I have recently covered a Nike patent application and a DuPont patent directed to user-customizable golf balls, generally involving a microwave or oven (and probably a lot of injuries). While this screams “bad idea” to me, the folks at Nike must not agree since this week they had another patent application publish directed to user-customizable golf ball kits. You decide…

The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20120024451 titled “Kit and Method for Customization of Golf Balls,” which describes the invention as:

The present disclosure provides to a kit for customizing and recycling golf balls, and related methods. The kit includes one or more sets of golf ball covers, may include one or more sets of golf ball cores, and may further include a golf ball cover removal device and a golf ball cover application device. A golfer may select a golf ball cover from a set based on a desired play characteristic. For example, the golfer may select a relatively hard cover from a set of golf ball covers having different hardness values. The golfer may then apply the selected golf ball cover to a golf ball core using the golf ball cover application device. The core may be selected from a set of cores in the kit, or the core may be obtained from a recycled golf ball using a golf ball cover removal device.

The application goes on to explain:

SUMMARY

[0011] In one aspect, the invention provides a kit containing components for customizing and recycling a golf ball, the kit comprising: a set of golf ball cores, including at least two golf ball cores; a set of golf ball covers, including at least two golf ball covers; a golf ball cover removal device; and a golf ball cover application device; wherein the each of the golf ball covers in the set of golf ball covers and each of the golf ball cores in the set of golf ball cores are configured such that a finished golf ball is formed by applying a cover around a core through the use of the golf ball cover application device.

[0012] In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a kit containing components for customizing and recycling a golf ball, the kit comprising: a set of golf ball covers, including at least two golf ball covers; wherein the each of the golf ball covers are configured such that a finished golf ball is formed by applying a cover around a golf ball core through the use of a golf ball cover application device.

[0013] Finally, the present disclosure also provides a method of customizing a golf ball, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a set of golf ball covers, the set of golf ball covers including at least two golf ball covers; receiving a golf ball core; selecting a golf ball cover out of the set of golf ball covers, the selection of the golf ball cover being based on a desired golf ball play characteristic associated with golf ball cover layers; applying the selected golf ball cover around the golf ball core so as to create a finished golf ball.

Are you brave enough, and do you have the desire, to try to produce golf balls in your kitchen? Not me. It just seems to me that it should be done in a tightly controlled manufacturing environment with multimillion dollar machinery.

David Dawsey – Keeping an Eye on Golf Ball Technology

PS – click HERE to read more posts about golf ball inventions