Quite sensibly, Tiger Woods has resisted the temptation to give the best-win-of-my-career treatment to any of his recent tournament victories. But Ben Hogan was in a rather different situation when, at 40, he described his 1953 US Masters triumph as the best four rounds he had ever played.

The pair became linked at Valderrama last weekend, when Woods emulated Hogan's achievement of 1953 by winning his fourth successive US Tour event. And if the 23-year-old can maintain his current dominance, one suspects the link with the game's greatest ballstriker will become even closer as the years go by.

But what of Hogan? How significant was his dominance of the 1953 professional season? The truth is that in terms of tournament winnings and stroke-average, the Hawk was overshadowed by lesser craftsmen. But where quality was concerned, his season stood apart, and still does, as the only one in which a player captured three major championships. So it was that he ran away with the PGA Player of the Year Award.

In 1953, 32 tournaments on the US circuit offered total prize money of $562,704. As it happened, Lew Worsham was leading money-winner with $34,002 while the Vardon Trophy, for which Hogan didn't play sufficient events to qualify, went to Lloyd Wangrum with a stroke-average of 70.22.

Now to the hard part: since none of the official record books lists details of Hogan's tournament performances in 1953, it was necessary to look elsewhere. And the USPGA Tour provided me with only part of the answer. It was only when I contacted Bob Somers, author of The US Open: Golf's Ultimate Challenge at his Florida home, that I could complete the picture.

In official money, Hogan made $16,604 from eight events in the US that season, leaving him ninth behind Worsham. Of course his income was increased by a further £500 as winner of the British Open, but more of that in a moment.

The four-in-a-row he was credited with in 1953 are: April 12th - US Masters (70, 69, 66, 69 - 274, $4,000); May 3rd - Pan American Open (72, 72, 68, 74 - 286, $2,604); May 24th - Colonial (73, 71, 71, 67 - 282, $5,000); June 13th - US Open (67, 72, 73, 71, $5,000). But he played four other US events, all of them pro-ams. His performances were: Thunderbird (203 - tied second to Jimmy Demaret, 201); Seminole (140 - tied second to Pete Cooper, 138) and Palmetto (71 - tied eighth to Dale Douglass, 67). The only one of these over 72 holes was the Greenbrier Invitational on May 10th, when he shot 272 to be tied third behind Sam Snead (268).

After capturing the US Open, Hogan took the advice of Walter Hagen and Tommy Armour, among others, and made his only appearance in the British Open, winning by four strokes at Carnoustie, with rounds of 73, 71, 70 and 68 for an aggregate of 282.

So, if the British Open had been part of the USPGA tournament schedule, as it has become in recent years, Hogan would, in fact, have won five-in-a-row. But he already had six-in-a-row from 1948, starting with the US Open, giving him second place in the all-time list behind Byron Nelson, with 11 successive wins in 1945.

Finally, it should be noted that Hogan broke the aggregate record for the Masters by five strokes that year; he also won a record-equalling fourth US Open. And his performance at Carnoustie prompted Pat Ward-Thomas to observe: "The memory of watching Hogan play golf will never die, and one is proud to possess it."

Master Woods has much at which to aim.

"YOU can't believe how good that round is." - Lee Westwood, on the closing 68 by Tiger Woods, which included an eight at the 17th, in extremely difficult, windy conditions last Sunday.

ON returning recently to Parque da Floresta, near Lagos in south-west Portugal, I wondered if Des Smyth's scorecard would be on display. On closer inspection of the facility, however, it was clear that much had changed since our fine professional set a course-record 71 there, more than 10 years ago.

As I recall the trip, it was a pro-am which fell victim to the most horrendous weather. And the mood wasn't helped by an unspeakably difficult course where the designer, Pepe Gancedo, seemed to be averse to the notion of landing areas.

Anyway, the absence of Smyth's card can be explained by the fact that the course has changed out of all recognition. Resident professional, Gary Silcock from Edinburgh, informed me that having twice endured bankruptcy, the property is now owned by the British Vigia Group, who have ambitious plans for it as part of a £15 million investment.

An additional nine holes are currently under construction. But further down the road, there are plans to built no fewer than five courses. "The idea is to make it Europe's top golfing location," said Silcock, who talked also of existing bowling, horseriding, archery and tennis facilities, along with a spa.

Meanwhile, Gancedo's work has been modified dramatically, not least at the first, which changes from a brutally punishing par five to an eminently playable 340-yard par four. Those who, like me, had no great desire to revisit Parque da Floresta, will be more than pleasantly surprised by the transformation.

AFTER their intense rivalry in quest of major championships, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson will join forces on December 11th and 12th as one of the four Seniors' teams in the Diners Club matches at Pelican Hill GC, California.

Limited daylight next October, has prompted officials to play the President's Cup over four days, rather than three. And it is something which may ultimately find favour with organisers of the Ryder Cup, especially on this side of the Atlantic.

Where the President's Cup - US versus Internationals - is concerned, the idea is to allow make the most of limited daylight and allow for the possibility of rain delays, while reducing the stress packed into a three-day schedule. Which means the event is now scheduled for the Robert Trent Jones GC in Virginia, on October 19th to 22nd of next year.

So, instead of foursomes and fourball matches in the morning and afternoon of the first two days, there will be foursomes on the Thursday afternoon, fourballs and foursomes on Friday, fourballs on Saturday and 12 singles on the Sunday. Depending on the success of the venture, we could see a similar schedule for the Ryder Cup at The K Club in 2005.

RATHFARNHAM GC, who have been guided by captain, Alex Burns, through highly-successful centenary celebrations, can look with considerable optimism towards their second 100 years. This has to do largely with five new holes which will extend their course at Newtown to 14 holes, with all sorts of playing possibilities in 84 acres.

According to secretary/manager, Denzil Tipping, work on the new holes, designed by Patrick Merrigan, is at a standstill for archaeological reasons, but will be resumed in the New Year. And in 2001, a 14-hole course will be in play, along with a new green for the existing second (11th) due to motorway development.

Meanwhile, Dick Shiel, who, among other things, can lay claim to having been a 10st 7lb wing forward with Old Wesley RFC, has put together a delightful history of the club, tracing its proprietary origins at Butterfield in 1899, through the move to the present home in 1966. It is a worthy memento of a club with a rich past and a potentially exciting future.

THIS day in golf history . . . On November 13th, 1966, the Canada Cup had an appropriate swansong in Tokyo, where it was captured by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, five strokes clear of Africa's Harold Henning and Gary Player. It was the sixth American triumph in seven years, starting at Portmarnock in 1960.

From 1967 onwards, the event, which had been founded by John Jay Hopkins in Montreal in 1953, became known as the World Cup. Meanwhile, American dominance was virtually assured by the presence of Nicklaus and Palmer, though Sam Snead won with Palmer at Portmarnock, with Jimmy Demaret in Puerto Rico the following year and with Palmer again in Argentina in 1962.

Teaser: Golfers, as we know, are easily confused. So it's necessary, as our more erudite readers point out, to repeat things. As in the query: In a Stableford competition, the reckoning is made as in matchplay and strokes are taken according to the handicap stroke table. If B has the honour at a hole, and A and B have the same gross score at that hole but A receives a handicap stroke, who has the honour at the next hole?

Answer: A has the honour, because of a better net score. And according to Rule 10-2, "the competitor who shall have the honour at the first teeing ground shall be determined by the order of the draw. In the absence of a draw, the honour should be decided by lot."