A golf ball having a core of at least one layer is provided on the ball surface with a delustering particle-containing coating layer having an average surface roughness Ra of between 0.5 and 1.0. The golf ball is a matte ball that is free of luster and gloss and moreover can prevent a reduction in the ball spin rate on approach shots.

To provide a golf ball that can prevent considerable decrease in carry distance of a driver shot when it rains and also can more reliably prevent adhesion of dirt, etc. to the surface of the golf ball. The golf ball of the present invention includes a core, a cover that is provided on an outer side of the core and has dimples, and an outermost layer that is formed on an outer side of the cover and made of a material having a contact angle of 90 or more and a dynamic contact angle of 85 or less. The golf ball may have a dynamic friction coefficient of 0.48 or less. The cover may be formed of a material having hardness of 48 or more in terms of Shore D Hardness. The outermost layer may be formed of a urethane coating containing a water repellent additive, as a main component.

A golf ball composed of a core and a cover has a spin rate and a launch angle on approach shots at a head speed (HS) of 20 m/s or 10 m/s that satisfy formulas (1) and (2) below:
Spin W/Spin D0.70(1)
Ang W/Ang D<1.20(2).
Here, Spin D is the spin rate (rpm) under dry conditions, Spin W is the spin rate (rpm) under wet conditions, Ang W is the launch angle () under wet conditions and Ang D is the launch angle () under dry conditions. The golf ball suppresses a decrease in the spin rate on approach shots in rainy weather and thus has an improved controllability, making it especially useful to professional golfers and skilled amateurs who desire a high spin performance around the green.

In a multi-piece solid golf ball made up of, successively, a core, an intermediate layer and a cover having numerous dimples on the surface thereof, the intermediate layer is formed of a resin material and the cover is formed of a urethane resin material, each having a specific respective Shore D hardness. The ball has a specific (intermediate layer thickness)/(core diameter) value and a specific (cover thickness)/(core diameter) value, and the core has a specific deflection. The sphere consisting of the core encased by the intermediate layer has an initial velocity A and the core has an initial velocity B which together satisfy the condition AB0 m/s. This golf ball provides an increased distance and has both a soft feel when played and a high durability to repeated impact.

Multi-layered golf balls containing a dual-core structure are provided. The core structure includes an inner core (center) made from a foam or metal-containing composition, or it has a hollow shell construction, and the outer core layer is made of a thermoplastic composition. Preferably, the thermoplastic composition comprises: a) ethylene acid copolymer, b) plasticizer, and c) cation source. A fatty acid ester such as ethyl oleate is preferably used as the plasticizer. The core assembly preferably has a positive hardness gradient extending across the entire assembly. The core structure and resulting ball have relatively good resiliency at given compressions.

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 ball comprising layer(s) comprised of a mixture of: (a) low molecular weight acid-containing wax(es); (b) non-acid-polymer(s) including at least one low molecular weight non-acid wax such as high density oxidized polyethylene homopolymers; ethylene maleic anhydride copolymers; polypropylene maleic anhydride copolymers; polypropylene homopolymers; ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers; high density oxidized homopolymers; oxidized copolymers; polyethylene micronized waxes; polytetrafluoroethylene micronized waxes; emulsifiable low molecular weight non-acid waxes; non-emulsifiable low molecular weight non-acid waxes; and/or chemically modified low molecular weight non-acid waxes; and (c) organic acid(s) or salt thereof. Molecular weight of each low molecular weight acid-containing wax is about 500 to 7000, or up to 30,000. Interactions between components (a), (b), and (c) advantageously produce layer of ionomeric material having heat stability, processability, and well-retained durability, adhesion, CoR, compression and targeted feel without need for blending high and low molecular weight acid-containing polymer(s).

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.

In a golf ball for professional golfers and skilled amateurs which has a single-layer core, a cover and at least one intermediate layer therebetween, the sphere obtained by encasing the core with the intermediate layer (intermediate layer-encased sphere) and the ball have a surface hardness relationship which satisfies the condition:
(surface hardness of intermediate layer-encased sphere)>(surface hardness of ball).
The core has a diameter of from 35.5 to 39.5 mm and a distinctive hardness profile that satisfies specific conditions. The ball is endowed with both an excellent flight performance and excellent durability to repeated impact.

A rubber composition for golf balls includes (a) a base rubber, (b) a co-crosslinking agent which is an ,-unsaturated carboxylic acid and/or a metal salt thereof, (c) a crosslinking initiator, and (d) a lower alcohol having a molecular weight of less than 200. When the rubber composition is used in a golf ball having a core and a cover of one or more layers encasing the core, by setting the hardness difference in the core interior hardness profile to a large value while maintaining a desired core hardness, low spin properties can be manifested on golf ball shots, enabling the flight performance of the ball to be improved.