In the 1992 Players' Championship at Sawgrass, John Daly and Mark Calcavecchia thought they would take advantage of being first off the tee for the final round. So, they showed even the early-bird spectators two clean pairs of heels, by covering the 6,896-yard stretch in two hours and three minutes.

As it happened, Daly scored 80 and his partner had an 81 to fill 72nd and last places in the championship, respectively. And though Brad Faxon and Bob Estes both had 78s soon afterwards, the two front-runners were fined by the USPGA Tour for allegedly failing to apply themselves properly to the challenge.

Interestingly, Daly had Scott Verplank as his partner when the US finished second to England in the final staging of the World Cup under its old format, at Gulf Harbour, New Zealand in 1998. One of the reasons cited for a change of format was that players were frustrated and unhappy about playing six-hour rounds. Isn't tournament golf fascinating, all the same?

In this context, it is richly ironic that at a time when players endeavoured to complete 18 holes at a reasonably brisk pace in normal circumstances, a round was played at St Andrews in one hour, 20 minutes. That was on June 14th, 1922 when local-born Jock Hutchison, who covered the front nine in 37 strokes, went on to beat trick-shot expert Joe Kirkwood of Australia.

Speed records in golf are still popular, mainly as a means of raising money for charity. But with the globalisation of the game, there has been far greater interest in recent years in golfing feats of endurance.

It struck me as a fascinating challenge when I happened to be in Iceland in 1981 to cover the staging of the European Junior Team Championship in Reykjavik for this newspaper. That was where 24-hour golf in almost constant daylight, could become a perfectly reasonable challenge at the height of summer.

So it came as no real surprise to me 10 years later to learn of a remarkable feat by four British golfers, Simon Gard, Nick Harley and brothers Patrick and Alastair Maxwell. On the 18-hole stretch at Iceland's Akureyri club, which has the most northerly course in the world, they completed 14 rounds in one day, thereby raising £10,000 for charity.

Closer to home, however, an even more remarkable achievement had already been recorded by seven-handicapper Michael Moore on June 25th, 1972. Moore , then 26, set off on foot from the first hole at the Okehampton club in Devon (5,252 yards) at 4.15 a.m. and when failing light forced him to stop at 9.15 p.m., he had played 15 rounds and six holes (276 holes), which covered an estimated 56 miles.

Naturally, others attempted similar feats with the help of an outside agency - like motorcycle ace Sydney Gleave and Ernest Smith, the golf professional at the Davyhulme club in Manchester. On June 12th, 1939, the pair, with the help of an airplane, played five rounds of golf in five different countries - Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, England and Wales, in that order - all on the same day.

As part of a £100 wager, Smith had to play each of the rounds in better than 80. In the event, they started at 3.40 a.m. at Prestwick St Nicholas, which they played in one hour 35 minutes: Smith's score was 70.

Their next course was Bangor GC, Co Down where, starting at 7.15 a.m., Smith took an hour and 30 minutes for a round of 76. Then came Castletown in the Isle of Man. Here, the professional again carded a 76 in an hour and 40 minutes.

The fourth course, where they started at 1.30 p.m., was Blackpool Park GC. This time Smith scored 72 in an hour and 55 minutes. They completed their schedule at Hawarden GC in Wales where, starting at 6 p.m., they slowed to a rather leisurely two hours and 15 minutes for the 18 holes which Smith covered in 72 strokes.

Prompted by this splendid effort, the former England cricketer, Ian Botham, and two companions, played four rounds in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales on the same day. Starting at 4.30 a.m. on June 19th, 1995, Botham, along with Branston professional Gary Price and businessman Tony Wright, played St Margaret's, Anglesey and Dumphries and Galloway, before finishing up at 8.30 p.m. at the Craythorne course, owned by Wright, at Burton-on-Trent.

Against that background, it is clearly difficult to do something noteworthy in terms of holes played on the one day. But one can only aspire to beat the best around and this is what two members of Ireland's most westerly club, Ceann Sibeal, did on August 6th, 1998.

Setting off at 6.30 a.m. - you'll note they don't believe in overdoing the early-rising thing in that part of the world - the modest objective of the vice-captain of the year, Vincent O'Connor, and the 1996 Ceann Sibeal captain, Richie Williams, was to set a new Kerry record of 100 holes. Having accomplished this by 6.35 p.m., however, they then set their sights on the national record of 108 holes in a day, which had been established at Luttrellstown Castle in 1996.

With an Atlantic mist gathering over the nearby Blasket Islands, the Irish record had been secured by 7.25 p.m. and the intrepid duo still felt strong enough to complete a further 18. So, to the cheers of members and equally excited visitors, they took their total of holes to 126 before darkness closed in on the Dingle Peninsula. While both players walked the entire seven rounds, their caddies used a golf buggy to keep up with the pace. The event was part of a series of activities to mark the 25th anniversary of the club and by way of making it official, the record was forwarded to the Golf Union of Ireland and the Guinness Book of Records.

But not all record rounds gain formal recognition. And, given the unremitting demands of the game, I believe a special place in its annals should be kept for a truly remarkable happening at Pine Valley, generally regarded as the finest course in the world.

It would not be an award for speed, though it was an admirably quick exercise, nor for endurance, in that it lasted only four holes. No, rather would it be an award for sanity, which is often an extremely scarce commodity among practitioners of the Royal and Ancient game.

Though measuring a relatively innocent-looking 6,656 yards off the championship tees, Pine Valley is described in the World Atlas of Golf as "the perfect example of penal architecture; the ultimate test for the giants of golf". It was there, in Clementon, New Jersey, a gifted local amateur by the name of Woody Platt, started a round with a birdie three at the 427-yard first.

From there, he progressed to the 367-yard second where he had the good fortune to hole his second shot for an eagle two. Then, in a miraculous, downward progression, he had a hole in one at the 181-yard third. And having already achieved the impossible, the magic remained as he birdied the 444-yard fourth.

All of which meant Platt was six under par for the opening four holes on the severest golfing test in the world, certainly for the amateur player. And for those unfamiliar with Pine Valley, the first tee, 18th green and fourth green are all close to the clubhouse.

If ever there was a time for a player to make an unscheduled visit to the bar to prepare for the formidable, 232-yard fifth, this was surely it. And that's what Platt did. Except he never reappeared to complete the round.

With all his wild golfing dreams having been realised on that magical loop, he took the view there was only one direction his fortunes could go. And from bitter experience, he knew all too well the sort of pain the golfing gods could inflict, when provoked. So he declared an end to the round of a lifetime - after only four holes.