The present invention relates to a golf ball comprising a core and a cover covering the core. More particularly, the present invention relates to a golf ball having excellent durability for enduring driving range use while maintaining sufficient flight distance and shot feel.
A solid golf ball is classified roughly into an integrally molded one-piece golf ball; a two-piece golf ball composed of a solid core and a cover containing a resin such as ionomer as a main component, which covers the solid core; and a multi-piece golf ball (three or more piece golf ball) composed of a core and a cover covering the core wherein one or more intermediate layers are provided between the core and the cover, or the core or cover is made of two or more layers.
The one-piece golf ball is generally used as a golf ball for driving ranges and is inferior in flight distance and shot feel in comparison to a golf ball which is used by a golfer on a golf course. The one-piece golf ball does not give the same shot feel as a normal golf ball utilized when playing on a golf course, but does exhibit excellent durability, sufficient to endure repeated hitting, which is a strong requirement for golf balls used on driving ranges.
To the contrary, the two-piece golf ball is exclusively used when playing a round of golf and is designed with the view in mind of enhancing both flight distance and shot feel. The two-piece golf ball, however, may be easily cut when used as a driving range ball because of its extensive use.
It has been proposed to develop a golf ball which can be used for a normal round of golf ball and also has enough durability to endure driving range usage. Such a golf ball would also be advantageous for golfers having little experience in view of its excellent durability. This type of golf ball would also be advantageous from a practical point of view.
As a result of intensive investigations, it has been found that a golf ball having excellent durability, sufficient to ensure use on a driving range while maintaining sufficient flight distance and shot feel can be obtained by composing the core of a vulcanized molded material of a specific rubber composition containing calcium carbonate, forming the cover with a resin composition having a specific flexural modulus and defining the total volume of dimples on the cover within a specific range.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball having excellent durability sufficient to endure extensive use on a driving range while maintaining the flight distance and shot feel utilized in playing a round of golf.
This object as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.