Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
  • A63B37/00—Solid balls; Rigid hollow balls; Marbles
  • A63B37/0003—Golf balls
  • A63B37/007—Characteristics of the ball as a whole
  • A63B37/0077—Physical properties
  • A63B37/0097—Layers interlocking by means of protrusions or inserts, lattices or the like
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
  • A63B37/00—Solid balls; Rigid hollow balls; Marbles
  • A63B37/0003—Golf balls
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
  • A63B37/00—Solid balls; Rigid hollow balls; Marbles
  • A63B37/02—Special cores
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
  • A63B45/00—Apparatus or methods for manufacturing balls
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
  • A63B2209/00—Characteristics of used materials

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to an improved multi-piece golf ball, and more particularly, a multi-piece golf ball including a hard spherical core or layer with improved characteristics.
• a golf ball In order to meet United States Golf Association ("U.S.G.A.”) specifications, a golf ball must meet certain test criteria relating to weight, size, initial velocity, overall distance (carry and roll), and spherical symmetry. In general, a golf ball must not weigh more than 1.620 ounces avoirdupois, must have a diameter of not less than 1.680 inches, must have a maximum initial ball velocity of 250 feet per second (plus a maximum 2% tolerance) as measured on a standard U.S.G.A. ball testing machine, must not have an overall distance that exceeds 317 yards (plus a maximum 3 yard tolerance) as measured by the U.S.G.A.
• U.S.G.A. United States Golf Association
• Golf balls are generally either wound or molded. Since molded golf balls are cheaper to produce, many of the currently available golf balls are two-piece polymeric balls of uniform density cores. More recent developments in golf ball design have resulted in golf balls that have improved moments of inertia by minimizing the density in the center of the ball and maximizing the density away from the center and near the cover or outer edge of the ball. This can result in a golf ball that has simultaneous characteristics of low spin for maximum distance, as well as maintaining "bite" for shorter shots approaching the putting green. These types of golf balls, however, have a number of shortcomings.
• the present invention provides a golf ball having a hard sphere core or layer with at least one feature for controlling or otherwise achieving a desired vibrational response exhibited by the ball, e.g., by controlling the stiffness of the hard sphere.
• the stiffness of the sphere may be controlled or tuned by including at least one groove or any other indentation in the hard sphere core or layer.
• the groove or grooves serve to locally reduce the wall thickness of the sphere, thereby reducing the stiffness of the hollow metal sphere core by allowing larger deformations under a given load without significantly reducing the total mass of the sphere.
• the present invention includes a golf ball having a cover formed of an ionomeric material or any other material that is resistant to damage from external articles of the type normally encountered when playing golf.
• the cover has an outer surface, defining a dimpled pattern, and an inner surface, defining with the outer surface a cover thickness.
• the ball also includes a hard sphere core or layer, such as one made from a metal, which has an outer surface and an inner surface, together defining a sphere thickness.
• the outer surface of the sphere supports, and is surrounded by, the inner surface of the cover.
• the outer sphere surface advantageously includes at least one groove or other indentation for controlling the stiffness of the hard sphere.
• the inner sphere surface advantageously includes at least one groove for controlling the stiffness of the sphere.
• both the inner sphere surface and the outer sphere surface include at least one groove for controlling the stiffness of the sphere.
• the outer sphere surface individually, the inner sphere surface individually, or both the outer sphere surface and the inner sphere surface may also include a plurality of grooves where the grooves may be in a regularly spaced pattern.
• the plurality of grooves may include a plurality of regularly spaced horizontal grooves and a plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves, where the plurality of vertical grooves are essentially perpendicular to the plurality of horizontal grooves.
• the plurality of grooves may also include a plurality of angled grooves that intersect the plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves.
• an intermediate layer or mantle may be disposed between the hard sphere and the cover, the intermediate layer comprising a compressible and/or resilient material selected from the group consisting of natural rubber, synthetic polymer compounds, and a combination of the natural rubber and synthetic polymer compounds.
• the present invention provides a hard sphere core for use in a modern golf ball.
• the hard sphere core has an outer surface and an inner surface, together defining a core thickness, where the outer core surface individually, the inner core surface individually, or both the outer core surface and the inner core surface have at least one groove or any other type of indentation for controlling the stiffness of the sphere core,
• the outer core surface individually, the inner core surface individually, or both the outer core surface and the inner core surface may include a plurality of grooves for controlling the stiffness of the metal sphere core.
• the plurality of grooves may include a plurality of regularly spaced horizontal grooves and a plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves, where the plurality of vertical grooves are essentially perpendicular to the plurality of horizontal grooves.
• the plurality of grooves may also include a plurality of angled grooves that intersect the plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves and the plurality of horizontal grooves.
• the present invention also provides a method of constructing a metal sphere core with controlled stiffness for use in a modern golf ball, where the metal sphere core has an outer surface and an inner surface, together defining a core thickness.
• the method includes forming at least one groove or any other type of indentation in the outer core surface for controlling the stiffness of the metal sphere core.
• the method includes forming at least one groove in the inner core surface for controlling the stiffness of the metal sphere core.
• the method includes forming at least one groove in the outer core surface and at least one groove in the inner core surface, for controlling the stiffness of the metal sphere core.
• the golf ball of the present invention has several advantages that provide a golf ball having a hollow hard sphere core in which the stiffness of the core may be controlled, while maintaining the high overall moment of inertia for the golf ball.
• the golf ball includes a cover layer and a hard sphere core that has an outer core surface and an inner core surface where the outer core surface has at least one, and preferably a plurality of, regularly spaced horizontal grooves and a plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves that serves to decrease the stiffness of the hollow metal sphere core.
• the grooves are regularly spaced in order to maintain a golf ball that will perform similarly about any axis of rotation, such that the golf ball will conform to the current U.S.G.A. golf ball standard. This results in a hollow metal sphere core for a golf ball in which the stiffness may be controlled and the effect on the high moment of inertia of the ball may be minimized.
• FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a hollow cored golf ball.
• FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a golf ball according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a front plan view of a metal sphere core of a golf ball according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of grooves disposed on a metal sphere core according of one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are exemplary cross sectional depictions of groove profiles according to other embodiments of the present invention.
• FIG. 6 is a perspective view depiction of groove lines on a metal sphere core according to another embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 7 is a perspective view depiction of groove lines on a metal sphere core according to another embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 8 is a perspective view depiction of groove lines on a metal sphere core according to another embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 9 is a partial cross sectional view of a metal sphere core according to another embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 10 is a partial cross sectional view of a metal sphere core according to another embodiment of the present invention.
• the present inventors provide a golf ball having a hollow sphere core and an outer layer surrounding the sphere.
• the hollow sphere core may be solid, e.g., non-perforated, perforated, or porous.
• the sphere has a specific gravity of 2.5 to 20, a diameter range from 0.39 to 1.5 inches, and a thickness of 0.02 to 0.25 inches.
• the cover material is an ionomer, urethane, balata, or synthetic elastomer (e.g. SURLYN, produced by DuPont Company or IOTEK produced by Exxon Mobil), or any other suitable material.
• the resulting golf ball design maximizes the density toward the perimeter of the ball and away from the center. Consequently, the moment of inertia is increased and the spin is reduced, thereby, e.g., reducing hooks and slices.
• U.S. Patent No. 6,705,957 which is also hereby incorporated herein by reference, provides a three-layer ball with a hollow sphere core.
• a second layer is disposed between the sphere and the cover.
• the second layer is a resilient material, preferably a synthetic polymer compound, such as polybutadiene, a natural rubber compound, or a combination thereof.
• the thickness of the second layer is about 0.05 to 0.65 inches.
• the present invention provides golf balls having a hard sphere layer or core with at least one feature associated with the hard sphere or with any other layer for controlling or otherwise achieving a desired vibrational response to the impact of the golf club.
• a feature that controls the vibrational response of the hard sphere or any other layer generally modifies the manner in which the golf ball oscillates in response to an impact as compared to the response of the sphere or layer without the feature.
• the first half of the sinusoidal waveform representing the vibrational response after impact is tailored to occur in less than or greater than 5 milliseconds, 7 milliseconds, 10 milliseconds, or greater.
• a golf ball 10 having a cover 11 and a one-piece hollow core 12 is shown.
• a golf ball undergoes deformation such that the core of the ball deforms from a spherical shape to an oblong shape.
• the ball and the clubhead travel together for a moment of time. After this point, the ball projects forward, pushing itself off of the face of the club. Based on the relative weight of the clubhead to that of the golf ball, the golf ball travels at a faster speed than the clubhead.
• the initial velocity of the golf ball can be approximated with the following equation: r r 1 + COi? l + (m/M)
• v is the velocity of the ball immediately after impact
• U is the velocity of the clubhead immediately before impact
• m is the mass of the ball
• M is the mass of the clubhead
• COi? is the coefficient of restitution of the ball.
• the inventors have observed that in some instances, depending on the materials used for construction, the COR of golf balls with hollow metal cores having a smooth surface or surfaces, such as that shown in FIG. 1, can be much less than 100 %, in some cases ranging as low as 40 %.
• the inventors have also determined that a large fraction of the energy losses after impact are attributed at least in part to vibrations. That is, after impact the metal sphere can be seen as being displaced about an equilibrium position (e.g.,. from an essentially perfect sphere to an elongated sphere) and will oscillate about this equilibrium position until internal and external frictional forces cause the vibration to decay. These vibrations are generally converted to thermal energy.
• One parameter that plays a role in the vibrational response of a golf ball having a hard sphere core or layer is the stiffness of the sphere.
• the stiffness may be attributed to either the properties of the material used to construct the sphere, such as the hardness, modulus of elasticity, toughness, etc., or properties associated with the shape and size of the sphere, such as the moment of inertia, the section modulus, etc.
• the properties of the polymers or other materials surrounding the sphere, as well as any materials within the sphere affect the vibrational response. The ability to minimize or otherwise reduce vibrational losses will generally reduce the kinetic energy from the impact that is lost to heat, thereby increasing the COR of the ball.
• Damping may be attributed to the properties of the materials surrounding or disposed within the hard sphere, such as the density, viscosity, modulus of elasticity, coefficients of friction, etc., of the materials.
• the materials may be gases, pressurized or otherwise, liquids, gels, foams, solids, etc. Additionally, the state of the materials is also a consideration, such as whether the materials are prestressed, etc. Any one of these parameters may be modified to tailor the vibrational response of the golf ball.
• D the total deformation of the ball
• d ⁇ wr the deflection of the cover layer
• dmwuk the deflection of the mantle layer
• dean the deflection of the hollow sphere core, each of which is a function of the force F applied to the ball.
• the deflections of the cover, mantle, and core are all non-linear functions of the applied force, thickness of the layer, configuration, and materials of construction, respectively.
• the hard hollow sphere core and a resilient mantle layer of a three piece golf ball tends to deflect in a linear manner for small loads, and becomes increasingly stiff and therefore non-linear as the load increases.
• a metal core is linear in its response to much higher loads.
• the cover and the mantle provide proportionately more of the deformation of the ball than they do in a drive which exerts much higher forces to the ball. Therefore, a golf ball can be thought of exhibiting a variable spring constant, with the constant being primarily 5 defined by the cover and mantle layers for low energy impacts and defined primarily by the hollow metal core for high energy impacts.
• Stiffness is directly related to the vibrational response of an object.
• the following equation for a simple harmonic oscillator relates the stiffness of a spring to various damping factors (including certain frictional forces) and the resulting vibrational response:
• t time
• b the damping constant
• ⁇ o the characteristic angular frequency (equal to 27tf 0 , where / is frequency in cycles per second)
• x is the position.
• Characteristic frequency is a function of the stiffness or spring constant of the sphere or ball, as well as the state of the prestress (compression or tension forces) on the sphere.
• the inventors have determined that by increasing the amount of deflection that the hard sphere core or layer of the golf ball exhibits for a given impact, without decreasing the diameter of the core, e.g., by decreasing the stiffness of the golf ball or the hard sphere, or the spring constant of the hard sphere, the COR of the ball may be increased preferably to greater than about 70 %, or more preferably to greater than about 85 % or about 90 %, or
• the present invention therefore generally provides golf balls having an outer cover with a dimpled pattern and a hard sphere layer or core having at least one feature associated with the hard sphere or with any other layer for controlling the vibrational response of the hard sphere or the ball.
• the present invention may be applied toward two- piece golf balls in which instance the ball will consist of the cover with a hard sphere core, hollow or otherwise.
• the invention may also be applied toward other multi-piece designs using greater than two pieces, e.g., three, four, five, etc. pieces, in which instance the hard sphere may serve as an intermediate layer or as a sphere core, hollow or otherwise.
• the feature that controls the vibrational response of the hard sphere or of any other layer may be any feature that modifies the manner in which the golf bail responds to an impact as compared to the response of the sphere without the feature.
• the feature may be one that modifies, e.g., reduces or increases, as the case may be, the stiffness, the amount of deflection for a given impact, the spring constant, the damping coefficient associated with the ball or sphere, or a combination thereof.
• the modification may be accomplished by varying any parameter attributing to the stiffness, deflection, spring constant, or damping coefficient noted above.
• the present invention provides a golf ball 20 having a metal or other hard material sphere core or layer 27 surrounded by a cover layer 21, where the sphere core 27 has at least one indentation or groove 23 or other means for controlling the vibrational response of the sphere, such as for reducing the stiffness or spring constant, or increasing the deflection response of the hard sphere core or layer 27 or increasing the damping coefficient against the hard sphere core or layer as compared to core or layer without the feature.
• the term "core” shall be used to include the term "layer”.
• the sphere may also be a one-piece design.
• the cover layer 21 has a cover outer surface 22 and a cover inner surface 24.
• the cover outer surface 22 and the cover inner surface 24 together define a cover thickness
• the cover 21 has a surface dimple pattern and is preferably made of SURLYN, but may be also be made of an ionomer, urethane, balata, polybutadiene, or other synthetic elastomer, or any other material suitable for a golf ball cover.
• the cover layer 21 also forms the golf ball diameter 26.
• the golf ball diameter is preferably 42.67 mm (1.68 inches), but may be any diameter equal to, greater or less than 42.67 mm, preferably between about 40 mm and about 45 mm.
• the golf ball 20 of the present design may also include at least one intermediate layer (not shown) disposed between the cover layer 21 and the metal sphere core 27.
• the golf ball 20 also includes a sphere core 27 having a diameter 31 and an outer core surface 28 and an inner core surface 29.
• the diameter 31 of the metal sphere core 27 is about 31.75 mm (1.25 inches), but the diameter may be any diameter from about 10 mm (0.39 inches) to about 38 mm (1.50 inches), or from about 25.4 mm (1.0 inches) to about 35.6 mm (1.4 inches).
• the outer core surface 28 and the inner core surface 29 together define a core thickness 30.
• the core thickness 30 is preferably about 1.82 mm, however the core thickness 30 may be any thickness from about 0.5 mm to about 6.4 mm.
• the metal sphere core 27 is preferably made of titanium or titanium alloy, but may also be made of another metal alloy including stainless steel, or an intermetallic material such as aluminum.
• the metal sphere core 27 may also be made of iron, carbon steel, nickel, molybdenum, aluminum, tungsten or alloys of steel, nickel, aluminum, molybdenum, or tungsten.
• the outer core surface 28 of the metal sphere core 27 includes at least one groove 23 for controlling or otherwise reducing the stiffness of the metal sphere core 27.
• the outer core surface 28 may include at least one horizontal groove, and more preferably includes a plurality of regularly or randomly spaced horizontal grooves 32.
• the outer core surface 28 may also include at least one vertical groove, and more preferably includes a plurality of regularly or randomly spaced vertical grooves 35.
• the material displaced by the grooves may be replaced with a filler material having a density greater than that of the cover layer or intermediate layer, as the case may be.
• the outer core surface 28 of the metal sphere core 27 includes a plurality of regularly spaced horizontal grooves 32 and a plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves 35.
• the plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves 35 intersect and are substantially perpendicular to the plurality of regularly spaced horizontal grooves 33.
• the horizontal grooves 32 and the vertical grooves 35 are spaced at increments of about every ten degrees and may be manufactured by any method suitable to form grooves in metal, including, but not limited to laser cutting, mechanical stamping, casting, and chemical etching.
• the horizontal grooves 32 and the vertical grooves 35 define a groove width 33 and a groove depth 34.
• the groove width 33 is preferably about 0.30 mm, or any width from about 1 nm to about 5 mm, and the groove depth 37 is preferably about 0.91 mm, but may be any depth between 1 nm and 5 mm, depending on the thickness of the metal sphere core 27.
• the profile of the horizontal grooves 32 and vertical grooves 35 is preferably u-shaped with right angles defining the maximum depth, but may be any other profile or combinations of profiles suitable for controlling the stiffness of the metal sphere core 27, including but not limited to a profile having a u-shape with filleted angles defining the maximum depth as shown in FIG. 5 A, or a profile having a v-shape as shown in FIG. 5B.
• the golf ball 20 of the present invention may include other groove configurations or combinations of configurations that serve to control the vibrational response or stiffness of the metal sphere core 27.
• at least one angled groove (not shown), and preferably, a plurality of angled grooves may intersect the plurality of vertical grooves 32.
• the groves or indentations may also be disposed or oriented in a random or an apparently random manner.
• the plurality of horizontal grooves 32 and the plurality of vertical grooves 35 may be configured along lines similar to latitudinal and longitudinal lines of a globe, as shown in FIG. 6, which shows a latitude and longitude lines oriented around a single axis.
• a plurality of latitude and/or longitude lines may also be oriented around a plurality of axes, such as two axes, three axes, etc.
• the axes may be oriented at any angle from about 0 degrees to about 360 degrees from each other.
• the plurality of horizontal grooves 32 and the plurality of vertical grooves 35 may be configured along horizontal and vertical lines on each of the two or three axes of the metal sphere core 27, as shown in FIG. 7.
• grooves 23 may be configured along an icosahedron pattern as shown in FIG. 8.
• the inner core surface 29 of the metal sphere core 27 includes at least one groove 23 for controlling the stiffness of the metal sphere core 27.
• the inner core surface 29 may include at least one horizontal groove, and more preferably includes a plurality of regularly or randomly spaced horizontal grooves 32.
• the inner core surface 29 may also include at least one vertical groove, and more preferably includes a plurality of regularly or randomly spaced vertical grooves 35.
• the inner core surface 29 includes a plurality of regularly or randomly spaced horizontal grooves 32 and a plurality of regularly or randomly spaced vertical grooves 35.
• both the outer core surface 28 and the inner core surface 29 may include at least one groove 23 for controlling the stiffness of the metal sphere core 27.
• both the inner core surface 29 and the outer core surface 28 include a plurality of regularly spaced horizontal grooves 32 and a plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves 35.
• the orientation of the groves or indentation in the inner core surface may be any described above with relation to the outer core surface. It should further be noted that one skilled in the art may conceive other possible groove configurations that may be included on the inner core surface 29, the outer core surface 28, or both the inner core surface 29 and the outer core surface 28, including, but not limited to the examples shown in
• the golf ball 20 of the present invention has several advantages that provide a golf ball having a hollow metal or other hard material sphere core or layer in which the vibrational response stiffness may be controlled, while maintaining a high overall moment of inertia for the golf ball.
• the golf ball 20 includes a cover layer 21 and a hollow metal sphere core 27 that has an outer core surface 28 and an inner core surface 29 where the outer core surface 28 has a plurality of regularly spaced horizontal grooves 32 and a plurality of regularly spaced vertical grooves 35 that serve to decrease the stiffness of the metal sphere core 27. Additionally, the grooves are regularly spaced in order to maintain a golf ball that will perform similarly about any axis of rotation, such that the golf ball will conform with the current U.S.G.A. golf ball standard. This results in a hollow metal sphere core 27 for a golf ball 20 in which the stiffness may be controlled and the effect on the high moment of inertia of the ball may be minimized.
• the inventors have determined that a golf ball with a titanium metal core having a 34.64 mm diameter, a 1.82 mm wall thickness, and one degree thick grooves 0.91 mm deep spaced every ten degrees, and a 4 mm Surlyn cover, deformed 2.75 times more than a similar ball without the grooves. Accordingly, the stiffness of the hard sphere may be reduced to as low as about 36% as compared with the sphere without the grooves. It is understood that the depth, width, and number of grooves may be varied to achieve a desired stiffness.
• the reduced stiffness may also be achieved by one or more of the following: selecting materials and/or processing conditions for the mantle and/or cover to create a prestressed condition on the hard sphere, selecting materials with suitable characteristics, altering the physical properties of the material used to construct the hard sphere, such as by annealing, hot working, or cold working prior to or after hemisphere formation, preferentially etching material located within the grain boundaries of the metal sphere to remove material located with the grain boundaries of the bulk material, pressurizing the interior of the sphere, e.g., to create positive or negative pressure therein (to prestress the sphere either positively or negatively), uniformly altering the gauge thickness of the hard sphere, having the hard sphere consist of two or more concentric or layered hard spheres having preferred properties, or a combination thereof.
• the material sets, polymer layers, and processing conditions may also be tailored to achieve the desired vibrational response.
• the response and performance of a finished golf ball is generally related to the combination of materials used in construction.
• Each layer of the golf ball will generally contribute to the overall response. That is, the final response will generally be the sum of the responses from the individual layers and any interplay between the layers.
• the vibrational response may therefore also be tailored by controlling the interplay between the layers of the golf ball of the present invention.
• the cover layer or intermediate layer may be applied over the hard sphere core to prestress the sphere. This may be accomplished with rubber winding technology used with solid core golf balls, which winds polymers or rubber materials around the hard sphere to prestress the sphere.
• Nano-materials may also be used as the feature to tailor the vibrational response or other characteristics of the golf ball. Nanomaterials are generally those that exhibit characteristics based on controlling the composition of the material at a sub- micrometer level, to vary the strength, ductility, hardness, formability, crack propagation resistance, etc., or a combination thereof. For example, materials, such as metal, e.g., titanium, with controlled grain sizes may be used for the hard sphere core with beneficial characteristics based on grain size. For example, grain sizes may be increased to reduce stiffness or the reverse.
• Composite materials may also be used to control the vibrational response or other characteristic of the golf ball. For example, by varying the amount of second phase dispersions within a metal matrix composite, the strength and stiffness of the base material used for the sphere may be tailored. For example, alloying elements may be introduced into the metal matrix to restrict dislocation movement thereby stiffening the material. Conversely, using essentially pure metals reduces the stiffness of the material. Additionally, nanomaterials may be used to control dispersoid-dislocation interactions, e.g., Orowan bypassing, and Hall-Petch strengthening.
• nanosize materials such as metallic, ceramic, or clay powders, carbon-nanotubes, etc.
• may be used as the second phase may not only to carry a portion of the load on the hard sphere or any other layer, but may also interact with the matrix material dislocations or grain boundaries to tailor the strength or stiffness of the sphere or any other layer.
• nano-ceramic or clay powders may be introduced into a polymer mantle layer to achieve a desired vibrational response from the ball.
• the present invention generally provides golf balls that exhibit a desired vibrational response.
• Other hardware may similarly be tuned to the vibrational response of the golf balls tuned in accordance with the present disclosure.
• golf clubs such as woods, irons, wedges, putters, etc.
• golf clubs may be tuned to the golf ball to maximize the beneficial characteristics of the golf balls.

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• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Compositions Of Macromolecular Compounds (AREA)
• Vibration Prevention Devices (AREA)

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• 2005
  • 2005-06-03 US US11/144,111 patent/US20070161434A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2006
  • 2006-06-02 WO PCT/US2006/021532 patent/WO2006132999A2/en active Application Filing
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