Caddie's Role: There is a secluded area on the US PGA tour every week that houses about 10 manufacturers' wagons. From TaylorMade to Titliest, all the ones you have heard of, and many others, hitch their wagons on Sunday evening before the circus comes to town.

They prepare themselves for the arrival of clients, keen, inquisitive, technology-hungry golf pros.

They are all looking for the edge. The shaft that keeps their club more online at the moment they strike their ball; a ball which travels further and straighter and is oblivious to the vagaries of the wind when hit; a grip that grips no matter what the weather; a clubhead that fits their eye; an overall equipment package that makes them feel like they can beat everyone else playing that week.

Monday to Wednesday is tinkering time. With the speed of change in golf technology today it's probably worth checking in with the wagons early in the week in case something better has been developed since last week.

If you pop your head in the door of one of these trucks you are likely to see as many as three or four club-repair men grinding and balancing clubs. They have their work aprons on, eye protection covers their identities. A big jar of nuts sits beside a bigger vat of pretzels. The ice-box is loaded with sodas, the sound system is thumping. A relaxed but industrious atmosphere grips these trucks in an effort to get the right clubs in as many delicate hands as possible. So what you have to wait for at home for a week, the pros on tour have literally in five minutes. There is no doubt competition breeds efficiency in this case.

The tour in the States is acutely aware of the value of publicity. If there is a chance a truck is visible with its obvious advertising, a green gauze fence is erected to conceal any unpaid for exposure. This is why the trucks are usually a distance from the range.

At Augusta, they don't even let them on the property. They have to rent space outside the club's grounds and hope their reps can keep a good pace up between the truck and the range, to get their club back in the right hands before they tee off. This calls for liaisons between the repair men and club builders, as they refer to them.

There are as many of these link men as there are makers. These runners bridge the vans to the pros on the range. They pander to the players' every whim, when it comes to equipment they have many. They are worse than fashion queens with current couture.

A new gadget spreads like an epidemic along the range. Forever feeling like they are missing "the edge", if a new grip appears or a new shaft starts glistening in their direction in the morning sun, the slaves to trend are likely to have a closer look.

To many this constant change is a distraction. There is little that replaces sound technique, hard work and persistence. There is no doubt the modern pro spends longer on the range than his predecessor - what he is doing is another question.

You are probably aware there is a survey company which monitors every aspect of each players' equipment before they tee off on Thursday. From grips to the studs in their shoes, no sole is left unturned. The numbers are obviously very important. If the manufacturers don't match their bosses expectations then heads will role. Therefore these equipment teams will jump through hoops to get their products counted on Thursday morning.

If a tour player likes a certain type of putter, there is a good chance the other makers will try to replicate the desired flat-stick to meet that players desires. There is no effort, and certainly no expense, spared when it comes to getting their product in as many players' hands as possible.

You would imagine a tee is a fairly standard little accessory. Wrong. At our last event in Hilton Head I came across a device with a brush to rest your ball on that wouldn't look out of place in orthodontic surgery. A bio-degradable tee that looked like a castle tower showed up. It obviously had some teething problems, it suffered a decapitation after most players that I saw swatted their drivers off it. There is a tray of standard length tees beside the extra long ones. Of course not longer than four inches, in compliance with the rules.

The runners are another sub-culture that has developed around a booming industry. Most of them are based in the mecca of golf technology, Carlsbad, southern California. Many of them have changed career, once aspiring golfers. They have to haul themselves across the vast continent on Sunday nights to the latest tour stop in order to dispense the latest fixes for these techno junkies. By Wednesday night they are heading back to California again to report to their bosses and lead a normal life for the weekend.

I was only referring to the "big club" people. The practice putting green is littered with the off-shoots of the main compartments. The putter gurus seem to be a separate entity. They have their own smaller scale set-ups around the practice green. Any tinkering needed and they trot off to the wagons for club nipping and tucking. By Thursday morning the tour truck stop is vacated, the tour does not let them outstay their welcome. They leave behind the debris of a week's club tinkering.

The equipment is documented by the survey people and the "guinea pig" golfers start creating art out of the science of technology on the golf course. If one of them does something spectacular with a new product the Carlsbad crew are in for a big bonus and enthused to bring out yet another gadget next week.