a core comprising a polybutadiene rubber, the core having a difference between a Shore D hardness measured at a center of the core and a Shore D hardness measured at a surface of the core of no greater than 2 Shore D units; an innermost intermediate layer disposed directly over the core, the innermost intermediate layer comprising a bimodal ionomer neutralized to at least 90% with magnesium cations and having a thickness of from 0.04 to 0.06 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 45 to 50; a center intermediate layer disposed over the innermost intermediate layer, the center intermediate layer comprising thermoplastic polyurethane and having a thickness of from 0.03 to 0.05 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 50 to 55; an outer intermediate layer disposed over the center intermediate layer, the outer intermediate layer comprising a modified unimodal ionomer and having a thickness of from 0.03 to 0.07 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 55 to 60; an outer cover layer disposed over the outer intermediate layer, the outer cover layer comprising thermoset polyurethane having a thickness of 0.022 inches and a Shore D hardness of 58, the outer cover layer having a dimple pattern comprising 375 dual-radius dimples, each dimple adjacent to a parting line having a depth of at least 0.155 mm, and wherein a dimple pattern of a southern hemisphere of the golf ball is rotated by 30 degrees relative to a dimple pattern of a northern hemisphere of the golf ball; a contact time measured using an impact speed of 143 ft/s (CT 143 ) of greater than or equal to 400 microseconds; a coefficient of restitution measured using an impact speed of 143 ft/s (COR 143 ) of greater than or equal to 0.720; an initial velocity (IV) of greater than or equal to 255 ft/sec, calculated by an equation; and a relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 each greater than or equal to 1.01, where: RR 80/127 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 127 /HS 127 ),wherein TDC 80 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 80 mph, TDC 127 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed at 127 mph, HS 80 is the clubhead speed at 80 mph, and HS 127 is the clubhead speed at 127 mph; RR 80/125 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 125 /HS 125 ), wherein TDC 125 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 125 mph, and HS 125 is the clubhead speed at 125 mph; RR 80/123 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 123 /HS 123 ), wherein TDC 123 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed at 123 mph, and HS 123 is the clubhead speed at 123 mph; or a relative ratio, RR 90/127 or RR 90/125 or RR 90/123 each greater than or equal to 1.03, where: RR 90/127 =(TDC 90 /HS 90 )/(TDC 127 /HS 127 ) wherein TDC 90 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 90 mph, HS 90 is the clubhead speed at 90 mph; RR 90/125 =(TDC 90 /HS 90 )/(TDC 125 /HS 125 ); RR 90/123 =(TDC 90 /HS 90 )/(TDC 123 /HS 123 ).
  2. 2 . The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein: the CT 143 is greater than or equal to 550 microseconds; the COR 143 is greater than or equal to 0.780; and the relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 are each greater than or equal to 1.03.
  3. 3 . The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein: the CT 143 is greater than or equal to 650 microseconds; the COR 143 is greater than or equal to 0.840; the relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 are each greater than or equal to 1.05.
  4. 4 . The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the golf ball has; a compression of less than or equal to 114 PGA; the core has; i) a compression of less than about 50 PGA; and ii) a COR 125 of greater than or equal to 0.700; and one or more intermediate layers having a COR 125 of greater than about 0.810.
  5. 5 . A golf ball having; a core comprising a polybutadiene rubber, the core having a difference between a Shore D hardness measured at a center of the core and a Shore D hardness measured at a surface of the core of no greater than 2 Shore D units; an innermost intermediate layer disposed directly over the core, the innermost intermediate layer comprising a bimodal ionomer neutralized to at least 90% with magnesium cations and having a thickness of from 0.04 to 0.06 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 45 to 50; a center intermediate layer disposed over the innermost intermediate layer, the center intermediate layer comprising thermoplastic polyurethane and having a thickness of from 0.03 to 0.05 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 50 to 55; an outer intermediate layer disposed over the center intermediate layer, the outer intermediate layer comprising a modified unimodal ionomer and having a thickness of from 0.03 to 0.07 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 55 to 60; an outer cover layer disposed over the outer intermediate layer, the outer cover layer comprising thermoset polyurethane having a thickness of 0.022 inches and a Shore D hardness of 58, the outer cover layer having a dimple pattern comprising 375 dual-radius dimples, each dimple adjacent to a parting line having a depth of at least 0.155 mm, and wherein a dimple pattern of a southern hemisphere of the golf ball is rotated by 30 degrees relative to a dimple pattern of a northern hemisphere of the golf ball; a contact time measured using an impact speed of 143 ft/s (CT 143 ) of greater than or equal to 400 microseconds; a coefficient of restitution measured using an impact speed of 143 ft/s (COR 143 ) of greater than about 0.780; a relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 each greater than or equal to 1.01, where: RR 80/127 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 127 /HS 127 ),wherein TDC 80 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 80 mph, TDC 127 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 127 mph, HS 80 is the clubhead speed of 80 mph, and HS 127 is the clubhead speed of 127 mph; RR 80/125 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 125 /HS 125 ), wherein TDC 125 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 125 mph, and HS 125 is the clubhead speed of 125 mph; RR 80/123 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 123 /HS 123 ), wherein TDC 123 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 123 mph, and HS 123 is the clubhead speed of 123 mph; or a relative ratio, RR 90/127 or RR 90/125 or RR 90/123 each greater than or equal to 1.03, where: RR 90/127 =(TDC 90 /HS 90 )/(TDC 127 /HS 127 ) wherein TDC 90 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 90 mph, and HS 90 is the clubhead speed of 90 mph; RR 90/125 =(TDC 90 /HS 90 )/(TDC 125 /HS 125 ); RR 90/123 =(TDC 90 /HS 90 )/(TDC 123 /HS 123 ).
  6. 6 . The golf ball of claim 5 , wherein: the CT 143 is greater than or equal to 550 microseconds; the COR 143 is greater than or equal to 0.780; and the relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 each greater than or equal to 1.03.
  7. 7 . The golf ball of claim 5 , wherein: the CT 143 is greater than or equal to 650 microseconds; the COR 143 is greater than or equal to 0.840; and the relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 each greater than or equal to 1.05.
  8. 8 . The golf ball of claim 5 , wherein the golf ball has; a compression of less than or equal to 114 PGA; the core has; i) a compression of less than about 50 PGA; and ii) a COR 125 of greater than or equal to 0.700; and one or more intermediate layers having a COR 125 of greater than about 0.810.
  9. 9 . A golf ball having; a core comprising a polybutadiene rubber, the core having a difference between a Shore D hardness measured at a center of the core and a Shore D hardness measured at a surface of the core of no greater than 2 Shore D units; an innermost intermediate layer disposed directly over the core, the innermost intermediate layer comprising a bimodal ionomer neutralized to at least 90% with magnesium cations and having a thickness of from 0.04 to 0.06 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 45 to 50; a center intermediate layer disposed over the innermost intermediate layer, the center intermediate layer comprising thermoplastic polyurethane and having a thickness of from 0.03 to 0.05 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 50 to 55; an outer intermediate layer disposed over the center intermediate layer, the outer intermediate layer comprising a modified unimodal ionomer and having a thickness of from 0.03 to 0.07 inches and a Shore D hardness of from 55 to 60; an outer cover layer disposed over the outer intermediate layer, the outer cover layer comprising thermoset polyurethane having a thickness of 0.022 inches and a Shore D hardness of 58, the outer cover layer having a dimple pattern comprising 375 dual-radius dimples, each dimple adjacent to a parting line having a depth of at least 0.155 mm, and wherein a dimple pattern of a southern hemisphere of the golf ball is rotated by 30 degrees relative to a dimple pattern of a northern hemisphere of the golf ball; a contact time measured using an impact speed of 143 ft/s (CT 143 ) of greater than or equal to 400 microseconds; a coefficient of restitution measured using at an impact speed of 143 ft/s (COR 143 ) of greater than or equal to 0.790; and a relative ratio, RR 80/127 or RR 80/125 or RR 80/123 each greater than or equal to 1.02, where: RR 80/127 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 127 /HS 127 ),wherein TDC 80 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 80 mph, TDC 127 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed at 127 mph, HS 80 is the clubhead speed of 80 mph, and HS 127 is the clubhead speed of 127 mph; RR 80/125 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 125 /HS 125 ), wherein TDC 125 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed of 125 mph, and HS 125 is the clubhead speed of 125 mph; RR 80/123 =(TDC 80 /HS 80 )/(TDC 123 /HS 123 ), wherein TDC 123 is the total distance calculated using a clubhead speed at 123 mph, and HS 1 s is the clubhead speed of 123 mph.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/326,103, filed on Mar. 31, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/391,105, filed on Jul. 21, 2022, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a golf ball having a specific distance profile when struck by a driver or iron over a range of clubhead speeds. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Golf is a game where it is generally considered that the average recreational golfer has access to and generally uses the same equipment that is available to professional golfers participating on the various professional tours including that run by the Professional Golfers Association known as the PGA Tour. Thus both the average golfer and the professional tour player have been able to benefit from advances in technology on the ball side as well as concurrent advances in club technology, Such advances on the club side include the use of metal in driver heads (as in the so-called metalwoods in the late 80's early 90's) as well as the transition to larger and more forgiving metalwood driver head volumes which began in. the early 90's and which continued to the current volume limit of 460 cc, first implemented in the early 2000's. Recent developments in golf ball technology have been focused not only on the development of new golf ball materials and constructions, but also improvements in their aerodynamic properties. Typically, the distance a golf ball travels when struck by a golf club, for example a driver, is a function of the speed at which the ball is travelling and its trajectory in terms of the lift and drag forces the ball experiences during flight. The ball speed is a function of the driver clubhead speed generated by the player at impact, typically more driver head speed equating to more ball speed and thus more distance. The golf ball trajectory is in turn a function of the launch angle of the ball when struck and the spin profile of the ball in flight. To date, golf ball design has had the goal of maximizing the distance the golf ball travels for any given driver speed. Two main areas have been the focus for optimizing distance, i) improving the aerodynamics of the ball by optimizing its dimple pattern design and ii) optimizing the construction of the golf ball in terms of its individual components such as the core, any intermediate layers and its outer cover layer coupled with the choice of the materials of construction of its individual components as well as their physical and chemical properties. Golf Ball Construction Development Concomitant with dimple design evolution, the construction of the golf ball has also developed radically over the years. The wound ball which utilized a liquid center with rubber windings around its center was once a top choice of professional players because it was easier to control, even though it sacrificed distance relative to harder balls. Liquid cores were replaced by a variety of synthetic rubber materials, with polybutadiene, a polymer that combines elasticity with the ability to rebound quickly, being the current material of choice for the cores of most golf balls. Modern technology has also replaced the rubber windings with intermediate layers or mantles between the core and outer cover layer which are typically prepared from synthetic thermoplastic. Today, most golf balls are multi-layer balls which contain from one to three intermediate or mantle layers between the core and the outer cover. The material for the outer cover layer has also developed over the years with early golf balls using outer cover layers made from soft balata rubber, which was then replaced by Surlyn® as the material of choice for the outer cover layer. Today's high end balls now utilize the superior durability of polyurethane in their outer cover layers Typically, the distance a golf ball travels when hit with a driver is primarily determined by the swing speed of the golfer with higher swing speeds resulting in longer distances. This is then further impacted by the trajectory of the golf ball as determined by its launch angle as well as the degree of spin imparted to the ball as a result of the interaction between the ball and the golf club face. However, the evolution of the professional game has seen golfers develop their technique and physical abilities such that today's longest drivers of the golf ball can achieve driver clubhead speeds that exceed 130 mph resulting in shots where the golf ball travel more than 300 yards with the longest drivers approaching 320 yards. This can be contrasted with the average recreational golfer whose driver swing speeds can be in the range of 80 to 100 mph with travel distances in the range of 200 to 250 yards Thus, in the case of professional golfers, their prodigious swing speeds when matched with the latest advances in ball and club technology has resulted in driver distanc