US 5,306,760 · Granted 1994-04-26
The Cheap Ingredient That Made Better Golf Balls
A golf ball maker discovered that adding cheap fatty acid salts (basically waxy compounds) to the rubber cover formula made the balls bounce just as well or better while actually being softer to hit — and cost way less to manufacture. It's like finding out you can swap expensive ingredients in a recipe for cheaper ones and still get the same great results.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers golf ball cover compositions that contain more than 10 parts per hundred of fatty acid salts (like zinc stearate, calcium oleate, or similar compounds) mixed into ionomer resin formulations. What's protected here is the specific chemical recipe and the discovery that you can load these cheaper fatty acid salts into the cover material without losing bounce or making it too hard — in fact, it often stays softer.
Why it matters
This patent matters because it solved a real manufacturing cost problem: ionomer resins used in golf ball covers are expensive, and any way to reduce production costs without sacrificing performance gives a company a competitive edge. By proving that cheap fatty acid salts could be added at high levels while maintaining or improving the ball's bounce and feel, Lisco found a way to lower manufacturing costs significantly while keeping the final product competitive.
Real-world use
Every time a golfer buys a mid-range golf ball that feels softer off the club face yet still travels the same distance as premium models, they're likely experiencing the result of this cost-cutting chemistry at work.
Original USPTO abstract
The present invention relates to improved cover compositions for golf ball construction. In this regard, it has been found that if high levels (i.e. greater than 10 pph resin) of fatty acid salts (i.e. metal stearates, metal oleates, metal palmitates, metal pelargonates, metal laurates, etc.) are added to various ionomer resin formulations utilized in golf ball cover construction, the covers produced thereby exhibit similar or improved coefficient of restitution (C.O.R.) values combined with similar or reduced hardness (i.e. an increase in softness) properties. Moreover, since the fatty acid salts are significantly cheaper than the ionomer resins and the discovery that fatty acid salts can be added at relatively high levels without detracting, and many instances enhancing the physical properties of the overall formulations, the addition of high levels of the fatty acid salts presents significant cost savings in the production of golf balls.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,306,760
- Filing date
- 1992-07-01
- Grant date
- 1994-04-26
- Assignee
- Lisco, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- SULLIVAN; MICHAEL J.
- CPC class
- C08K5/098
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