Golf ball core with soft outer transition volume and negative hardness gradient

1. A golf ball comprising:

a unitary core having a volume, an outer surface, a geometric center, and an outermost transition volume adjacent to the outer surface, the core being formed from a substantially homogenous composition;

an inner cover layer; and

an outer cover layer comprising ionomer, metallocene-catalyzed polymer, polyester, polyamide, non-ionomeric thermoplastic elastomer, copolyether-ester, copolyether-amide, polycarbonate, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, or polystyrene block copolymer;

wherein the outermost transition volume is disposed between the core outer surface and the geometric center, the transition volume has an outer portion congruent with the core outer surface, and comprises the outermost 5% to 40% of the core volume;

wherein the core has an outer diameter of 1.0 to 1.64 inches and the transition volume has an inner portion and the hardness within the transition volume decreases by at least 2 Shore C/mm in a direction away from the inner portion and towards the outer portion;

and wherein both a hardness of the core outer surface and a hardness within the outermost transition volume are less than the hardness of the geometric center to define a negative hardness gradient.

2. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the inner cover layer comprises an ionomeric material.

3. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the transition volume comprises the outermost 10% to 30% of the core volume.

4. The golf ball of claim 3 , wherein the transition volume comprises the outermost 10% to 20% of the core volume.

5. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the transition volume has a thickness of 0.65 mm to 2.5 mm.

6. The golf ball of claim 5 , wherein the transition volume thickness is 0.75 mm to 1.9 mm.

7. The golf ball of claim 6 , wherein the transition volume thickness is 1 mm to 1.5 mm.

8. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the hardness of the core outer surface is 1 Shore C to 10 Shore C lower than the hardness at the geometric center.

9. The golf ball of claim 8 , wherein the hardness of the core outer surface is 1 Shore C to 5 Shore C lower than the hardness at the geometric center.

10. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the transition volume has an inner portion and the hardness within the transition volume decreases by at least 3 Shore C/mm in a direction away from the inner portion and towards the outer portion.

11. The golf ball of claim 10 , wherein the transition volume has an inner portion and the hardness within the transition volume decreases by at least 4 Shore C/mm in a direction away from the inner portion and towards the outer portion.

12. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the geometric center of the core has a hardness of about 60 to 80 Shore C.

13. The golf ball of claim 12 , wherein the core has a hardness at a distance of about 8 mm from the geometric center of about 75 to 77 Shore C, and a hardness at a distance of about 14 mm from the geometric center of about 73 to 75 Shore C.

14. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the outer diameter of the core is 1.3 to 1.62 inches.

15. The golf ball of claim 14 , wherein the outer diameter of the core is 1.4 to 1.6 inches.