Two players with a combined total of seven British Open triumphs have been sharing their formidable knowledge of the wind and its effect on golf-course design. Interestingly, both have been working for Kiawah Resort Associates - Greg Norman at Doonbeg and Tom Watson on the Cassique course at Kiawah Island.

As Watson put it: "This isn't about standard shots or distances, or only one way of being right. It's about touch and feel and imagination." And the Australian noted: "If you grow up playing the courses I did, the bounces shouldn't come as a surprise. Links golf teaches you that they're out there."

The Cassique, named after a native-American chief who had the run of the place before the British arrived in South Carolina in 1670, was officially opened 12 months ago. One observer suggested the first six holes looked as though "they had been airlifted from Ireland's southwest coast." Which would be hardly surprising, given Watson's enormous affection for Ballybunion.

"One of the challenges was to come up with ways to fool the golfer, or at least play with expectations," he said. "For instance, we have generous fairways that don't look so generous off the tees. And there are spots where the course looks hard but plays easy and vice versa."

Meanwhile, when designing Doonbeg, which will be open for limited play this year, Norman (left)tried to recapture his Dunhill Cup experiences at St Andrews in sharp, October winds, when a two-iron might fly no further than 100 yards. "At Doonbeg, I wanted to see how far a seven-iron would go downwind on a day like that," he said. "Maybe that's what I'm most proud of. I didn't use a yardage book to build the golf course. I did it by feel." Ironically, it was on the heathland of Gleneagles that the pair engaged in a fascinating challenge in the wind. "We were playing a combination of the King's and Queen's courses there and decided to have a driving contest," recalled five-time Open champion, Watson.

"On the 18th," interjected Norman, "there was a fierce wind behind us and a landing area that dropped off sharply at the end. It had been dry the previous few days . . . " " . . . And if you caught it just right and carried all the way to the drop-off," continued Watson, "you could see where the ball might run . . . " " . . . a long way," the Shark suggested. "We both caught hold of our drives and when we paced them off, mine travelled 486 yards." To which Watson, with a quiet chuckle, added the crucial, closing words. "Mine," he said, "went 494."

"Caddies should put themselves in the golfer's place. Imagine how much this trip to St Andrew's might mean to them and how their enjoyment will be enhanced by service they receive from their player." - Rick Mackenzie, caddie manager of the St Andrews Links Trust, launching a new training scheme called Caddie Connect.

Woods opens up the field

FORMER Mullingar captain and unshakeable Ben Hogan devotee, Joe Healy, is finding it difficult to come to terms with all this grand slam talk about Tiger Woods. "How do we know Hogan wouldn't have won all four in the one year if he had the chance?" argues Healy, while emphasising that the USPGA Championship clashed with the British Open in 1953, when Hogan won three majors out of four.

When I attempted this week to point out the obvious merit of Woods' achievement, Healy fired this parting salvo: "What about the fact that out of 11 successive major championship in which he competed, Hogan won eight?" And it's true, he did. Starting with the US Open of 1948, which he won, Hogan went: 1948 British Open - did not play, 1948 USPGA - 1st; 1949 - did not play in any major because of car crash; 1950 US Masters - T4th, 1950 US Open - 1st, did not play in British Open or USPGA; 1951 US Masters - 1st, 1951 US Open - 1st, did not play in British Open or USPGA; 1952 US Masters -T7th, 1952 US Open - 3rd, did not play in British Open or USPGA; 1953 US Masters - 1st, 1953 US Open - 1st, 1953 US Open - 1st, did not play in USPGA. Fairly impressive, isn't it? But whatever about Healy, the bould Tiger will have at least seven new admirers in this year's US Open at Southern Hills. Why so? Well, it has to do with the fact the USGA award exemptions to US Open champions for the past 10 years; to the winners of the other "majors" for the past five years and to the holder of the Players' Championship.

Woods has won the two US Masters and and USPGA Championships along with a US Open and British Open since 1996. And he won the Players' last month. That makes seven extra places from final qualifying for the 156-player field. Which proves that even with Woods, it's an ill wind . . .

`Judo' plays part in Japan

NO Japanese golfer has won a regular USPGA Tour event on the American mainland, their only success having come from Isao Aoki in the 1983 Hawaiian Open. But word is they are set for a long-awaited breakthrough - and a native of Rosses Point will be playing a crucial role in the process. Jude O'Reilly, regular caddie with Shigeki Maruyama (right), is acutely aware of the seven Japanese runners-up in the US since Aoki's success. But he says: "If Shigeki shows the way over here, it will be easier for others. He's in a position to surpass what has been done before."

Known affectionately to his "master" as Judo, O'Reilly has seen Maruyama become sempai, or mentor, to younger Japanese players. In the process, the player earned $1.3 million last season for 37th place in the US money list, though like his contemporaries, he is thought to lack the grit to finish the job. Still, O'Reilly insists: "In the years to come, you'll see quite a presence of Japanese golfers in the States."

Architect with grand plan

GIVEN the accolades heaped on his creation at Shadow Creek on the outskirts of Las Vegas, architect Tom Fazio probably felt he had earned a privileged place in the game. After all, his CV also includes work on Augusta National, where he has been responsible for reshaping the 11th green.

Anyway, a US colleague informed me this week of a particularly interesting sidelight to Fazio's latest creation. The Glen Club, built on an old US Navy airstrip in Glenview, 20 miles north-west of Chicago, is to have its official opening in July.

Delighted with the end product, which involved quite a deal of earthmoving, the owners were more than happy to hand over Fazio's design fee, reported to be in the region of $1.25 million. But they flatly rejected his request for a rather special bonus. Apparently, as a convenient way of setting up an annuity for his offspring, Fazio asked to be paid $1 out of every green fee the public course took in.

Allow for moderate traffic of 30,000 rounds per year and you begin to get the picture.

[SBX]

THIS DAY IN GOLF HISTORY . . . . On April 28th, 1957, Patty Berg holed a 35-foot eagle putt on the final green to beat Wiffi Smith by one stroke and capture the US Women's Western Open for a sixth time. Triumphant in four decades, she maintained that an aspiring champion must have the will to win, not a wish to win. Berg, who will be honorary chairman of next year's Solheim Cup in her native Minnesota, won four other tournaments in 1957, the Titleholders Championship, the All-American Open, the World Championship and the Havana Open. [SBX]

TEASER: A player hits his ball onto a gravel-covered road. Even though he is entitled to relief from this obstruction, he prefers to play the ball from the road. May he remove gravel that might interfere with his stroke?

ANSWER: Yes. Gravel is a loose impediment and a player may remove loose impediments under Rule 23-1. This right is not cancelled by the fact that, when a road is covered with gravel, it becomes an artificially-surfaced road and thus an obstruction.