Here is a list of the clubs that Rory McIlroy is using:

DRIVER: Titleist 909D2 (8.5°) with Rombax 7V05 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist 906F2 (13°, 18°) with ZCOM Pro95 shafts
IRONS: Titleist Z Muscle Forged (3-9) with Project X shafts
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design (48°), Spin Milled (54°) and Special Grind (60°) with Project X shafts
PUTTER: Scotty Cameron for Titleist Fastback
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

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GOLF Magazine Interview: Rory McIlroy

Swing Sequence: Rory McIlroy

(Photo by Andrew Reddington/Getty Images)

The "Wear in the World" tour, announced with some fanfare at the Adidas Golf headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., this week, will transport Lindsay Knowlton (3 handicap) and Josh Sullivan (1) to golf courses in Death Valley, the tip of South Africa, the southernmost part of Argentina, equatorial Bolivia, and Alice Springs, Australia—the world's hottest golf course, with temperatures reaching 122 degrees—to see if Adidas' various proprietary fabrics can, well, take the heat.

So much of contemporary golf enterprise is devoted to keeping the player absolutely dry and sweat-free during a round. Apparently Adidas willl go to hell and back to prove it. Adidas makes golf clothes with all kinds of high-technology bells and whistles, including the ClimaCool, ClimaLite and ClimaProof fabrics, which use lightweight, breathable CoolMax fibers to keep players cool and dry. The plan is to use different fabric applications for different micro environments; for instance, at super-dry Furnace Creek, in Death Valley, 214 feet below sea level, the players will don ClimaCool, with its mesh ventilation; at Bolivia's LaPaz Golf Club, altitude 10,800 feet, they will wear ClimaLite and FORMOTION, which includes outerwear with almost no friction or restriction; at Walker Bay in South Africa, they will put on ClimaProof, a highly weather-resistant fabric, because that resort presumably has some wind and moisture. And so on.

In addition to their promotional activities, the players will teach golf to locals, mountain bike on Bolivia's "Death Road," and go cage diving with sharks off the coast of South Africa. In case you're interested (and should they survive), they will be blogging about their adventures at wearintheworld.adidasgolf.com and Golf.com, as well as filing Twitter and Facebook updates. -- Woody Hochswender, Contributing Style Editor, GOLF Magazine

Here is a complete list of the clubs that Matt Kuchar is currently using:

DRIVER: Bridgestone J38 Prototype Driver (9.5°) with Matrix Ozik XCON-7 S shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS: Tour Edge Exotics CB2 (16.5°)  with Matrix Ozik XCon-8 S shaft, Callaway Big Bertha Heavenwood (20°) with Aldila NV 95X shaft
IRONS: Bridgestone J33 Airmuscle (3) with Aldila NV 85X shaft, Tour Stage Z101 (4-PW)  with AeroTech SteelFiber i95 shafts
WEDGES: Bridgestone WC (54°, 60°) with True Temper Dynamic Golf S-400 shafts
PUTTER: Rife Barbados
BALL: Bridgestone Tour B330-S

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According to the release, "The two principal defendants, Tain Yu and Tian Zhongyi, will serve four year and three year prison terms, respectively. According to Wan Hui Da, the law firm representing the [U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group], these sentences are considered very severe penalties for intellectual property related crimes in China. The defendants will not appeal the decisions."

The release went on to say that nearly 10,000 pieces of counterfeit golf equipment were seized, including more than 740 assembled golf clubs, 1,500 club heads, 4,700 golf grips, 2,300 shafts, 280 club head covers and assorted golf towels, golf bags and apparel.

The U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group is comprised of several of the worlds' most well-known golf equipment manufacturers, including the Acushnet Company (Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra Golf); Callaway Golf (Callaway, Odyssey, Top-Flite and Ben Hogan); Cleveland Golf/Srixon; Nike Golf; Ping; and TaylorMade (TaylorMade, adidas Golf, Ashworth).

Here is a complete list of the clubs that Lee Westwood is currently using:

DRIVER: Ping G10 (9.0°) with a Aldila PGA Tour Only Prototype XNV6 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Ping i15 (14°) with a UST Mamaya V2 76X shaft, (18.5) with Aldila NV75 X shaft
IRONS: Ping i10 (3-PW) with Ping JZ stiff shafts
WEDGES: Ping Tour W (54°, 58°) with Ping JZ stiff shafts
PUTTER: Ping Redwood Anser
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

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(Photo by Andrew Reddington/Getty Images)

How you would compare and contrast the designs and technologies used in Callaway's wedges with those from other major brands. What makes the Callaway wedges different?
A lot of people copied the wedge designs we developed at Cleveland Golf years ago, like the 588 wedges, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted to do something a little bit different.

When I had the opportunity to get back into club making, and start making wedges for Callaway, I wanted to use the purest form of making irons, and that means forging. I also wanted to use the softest material to give golfers the most feel, and that's 1020 carbon steel. Then, I wanted to have the best forging house in the world, which is in Japan, make the wedges. After putting all those things together, we've been having a great time making irons and wedges here at Callaway.

But what makes our wedges really different from other manufacturers' is the aggressive groove we have developed in conjunction with Phil Mickelson.

Phil always tests a new wedge by hitting 40-yard shots, and he hit that shot pretty hard. The first shot he hit using a a super-aggressive groove we created for him made a white trail of cover material up the face of the club. He looked down and said, "Yep, that's my Mack Daddy groove." We loved that, and so we named our groove the Mack Daddy.

With the new JAWS wedges (above), I wanted to reduce the silhouette of the wedge when you're looking down at address, and I wanted a smaller head. I think that gives golfers a feeling that they can get the leading edge under the ball more easily. We also implemented a very aggressive C-grind in the sole which makes it very versatile.

For the amateur, how would you go about trying and picking a particular sole grind for wedges?
It all depends upon how much you practice and how many different shots you want to be able to hit with your wedge, especially a high-lofted wedge.

If you're the type of player who likes to open the face and hit higher, softer-landing shots, then look for a grind that supplies heel relief but doesn't add too much bounce in the process. Opening the face automatically adds bounce, but some grinds create more than others.

If you don't practice that often, going with the grind that supplies more bounce will help you get out of the sand more easily.

Every wedge needs to have some positive amount bounce so it can slide, rather than dig, through the turf. Remember, you never want to hit a wedge shot using your leading edge, you always want to use the sole as the contact point to the ground.

What is your honest opinion of the upcoming USGA groove rule changes?
I don't think the new groove rules are necessary. Instead of doing something with the grooves, we have always felt, as have Jack Nicklaus and Sandy Tatum (a former President of the USGA), that they should do something with the ball instead. Creating a "tour ball" that spins more would reduce the average driving distances, put a greater emphasis on hitting good shots, and keep historically significant golf courses playable without adding excessive length.

Originally, the USGA gave us exact guidelines about the new grooves, but it didn't want to confine us to making only a V groove. So, in July 2009 we developed a groove that met their specifications and brought it to the USGA for approval. The USGA told us the intent of the rule was to reduce spin, and that while the new groove complied with the rules, it created too much spin. We told them that they gave us a rule, and we followed it. It took us about $300,000 to develop that groove, but the USGA said, "No."

Callaway is always going to design to the N^th degree of performance, otherwise somebody else is going to do it. That's what competition is about. But the USGA changed the rule again anyway. It's as if we're playing a football game and as we're about score a touchdown they moved the goal line and made the field 110 yards.

So we had to go back and develop another new groove, which made us a little bit late in getting the clubs to our tour players.

Look, I don't fault the USGA for what they are trying to do. I don't even fault the management of the USGA, they have a hard job, but I just think changing the ball would have been the best way to go about doing.

Any insight on trying to get as much spin as possible from conforming equipment in 2010?
Because the USGA is allowing all manufacturers to design different condition of competition grooves, you're going to have to look at what the different manufacturers are going to provide. They are all going to be different. It is too early to give any opinion about other companies' condition of competition grooves, but I'm sure looking forward to seeing them.

With our groove, we reduced the area between the grooves, and therefore we had to reduce the capacity of the grooves. The rules create a ratio of the space between the grooves in the capacity of the grooves. Callaway decided to go the route of putting more grooves on the face. Through our studies we learned that the more edges you can put on the ball the more friction and spin you can put on the ball. Hence the name of the new wedge line, JAWS.

What is the reason behind the relatively low swing weight of the X Forged wedges?
The pitching wedge replacements in the X Forged line are D3 swing weight, and the sand wedge and lob wedge options are D4 swing weight. I think that is plenty heavy enough.

If you get too heavy with your wedges, it creates a big difference between them and your irons. As you transition from your irons to your wedges, the swing weight should increase gradually.

As much as I love the X-forged wedges, will there ever be an approach wedge option for the X-22 Tour iron set, as with the X-22 set? As a 12-handicap, I'd like to have an approach/gap wedge with some more forgiveness. Other major brands offer this option in their "tour cavity back" iron sets, and I'd like to see Callaway do the same. Any thoughts?
Callaway is planning to do that on our next set of forged irons, so you are going to have that option in the future. There will be both an A wedge and an S wedge that works with the same finish and feel and design features as the iron set. You're certainly a forward thinker!

Watch the video below to see Roger Cleveland explain more about Callaway's new X Forged JAWS wedges.

The next Ask the Expert interview will feature Titleist putter designer Scotty Cameron. If you want to ask him a question, write it in the Comments area below.

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While there was controversy over Poulter being selected to join the 2008 European Ryder Cup, no one will be surprised if he earns a spot on the team competing at Celtic Manor next October.

Here is a list of the clubs Poulter currently has in his bag:

DRIVER: King Cobra ZL (9.5°) with a Fujikura 6.0 Motore Speeder X shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist 909F2 (13.5°) with a Fujikura Rombax 7X07 shaft, Titleist 906F2 (18°) with a Grafalloy ProLite 35 shaft
HYBRID: Titleist 909H (19°) with an Aldila NV Hybrid 85 X shaft
IRONS: King Cobra Pro CB (4-7), Pro MB (8-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (54°, 60°)
PUTTER: Rife Antigua
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

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(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

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We've got 51 days until the pros tee it up at the Plantation Course at the Kapaula Resort in Hawaii to begin the 2010 campaign. Between now and then, every Monday through Friday, The Shop will bring you a fresh Bag of the Day. And who better to kick off the series than Kevin Streelman, who won $1 million on Friday by capturing the inaugural Kodak Challenge.

Here is a list of the clubs in Streelman's Bag:

DRIVER: Cleveland Hi Bore XLS Monster (8.5°) with Miyazaki Blue Water 72x shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Tour Edge Exotics (14°) with Mitsubishi Diamona Red Board 83X shaft
HYBRID: Adams Idea Pro Black (18°) with Matrix Ozik XCON HM2 shaft
IRONS: Cleveland CG 7 Tour (3-9) with Project X 6.5 shafts
WEDGES: Cleveland 588 (47°, 54°, 60°) with Project X 6.5 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey Two-Ball Blade Lined
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

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(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

DRIVER: Nike Prototype SQ Dymo 380 (9.5°) with Apache Matrix Ozik shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike Sasquatch 2 (13°, 19°) with Fujikura Rombax shafts
IRONS: Nike Victory Red Forged Blades (3-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts
WEDGES: Nike Victory Red Forged (54°, 60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts
PUTTER: Nike Method 001
BALL: Nike ONE Tour

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(Photo by Fred Vuich/SI)