Darren Clarke was on his way to the first tee Saturday at the Masters, and he wasn't empty handed.

Clarke was clutching the essentials needed to attack the Augusta National Golf Club during third-round action. In one hand were cigars, used to calm the nerves. In the other were two sleeves of Titleist Pro V1 golf balls, used to tame the course.

The Titleist golf ball has been at the forefront of a recent debate. Since its introduction late last year, scoring records have been under assault.

The Pro V1 was christened at the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas in October. The product was a winner the first time out of the box, when Billy Andrade won the tournament using the Pro V1.

At the Phoenix Open earlier this year, Mark Calcavecchia used the Pro V1 to shoot 256 and set the all-time PGA Tour scoring record. Then it was Joe Durant and the Pro V1 venturing into uncharted territory. Durant's 36-under-par at the Bob Hope Invitational Pro-am was the lowest under-par total ever posted on tour.

The Pro V1 has become one of the top golf stories of the year. An article about the ball even landed on the front page of USA Today.

What's so special about this Titleist?

Phil Mickelson switched to the Pro V1 and noticed this wasn't a normal two-piece ball. Mickelson says the harder you hit the Pro V1, the less it spins.

In other words, the Pro V1 provides the best of both worlds. A pro can whale away with his driver, and the ball rockets down the fairway, gaining distance with an added roll. Meanwhile, on an easy swing around the green, the ball has enough spin to stop quickly.

The first two-piece golf ball, the Spalding Top-Flite, was introduced in the early 1970s. But its harsh feel and lack of spin earned it the nickname ``Top-Rock,'' and tour pros didn't use it.

Thanks to new, softer cover materials, like Surlyn-balata blends, urethane and Elastomer, manufacturers have solved the feel problem once associated with two-piece technology.

There are other hot balls on the market, and all of them feature two-piece construction.

The Nike Tour Accuracy TW (Tiger Woods' initials are on the firmer two-piece Nike product), the Maxfli Revolution and the Strata Tour Ultimate by Spalding also have drawn rave reviews from players. The first time the Strata was used on the PGA Tour, at the Mercedes Championship, Jim Furyk topped the field.

Then there's the Precept MC Lady, the ball made for a woman but strong enough for a man. When word got out about the MC Lady, the ball began flying off the shelves of golf shops around the country.

The MC Lady phenomenon led Precept president Yasuhiko Moteki to place full-page ads in golf publications urging retailers and consumers to ``be patient'' as the company attempted to meet the unexpected demand.

The Pro V1 is a big seller as well. One local retailer did not have any Pro V1s in stock last weekend, and there is a two-page waiting list to purchase the product.

While the new ball has fans, it also has critics. Some say improved ball technology is making the world's great golf courses obsolete.

At a Masters news conference Wednesday , Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson announced the course will be lengthened for next year's tournament. The changes are considered a strike against the new breed of balls and new clubs.

During the conference, Johnson even made Jeff Sluman a poster boy for the hot-ball debate. Sluman admits he has gained about 30 yards off the tee with the Pro V1, although he does give some credit to a new Taylor Made 320 titanium driver.

Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus, one of the longest hitters of his era, also expressed concern about the new golf balls.

``Well, you know, I think that if you are going to continue to let the golf ball do what it's doing, you've got to keep lengthening the golf course. Pretty soon we'll be teeing off from downtown somewhere. It's absurd,'' Nicklaus said during a Masters news conference earlier this week.

After finishing his second round Friday, Gary Player called the new equipment ``illegal.''

Nicklaus and Player have suggested that the U.S. Golf Association apply more stringent testing standards for golf balls, basically cutting back the distance in order to save the integrity of the game.

``It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to allow the golf ball to do what it's doing,'' Nicklaus said.

The USGA has already moved to protect the integrity of the game by banning the Callaway ERC and ERC II drivers. The forged titanium face on the Callaway clubs does not meet the USGA's test for coefficient of restitution, the so-called ``spring effect'' that makes a golf ball's exit speed increase.

The USGA's next step could be refined golf ball testing and new limits.

In the meantime, the Golden Bear has swallowed his pride in order to keep pace.

``I've played about six different balls this year, and this week I'm playing the Titleist because I think you can't give up that yardage,'' Nicklaus said Tuesday. ``I mean, if everybody else is going to do it, you've got to do it, too, if you want to compete.''

Augusta National will be lengthened, new standards for golf balls might be introduced, but will the trend toward hotter golf balls ever end?

On a recent list of golf balls submitted for USGA approval, an interesting name appeared: the Titleist Pro V2.