Polyamide Golf Ball Core with Plasticizer for Spin Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current golf balls with hard ionomer resin cores provide high initial velocity but result in a harsh feel and low spin control, making them difficult to hit accurately, especially with approach shots near the green.
Innovation Solution
A multi-layered golf ball design featuring a dual-core structure with an inner core made of rubber and an outer core layer composed of a polyamide composition, which includes 40-99% transparent polyamide and 1-60% plasticizer, offering a combination of toughness, resiliency, and improved feel and spin control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If hard ionomer resin is used for the core, then initial velocity is improved, but feel becomes harsh and spin control is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The core is divided into multiple layers with different material compositions. The inner core layer uses hard ionomer resin to provide high initial velocity, while the outer core layer uses a softer material (such as polyurethane or polyamide) to provide spin control and comfortable feel. This segmentation allows each layer to fulfill its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the core are assigned different material properties. The inner core region maintains high hardness for velocity generation, while the outer core region uses softer material to enable spin control during approach shots. This local differentiation of material quality resolves the contradiction between speed and controllability.
2Speed
If hard ionomer resin is used for the core, then initial velocity is improved, but feel becomes harsh
Solution Approach 1:
The core is segmented into an inner hard layer and an outer softer layer. The inner core layer made of hard ionomer resin generates high initial velocity, while the outer core layer made of softer material (polyurethane, polyamide, or rubber) absorbs shock and provides a comfortable feel, eliminating the harsh sensation.
Solution Approach 2:
The core uses a composite structure combining hard ionomer resin with softer materials such as polyurethane, polyamide, or rubber. This composite material approach allows the core to simultaneously exhibit high velocity characteristics from the hard component and comfortable feel from the soft component, resolving the contradiction between speed and comfort.
3Ease of operation
If polyamide composition with plasticizer is used, then feel and spin control are improved, but toughness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The plasticizer content in the polyamide composition is carefully controlled within specific ranges (typically 5-30 parts per 100 parts polyamide). This parameter optimization allows the outer core layer to achieve sufficient softness for spin control while maintaining adequate toughness to prevent damage during play.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer core layer uses a composite of polyamide and plasticizer where the plasticizer modifies the polyamide's properties to provide spin control while the polyamide matrix maintains structural integrity and toughness. This composite approach balances the contradictory requirements of softness and strength.
Data Source
AI summary
Multi-layered golf balls having at least one layer made of a polyamide composition containing a polyamide polymer and plasticizer are provided. The plasticizers help reduce the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the composition and various plasticizers may be used. For example, the composition may include ethyl oleate or propylene carbonate as a plasticizer. Transparent polyamides, for example, polyether-amide block copolymers, preferably are used in the composition. The golf ball includes a core having at least one layer and a cover having at least one layer. The polyamide composition may be used to form any core, cover, or other layer in the golf ball. In one version, the polyamide composition is used to form the inner cover layer.