Golf balls comprising sulfonated or phosphonated ionomers

• US 6,245,862 B1
• Filed: 05/28/1998
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Rajagopalan, Murali
• Primary Examiner(s): Buttner, David J.
• Application Number:
  US09/086,263
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• Field of Search: 473/373, 473/374, 473/378, 473/385, 525/340, 525/344, 525/353, 528/287, 528/290, 528/295, 528/72, 528/71
• US Class Current: 525/340
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0003 Golf balls
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0024 Materials other than ionomers or polyurethane
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0086 Flexural modulus; Bending stiffness
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/08 Copolymers of ethene C08L23/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/02 Organic macromolecular compounds, natural resins, waxes or and bituminous materials
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/08 Homopolymers or copolymers according to C08L7/00 - C08L21/00; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/14 Macromolecular compounds according to C08L59/00 - C08L87/00; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/18 Polyesters or polycarbonates according to C08L67/00 - C08L69/00; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/20 Macromolecular compounds having nitrogen in the main chain according to C08L75/00 - C08L79/00; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 53/00 Compositions of block copolymers containing at least one sequence of a polymer obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 67/025 containing polyether sequences
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 75/04 Polyurethanes
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 77/00 Compositions of polyamides obtained by reactions forming a carboxylic amide link in the main chain of polyhydrazides C08L79/06; of polyamideimides or polyamide acids C08L79/08; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers

Abstract

The present invention relates to a golf ball, comprising a cover, a core and optional intermediate layers, wherein the various ball components are formed from compositions comprising a sulfonated and/or phosphonated ionomer. The sulfonated and/or phosphonated ionomer preferably comprises sulfonated thermoplastic elastomers, sulfonated thermoplastic polymers, sulfonated thermoset polymers and mixtures thereof. The compositions include a blend of about 1 wt. % to about 99 wt. % of at least one sulfonated and/or phosphonated ionomer and about 99 wt. % to about 1 wt. % of at least co-component polymer. The co-component polymer may be a conventional ionomer, a thermoplastic, a thermoplastic elastomer, a thermoset polymer or mixtures thereof.

Claims

1. A golf ball comprising a cover and a core layer, wherein the cover is formed of a composition consisting essentially of at least one ionomer formed from a polymer having moieties selected from the group consisting of sulfonate, phosphonate and mixtures thereof, and wherein the polymer is a thermoplastic polymer and comprises at least one of polyolefins, polycarbonates, polyamides, polyphenylene oxides, imidized, amino group containing polymers, polyether ketones, polysulfones, poly(phenylene sulfide), poly(ether imide), reinforced engineering plastics, poly(N-octadecylacrylamide), poly(octadecyl methacrylate), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(oxymethylene), poly(silazane), poly(fiuran tetracarboxylic acid diimide), poly(acrylonitrile), poly(alkyl)alkylacrylates, polyesters, poly(styrene), poly(α

-methylstyrene), poly(4-dodecylstyrene), poly(4-tetradecylstyrene), acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, high impact polystyrene, a copolymer consisting essentially of a styrene or an α

-alkyl styrene monomer, a vinyloxazoline or a 1-alkyl vinyloxazoline monomer, wherein the alkyl groups range, independently from methyl to decyl inclusive and may be linear or branched, a terpolymer consisting essentially of a styrene or an α

-alkyl stene monomer, an alkyl acrylate or an alkyl alkylacrylate monomer, or a vinyloxazoline or a 1-alkyl vinyloxazoline monomer, wherein the alkyl groups range, independently, from methyl to decyl inclusive and may be linear or branched and the sulfonated thermoplastic polymer contains from about 0.1 mol % to about 30 mol % sulfonate moieties.

2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the ionomer is a reaction product of a metal base and the sulfonated and/or phosphonated polymer and the composition further consists essentially of at least one co-component polymer in a blend with the at least one ionomer.

3. The golf ball of claim 2, wherein the metal base comprises at least one metallic cation selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd, Hg, La, Ti, Zr, V, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, B, Al, Sn, Pb, and mixtures thereof.

4. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein from about 1 mol % to about 90 mol % of the sulfonate and/or phosphonate moieties of the ionomer are present in an ionic form.

5. The golf ball of claim 4, wherein at least about 10 mol % of the sulfonate and/or phosphonate moieties of the ionomer are present in an ionic form.

6. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the sulfonated theremoplastic polymer has a flexural modulus of from about 3,000 psi to about 500,000 psi.

7. The golf ball of claim 6, wherein the sulfonated thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of an olefinic polymer, a polyamide, a polyester, a polymer comprising styrene, a poly(alkyl)alkylacrylate, a polycarbonate, a polyphenylene oxide, a polyether ketone, a polysulfone, a poly(phenylene sulfide), a poly(ether imide), a reinforced engineering plastics comprising an aromatic moiety, and mixtures thereof.

8. The golf ball of claim 2, wherein the co-component is selected from the group consisting of conventional ionomers, non-ionomer thermoplastic elastomers, non-ionomer thermoplastic polymers, non-ionomer thermoset polymers and mixtures thereof.

9. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a block copoly(ester-ester), a block copoly(ester-ether), a block copoly(amide-ester), a block copoly(amide-ether), a block copoly(urethane-ester), a block copoly(urethane-ether), a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising an unsaturated rubber, a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising a functionalized substantially saturated rubber, an unvulcanized thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, a thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, a melt-bondable thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, and mixtures thereof.

10. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic polymer comprises at least one olefinic polymer.

11. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(amide), poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(trimethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl acetate), poly(silane), poly(vinylidene fluoride), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, their copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

12. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic polymer is a polyamide polymer having a flexural modulus of from about 3,000 psi to about 500,000 psi.

13. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the polyamide polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide homopolymers, polyamide copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

14. The golf ball of claim 13, wherein the polyamide homopolymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide 6, polyamide 11, polyamide 12, polyamide 4,6, polyamide 6,6, polyamide 6,9, polyamide 6,10, polyamide 6,12, and mixtures thereof.

15. The golf ball of claim 13, wherein the polyamide copolymer is selcted from the group consisting of polyamide 6/6,6, polyamide 6,6/6,10, polyamide 6/6,T, polyamide 6/6,6/6,10, and mixtures thereof.

16. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of a mono-olefin with from about 1 wt. % to about 50% of at least one comonomer selected from the group consisting of unsaturated mono- or di-carboxylic acids having 3 to 12 carbon atoms and esters thereof, and wherein from about 10% to about 90% of the carboxylic acid moieties are neutralized by a cation.

17. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of ethylene, a softening comonomer present in an amount of from 0 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the polymer and selected from the group consisting of an alkyl acrylate, alkyl methacrylate and mixtures thereof, and an acid present in an amount from about 5 wt. % to about 35 wt. % of the polymer and selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid and mixtures thereof, wherein the acid moiety is neutralized from about 1% to about 90% by at least one said cation.

18. The golf ball of claim 17, wherein the conventional iono-mer comprises a copolymer of ethylene and from about 17 wt. % to about 20 wt. % of methacrylic acid, and wherein from about 35% to about 65% of the carboxylic acid moieties are neutralized by Li, Na, Mg, Zn, K, Ti, Zr, Pt or a mixture thereof.

19. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the thermoset polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(isoprene), poly(butadiene), poly(octenemer), styrene-butadiene rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber, ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, poly(chloroprene), poly(urethane), poly(urea), poly(siloxane), chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer rubber, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer rubber, polysulfide rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, unsaturated poly(ester), phenolic resin, epoxy resin, alkyd resin, allyl resin, furane resin and mixtures thereof.

20. A golf ball comprising a cover, a core layer and at least one intermediate layer interposed between the cover and the core layer wherein the core layer is formed of a composition which comprises at least one ionomer formed from a polymer having moieties selected from the group consisting of sulfonate, phosphonate and mixtures thereof.

21. A golf ball comprising a cover, a core layer and at least one intermediate layer interposed between the cover and the core layer, wherein at least one intermediate layer is formed of a composition which comprises at least one ionomer formed from a polymer having moieties selected from the group consisting of sulfonate, phosphonate, and mixtures thereof.

22. The golf ball of claim 21, wherein the polymer is a thermoplastic polymer comprising at least one of polyolefins, polycarbonates, polyamides, polyphenylene oxides, imidized, amino group containing polymers, polyether ketones, polysulfones, poly(phenylene sulfide), poly(ether imide), reinforced engineering plastics, poly(N-octadecylacrylamide), poly(octadecyl methacrylate), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(oxymethylene), poly(silazane), poly(furan tetracarboxylic acid diimide), poly(acrylonitrile), poly(alkyl)alkylacrylates, polyesters, poly(styrene), poly(α

-methylstyrene), poly(4-dodecylstyrene), poly(4-tetradecylstyrene), acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, high impact polystyrene, a copolymer consisting essentially of a styrene or an α

-alkyl styrene monomer, or a vinyloxazoline or a 1-alkyl vinyloxazoline monomer, wherein the alkyl groups range, independently, from methyl to decyl inclusive and may be linear or branched, a terpolymer consisting essentially of a styrene or an α

-alkyl styrene monomer, an alkyl acrylate or an alkyl alkylacrylate monomer, or a vinyloxazoline or a 1-alkyl vinyloxazoline monomer, wherein the alkyl groups range, independently, from methyl to decyl inclusive and may be linear or branched and the sulfonated thermoplastic polymer contains from about 0.1 mol % to about 30 mol % sulfonate moieties, and blends thereof.

23. The golf ball of claim 21, wherein the ionomer is formed from a thermoplastic elastomer polymer having a flexural modulus of from about 1,000 psi to about 150,000 psi.

24. The golf ball of claim 21, wherein the polymer is a thermoplastic elastomer selected from the group consisting of a block copoly(ester-ester), a block copoly(ester-ether), a block copoly(amide-ester), a block copoly(amide-ether), a block copoly(urethane-ester), a block copoly(urethane-ether), a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising an unsaturated rubber, a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising a functionalized substantially saturated rubber, an unvulcanized thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, a thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, a melt-bondable thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, and mixtures thereof.

25. The golf ball of claim 24, wherein the sulfonated thermoplastic polymer has a flexural modulus of from about 3,000 psi to about 500,000 psi.

26. A golf ball comprising a cover and a core, wherein the cover is formed of a composition consisting essentially of at least one ionomer formed from a polymer having moieties selected from the group consisting of sulfonate, phosphonate and mixtures thereof, with the proviso that the polymer is not a nonpolar sulfonated thermoplastic elastomer or a nonpolar thermoset polymer.

27. The golf ball of claim 26, wherein the ionomer is a reaction product of a metal base and the sulfonated and/or phosphonated polymer.

28. The golf ball of claim 26, wherein from about 1 mol % to about 90 mol % of the sulfonate and/or phosphonate moieties of the ionomer are present in an ionic form.

29. The golf ball of claim 28, wherein at least about 10 mol % of the sulfonate and/or phosphonate moieties of the ionomer are present in an ionic form.

30. The golf ball of claim 26, wherein the polymer is a sulfonated polymer selected from the group consisting of sulfonated thermoplastic elastomers, sulfonated thermoplastic polymers, sulfonated thermoset polymers and mixtures thereof.

31. The golf ball of claim 30, wherein the sulfonated polymer contains from about 0.1 mol % to about 30 mol % sulfonate moieties.

32. The golf ball of claim 30, wherein the sulfonated thermoplastic elastomer has a flexural modulus of from about 1,000 psi to about 150,000 psi.

33. The golf ball of claim 32, wherein the sulfonated thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a block copoly(ester-ester), a block copoly(ester-ether), a block copoly(amide-ester), a block copoly(amide-ether), a block copoly(urethane-ester), a block copoly(urethane-ether), a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising an unsaturated rubber, a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising a functionalized substantially saturated rubber, an unvulcanized thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, a thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, a melt-bondable thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, and mixtures thereof.

34. The golf ball of claim 30, wherein the sulfonated thermoplastic polymer has a flexural modulus of from about 3,000 psi to about 500,000 psi.

35. The golf ball of claim 34, wherein the sulfonated thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of an olefinic polymer, a polyamide, a polyester, a polymer comprising styrene, a poly(alkyl)alkylacrylate, a polycarbonate, a polyphenylene oxide, a polyether ketone, a polysulfone, a poly(phenylene sulfide), a poly(ether imide), a reinforced engineering plastics comprising an aromatic moiety, and mixtures thereof.

36. The golf ball of claim 30, wherein the sulfonated thermoset polymer has a flexural modulus of from about 1,000 psi to about 150,000 psi.

37. The golf ball of claim 36, wherein the sulfonated thermoset polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(isoprene), poly(butadiene), poly(octenemer), styrene-butadiene rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber, ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, poly(chloroprene), poly(urethane), poly(urea), poly(siloxane), chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer rubber, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer rubber, polysulfide rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, unsaturated poly(ester), phenolic resin, epoxy resin, alkyd resin, allyl resin, furane resin and mixtures thereof.

38. The golf ball of claim 26, wherein said composition consists essentially of a blend of from about 99 wt. % to about 1 wt. % of said at least one ionomer formed from a sulfonated and/or phosphonated polymer and from about 1 wt. % to about 99 wt. % of at least one co-component polymer.

39. The golf ball of claim 38, wherein the co-component polymer is selected from the group consisting of conventional ionomers, non-ionomer thermoplastic elastomers, non-ionomer thermoplastic polymers, non-ionomer polar thermoset polymers and mixtures thereof.

40. The golf ball of claim 39, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a block copoly(ester-ester), a block copoly(ester-ether), a block copoly(amide-ester), a block copoly(amide-ether), a block copoly(urethane-ester), a block copoly(urethane-ether), a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising an unsaturated rubber, a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising a functionalized substantially saturated rubber, an unvulcanized thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, a thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, a melt-bondable thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, and mixtures thereof.

41. The golf ball of claim 39, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic polymer comprises at least one olefinic polymer.

42. The golf ball of claim 39, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(amide), poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(trimethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl acetate), poly(silane), poly(vinylidene fluoride), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, their copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

43. The golf ball of claim 39, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic polymer is a polyamide polymer having a flexural modulus of from about 3,000 psi to about 500,000 psi.

44. The golf ball of claim 43, wherein the polyamide polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide homopolymers, polyamide copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

45. The golf ball of claim 44, wherein the polyamide nomopolymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide 6, polyamide 11, polyamide 12, polyamide 4,6, polyamide 6,6, polyamide 6,9, polyamide 6,10, polyamide 6,12, and mixtures thereof.

46. The golf ball of claim 44, wherein the polyamide copolymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide 6/6,6, polyamide 6,6/6,10, polyamide 6/6,T, polyamide 6/6,6/6,10, and mixtures thereof.

47. The golf ball of claim 39, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of a mono-olefin with from about 1 wt. % to about 50% of at least one comonomer selected from the group consisting of unsaturated mono- or di-carboxylic acids having 3 to 12 carbon atoms and esters thereof, and wherein from about 10% to about 90% of the carboxylic acid moieties are neutralized by a cation.

48. The golf ball of claim 47, wherein the cation is selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd, Hg, La, Ti, Zr, V, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, B, Al, Sn, Pb, and mixtures thereof.

49. The golf ball of claim 47, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of ethylene, a softening comonomer present in an amount of from 0 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the polymer and selected from the group consisting of an alkyl acrylate, alkyl methacrylate and mixtures thereof, and an acid present in an amount from about 5 wt. % to about 35 wt. % of the polymer and selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid and mixtures thereof, wherein the acid moiety is neutralized from about 1% to about 90% by at least one said cation.

50. The golf ball of claim 49, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of ethylene and from about 17 wt. % to about 20 wt. % of methacrylic acid, and wherein from about 35% to about 65% of the carboxylic acid moieties are neutralized by Li, Na, Mg, Zn, K, Ti, Zr, Pt or a mixture thereof.

51. The golf ball of claim 39, wherein the non-ionomer polar thermoset polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(chloroprene), poly(urethane), poly(urea), poly(siloxane), chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer rubber, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer rubber, polysulfide rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, unsaturated poly(ester), phenolic resin, epoxy resin, alkyd resin, allyl resin, furane resin and mixtures thereof.

52. A golf ball comprising a cover and a core, wherein the cover is formed of a composition comprising a polymeric component, wherein the polymeric component consists essentially of at least one sulfonated ionomer formed from a sulfonated polar thermoplastic elastomer.

53. The golf ball of claim 52, wherein the ionomer is a reaction product of a metal base and the sulfonated polar thermoplastic elastomer.

54. The golf ball of claim 53, wherein the metal base comprises at least one metallic cation selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd, Hg, La, Ti, Zr, V, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, B, Al, Sn, Pb, and mixtures thereof.

55. The golf ball of claim 52, wherein from about 1 mol % to about 90 mol % of the sulfonate moieties of the sulfonated ionomer are present in an ionic form.

56. The golf ball of claim 55, wherein at least about 10 mol % of the sulfonate moieties of the sulfonated ionomer are present in an ionic form.

57. The golf ball of claim 52, wherein the sulfonated ionomer contains from about 0.1 mol % to about 30 mol % sulfonate moieties.

58. The golf ball of claim 52, wherein the sulfonated polar thermoplastic elastomer has a flexural modulus of from about 1,000 psi to about 150,000 psi.

59. The golf ball of claim 58, wherein the sulfonated polar thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a block copoly(ester-ester), a block copoly(ester-ether), a block copoly(amide-ester), a block copoly(amide-ether), a block copoly(urethane-ester), a block copoly(urethane-ether), a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising a functionalized substantially saturated rubber, a thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the elastomer is not vulcanized and the thermoplastic comprises polyvinylchloride, a halogenated polyolefin comprising propylene and mixtures thereof, a melt-bondable thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, and mixtures thereof.

60. A golf ball comprising a cover and a core, wherein the cover is formed of a composition comprising polymeric components, wherein said polymeric components consist essentially of a blend of from about 1 wt. % to about 99 wt. % of at least one ionomer formed from a sulfonated polar thermoplastic elastomer and from about 99 wt. % to about 1 wt. % of at least one co-component polymer.

61. The golf ball of claim 60, wherein the co-component polymer is selected from the group consisting of conventional ionomers, non-ionomer thermoplastic elastomers, non-ionomer thermoplastic polymers, non-ionomer polar thermoset polymers and mixtures thereof.

62. The golf ball of claim 61, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a block copoly(ester-ester), a block copoly(ester-ether), a block copoly(amide-ester), a block copoly(amide-ether), a block copoly(urethane-ester), a block copoly(urethane-ether), a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising an unsaturated rubber, a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising a functionalized substantially saturated rubber, an unvulcanized thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, a thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, a melt-bondable thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, and mixtures thereof.

63. The golf ball of claim 61, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic polymer comprises at least one olefinic polymer.

64. The golf ball of claim 61, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(amide), poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(trimethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl acetate), poly(silane), poly(vinylidene fluoride), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, their copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

65. The golf ball of claim 61, wherein the non-ionomer thermoplastic polymer is a polyamide polymer having a flexural modulus of from about 3,000 psi to about 500,000 psi.

66. The golf ball of claim 65, wherein the polyamide polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide homopolymers, polyamide copolymers, and mixtures thereof.

67. The golf ball of claim 66, wherein the polyamide homopolymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide 6, polyamide 11, polyamide 12, polyamide 4,6, polyamide 6,6, polyamide 6,9, polyamide 6,10, polyamide 6,12, and mixtures thereof.

68. The golf ball of claim 66, wherein the polyamide copolymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamide 6/6,6, polyamide 6,6/6,10, polyamide 6/6,T, polyamide 6/6,6/6,10, and mixtures thereof.

69. The golf ball of claim 61, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of a mono-olefin with from about 1 wt. % to about 50% of at least one comonomer selected from the group consisting of unsaturated mono- or di-carboxylic acids having 3 to 12 carbon atoms and esters thereof, and wherein from about 10% to about 90% of the carboxylic acid moieties are neutralized by a cation.

70. The golf ball of claim 69, wherein the cation is selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd, Hg, La, Ti, Zr, V, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, B, Al, Sn, Pb, and mixtures thereof.

71. The golf ball of claim 69, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of ethylene, a softening comonomer present in an amount of from 0 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the polymer and selected from the group consisting of an alkyl acrylate, alkyl methacrylate and mixtures thereof, and an acid present in an amount from about 5 wt. % to about 35 wt. % of the polymer and selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, mathacrylic acid and mixtures thereof, wherein the acid moiety is neutralized from about 1% to about 90% by at least one said cation.

72. The golf ball of claim 71, wherein the conventional ionomer comprises a copolymer of ethylene and from about 17 wt. % to about 20 wt. % of methacrylic acid, and wherein from about 35% to about 65% of the carboxylic acid moieties are neutralized by Li, Na, Mg, Zn, K, Ti, Zr, Pt or a mixture thereof.

73. The golf ball of claim 61, wherein the non-ionomer polar thermoset polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(chloroprene), poly(urethane), poly(urea), poly(siloxane), chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer rubber, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer rubber, polysulfide rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, unsaturated poly(ester), phenolic resin, epoxy resin, alkyd resin, allyl resin, furane resin and mixtures thereof.

74. A golf ball comprising a cover layer, a core layer and at least one intermediate layer interposed between the cover and the core layer, wherein at least one of said layers is formed of a composition which comprises at least one ionomer formed from a polymer having moieties selected from the group consisting of phosphonate, phosphonate and sulfonate, and mixtures thereof.

75. The golf ball of claim 74, wherein the ionomer is formed from a thermoplastic elastomer polymer having a flexural modulus of from about 1,000 psi to about 150,000 psi.

76. The golf ball of claim 75, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer polymer is selected from the group consisting of a block copoly(ester-ester), a block copoly(ester-ether), a block copoly(amide-ester), a block copoly(amide-ether), a block copoly(urethane-ester), a block copoly(urethane-ether), a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising an unsaturated rubber, a block polystyrene thermoplastic elastomer comprising a functionalized substantially saturated rubber, an unvulcanized thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, a thermoplastic and elastomer blend comprising polypropylene and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer or ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, a melt-bondable thermoplastic and elastomer blend wherein the rubber is dynamically vulcanized, and mixtures thereof.

77. The golf ball of claim 74, wherein the ionomer is formed from a nonpolar thermoset polymer having a flexural modulus of from about 1,000 psi to about 150,000 psi.

78. The golf ball of claim 77, wherein the nonpolar thermoset polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly(isoprene), poly(butadiene), poly(octenemer), styrene-butadiene rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber, ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, and mixtures thereof.