IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,708,818
Granted Patent B2
US 12,708,818 · App. 18/238,776 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Coating free, finished golf ball with ionomer cover

Inventors: Michael Michalewich (Norton, MA); Manjari Kuntimaddi (Raynham, MA); Derek Ladd (Acushnet, MA); Courtney N. Engle (Fall River, MA); Michael R. Madson (Easton, MA); Shawn Ricci (New Bedford, MA)
Assignee: Acushnet Company
A63B37/0024A63B37/002A63B37/00222A63B37/00376A63B37/0064A63B37/0065
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,708,818
App. No.
18/238,776
Filed
Aug 28, 2023
Granted
Aug 18, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3711
USPC
473/378
Abstract

A coating free, finished golf ball and a method of forming a coating free, finished golf ball are disclosed herein. The golf ball has an outermost surface defined exclusively via the cover. The cover disclosed herein can be formed from an ionomer, in some examples.

Claims (33)

1 . A coating free, finished golf ball comprising:

a core; and

a cover defining an outermost surface of the coating free, finished golf ball, such that the cover is bare, the cover being formed from a composition comprising ionomer and at least one of:

(i) a silicone-based cleaning additive or a siloxane-based cleaning additive; or

(ii) a polydimethylsiloxane based soft segment.

2 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 1 , wherein the composition of the cover further comprises an ultraviolet absorbing additive.

3 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 2 , wherein the ultraviolet absorbing additive is benzotriazole-based.

4 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one marking on the cover.

5 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one marking is integrally molded into the cover.

6 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one marking is integrally molded into the cover via compression molding.

7 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one marking is disposed on a layer of the golf ball positioned radially inward from the cover, and the cover is transparent.

8 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one marking is configured to be printed on the cover after the cover receives a pretreatment.

9 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one marking is formed on the cover via at least one of: hot stamping, UV pad printing, or nitrocellulose ink pad printing.

10 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 1 , wherein the cover has a dimple pattern comprising a plurality of dimples, and an average edge radius among all of the plurality of dimples is 0.010 inches-0.100 inches.

11 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 10 , wherein the average edge radius among all of the plurality of dimples is 0.050 inches-0.070 inches.

12 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 1 , wherein the cover has a dimple pattern comprising a plurality of dimples each having an edge angle of 11.0 degrees-14.0 degrees.

13 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 12 , wherein the edge angle is 12.0 degrees-13.0 degrees.

14 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 1 , wherein the core has a diameter of 1.580 inches-1.620 inches, and the core has a compression of 56-60 DCM.

15 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 1 , wherein the composition of the cover is comprised of ionomer and the silicone-based cleaning additive or the siloxane-based cleaning additive.

16 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 1 , wherein the composition of the cover is comprised of ionomer and the polydimethylsiloxane based soft segment.

17 . A coating free, finished golf ball consisting essentially of:

a core; and

a cover defining an outermost surface of the coating free, finished golf ball such that the cover is bare, the cover being formed from a composition comprising ionomer and a silicone-based cleaning additive or a siloxane-based cleaning additive;

wherein the cover has a dimple pattern comprising a plurality of dimples, and an average edge radius among all of the plurality of dimples is 0.055 inches-0.065 inches, and

the cover includes at least one marking integrally molded thereon.

18 . The coating free, finished golf ball according to claim 17 , wherein the cover has a dimple pattern comprising a plurality of dimples each having an edge angle of 12.0 degrees-13.0 degrees.

19 . A method of forming a coating free, finished golf ball, the method comprising:

providing a golf ball sub-assembly comprising a core;

forming a cover around an outermost surface of the golf ball sub-assembly, the cover being formed from a composition comprising ionomer and at least one of a silicone-based cleaning additive or a siloxane-based cleaning additive; and

forming at least one marking directly on the cover via integrally molding the at least one marking into the cover.

20 . The method according to claim 19 , wherein the cover has a dimple pattern comprising a plurality of dimples, and an average edge radius among all of the plurality of dimples is 0.050 inches-0.070 inches.

21 . The method according to claim 19 , wherein the cover has a dimple pattern comprising a plurality of dimples each having an edge angle of 12.0 degrees-13.0 degrees.

22 . The method according to claim 19 , wherein the at least one of the silicone-based cleaning additive or the siloxane-based cleaning additive comprises 1%-10% of the composition of the cover.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 30, 2026
From: MICHALEWICH, MICHAEL; KUNTIMADDI, MANJARI; LADD, DEREK; ENGLE, COURTNEY N.; MADSON, MICHAEL R.; RICCI, SHAWN
To: ACUSHNET COMPANY
Reel/Frame 074527/0638 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 22, 2025
From: ACUSHNET COMPANY
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 073689/0464 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250073536A1 · Mar 6, 2025
References Cited (30)
US 5334673A · Wu · 1994 [cited by applicant]
US 5484870A · Wu · 1996 [cited by applicant]
US 6331150B1 · Ogg · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6350793B1 · Kennedy, III · 2002 [cited by examiner]
US 6506851B2 · Wu · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 6677401B2 · Boehm et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6756436B2 · Rajagopalan et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6774187B2 · Voorheis et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6835794B2 · Wu et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6982301B1 · Voorheis et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 6992135B2 · Boehm et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 8029388B2 · Nardacci et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8137212B2 · Hebert et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 9849341B2 · Madson et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 10668327B2 · Madson et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 10843045B2 · Shinohara et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20010006914A1 · Ogg · 2001 [cited by examiner]
US 20030158312A1 · Chen · 2003 [cited by examiner]
US 20050176523A1 · Boehm et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20080090678A1 · Kim et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20100056304A1 · Egashira · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20120202620A1 · Ogg et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20140250609A1 · Tutmark · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 20140357425A1 · Coats et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150101946A1 · Koffler · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20180193703A1 · Nardacci · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20210077861A1 · Shinohara et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210252342A1 · Simonutti et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
“Self-cleaning Polyurethane and Polyester Coatings,” Tang et al., University of Western Ontario—Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository; 120 Pages (2013). [cited by applicant]
“Wilson Staff Model R (Raw) Golf Ball,” Tony Covey; webpage <https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/wilson-staff-model-r-raw-golf-ball/>; 16 Pages (Nov. 17, 2020). [cited by applicant]