Golf balls including at least one modified dimple group are disclosed. The modified dimple group comprises one or more modified dimples forming an axially symmetric pattern about a Correction Area Centroid located on an axis of symmetry at a latitude greater than 0°, where 0° represents the hemispherical pole and 90° represents the equator. The modified dimples can be altered, for example, by changing dimple coverage, dimple diameter, dimple depth, dimple edge angle, dimple volume, dimple cross-sectional shape, and/or dimple plan shape. Optionally, the dimples have a catenary cross-sectional shape and the modified dimples are altered by changing the shape factor and/or chord depth. Such modifications preferably produce a golf ball that flies more consistently regardless of orientation when struck than a corresponding golf ball without such modifications.

Golf ball having a generally spherical surface and comprising a plurality of dimples separated by a land area formed on the ball surface, wherein the plurality of dimples includes at least one non-spherical dimple having a non-axially symmetric plan shape and a defined point of maximum dimple depth, wherein: (i) each dimple cross-section of the non-spherical dimple consists of two arcs, each arc extending from the defined point of maximum dimple depth to a point at the land area of the golf ball; and (ii) every point on the perimeter of the non-spherical dimple is located at a radial angle, θ, about a unit circle, where 0≤θ≤2π, and the edge angle value of the non-spherical dimple at any given point on the perimeter is defined by the solution of an edge angle function f(θ), wherein f(θ) is a non-periodic, continuous, differentiable function.

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.

A golf ball dimple pattern based on a square dipyramid, i.e., two square pyramids connected base-to-base, is disclosed. The dimples are arranged within four substantially identical triangular sections on each of two substantially identical hemispheres of the ball.

Golf balls having a dimple pattern arranged in an icosahedral layout are disclosed. The dimple pattern has 20 substantially identical dimple sections, where each dimple section is defined by a spherical triangle. The dimples in each of the 20 dimple sections have at least three different dimple diameters including a minimum dimple diameter, a maximum dimple diameter, and at least one additional dimple diameter. The resulting dimple pattern has a surface coverage of about 70 percent or less. The reduced surface coverage helps to reduce the flight of the golf balls.

Golf balls including at least one modified dimple group are disclosed. The modified dimple group comprises one or more modified dimples forming an axially symmetric pattern about a Correction Area Centroid located on an axis of symmetry at a latitude greater than 0°, where 0° represents the hemispherical pole and 90° represents the equator. The modified dimples can be altered, for example, by changing dimple coverage, dimple diameter, dimple depth, dimple edge angle, dimple volume, dimple cross-sectional shape, and/or dimple plan shape. Optionally, the dimples have a catenary cross-sectional shape and the modified dimples are altered by changing the shape factor and/or chord depth. Such modifications preferably produce a golf ball that flies more consistently regardless of orientation when struck than a corresponding golf ball without such modifications.

The present disclosure relates to a golf ball, wherein dimples having an extraordinary flight performance by combining the advantages of both circular dimples and polygonal dimples in the related art, in other words, by arranging the combined dimples that give depth to the face of the combined polygon and circle of the same center on the surface of the sphere, the trajectory is bent due to the influence of wind, which is a disadvantage of the conventional polygonal dimples. It is excellent in flight straightness by eliminating the effect, and when flying after hitting, the vertex region, which acts as a small bluff body, rotates and breaks the pressure in advance, causing a quick turbulent transition, and it becomes like an arc of a circular dimple instead of the sides of the general polygonal dimples.

A golf ball 2 includes a core 4, a mid layer 6, a cover 8, and dimples 10. A difference DH in hardness between a surface and a central point of the core 4, a thickness Tm and a hardness Hm of the mid layer 6, a thickness Tc and a hardness Hc of the cover 8, and an amount of compressive deformation Sb meet the following mathematical formulas.

(DH*Hm)/(Hc*Tc)>80

((Sb*Tc)/(Hc* Hm*Tm))*1000>0.75

An area ratio So of dimples 10 and a ratio Rs of a number of the dimples 10 each having a diameter of equal to or greater than 9.60% but equal to or less than 10.37% of a diameter of the golf ball 2 meet the following mathematical formula (3).

Rs≧−2.5*So+273   (3)

A golf ball 2 has a large number of dimples 10 on a surface thereof. The contours of the dimples 10 are non-circular. A standard deviation of areas of the dimples 10 is equal to or less than 1.7 mm.sup.2. A ratio of a total area of the dimples 10 relative to a surface area of a phantom sphere of the golf ball 2 is equal to or greater than 80%. By comparting lines CS obtained by projecting sides of a regular dodecahedron, which is inscribed in the phantom sphere, onto the phantom sphere, a surface of the phantom sphere can be divided into 12 units Ut each of which meets the following mathematical formula (I):
−2≦(Nt/12)−Nu≦2  (I),
where Nt represents the total number of the dimples 10 and Nu represents the number of the dimples 10 on one unit.

The present invention provides a golf ball having an outer surface comprising a plurality of dimples covering greater than 70 percent of the outer surface, wherein at least 20 percent of the dimples incorporate directional surface texturing therein. The directional surface texturing preferably comprises substantially parallel channels or protrusions formed within the dimples.