As the possessor of a sleeve of five new Callaway golf balls, I was interested to learn that they will be worth £20.00, give or take a penny or two, when launched here at the end of the month. The package is notable for having absolutely no technical information, only the simple message: "Designed with a love for the game."

In fact the new ball, which I acquired on my recent visit to Carlsbad, is known as "Rule 35" and as devotees of the tailend of this column will be aware, there are only 34 Rules of Golf. So what is Rule 35? According to Callaway, Rule 35 ordains that you should "enjoy the game".

Those who crave technical information with their golf balls may be interested to learn that one of the designers of the new pill worked on the wing of the Boeing 777. And that only one member of the design team didn't have a Ph D. Otherwise the customer has to settle for knowing that the ball with the blue marker is for soft feel, while the red marker is for firm feel.

All of which will come as a bitter disappointment to those golfers who crave a diet of balata, surlyn, zylin, titanium, high trajectory, low trajectory, thermonuclear urethanes and dual dimple icosahedron. So, is the Callaway ball wound, two-piece or multilayer? "If we're going to unclutter the messages, there's no use getting into it," comes the reply.

I must confess that the golf-equipment business never fails to amaze me. It seems to be dominated by manufacturers using all sorts of techno-babble to convince prospective customers that they're getting the ultimate in space-age technology. Granted, different balls have different characteristics, while shaft-flex is very important when buying irons or woods.

But for the most part, this technological bumf will make sense only to enlightened, tournament professionals. And they get their equipment for nothing. There's no point in telling high-handicappers to play the golf ball that Tiger Woods plays, because the cover is so soft it would be unlikely to survive more than one hole without developing a generous smile.

As it is, Callaway's research indicates that players get through 4.5 golf balls per round, hence the marketing of their new ball in sleeves of five. I can only conclude that the sampled groups must be playing all their golf on water-dominated holes similar to the seventh (old 16th) at The K Club or the 17th at Sawgrass. The notion of using 4.5 golf balls per round would prompt a minor seizure among the modest practitioners in my neck of the woods.

Apart from that, Callaway clearly have a point. As their chief executive, Chuck Yash, remarked: "Instead of segmenting to a distance ball, or a durability ball or a tour ball, we are offering complete performance." Whether the Irish market will be prepared to accept the product at £4 a throw, however, is an entirely different matter.

"I've got to play good to put my kids through college." US Seniors Tour player Jim Dent, who has a four-year-old daughter and six-month-old twin boys.

It's really quite amusing. Only a few months ago, Americans were drooling over the exemplary fitness of Tiger Woods and David Duval, the world's leading golfers. Now they are wondering if fitness might be seriously over-rated. And their confusion can be attributed directly to Darren Clarke's exploits at La Costa.

According to San Francisco exercise physiologist George McGlynn, golfers can be fooled by their fitness. "It is not a game that requires a lot of fitness," he said. "You need only moderate levels of aerobic energy, just enough so your heartbeat doesn't interfere with muscle movement."

Physical therapist, Troy Huseby, is of similar mind. "Fitness is not the complete answer," he concedes. "I believe it will benefit you in golf but there is a point where the main advantage is psychological. And that's hard to measure." Could it be that Clarke, who is currently competing at Bay Hill, is about to plunge gymnasiums across America into bankruptcy? What a fascinating thought.

From a situation where there was no Women's World Cup of Golf, we could have it on the double this year. While we in Ireland have been quietly congratulating ourselves on capturing the Ladies European Tour (LET) version for Adare Manor on September 15th to 17th, word is that an American version is also being planned for the Far East at the end of the year.

Apparently the problem stems from the LET's failure to get the blessing of their sisters in the LPGA Tour in the US. Now it seems that Ty Votaw, commissioner of the LPGA, is to lend his support to a rival venture, jointly promoted by Mark McCormack's IMG and Burch Riber, executive director of the International Golf Association (IGA).

According to reports from the US, the IGA have sent a letter to the LET requesting that the name "World Cup", which is their registered property, not be used. A likely date for the IMG/IGA World Cup would be some time in November, possibly at the Mines Resort in Malaysia.

This would be richly ironic, given that the Mines is where the old World Cup as we know it, had its final staging last November, when Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara combined to capture the trophy for the US, while Woods was leading individual.

Three years ago, after the sensational victory by Tiger Woods in the US Masters, Fuzzy Zoeller made a decidedly loose comment about fried chicken being on the menu for the champions' dinner the following year. Now, having taken fierce criticism for alleged racism, he has put himself in the spotlight once more, talking about the current breed of all-exempt players.

"They're spoiled," claimed the former US Open and Masters champion. "When I first came on tour we didn't have courtesy cars and we didn't have food in the locker rooms. If you wanted food you went out in the tents like anybody else and got a hot-dog and a Coke and paid for it.

"Range balls weren't supplied in unlimited numbers like today. You had to pay $1.50 for a bag or a bucket of balls. I'll never forget Rod Funseth. He wouldn't hit a practice ball if he had to pay for it. At Milwaukee last year, everyone made fun of Carlos Franco because on the last day he walked to the first tee and hadn't hit a ball. Funseth did that every day. He wouldn't pay the $1.50. You don't forget guys like that."

Zoeller concluded: "It goes back to the old hog-and-pig theory. Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. There are a lot of hogs out there. A lot of hogs. It's a different bunch."

It is typical of a fresh, progressive spirit within the GUI that this year's president, Paddy Murphy, wants to see much more time and money need being invested in the coaching of young players. "When I see what other countries are doing, it makes me all the more determined that we shouldn't be left behind," he said.

Further, forthright comments from the Newlands member are to be found in the GUI's Yearbook 2000, a splendid production which is now in a more compact, A5 format. General secretary, Shay Smith, informs me that copies are available from union headquarters at £5, including P&P.

This Day In Golf History . . . On March 18th, 1952, two women were killed instantly on a golf course in Jacksonville, Florida. While playing together, they were struck simultaneously from behind by the whirring propellor of a US navy fighter plane, which went out of control following engine failure.

Teaser: In a match between A and B, both balls lie in a bunker and B's ball is further from the hole. B plays out of the bunker. A then asks B to rake the bunker in case A's ball rolls backwards into B's footprints if A fails to get out of the bunker. What is the ruling?

Answer: B was entitled to rake the bunker under Exception 2 to Rule 13-4. A incurs no penalty for having asked B to rake the bunker.