Fortunately (and unfortunately), even the new premium €840 XR-03 driver still needs a human touch. Philip Reid looks at the latest designs by manufacturers hoping to convince the humble golf ball to go further and straighter.

Ah, it's the same old story. Longer stretch in the evenings, a touch of the sun's warmth on your back, and, for many, after a winter spent with golf clubs locked away in hibernation, the urge is back to get to the first tee and hit the ball longer and straighter than ever before.

Just as people start to flock back to the course, though, so too are they high-tailing it to the golf shops in pursuit of that ellusive extra something that will help them in their quest of, maybe not perfection, but at least the extra distance they seek.

And, like all new resolutions, an opportunity too to cut some shots off the handicap. As usual, the golf equipment manufacturers are doing their bit to help such aspirations.

This year, the drivers arriving into shops are bigger than ever, the balls reputedly go further than ever, and the putters have more feel than ever. If it was down to equipment alone, the task of getting the ball into the hole in fewer shots has been made easier - but, thankfully, golf is not as easy as that and, regardless of how much equipment has advanced, the main requisite is still on skill.

Nevertheless, the research and development people at the various golf equipment manufacturers have been busy and, for those with the "grip it, rip it" philosophy, which is standing on the first tee and hitting it as hard and as far as you can, the advent of ever-bigger drivers shows no sign of stopping.

The hottest piece of new equipment is TaylorMade's latest driver, the XR-03, which is a massive 410 cubic centimetres.

An indication of how big that is can be gauged from the fact that original Callaway Big Bertha was 190cc. The trend of the new super-driver have developed so fast that the United States Golf Association are considering introducing a proposed limit of 470cc on the size of a driver's clubhead while the Royal & Ancient - who govern golf outside of North America - is also considering similar restrictions.

INDEED, the R&A's secretary Peter Dawson is constantly monitoring the situation and, in recent years, has been more understanding of golf manufacturers' new products than their counterparts in the USGA. "What we are seeing now is actually increasing forgiveness as opposed to increasing length. Whether that increasing forgiveness is going to be tapped into by the best players we'll have to see."

However, he added that the "technological changes we are seeing now are no greater than the change from hickory shafts to steel shafts, or feathery balls to gutty balls."

While legendary players like Jack Nicklaus have been vocal in opposing equipment development, not all professional players feel the same way.

Bernard Gallacher, the former European Ryder Cup captain, is not one who subscribes to limiting club or ball development. In Dublin recently to launch Callaway's new custom-fitting service, he remarked: "I've worked as a professional at Wentworth and I can tell you that 99 per cent of club golfers don't think they hit it too far.

"In fact, I believe that better equipment is bringing more people into the game. In my own game, I am probably hitting the ball 20 yards further than I was 10 years ago - but, rather than limiting development, I believe the answer is in toughening up the courses."

That view is very similar to the one put forward by Tom Stites of Nike, the designer who developed the new driver that Tiger Woods is now using. "My personal view is that as long as the human body has to impart the energy to the golf swing, and as long as the human body has to get the head back to contact, then it is going to be an extremely hard game and there won't be many golf courses that will be challenged.

"There are some things that might threaten the game, but we are still dealing with the laws of physics and they govern everything. There is only so much one can do with materials. So that's going to be more self-limiting than anything the R&A or USGA could do." Certainly, the impression of sales reps of golf manufacturers in Ireland appears to sustain the view that people here have embraced the new technology. John Caulfield of TaylorMade says their new XR-03 driver - retailing at €840 - has "really taken off," which is a sign Irish punters aren't afraid to invest in the newest equipment while admitting the "bread and butter" R300 series is still the real core of sales.

"The next generation of golfer, those who I would call are in the 30-something bracket, are really well informed. We tend to use club counts on the US Tour and the European Tour as one of our marketing tools and we've discovered that really informed players are aware of things like TaylorMade have led the driver count over half a dozen times this year on both the US and European Tour, or that we pipped Cleveland in the iron count at the Players' Championship in Sawgrass," added Caulfield.

Keith Bardon of Titleist believes that the Irish golf consumer is "absolutely the most knowledgeable in Europe. It's a mature market and they know what they want. I find them insatiable for information. The Irish public are so aware of what's good and what's not, and it reflects very well on the golfing public here."