"The big boys are meant to play the same game with the same equipment as the rest of us."

Add BBC's Iain Carter to the list wondering about what appears to be a manufacturer-driven bifurcation of the game, something manufacturers have long opposed.

In a column on golf's current "moral maze," he writes:

There is currently a separation between the paid and unpaid sections of the game to prevent us having to bin relatively new purchases.

But this is another of the golden pillars of golf that is supposed to set it apart. The big boys are meant to play the same game with the same equipment as the rest of us.

But separation exists as the groove issue highlights and it goes further with one leading ball manufacturer producing a pro only ball that offers more spin or trajectory depending upon which one you choose.

Nothing new in the pro's getting first crack at using new technology, it happens all the time and usually the intention is for the product to then make its way into the pro shops from which we get our gear.

But these balls are different. There is no intention to go public with them and yet the manufacturer insists their development and introduction to the pro-game is nothing to do with the new groove rules.