By Iain Carter BBC Five Live golf correspondent

In the latest of his fortnightly reports from inside the ropes, our man dreams of Mickelson taking on Woods at Wentworth, gives a thumbs-down to plans to extend the Ryder Cup, reveals your responses to the question of big hitters and bemoans golfing bureaucracy.

Tiger Woods might be on a break now but he will play the HSBC World Matchplay at Wentworth in September, and this set me thinking.

Hypothetically, by August Phil Mickelson might hold all four major titles (he has two already) which would surely elevate him to numero uno.

Wouldn't it be great if both were going head to head on the Burma Road?

An insider tells me, given the fact that the tournament is the week before the Ryder Cup, organisers believe this is the best chance yet of getting "Leftie" into the field.

What do you think of the idea of extending the Ryder Cup from three to four days?

It's up for discussion and I can see the commercial attraction of having an extra day's worth of ticket sales.

Ryder format set for discussion

But this idea may well have more to do with the way the new golfing calendar is likely to shape up - and surely the Ryder Cup has to stand firm.

It remains the biggest golfing show on earth. If it ain't broke don't mend it - that's my attitude and I've just heard Nick Faldo saying as much on Five Live.

My in-box has been inundated with comment on the length the golf ball is travelling.

Hugh reckons the fact that Mickelson opted for two drivers at Augusta, a course where the emphasis should be on the short game, shows that professional golf is headed in the wrong direction.

Mickelson's bag at the Masters contained two drivers

Simon in Gloucester wants the size of driver heads to be reduced but Mike Palmer, a teaching pro in the Netherlands, reckons it remains a game of skill.

He says a golfer with ability "will thrash, every day, the poor player with the very latest technology".

Ian in England thinks that players' improved fitness these days is the major factor in improving their golf and believes a television programme with players using old clubs would make for interesting viewing.

Stephen - an Irishman living in Wales - wonders what would happen to his 10 handicap if he used 10-year-old equipment.

For me, the biggest problem with the need to lengthen courses is that, by definition, it lengthens the time a round takes.

At the Masters the first two rounds were taking on average five hours 20 minutes on the newly-extended Augusta layout. It's too long.

John in Scotland wrote to make exactly this point, saying his course is empty on medal days because rounds take too long.

How frustrating it is to hear that two innovative projects aimed at developing golf are currently mired in bureaucracy.

Northwick Park in London offers the chance to play replicas of some of the greatest holes in the game - the 12th and 16th at Augusta and Troon's Postage Stamp to name a few.

But it is aimed at being a much more comprehensive facility with a driving range, short game area, children's adventure golf course and a baseball batting cage, used by 300 people in a single day when it recently opened.

Troon's "Postage Stamp" - brought to the masses by Northwick Park

The project was developed in partnership with Brent Council.

Now there's a row over planning procedures and notice has been served that the cage should be dismantled and an overflow car park should be covered over.

And who's demanding this? Brent Council - apparently because it doesn't like the adventure golf and the fact that it's floodlit.

David Piggins, CEO of Playgolf who developed and runs the project, claims he has the backing of Sport England, the English Golf Union, the English Ladies Golf Union, the Golf Foundation and Baseball/Softball UK.

If Northwick Park loses its appeal against the council's decision, Piggins says he will "chain himself" to the fence in protest.

Someone else trying to bring the game to a new audience is Jaz Athwal, the Bradford-based organiser of the UK Asian Open Golf Society.

He is seeking modest funding for a project aimed at giving inner city children golf lessons and the chance to gain membership of local clubs but is making little progress with Bradford Council.

He appeared on last month's Five Live investigation into whether golf is too elitist and was given an assurance by the English Golf Partnership that he would be consulted as part of its programmes. He is still awaiting a call.

A meeting with the R & A has been promised to Athwal at the Open, and he has asked to send them a business plan ahead of this Hoylake get-together. A reply is awaited.

Brad in South Africa emailed golfing gossip to ask how he might set up a similar project there. He's looking for advice - Jaz and David would be well qualified to let him know many of the pitfalls.

If you'd like to email Iain on a golfing topic, just fill in the form below. He'll answer a pick of them in his next column.

The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide.