I enjoyed this in a trivial kind of way but doubtless someone will tell me it's actually an important development. I didn't know that sales are restricted either...! Anyway, enjoy:
One of golf's most obscure and eccentric accessories is getting an update.
After two years of internal development, the U.S. Golf Association this week is announcing a new Stimpmeter, used for measuring green speeds. Unlike the old version, a 36-inch-long aluminum bar painted green, the new model is a 36-inch-long aluminum bar painted dazzling "USGA blue."
The other major new wrinkle is a second hole. Now operators have a choice of two places to position the golf ball before lifting one end of the Stimpmeter and allowing the ball to roll down the unit's V-shaped channel and across the green. The distance the ball travels in feet, arithmetically adjusted in the case of the second hole, is the speed of the green. The fastest greens, such as at major championships, stimp at 12 feet or faster.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324539304578263953206840258.html