A golf ball has a plurality of dimples on a surface thereof. Each dimple has a center portion and an edge portion. The center portion has a bowl shape. The edge portion has a ring shape and is smoothly continuous with the center portion. A cross-sectional shape of the edge portion is a curved line that is convex outward in a radial direction of the golf ball. A sum Vc of volumes of the center portions and a sum Vd of volumes of the dimples satisfy the following mathematical formula: (VdVc)/Vc2.15. A ratio of a number of the dimples, the center portion of each dimple having a circular contour and the edge portion of each dimple having a non-circular contour, to a total number of the dimples, is not less than 50%.

The present invention is directed to a golf ball having a non-planar parting line on its spherical surface. The plurality of dimples located adjacent to the parting line consists of a first portion of dimples, each dimple of the first portion having a wave relief distance of from 0.001 inches and 0.005 inches, and a second portion of dimples, each dimple of the second portion having a wave relief distance of greater than 0.008 inches, where wave relief distance is measured as the shortest distance from the average dimple diameter of the dimple to the parting line.

The present invention is directed to golf balls having surface textures with unique appearances and improved aerodynamic characteristics due, at least in part, to the use of curvilinear dimple plan shapes. In particular, the present invention is directed to a golf ball that includes at least a portion of its dimples having a plan shape defined by a number of convex or concave arcs that are derived from the vertices of a regular n-sided polygon, for example, an equilateral triangle or square.

The present invention provides a method for arranging dimples on a golf ball surface in which the dimples are arranged in a pattern derived from at least one irregular domain generated from a regular or non-regular polyhedron. The method includes choosing control points of a polyhedron, generating an irregular domain based on those control points, packing the irregular domain with dimples, and tessellating the irregular domain to cover the surface of the golf ball. The control points include the center of a polyhedral face, a vertex of the polyhedron, a midpoint or other point on an edge of the polyhedron and others. The method ensures that the symmetry of the underlying polyhedron is preserved while minimizing or eliminating great circles due to parting lines.

The present invention provides a method for arranging dimples on a golf ball surface in which the dimples are arranged in a pattern derived from at least one irregular domain generated from a regular or non-regular polyhedron. The method includes choosing control points of a polyhedron, generating an irregular domain based on those control points, packing the irregular domain with dimples, and tessellating the irregular domain to cover the surface of the golf ball. The control points include the center of a polyhedral face, a vertex of the polyhedron, a midpoint or other point on an edge of the polyhedron and others. The method ensures that the symmetry of the underlying polyhedron is preserved while minimizing or eliminating great circles due to parting lines.

Golf balls according to the present invention achieve flight symmetry and overall satisfactory flight performance due to a dimple surface volume ratio that is equivalent between opposing hemispheres despite the use of different dimple geometries, different dimple arrangements, and/or different dimple counts on the opposing hemispheres.

The present invention relates to golf balls having improved packing efficiency and aerodynamic characteristics and a high degree of dimple interdigitation. In particular, the present invention relates to a golf ball including at least a portion of dimples having a plan shape defined by low frequency periodic functions having high amplitudes. The present invention is also directed to methods of developing the dimple plan shape geometries, as well as methods of making the finished golf balls with the inventive dimple patterns applied thereto.

The present invention is directed to a golf ball having a non-planar parting line on its spherical surface. The plurality of dimples located adjacent to the parting line consists of a first portion of dimples, each dimple of the first portion having a wave relief distance of from 0.001 inches and 0.005 inches, and a second portion of dimples, each dimple of the second portion having a wave relief distance of greater than 0.008 inches, where wave relief distance is measured as the shortest distance from the average dimple diameter of the dimple to the parting line.

Golf balls according to the present invention achieve flight symmetry and overall satisfactory flight performance due to a dimple surface volume ratio that is equivalent between opposing hemispheres despite the use of different dimple geometries, different dimple arrangements, and/or different dimple counts on the opposing hemispheres.

The present invention is directed to golf balls having improved aesthetics and desirable aerodynamic properties due, at least in part, to the novel shape of the dimples on the surface thereof. In particular, the present invention is directed to a golf ball that includes at least a portion of its dimples having a shape obtained from the intersection of a toroid and a sphere. The resulting curve of intersection represents the dimple perimeter and the intersecting portion of the surface of the toroid represents the dimple surface shape.