Golf equipment formed from castable formulations with resiliency comparable to ionomer resins

Abstract

Golf equipment including compositions including castable formulations that have comparable or improved resiliency and coefficient of restitution over that of conventional ionomers when formed into solid spheres. The compositions may be used in any layer of a golf ball including cores, intermediate layers, and covers.

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 formed from the reaction product of an isocyanate-containing component and an isocyanate-reactive component, wherein the isocyanate-containing component is trifunctional and the isocyanate-reactive component comprises a secondary diamine; and   a curing agent comprising 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-bis(sec-butylamino)-dicyclohexylmethane.   
   
   
       2 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the composition consists essentially of linkages having the general formulae: 
     
       
         
         
             
             
         
       
     
     wherein x is the chain length and is about 1 or greater, and wherein R and R 1  are alkyl groups comprising from about 1 to about 20 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, a cyclic group, or mixture thereof. 
   
   
       3 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary diamine has a molecular weight of about 200 to about 3000. 
   
   
       4 . The golf ball of  claim 4 , wherein the secondary diamine has a molecular weight of about 1800 to about 2200. 
   
   
       5 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the isocyanate-containing component comprises about 15 percent to about 25 percent NCO groups. 
   
   
       6 . The golf ball of  claim 5 , wherein the isocyanate-containing component comprises about 20 percent to about 28 percent NCO groups. 
   
   
       7 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the cover comprises the composition. 
   
   
       8 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the composition has a compression of about 170 to 190 atti when formed into a solid sphere. 
   
   
       9 . A golf ball comprising:
 a core;   a layer disposed about the core to create an inner ball; and   a cover cast onto the inner ball, wherein at least a portion of the ball is formed from a composition comprising:
 a prepolymer formed from the reaction product of at least one trifunctional isocyanate-containing component and at least one amine-terminated isocyanate-reactive component, wherein the prepolymer has NCO content of about 10 percent to about 20 percent; and 
 at least one amine-terminated curing agent. 
   
   
   
       10 . The golf ball of  claim 9 , wherein the amine-terminated curing agent comprises 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-bis(sec-butylamino)-dicyclohexylmethane. 
   
   
       11 . The golf ball of  claim 9 , wherein the amine-terminated isocyanate-reactive component comprises a secondary diamine, a secondary triamine, or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       12 . The golf ball of  claim 9 , wherein the at least a portion comprises the cover. 
   
   
       13 . The golf ball of  claim 9 , where the composition has at least one of a compression of about 160 to about 200 atti and a coefficient of restitution of about 0.77 or greater. 
   
   
       14 . The golf ball of  claim 9 , wherein the prepolymer has NCO content of about 12 percent to about 16 percent. 
   
   
       15 . The golf ball of  claim 12 , wherein the amine-terminated curing agent comprises 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-bis(sec-butylamino)-dicyclohexylmethane, and wherein the amine-terminated isocyanate-reactive component comprises a secondary diamine, a secondary triamine, or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       16 . A golf ball comprising:
 a core; and   a cover formed of a castable polyurea material consisting essentially of linkages having the general formulae:   
     
       
         
         
             
             
         
       
     
     wherein x is the chain length and is about 1 or greater, and wherein R and R 1  are alkyl groups comprising from about 1 to about 20 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, a cyclic group, or mixture thereof, and wherein the castable polyurea material comprises:
 a prepolymer formed from at least one trifunctional isocyanate and at least one secondary diamine, secondary triamine, or mixture thereof, wherein the NCO content is about 12 percent to about 16 percent; and 
 a curing agent comprising 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-bis(sec-butylamino)-dicyclohexylmethane, wherein the castable polyurea material has a compression of about 170 to about 190 and a COR of about 0.77 or greater when formed into a solid sphere. 
 
   
   
       17 . The golf ball of  claim 16 , wherein the prepolymer is formed from at least one trifunctional isocyanate and a secondary diamine having a molecular weight of about 1800 to about 2200.