A low compression, resilient golf ball having a center including a material formed from the conversion reaction of sufficient amounts of polybutadiene, a free radical source, and a cis-to-trans catalyst to convert a portion of cis-isomer to trans-isomer in the polybutadiene, wherein said material has an amount of trans-isomer greater than the amount of trans-isomer present before the conversion reaction, and wherein the reaction product is susbstantially free of antioxidant.