GOUGE: Someone told me the other day that 50 is the new 30. I wasn't sure if he was talking about money (in which case 50 is the new 10), but what I was sure about is that the sentiment has direct application to golf. Because in golf today, 300 is the new 275. For those not getting me, take a look at the tournament stats from Memphis this week (click on the little 'S' beside everybody's name on the leaderboard. That isn't bad, and it probably isn't good, either. It just is, and those who want to roll back the clock and make things go shorter (like rolling the ball back) are missing the point. If the driver has become easy for elite players to hit farther and straighter (and there's no doubt in my mind that it has), you can do two things: Panic (and start talking about rolling the ball back or worse, talk about rolling clubhead size back), or more smartly, change the difficulty of the enterprise. Let me repeat: The defense is the golf course. But here’s what refries my beans, and probably has the Sanhedrin of golf’s ruling bodies more than a little flummoxed. I swing at 95 miles per hour, and that’s 10 miles an hour slower, maybe 15, than Maggert. Why exactly am I 70 yards shorter than he is? I’ll give him 30 or 40 yards, maybe 50, but 70? Now I know why guys like Nick Price really don’t feel like they have a chance anymore. ANSWER ME!

BOMB: OK, you obviously know how to push my buttons. I am so tired of some of the older players whining about technology when it’s the very reason they are still able to play the game at an acceptable level. And since you demanded an answer, here it is, Scooter: I, like everyone else, respect Nick Price. But the man is 49 years old and plays as often as a solar eclipse. He’s not supposed to have a chance anymore. But in 2003 when he played more often, Price, at age 46, won over $2 million and had 10 rounds of 66 or better, including a 62 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. And the year before that he pocketed another $2 million and won Colonial. Then there’s a guy like Kenny Perry who complains about how technology is making him feel “increasingly obsolete.” Excuse me? Dude, since you turned 40 you’ve had five of the six best years of your career, including the two best years of your life. You’ve won two-thirds of your $19 million-plus in career earnings in those five years. We see wins by a 50-year-old Craig Stadler. Peter Jacobsen won Hartford at 49 years old. Jay Haas competing strong at age 50. Think any of that would be possible with persimmon woods and balata-covered balls? Pardon me, but I don’t think so! But I’m right with ya brotha, on the golf course. But here’s the deal: Want to know the three toughest non-major courses on the PGA Tour last year? I’m gonna tell you anyway. Shaugnessy G&CC (Canadian Open), Harbour Town (Heritage) and Westchester (Buick Classic). And they measure 7,010, 6,973 and 6,839 yards, respectively. But hey, I’m all for the debate. Gives us something to talk about.

GOUGE: Terrific examples of the challenge of the game being the province of the golf course, not the rulemakers. Trouble is, as players have improved, we aren't finding ways to challenge them adequately. The good news is that in recent weeks we've seen how course setup and playing conditions still can provide adequate tests on the European Tour, the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. But the driver is too easy to hit, just like it's too easy to get food in this country, too. That's why so many people weigh more than the tour fitness trailer, and it's why so many elite players hit it obscenely far. Obesity is a problem, long drives aren't.

EXTRA HOLES: Just to prove the point about 300 being the new 275: Over 1,000 tee shots hit last week in Memphis traveled more than 300 yards. Jeff Maggert hit 10 of them. … The news that shaftmaker Royal Precision has closed its doors is a little unsettling, considering that of the top half-dozen players in the world, it's got a substantial share of the pie. A Royal Precision shaft is something better players have considered for years, but average players too have benefited from the unique Frequency Matching concept that provides many more matched subflexes than had been seen before. Don't expect this technology to lie around unused for that long. … Have you changed your grips recently? Here's three worth a look: GolfPride's Multi-Compound; Lamkin's Dual Density; and Winn's AI series. It'll be the smartest $100 you've ever spent. Except for getting that new wedge we told you to get last week. 

GOUGE: You want some clue into where the USGA is headed with regard to regulating distance? Go right here and read the report of the Equipment Standards Committee (http://www.usga.org/news/2006/february/es.html). But don't get bogged down in all the puffery. Here's a theory worth pursuing: The USGA is clearly going after grooves, but might that not be a more subtle way to go after distance, too? Talking to Nick Price on the range at the EDS Byron Nelson Classic, and his take is that by returning to less groovy grooves, players are going to start seeking softer, more highly spinning balls for those greenside shots. Ball companies can do a lot of things, but significantly softer compression balls with thicker urethane covers might not be the ideal ball that goes far off the tee. We'll see.

BOMB: No need to wait and see. We already have that answer. No question in my mind the governing body is going after grooves, but if the USGA is after the effect you put forth, it may as well keep things status quo. Distance is the drug of choice on the PGA Tour and the majority of players are addicted. At the Nelson I asked Rodney McDonald, Cleveland's director of tour operations, about ball fitting and whether players think about clubs other than the driver. His response: "Once a guy sees those 15 extra yards off the tee, they learn to live with the occasional pitching wedge they nuke over the green." In short, take away their square grooves and they'll still take their chances with the long ball. For the average chopper, grooves are better than they’ve ever been. And you’re kidding yourself if you think they don’t wear down. Bottom line: If you haven’t bought new wedges in the last 18 months you’re giving up more than that extra stroke your opponent weaseled out of you on the first tee.

The readers of Golf Digest and Golf World seek us out on a daily basis looking for tips on the hottest trends in equipment and what club will take their games from chopperdom to the leader board. Ask, and it shall be given.

Welcome to Bomb and Gouge, GolfDigest.com's blog on all things equipment. E. Michael Johnson (from this point forward, "Bomb") is Golf World's Equipment Editor with an eye on all things tour and what it means for you. Mike Stachura (aka, "Gouge," his nickname even before this blog was created) handles the equipment chores for Golf Digest and actually knows what cis content is and how it relates to TaylorMade's new golf ball. Both are judges for Golf Digest's annual Hot List review of golf equipment.

Want to know the driver that's hot on tour that should be in your bag next month? You'll hear it here first. Want to know that driver that's hot on tour that shouldn't be in your bag next month? We'll tell you that, too. But this isn't a soapbox for us two equipment geeks. This puppy's interactive. That means you talk, too, and we'll listen. (To e-mail us, click on the "Comments" link below.) Odds are we'll both learn something. And we'll all be hitting it 20 yards farther tomorrow, too.

Now about all those hybrids on tour...

BOMB: Isn't Golf Digest talking about Bomb and Gouge these days? Chunk and Slash is your game, isn't it? Regardless, my fellow chopper, did you know that a few weeks ago, the field at the Nationwide Tour’s BMW Classic had a total of 149 hybrids in play and that week in and week out, the total number of hybrids on the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour totals around 100? Four words: It’s. About. Freaking. Time.

I’ve been shouting to anyone that would listen for years that hybrids are the way to go. That if the best players on earth use these bats, what possible reason could there be for chopper resistance? I shake my head when I see a 20-handicapper wielding a 3-iron. They’re like those idiots on "Deal or No Deal" who say “No Deal” to boatloads of money: They really don't want to do it, but they do it anyway. And although hybrids now account for almost 30 percent of all woods sold (up from 2.6 percent in 2001), the fact is that seven out of 10 players still aren’t using these clubs. Guess they just like watching their hearts race and palms sweat because if you don’t have one (or more) of these clubs in your bag right now you’re stupider than dirt.

GOUGE: Don't get me wrong, my high-swing-speed compadre, I dig hybrids. Carry a couple whenever I get the chance, even to the grocery store and Jiffy Lube. But here's the thing. Before you get all jacked up about hybrids as the nectar of the gods, make sure you're not causing yourself other problems.

No. 1: Watch out that you're not messing around with the distance gaps in your set makeup. Just because a hybrid has the same degrees of loft as the iron it might replace, it doesn't mean it's going to hit the club the same distance (Bomb, you of all people should know this—you wrote the story on it). Odds are, truthfully, you'll hit it farther. Certainly, hybrids work better than traditional long irons because the potential exists for the center of gravity to be lower and deeper. That helps the ball launch higher. Most hybrids also are gooder in the moment-of-inertia department so off-center impacts fly a little farther than mishits in a traditional long iron. But if adding a hybrid and subtracting a long iron suddenly means you have a 30-yard gap between your "4-iron" distance and your 5-iron distance, well let me know how that works out for you on the par-3 surrounded by water.
2. Watch out for shaft lengths. A hybrid with a longer shaft may generate more clubhead speed, and then guess where we are again: Ungainly distance gaps.
3. Are hybrids really any better than high lofted fairway woods? Sure, for some tour players they are. But a properly fit 7-wood or 9-wood might be easier to hit a better distance than a hybrid because the bigger head will provide even more stability on off-center hits, improving energy transfer.
4. And, oh by the way, have you looked at a super-game improvement 4-iron lately? Dang soles are nearly an inch wide or more. That's plenty easy to hit, no matter how much of a chopper you are. What's more, you won't have the shaft length issues that might be a problem with hybrids.
5. That all said, get a hybrid for at least the 3-iron slot in your bag and do some comparative testing on that long par-3 or the longish par-four approach shot at the home course. See not only which has the tightest dispersion left to right, but front to back. There's your winner.

For today, anyway.