Golf ball having visible non-spherical insert
View Patent ↗A golf ball comprising a pre-formed non-spherical inner core insert; an outer core molded about the insert to form a sphere having an outer surface; and a cover disposed about the outer core, the cover having an outer dimpled surface; wherein the outer core and cover are optically transparent or translucent.
1. A golf ball comprising:
a pre-formed single, solid, non-spherical inner core insert having unitary construction;
an outer core molded about the insert to form a sphere having an outer surface; and
a cover disposed about the outer core, the cover having an outer dimpled surface;
wherein the outer core and cover are optically transparent and wherein the outer core has a first refractive index and the cover has a second refractive index that differs from the first by 0.05 or more.
2. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the wherein the outer core and cover are formed from polymers having a refractive index of between 1.20 and 1.70.
3. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the non-spherical inner core insert or the outer core comprises a partially- or fully-neutralized ionomer.
4. The golf ball of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the non-spherical inner core insert or the outer core comprise a partially-neutralized ionomer which has been neutralized by at least 70%.
5. The golf ball of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the non-spherical inner core insert or the outer core comprise a partially-neutralized lonomer which has been neutralized by at least 80%.
6. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the non-spherical inner core insert comprises a pigment or a dye.
7. The golf ball of claim 6 , wherein the dye is a fluorescent dye comprising a thioxanthene, xanthene, perylene, perylene imide, coumarin, thioindigo, naphthalimide, rhodamine, or methine dye.
8. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the non-spherical inner core insert, core layer, or cover layer comprise reflective fillers, fibers, flakes, pigments, dyes, or pearlescents.
9. The golf ball of claim 8 , wherein the reflective filler comprises metal flakes, iridescent glitters, metallized films, or colored polyester foils.
10. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises a partially- or fully-neutralized ionomer, a polyurethane, a polyurea, or a polyurethane/polyurea hybrid.
11. The golf ball of claim 10 , wherein the cover comprises a thermosetting polyurethane or polyurea.
12. A golf ball comprising:
a pre-formed single, solid, non-spherical inner core insert having unitary construction:
an outer core molded about the insert to form a sphere having an outer surface; and
a cover disposed about the outer core, the cover having an outer dimpled surface;
wherein the outer core and cover are optically transparent and wherein the outer core has a first refractive index and the cover has a second refractive index that differs from the first by 0.05 or less.
13. A golf ball comprising:
a pre-formed selectively-weighted inner core insert comprised of a hub having a specific gravity of greater than 1.2 and a plurality of outer elements connected to the hub and having a specific gravity of less than 0.9;
an outer core molded about the insert to form a sphere having an outer surface; and
a cover disposed around the outer core, the cover having an outer dimpled surface;
wherein the outer core and cover are optically transparent or translucent.
14. The golf ball of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the non-spherical inner core insert or the outer core comprises a partially- or fully-neutralized ionomer.
15. The golf ball of claim 13 , wherein the cover comprises a thermosetting polyurethane or polyurea.
16. A golf ball comprising:
a pre-formed selectively-weighted inner core insert comprised of a hub having a specific gravity of less than 0.9 and a plurality of outer elements connected to the hub and having a specific gravity of greater than 1.2;
an outer core molded about the insert to form a sphere having an outer surface; and
a cover disposed around the outer core, the cover having an outer dimpled surface;
wherein the outer core and cover are optically transparent or translucent and the outer core has a first refractive index and the cover has a second refractive index that differs from the first by at least 0.01.
17. The golf ball of claim 16 , wherein at least one of the non-spherical inner core insert or the outer core comprises a partially- or fully-neutralized ionomer.
18. The golf ball of claim 16 , wherein the cover comprises a thermosetting polyurethane or polyurea.