Golf ball and thermoplastic material

A golf ball comprising:

• a core;
• a cover layer formed over the core,
• wherein at least one of the core and the cover layer comprises a blend of 1) a copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid, 2) a metallocene-catalyzed alpha-olefin with a softening comonomer, and 3) a fatty acid or salt of a fatty acid,
• wherein the blend is partially to highly neutralized.

A golf ball comprising:

• a core;
• a boundary layer formed over the core;
• and
• a cover formed over the core, the cover composed of a fast chemical reaction polyurethane material formed from reactants comprising diisocyanate and a polyol;
• wherein the core or the boundary layer are composed of a thermoplastic material comprising
• a copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid,
• a metallocene-catalyzed alpha-olefin with a softening comonomer,
• a fatty acid or salt of a fatty acid,
• wherein the thermoplastic material is neutralized from 50% to 100%.

A golf ball comprising:

• a core comprising a polybutadiene mixture;
• a boundary layer formed over the core, the boundary layer composed of a thermoplastic material comprising
• a copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid,
• a metallocene-catalyzed alpha-olefin with a softening comonomer,
• a fatty acid or salt of a fatty acid,
• wherein the thermoplastic material is neutralized from 50% to 100%;
• and
• a cover formed over the core, the cover composed of a fast chemical reaction polyurethane material formed from reactants comprising a diisocyanate and a polyol blend, wherein the fast chemical reaction polyurethane material has a Shore D hardness ranging from 30 to 60 as measured according to ASTM-D2240, and a thickness ranging from 0.010 inch to 0.044 inch.

A golf ball comprising:

• a core composed of a thermoplastic material, the core having a diameter ranging from 1.35 inches to 1.64 inches and having a PGA compression ranging from 50 to 90;
• wherein the thermoplastic material comprises
• a copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid,
• a metallocene-catalyzed alpha-olefin with a softening comonomer, and
• a fatty acid or salt of a fatty acid,
• wherein the thermoplastic material is neutralized from 50% to 100%;
• a boundary layer formed over the core, the boundary layer composed of a thermoplastic material, the boundary layer having a thickness ranging from 0.020 inch to 0.075 inch, the thermoplastic material having a Shore D hardness ranging from 50 to 70 as measured according to ASTM-D2240;
• and
• a cover formed over the boundary layer, the cover composed of a fast chemical reaction aliphatic polyurethane material formed from reactants comprising and a polyurethane prepolymer and a polyol, wherein the polyurethane material has a Shore D hardness ranging from 30 to 60 as measured according to ASTM-D2240, a thickness ranging from 0.015 inch to 0.044 inch, and an aerodynamic surface geometry thereon.

A golf ball comprising:

• a core having a diameter ranging from 1.35 inches to 1.64 inches and having a PGA compression ranging from 50 to 90, the core composed of a thermoplastic material comprising
• copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid,
• an ethylene-butene, and
• a magnesium oleate,
• wherein the thermoplastic material is neutralized from 50% to 100%;
• a boundary layer formed over the core, the boundary layer composed of an ionomer material, the boundary layer having a thickness ranging from 0.020 inch to 0.075 inch, the ionomer material having a Shore D hardness ranging from 50 to 70 as measured according to ASTM-D2240;
• and
• a cover formed over the boundary layer, the cover composed of a fast chemical reaction aliphatic polyurethane material formed from reactants comprising and a polyurethane prepolymer and a polyol, wherein the polyurethane material has a Shore D hardness ranging from 30 to 60 as measured according to ASTM-D2240, a thickness ranging from 0.015 inch to 0.044 inch, and an aerodynamic surface geometry thereon.

A thermoplastic material comprising:

• 30 to 60 parts of a copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid;
• 30 to 60 parts of a metallocene-catalyzed alpha-olefin with a softening comonomer;
• and
• 40 to 70 parts of a fatty acid or salt of a fatty acid;
• wherein the thermoplastic material is partially to highly neutralized.

A thermoplastic material comprising:

• 30 to 60 parts of an ethylene acrylic acid;
• 30 to 60 parts of an ethylene-octene;
• 40 to 70 parts of an oleic acid;
• 5 to 15 parts of magnesium hydroxide
• wherein the thermoplastic material is partially to highly neutralized.

A process for forming a material, the process comprising:

• blending 30 to 60 parts of a copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid with 30 to 60 parts of a metallocene-catalyzed alpha-olefin with a softening comonomer to create a first mixture;
• adding 40 to 70 parts of an oleic acid to the first mixture;
• adding 5 to 15 parts of magnesium hydroxide to the first mixture;
• mixing the oleic acid and magnesium hydroxide into the first mixture to create a second mixture;
• cooling the second mixture;
• extruding the second mixture to neutralize a plurality of acid groups of the second mixture to form a neutralized mixture;
• forming an article from the neutralized mixture.