Golf balls with cores or intermediate layers prepared from highly-neutralized ethylene terpolymers and organic acids

A golf ball comprising a core and a cover and optionally at least one intermediate layer positioned between the core and the cover,

• wherein the core or an intermediate layer when present comprises a thermoplastic composition and the thermoplastic composition comprises or is prepared from:
• (a) at least one aliphatic, monofunctional organic acid having 4 to 36 carbon atoms, wherein the longest carbon chain of the acid is optionally substituted with from one to three substituents independently selected from the group consisting of C1 to C8 alkyl groups;
• (b) at least one ethylene acid copolymer consisting essentially of copolymerized comonomers of ethylene, from about 12 to about 25 weight % of copolymerized comonomers of at least one C3 to C8 α,β ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid, and from about 0.5 to about 10 weight % of copolymerized comonomers of at least one C3 to C8 α,β ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid ester, based on the total weight of the ethylene acid copolymer, said at least one ethylene acid copolymer having a melt index from about 200 to about 600 g/10 minutes measured according to ASTM D1238 at 190° C. using a 2160 g weight;
• wherein the combined acid moieties of (a) and (b) are nominally neutralized to a level from about 90% to about 220%;
• and
• wherein the thermoplastic composition when formed into a sphere of 1.50 to 1.68 inches in diameter has a coefficient of restitution equal to or greater than 0.860, said coefficient of resilience being measured by firing the sphere at an initial velocity of 125 feet/second against a steel plate positioned 3 feet from the point where initial velocity is determined and dividing the velocity of rebound from the plate by the initial velocity and has a PGA compression greater than 110.