Worldcom Classic - The Heritage of GolfEquipment-crazed golfers seek an edge 04/14/01[an error occurred while processing this directive] <BR><FONT SIZE=5>  Equipment-crazed golfers seek an edge  </FONT><p> <P><font size=2><I>Web posted  <FONT SIZE=2>Saturday, April 14, 2001</FONT><BR>  <P></I></font><FONT SIZE=2> </FONT> <P><FONT SIZE=2><B>  By Adam Van Brimmer  </B><BR>  <I><A HREF="http://www.savannahnow.com">Savannah Morning News</a></I>  <P></FONT> <FONT SIZE =3>  HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- Walk into one of the practice areas at Harbour Town Golf Links this week. To your right sits sleek drivers with gleaming, mammoth club faces. To your left stands a representative from an equipment company juggling a trio of the latest golf balls.<P> Throw in revolving stages and shapely models with plastic smiles, and putting greens and driving ranges at every PGA Tour stop could be mistaken for warped car shows. The latest equipment beckons to the most talented in the game, and many don't hesitate to take them for a test drive.<P> And when that drive goes 10 yards or so farther than usual, many can't resist a trade-in.<P> "You have to keep up with the times," PGA Tour pro Carl Paulson says. "You can go play the old stuff and hit it 10 yards shorter, but that puts you at a disadvantage. You don't want to be at a disadvantage out here."<P> Swapping drivers or golf balls, once a sign of desperation or at least frustration, is a necessity in today's game. Equipment makers introduce the proverbial "next best thing" on an annual basis. And today's pros, particularly those not among Generation X like Paulson, say bucking progress only widens golf's generation gap.<P> "Everybody today, all the kids, are hitting it well and hitting it straight," says Mark Calcavecchia, who turns 41 in June. "All the rest of us need all the advantage we can get to get a sniff of keeping up."<P> And he's not talking about pacing the Joneses either -- more like the Tiger Woodses and the rest of the young guns leading the Tour these days. From bubble drivers with lofts that belong in barns to space-age balls wound tighter than air-traffic controllers, the game is changing.<P> No less an authority than Jack Nicklaus said so last week at Augusta.<P> Just this week, Tom Lehman switched drivers. A Taylor Made equipment rep on Wednesday handed Lehman his company's latest hammer, the club head of which sits deeper in relation to the shaft than most clubs. The driver demonstrates just how fast golf technology is changing.<P> "It's the second generation of a club that just came out. Now they already have the second one," Lehman says. "And I was just bombing it. I couldn't lay off it. I just ... I had it go right in the bag."<P> Club technology has been spinning uncontrollably for nearly a decade, since the days when graphite and titanium composites were first introduced. It's so bad the United States Golf Association routinely outlaws clubs it decides do not conform to its standards. Just ask Arnold Palmer about the Big Bertha ERC II.<P> Balls are the latest game-breakers. Titleist and Nike make balls that are not only making golf courses obsolete but driving ranges too. A few Heritage volunteers can testify to that.<P> For years, a break tent has stood behind a 60-foot net at the end of the Harbour Town driving range, more than 320 yards from the tee area. On Wednesday, the thud of golf balls hitting the tent's roof interrupted quite a few lunches.<P> "At first it surprised us," says one long-time tournament volunteer. "Nobody could remember it happening before. And there were many balls right at the end of the range too." <P> Calcavecchia says the new balls add 8 to 10 yards to his shots. The average for the rest of the Tour, meanwhile, is closer to 10 to 15. While he swears by his new dimpled friends, Calcavecchia insists the tech madness has to stop somewhere.<P> "You're talking about hitting it 30 yards further per hole, and the new balls will spin," he says. "It's got to end somewhere. How much better can you make the equipment? What's next? Clubs with heads so big they won't fit in your bag?"<P> Only if it shaves a few more shots off a pro's score. But what about your average weekend muni-course warrior? Will the latest ball automatically add 10 yards to his or her drives? Will a third-generation Taylor Made "Big Dog" eat more than last year's clearance special?<P> Most pros shake their heads or flash telling grins at the question, particularly those who played in Wednesday's pro-am. Calcavecchia, not surprisingly, was a bit more outspoken.<P> "Balls and equipment can help, but you still have to have some talent," he says. "A guy I played with (in the pro-am) had all the latest high-tech stuff. And he stunk."<P> Sports reporter Adam Van Brimmer can be reached at 652-0347.<P>  </FONT>[an error occurred while processing this directive]