The past decade or so has witnessed a quite remarkable change in the design of various clubs, most notably the driver. Bigger is better, it seems, although some manufacturers - led by Ping - are attempting to buck the trend.

Not only have appearances altered, but the materials used have also undergone radical changes. When will it all end? Not for some time yet, it would appear, as designers not only dabble with newer, bigger oversized clubheads but, indeed, with the type of material used in a club's construction. At the moment, titanium is king. Still, the quest for innovative materials continues apace and one of the most intriguing I've come across is jade - the hard ornamental stone more familiar with use in jewellery - which a couple of enterprising New Zealanders are attempting to make the new king of golf.

Recently, a new club, the "Jolly Green Giant," was launched by them in an attempt to burst into the vastly lucrative worldwide golfing market. They claim that Nephrite Jade, originally a form of asbestos which was heated under intense pressure, is very "fibrous in nature" giving a substance that is "harder than steel with natural absorptive resistance when struck."

In actual fact, the Jolly Green Giant has been designed around a specially constructed 200 and 250 cc Titanium Alloy Head. The claim is that jade is even more forgiving than other clubs and sends the ball "further and straighter" than existing club face materials while also giving better shock absorption.

Whether or not jade has a future in the sport remains to be seen - and until some big manufacturer gets in on the act or a top player decides to use the material there is likely to be some scepticism - but, elsewhere, the main players in club design are involved in making things bigger and better.

The use of titanium, and also aluminium, has allowed manufacturers to develop driver heads into the 280 cc to 300 cc range. Indeed, it is not so long ago that many golfers shook their heads when clubs reached the 240 cc stage. For instance, the clubhead on the Taylor Made Ti Bubble 2 driver is 20 per cent greater than the original model.

Undoubtedly, the oversized heads enable the player to hit the ball further. The hollow construction of a metal wood concentrates the club's weight around the outside of the head and away from the centre of gravity, providing greater stability on mis-hit shots and creates a clubhead with a greater resistance to twisting.

Ping is among those going against the trend of new metals with bigger heads. Their latest ISI Tour fairway woods are made of wood (although an element of perimeter weighting has been incorporated) and they have also stuck with small headed clubs.

So, while the impression has been created that the whole world is rushing to get a giant oversized driver into the golf bag, there is obviously a substantial market for the smaller headed, more traditionally sized, driver too.