Methods for coatings for golf balls, particularly golf balls having thermoplastic polyurethane covers, and the resulting finished balls are provided. The coating is preferably a topcoat comprising a polyurethane composition containing optical brighteners. The topcoat composition preferably comprises a low concentration of optical brighteners. For example, the concentration of optical brightener can be in the range of 0.01 to about 0.20 weight %. The optical brighteners provide the desired brightness to the golf ball without sacrificing color stability. Multi-piece golf balls having inner cores, outer cores, inner covers, and intermediate layers can be made. The finished ball with the topcoat has many advantageous physical and playing performance properties.

Multi-layered golf balls having at least one layer made of a foamed silicone composition are provided. Multi-layered golf balls having at least one layer made of non-foamed silicone elastomer composition also are provided. For example, three-piece, four-piece, and five-piece golf balls containing different core and cover structures can be made. The foamed silicones have good thermal stability and durability without sacrificing resiliency. The non-foamed silicone elastomers have high elongation, tensile strength, chemical/fluid-resistance, and weatherability properties. These compositions can be used to form any layer, for example, core, intermediate, or cover, in the golf ball.

Multi-layered golf balls having at least one layer made from silicone (polysiloxane) elastomers; silicone (polysiloxane) elastomer/polyurethane blends; polycarbonate-polysiloxane blends and copolymers; and polycarbonate-polysiloxane/polyurethane blends are provided. For example, three-piece, four-piece, and five-piece golf balls containing different core and cover structures can be made. The polysiloxane compositions have good thermal stability and durability without sacrificing resiliency. The polysiloxane compositions also have high elongation, tensile strength, chemical/fluid-resistance, and weatherability properties. These compositions can be used to form any layer, for example, core, intermediate, or cover, in the golf ball.

A golf ball comprising: (a) a core; (b) an inner mantle layer; (c) an intermediate mantle layer; (d) an outer mantle layer; and (e) at least one cover layer; wherein the core has a PGA compression of less than 70, and the core/inner mantle layer/intermediate mantle layer combined construct has a PGA compression of at least 30.

A golf ball comprising a core composed of a fully neutralized polymer material is disclosed herein. The golf ball also preferably has multiple mantle layers and a cover.

Golf ball having CoR of at least 0.700 and Atti compression of at least about 50 and comprising layer comprising a mixture of ionomer composition and a plurality of particulates, at least some being surface-treated with alkoxylated siloxanes and/or polyether-modified siloxanes, and selected from titanium dioxide particles, barium sulfate particles, zinc sulfide particles, and/or zinc oxide particulates. At least some particulates may be contacted with compound having the formula: ##STR00001## Compound (I) may be included in amount of 0.01 to 2% by weight based on total weight of portion of plurality being contacted. The plurality may be included in mixture in amount such that the layer has specific gravity of from 0.5 to about 5.0, tensile strength of from about 300 psi to about 50,000 psi, and elongation at break of from about 20% to about 1000%, each being greater than that of the ionomer composition portion of the mixture.

An object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball having improved ball speed or aerodynamic performance on a rainy day or the like by controlling the formulation of the paint film. The present invention provides a golf ball comprising a golf ball body and a paint film covering the golf ball body, wherein a paint film surface of the golf ball has a water contact angle A1 of 70° or more and a water sliding angle B1 of less than 50°. The present invention also provides a golf ball comprising a golf ball body and a paint film covering the golf ball body, wherein when a sheet consisting of a slab formed from a composition constituting a golf ball body surface and a coating film formed by applying a paint constituting the paint film on the slab is prepared, a coating film surface of the sheet has a water contact angle A2 of 90° or more and a water sliding angle B2 of less than 52°.

A golf ball having a cover with a plurality of dimples on the surface thereof is provided with a coat of mutually differing properties on dimple areas of the surface and on land areas between the dimples. The dimple areas are formed with a coat having a low coefficient of friction, do not affect the spin performance when the ball is struck and are not prone to staining. The land areas are formed with a coat having a high coefficient of friction, enabling a lower spin rate to be achieved and thus increasing the distance traveled by the ball, particularly when struck with a middle iron, and also help impart a high spin rate and a good controllability on approach shots.

A golf ball a core, one or more intermediate layers, and one or more cover layers. The core may comprise an inner portion and an outer portion. One or more layers of the golf ball may be formed by the application of ultrasonic welding on two half shells to form. One or more of the layers may be formed by a number of different chemical compositions, and may have varying thicknesses, hardnesses, coefficients of restitution, and PGA compression. The golf ball itself may have varying coefficient of restitution and PGA compression, depending on the layers.

A golf ball for amateur golfers has both an excellent flight and a good, soft feel when hit by the average golfer whose head speed is not very high. The ball has a compressive deformation B when subjected to a final load of 50 kgf from an initial load of 5 kgf that is from 1.30 to 1.80 mm and a compressive deformation C when subjected to a final load of 90 kgf from an initial load of 5 kgf that is from 2.45 to 2.90 mm. The core of the ball has a hardness profile which satisfies the conditions (1) Cs−Cc≥20 and (2) Cs−Cs−3≤5.0, wherein Cs is the Shore C hardness at the core surface, Cs−3 is the Shore C hardness 3 mm inside the core and Cc is the Shore C hardness at the core center.