BOMB: Well, back to work after our trek out west that included a round of golf in 116-degree heat, witnessing a hot-air balloon crashing to earth near a golf course and seeing what the equipment companies will be submitting for this year’s Golf Digest Hot List (and presenting to consumers for next year). And as I rummaged through a myriad of stuff this morning in playing catch up, I came across an article by Rick Young of Score Golf in Canada that got reaction on the groove rule from Ernie Els, who voiced a much different reaction than did Phil Mickelson, who got in the face of USGA equipment czar Dick Rugge at last week’s Barclays voicing displeasure over the USGA’s handling of the groove rule and the prospect of high-lofted wedges possibly being banned in the future.

Els, however, had no such issue. “I can’t wait for it,” he told Score Golf. “It’s going to be good. It’s going to bring a lot more color to the game, so to speak. I think you’re going to see different shots. Guys who have never played V-grooves will see a change. Ball strikers are going to come to the forefront. You’re also going to have to manage your game differently. You can’t just drive the ball all over the place and hit it out of the rough. Strategy is going to change and golf courses are going to show their teeth a little bit more. It’s definitely going to change the landscape.”

But I gotta tell you, partner, after our visits last week it appears that although the USGA has disallowed some proposed designs from Callaway and Nike, some of the things we saw clearly are designed to mitigate much of what the USGA is trying to accomplish. Add in Tim Finchem’s comments at the AT&T National about potentially easier course setups next year and you have to ask whether it’s even going to have a noticeable impact at all?

GOUGE: Well, as we've heard, the intent of the rule is to return performance out of the rough to that of a traditional V-groove. That might happen, it might not. One manufacturer showed us the difference between their 2009 groove and their 2010 groove, and while you might need an electron microscope to see the differences (four percent less volume, maybe 8-14 percent difference in spin, for example), what actually happens in a PGA Tour event in 2010 is about as easy to predict as, well, Heath Slocum and Y.E. Yang.

What struck me from our visits last week, though, and what we've seen in many instances is what can only be described as burgeoning mass confusion in the marketplace. Let me explain: Almost every manufacturer is introducing new irons in 2010 with grooves that conform to the new standard, whether those irons are generally thought of as being for tour players or not. BUT the wedges that companies are promoting and or rolling out in many instances will have the most aggressive grooves currently allowed—but not allowed for use on the PGA Tour in 2010. (The USGA will allow 2009 groove clubs to be assembled and distributed through the end of 2010. Clubs ruled conforming prior to 2010 and distributed prior to 2011 will be considered conforming to the Rules of Golf until at least 2024.). So consumers will be faced with a mixed marketplace for at least another year, and maybe longer as those old groove clubs linger through the 14-year window in which average players can slowly adopt to the rule.

It had me wondering what happens in the club championship in 2012 when Player A is using a wedge he purchased that summer and Player B is going with one of his stockpiled 2009 groove wedges. Is that fair? Not really. Will it matter? Not really. Does there need to be this kind of confusion for average golfers and retailers for the next 18 months or so? Not really. Why are we here? I haven't a clue.

We all hope for the differences that Ernie Els predicts. I just don't think we're going to see them. One player who's won on the PGA Tour, who spent an entire day testing the 2010 groove vs. the 2009 groove counters with the sentiment: "Either there is no difference, or I'm not good enough to see a difference."

By the way, thanks for not mentioning how I ran out of golf balls by the 9th tee of that round of golf in 114-degree heat. But I didn't mind. When you discover a desert oasis like Emerald Canyon in La Paz County, just the other side of Parker, Ariz., you enjoy the ride, rocky though it might be. Sure, we got the $19.75 blast furnace discount, but when the average daily temperature is 100 degrees and the greens are still in better shape than half the courses in Connecticut this summer, you don't mind the temperature. The fact the course is partnering with the Arizona National FIsh and Wildlife Conservation Office to increase the native razorback sucker and bonytail sucker populations through on-course ponds is a bonus, but it's the infuriating 6,400 yards of exposed red rocks and desert canyons that reminds you that while you might have thought you should have done better, you probably shouldn't have. The wind off the Colorado River and firm turf can make it feel like a British Open played in Hades, and while I wouldn't necessarily recommend walking and carrying your bag in late August, I would recommend you finding Emerald Canyon should you ever find yourself owning a one-way ticket to the middle of nowhere.

If anything, it made us forget about all this grooves nonsense for an hour or two. That alone was worth the price of admission.