The process of painting golf balls is precise and highly specialized. In addition to shedding light on how competitive and cutthroat the golf business can be, the legal battle that erupted last month between TaylorMade and Callaway Golf revealed just how critical certain processes are when it comes to the manufacture of golf balls. Perhaps the most surprising of those is the importance of paint and how much that material and the way it is applied affects how far and sure balls fly. For example, the slightest bit of pooling in a few of the hundreds of dimples on a given golf ball can cause it to go careening off line and leave a golfer wondering exactly what happened with a shot – and why. And by slightest, we are talking about a microscopic dab of paint, or coating, as some in the business prefer to call it. “Golf balls will not perform properly if the paint is not properly applied.” -- Eric Loper, senior director of golf ball research and development at Callaway For a tour professional, such miscues can sap confidence and cause them ...