THE Royal and Ancient Golf Club has written to me and my fellow equipment makers asking for our opinions on possible rules that could be imposed on club head sizes and shaft lengths.

The R and A concern is that clubhead sizes are getting bigger and this might be making clubs just too powerful!

It also thinks it might be time to bring in a maximum length for clubs, except putters, to combat the same problem.

And I'm with them. They are just trying to protect the spectacle of the game. Call me old fashioned, but I thought the game was a lot more entertaining when the likes of Bobby Locke would take a driver, three-wood and a wedge to reach a par-five and then putt for a birdie.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Tiger Woods, but the game has lost a little of its appeal now stars can reach the green with a driver and an eight-iron, leaving a generous two putts for the same birdie chance.

The progress of power golf has been relentless. Lighter shafts now make the club easier to swing and longer shafts produce a bigger arc.

While this has been good for club players and high handicappers, allowing them to enjoy their game more, it is causing concern at the other end of the sport where it has enabled top players to come in with scores which are, frankly, ridiculous. Not so many years ago, a club professional shooting level par in a tournament would earn some money. Now he would not get anywhere near.

The scratch professional player is not good enough to earn a living now. He would have to be off plus something to do anything in the game.

When the Tamsel Tour came to my club, Frodsham, last year the course record was broken twice in one day.The pros just made mincemeat of the course and it's quite a new layout, built to modern standards-That illustrates how fast the developments have been.

This new technology has given everyone the chance to hit further. Even Jack Nicklaus, now in semiretirement, says he is hitting the ball further than ever.

In fact it was Nicklaus who back in the 1980s was calling for the design of a restricted golf ball, one that would not go so far.

Technical development in itself is a good thing. You must always be doing new things and in golf it is good for retailing golfers are now paying £400-500 for top drivers but it's not good for the game.

Golf is in danger of becoming a putting competition at the top level and I believe that if all ball and club specifications were removed then, perhaps in two years, the world's best players would be hitting 100 yards further than today. I would say there are materials available now to produce that result.

The purists will welcome these moves by the R & A as the spectacle of golf is a thing to protect. I think it is just surprising they have waited so long.

Graham was speaking to Harold Brough.