BOMB:  OK, after two days roaming the range at Winged Foot, talking with tour reps and sticking my head in equipment trailers, I'll tell you one thing you're gonna see this week my chopper friend: high-lofted fairway woods and plenty of them. In fact, by the looks of things, the set makeup of some players might be more fitting for a U.S. Women's Open. Expect to see plenty of the 7- and 9-woods that were built for players this week going into the bag. Heck, Thomas Bjorn even has an 11-wood at the ready. An 11-wood! Who does he think he is, Hilary Lunke or Meg Mallon?

Beyond the snickering, though, these puppies might be just the ticket this week. The course is long in spots and a 2- or 3-iron zipping into the undulating greens aren't gonna get it done. Distance with height is required. And in some of that rough, a fairway wood might get through the salad better than a long iron. It's extreme and unusual, but then again, it is the U.S. Open.

GOUGE: Having tromped through the overgrowth at Winged Foot with you, resident longballer, a high-lofted fairway wood might not be enough. A flask of Agent Orange would be a smarter play, although by the 10th tee, your average Open competitor might simply opt for a different sort of flask instead. Nine times out of 10, high-lofted fairway woods might only be good for the shot to the green after you've chipped out from Winged Foot's multi-layered, precipitation-fortified heavy hay, laced with bluegrass, rye and poa annua.

Truthfully, I wonder about the high-lofted fairway wood approach in meaty rough. That's more surface area to get bogged down in the high grass, especially given the size of today's fairway woods, which in some instances is about the size of what metal drivers were when they first started appearing. Opting for lumber from this sort of cabbage may increase the likelihood of broken wrists, not score-saving pars. Certainly, the CG is going to be lower on a typical 7- or 9-wood vs. a typical 22-degree hybrid (that's why choppers like me should consider fairway woods over hybrids), but I like the compact size of a hybrid in the deep stuff.  Reminds me of an old utility 6-wood Trevino used to try, or one that 1992 U.S. Open one-hit wonder Andy Dillard used at Pebble Beach to much good effect.

Tiger Woods benefits from his workout-regimen-produced raw strength to muscle anything from the deep stuff, but most cannot, and even he has opted for a 5-wood in the bag in place of the 2-iron. As Tiger says, speed is a crucial component and a fairway wood's longer shaft may help slightly in the speed department (another reason why choppers like me should eyeball the high-lofted woods over hybrids). But hitting them out of the rough is not their ideal use. And hybrids serve dual purposes, and their shorter shaft makes for better use around the greens as a chipping back-up plan.

But here's the thing about rough: It's supposed to be a penalty. What's wrong with wedging something out and hitting your 8-iron and holing a 12-footer for par? That's too hard, you say? Well, the solution is not to hit it there in the first place. Getting yourself fit for a driver that goes straight most of the time is crucial. That's why in addition to getting the right driver by the numbers from a launch monitor session, you need to see how the driver performs on a real tee box with a defined fairway. It's not just a game of distance, it's a game of accuracy. I'm not exactly all in with what the tour players, in full Winged Foot panic, are doing with their high-lofted fairway woods, but I'll eat a dozen new balls if the winner of the U.S. Open this week touts his 11-wood as the difference-maker. Jeepers creepers, back when golfers had guts we used to talk about 1- and 2-irons. Now, we're theorizing about 9- and 11-woods. What's next? Chippers?