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White Paper Excerpt—Graphene: Incorporating the World’s Strongest Known Material in Chrome Soft’s Core

By: Vijay Chavan (Callaway's Principal Materials Scientist, Golf Ball R&D)
(Abridged)

Comparison of new 2018 Chrome Soft

Close up: Chrome Soft Dual Soft Fast Core with graphene

Graphene incorporated in the outer core, as shown in [the above image], improves the overall ability of the dual core to withstand high velocity club impact. By enabling us to make the inner core larger and softer, this new graphene based core design reduces driver spin while increasing launch angle, the key to longer distance. In addition, by being able to lower spin on full shots, it enables us to put an even softer urethane cover on the ball to increase green side spin.

To describe this in golfing terms, [the comparison chart] shows the spin profile for our new 2018 Chrome Soft with graphene-infused dual core.

To create the spin profile chart our robot setup conditions ranged from a high speed driver condition (on the left) to a short wedge shot condition (on the right). The plotted lines compare the spin of our new Chrome Soft and the original Chrome Soft to the leading competitor. As seen in this graph, Chrome Soft demonstrates much lower spin on full shots, but within 100 yards the spin increases dramatically where golfers want and need it the most. This benefit is made possible by our graphene technology.

Most properties of the golf ball, such as speed, spin, and durability depend on the performance of its core...Callaway employs a dual core technology to produce better speed and spin control than a solid one-piece core design.

Why Graphene and How Callaway Came to Use It

In a dual core construction, [lower driver spin and higher greenside spin] is typically achieved by designing a larger/softer inner core and a thinner/firmer outer core. However [this can put] extreme stress on the outer core at impact, sometimes beyond the threshold of durability.

As a result, we’ve been constrained on how far we can expand dual core technology... All of this changed back in 2016 when our R&D team started working with a novel material called graphene...that could enhance the durability of dual core.

Rendering of a Graphene || Extremetech.com

Graphene was recently discovered only 13 years ago...Pure graphene is comprised of carbon atoms in 2-dimensional hexagonal arrangement that’s only 1 atom thick! It’s the same foundational carbon material that is the building block in both diamond and graphite.

It’s extremely strong, light weight, stiff, and yet elastic so you stretch it beyond its original length without breaking. [Materials and composites] scientific experts claim graphene to be the strongest material ever discovered...a single layer of graphene across an entire football field [would] weigh less than 1 gram!...in spite of being 200 times stronger than steel, graphene has the ability to elongate 20% more than its original size.

[In initial testing] we were astonished to find a durability improvement of more than 200%! It took months [to learn how to evenly mix it] into our rubber core mixture, but we finally achieved success and the result was an incredible strength improvement in the [Chrome Soft] outer core...We now can design a much larger softer inner core and cover it with a thinner, stronger outer core to achieve the ball performance we want.

The new Chrome Soft and Chrome Soft X golf balls are the first ever to experience the benefits of graphene in a dual core construction. The strength of graphene, and its ability to reinforce the outer core layer, allow us to design golf balls in a unique way. These two balls are unlike anything on the market!

About the Author: Vijay holds a PhD in polymer science from the University of Akron. He developed novel functional rubber and plastic materials during his PhD at Akron. After graduating, he worked in coating industries for 4.5 years. He has been working in golf ball industry since Jan 2016.