| abstract |
The disclosed invention provides novel golf ball compositions which contain non-ionic olefinic copolymers produced by use of metallocene catalysts, wherein the metallocene catalyzed polymers have been functionalized with a post-polymerization reaction. The grafted metallocene catalyzed polymers may be blended with ionomers, non-grafted metallocene catalyzed polymers, or other non-ionomeric polymers. These compositions exhibit improved mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural properties, and can be foamed or unfoamed. Golf balls that employ at least one layer of these compositions in any of the golf ball cover, core, or a mantle situated between the cover and the core provide ball properties and performance similar to and in some cases better than the state of the art ionomer based golf balls. |