With the US Masters less than two weeks away, interest is intensifying as to whether Tiger Woods can become the first player to capture the Grand Slam of all four "majors" in the one season. The player himself believes it's possible, British bookmakers are prepared to offer odds of only 66 to 1 that it's not, but statisticians insist it's no more than a wild dream.

Victor Chandler, official bookmaker to the European Tour, has been offering odds of 1 to 2 that Woods will win a major championship this season and 6 to 4 against him doing it. And the odds against Woods winning the Masters on April 9th is a modest 3 to 1, making him the hottest favourite in recent memory.

It will be recalled that after his sensational Masters victory three years ago, he was installed at odds of 1,000 to 1 to win the Grand Slam. As it happened, he came unstuck at the second hurdle, being forced to share 19th place behind Ernie Els in the US Open at Congressional.

Meanwhile, American statisticians rate the odds against a Grand Slam by Woods as fanciful, in the extreme. They point out that to do so, he would have to beat hundreds of players on four very demanding courses in unpredictable weather conditions.

Then there is the matter of the player maintaining prime health at critical times spanning five months. Finally, the mounting pressure and the weight of history would become enormous if he were to go even half-way towards the target.

In 1972, when Jack Nicklaus won the first two legs of the Grand Slam, he set off at Muirfield at the seemingly ridiculous odds of only 2 to 1 to win the British Open - and finished second, a stroke behind Lee Trevino. Yet Nicklaus didn't think it was all that fanciful. In a recent interview, the Bear said: "During the 1970s, attaining the Grand Slam became my goal."

Feelings are that if Woods were in the same position going to St Andrews in July, the odds could be even money, or lower. But according to American statistician Dean Knuth, his chances of a Grand Slam triumph this year are no better, mathematically, than 20,000 to 1. And fellow analyst, Danny Sheridan, claims the odds should be closer to 1,000,000 to one, when the extent of the emotional challenge is factored in.

So, why are the bookmakers offering such apparently unrealistic odds? "Because bookmakers are in the business of making money, not making friends," says Sheridan. "I don't think it would be wise to take 100 or 200 to 1 on a player achieving such a feat. In my view, odds of 10 to 1 should be the bare minimum against any golfer winning a major."

Even Master Woods, it seems.

"I wrote a note to the powers at Augusta and said that since I'm now a member, I'd like to play the members' tees." Arnold Palmer, on being asked what effect his newly acquired status in the holy of holies would have on his appearance in the forthcoming Masters.

On hearing I was from Ireland, she identified herself as Mary Beth Lacy of Adams Golf and insisted she had a fascinating story about playing at Portmarnock. It all started in 1987 when, as a college graduate from Furman University (the alma mater of Dottie Pepper, Beth Daniels et al), her parents asked what she wanted by way of celebration.

"I told them I would love to make a golfing trip to Ireland," she recalled at Sawgrass. "Since I was a fairly useful player at the time, my father thought it was a great idea, provided himself and my mother could tag along. And that's what happened."

After landing at Shannon, they stayed the night at Dromoland Castle and played Lahinch before travelling on to the popular Kerry courses. Then the trip was to be topped off by a visit to Portmarnock. "That was when somebody told my father it was an all-male club and girls couldn't play there," she said.

Armed with this misinformation, they arrived at Portmarnock, where Mary Beth's father told the caddiemaster that he and his son wished to play a round. "By that stage, I had tucked my hair under my cap and worn a loose sweater," she said. "Nobody passed any notice, though I think the caddie knew, from my hands."

She went on: "Anyway, I played off the men's tees and shot 79, which was a real thrill, both for myself and my father." Having later learned that the disguise was unnecessary, she has vowed to return there one day as a woman. "But to have any hope of breaking 80 again, I'd need to play off the ladies' tees," she concluded with a smile.

Here's a topical little tale about a proposed golf match between the Pope and the Israeli prime minister to promote friendship between their respective faiths. As a non-golfer, his Holiness asked his cardinals if they had a suitable candidate to represent him. "No," came the reply. "But there is an American golfer named Jack Nicklaus, whom we can make an honorary cardinal and then have him represent you."

The Pope thought this was a splendid idea and was even more pleased when Nicklaus agreed to play. So the match duly took place and on the following day, the Bear was asked to report to the Vatican.

"Your Holiness," said the Bear, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I played like I was back in my prime, hitting long, straight drives, masterful irons and putting perfectly." "And what's the bad news?" enquired the Pope. "The bad news is that I lost by a stroke to Rabbi Woods."

Tom Weiskopf, the game's one-time Towering Inferno, has been sounding off about the golf ball. And he makes a very convincing case for the notion that it is time to call a halt before it makes a nonsense of the game.

"I went back and played the Scarlet Course at Ohio State not long ago and on every par three, I hit one club less that when I was 30 years old," he said. "And there's a par five which I never in my life could reach in two and now (at 60) I can almost get there."

The 1973 British Open champion went on: "It isn't the clubs, because I made a point of using a set of irons I had in the 1970s. It's the ball. It's going too far and, deep down, I think the USGA know it. At Wimbledon they use a slower ball to accommodate the grass courts. Why not in golf?" Indeed.

Fifty years after they turned professional, sisters Alice and Marlene Bauer, the one time glamour girls of golf, appeared at the recent golden jubilee celebrations of the LPGA Tour. "We were small, didn't look like athletes and didn't have bulging muscles," recalled Marlene, who became the winner of 25 tournaments, eight of them during a marvellous 1956 season.

Alice, meanwhile, once caught the eye of Dean Martin but declined a date because she was going out with somebody else at the time. Years later, she and the entertainer crossed paths again. "Hi Alice," greeted Dino. "I can't believe you remember me," came the reply. "How could I forget the only woman who ever turned me down?" said Martin. Alice, who now works as an artist in La Quinta, California, concluded: "I was pretty stupid back then."

This Day In Golf History . . . . On March 25th, 1934, Horton Smith won the inaugural $5,000 First Annual Invitation Tournament at Augusta National. In time, the event would become the US Masters, the fourth major championship of the professional game.

Teaser: A gate in a boundary fence swings onto the course. Sometimes the gate is open and sometimes it is closed. If the gate is open, may a player close it if it interferes with his swing?

Answer: A gate in a boundary fence, when closed, is part of the boundary fence. It is not an obstruction and may not be moved. A gate in a boundary fence, if open, is not covered by the rules. In equity (Rule 1-4), a player who finds a gate in a boundary fence open may leave it as he finds it or close it, but he must not move it to any other position.