Greg Norman was in Seattle yesterday, checking on the progress of his customised Boeing 737, a standard, passenger version of which would cost Aer Lingus in the region of $40 million. And he reports that all is well with his comeback plans after an operation on a damaged left shoulder.

Thirteen days after missing the cut in the US Masters last April, Norman was in Vale, Colorado, undergoing revolutionary surgery. By that stage, he had played only three American events with earnings of $25,925 - extremely modest by his prolific standards.

Now, his comeback is scheduled, appropriately, for the Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout at Sherwood CC California, on November 13th to 15th. Last year, he partnered fellow Australian Steve Elkington to ninth place behind the winners, Bruce Lietzke and Scott McCarron.

In the meantime, he is concerned with other matters. Like a jet that will have a range of 6,300 nautical miles, so making a trip around the world possible with just one refuelling stop. It will allow him to monitor progress at the links he is scheduled to design at Dunbeg, Co Clare, en route to similar work in Asia.

Though Norman was the world's eighth leading money winner last year with earnings of $1,949,508, there were fears that he might never play again because of his shoulder problem. "All the speculation was causing a lot of discomfort for the corporations I am involved with," he said.

The Shark went on: "They were on the phone wanting to know what was going on. I had to fly to a couple of them to tell them to their faces that I was not history."

The surgery involved the use of a laser heat probe which shrank the muscles of Norman's left shoulder. A bone spur was removed and a joint reshaped. For four weeks, the shoulder was immobilised. Five months on, it appears that all is well.

During visits to a private golf range, he is hitting a maximum of 135 balls each day though, so far, he has not advanced beyond the five iron. The important thing, however, is that for the first time in 18 months, he is swinging painfree.

"I played for so long in pain without knowing what was causing the pain," said the 43-year-old, who admitted to taking painkillers like sweets. "I was real close to stopping for good."

During his layoff from the game, Norman wasn't idle. He immersed himself in his business, Great White Shark Enterprises, which includes golf-course design, his own clothing range and a turf farm. Then there was the opportunity to spend time with his wife Laura and their children Morgan, who is almost 16, and 13-year-old Gregory.

The only time he suffered withdrawal symptoms from the tournament scene was while watching the telecast of the British Open from windswept Royal Birkdale. "That was the one place I wanted to be," said the 1986 and 1993 Open champion. I love those conditions and I know that 90 per cent of the guys wipe themselves off the board because they don't want to be there."

Understandably, he hasn't set himself any targets at this stage, knowing that the opening months of the 1999 season should provide a clear guide to his progress. But he seems certain to consolidate his position as the game's leading career-money winner with earnings of $20,621,287 at the beginning of this year.