Golf equipment formed from amine-adduct modified polyurea compositions

1. A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein at least a portion of the golf ball is formed from a composition comprising:

a prepolymer comprising an isocyanate and at least one of an amine-terminated component or a hydroxy-terminated component; and

a curing agent comprising an adduct formed from the reaction product of an amine and a silicone having at least one end group comprising oxirane functionality.

2. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the silicone has oxirane functional end groups.

3. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the composition has a gel time of about 45 seconds or greater.

4. The golf ball of claim 3 , wherein the composition has a gel time of about 60 seconds or greater.

5. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the portion is the cover of the golf ball.

6. The golf ball of claim 5 , wherein the cover comprises an inner cover layer and an outer cover layer, and wherein the outer cover layer comprises the composition.

7. The golf ball of claim 6 , wherein the inner cover layer comprises thermoplastic or thermoset material.

8. The golf ball of claim 6 , wherein the inner cover layer comprises a highly neutralized polymer.

9. A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein the cover is formed from a composition comprising:

a prepolymer comprising urea or urethane linkages and having terminal ends comprising hydroxy groups or amine groups; and

a curing agent comprising an adduct comprising a reaction product formed from an amine and a compound comprising a silicone backbone with oxirane functionality.

10. The golf ball of claim 9 , wherein the silicone backbone comprises dimethyl siloxane, 1,3-bis(3-aminopropyl)tetramethyl-di-siloxane, 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyldimethylsilyl)benzene, or mixtures thereof and.

11. The golf ball of claim 9 , wherein the prepolymer consists of urea linkages.

12. A method of forming a golf ball comprising a core and a cover, comprising the following steps:

providing a core;

providing a precursor formed from a silicone with at least one oxirane functional endcap;

forming an amine adduct by reacting an amine-terminated compound with the precursor, wherein the amine adduct comprises the precursor as the backbone;

forming a prepolymer comprising:

an isocyanate-containing component; and

a hydroxy-terminated component, an amine-terminated component, or a combination thereof;

reacting the amine adduct with the prepolymer to form a material; and

forming the cover from the material.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of providing a precursor comprises reacting a silicone compound with an oxirane functional resin.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the silicone compound is selected from the group consisting of dimethyl siloxane, 1,3-bis(3-aminopropyl)tetramethyl-di-siloxane, 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyldimethylsilyl)benzene, and mixtures thereof.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the oxirane functional resin is selected from the group consisting of 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether, diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, cresyl diglycidyl ether, ethylhexyl glycidyl ether, and mixtures thereof.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising the step of forming a layer disposed about the core, and wherein the step of forming the cover from the material further comprises forming the cover about the layer.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the step of forming the layer comprises providing a thermoplastic material and forming the layer from the thermoplastic material.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the thermoplastic material comprises a highly neutralized polymer.