On the face of it, the Americans appear to be ending 1997 with a reasonable share of the world's golfing goodies. Indeed, it could be described as quite a productive year, given the return of the Walker Cup at Quaker Ridge and the major championship triumphs of Tiger Woods (US Masters), Justin Leonard (British Open) and Davis Love (USPGA Championship).

But things are not as they seem. It would have taken considerably more than the 31st victory in 36 Walker Cup meetings with Britain and Ireland to camouflage the gaps in the American trophy cabinet.

Having the Solheim Cup and the still largely inconsequential President's Cup cannot compensate for the absence of the Ryder Cup and the Curtis Cup, which reside on this side of the Atlantic. The real hurt to American pride, however, comes from a study of the list of champions crowned by the US Golf Association.

No fewer than five champions hailed from overseas, including the winners of the blue riband events for men and women. Before this, the greatest number of foreign-born winners in a single year since the USGA began staging championships, in the autumn of 1895, was two.

And the latest total could have been higher, given that two others, Candie Kung of Taiwan and Trevor Immelman of South Africa, were beaten in the finals of the US Girls' Junior and the US Junior Amateur, respectively. Small wonder than the Americans are licking their wounds.

The list is led by Ernie Els, winner of the US Open last June at Congressional, in the nation's capital. He was joined by Australia's Graham March (US Senior Open), England's Alison Nicholas (US Women's Open), South Africa's Tim Clark (US Public Links) and Italy's Silvia Cavalleri (US Women's Amateur). The only important title to stay in American hands was the US Men's Amateur, in which Matthew Kuchar succeeded threetime winner Tiger Woods.

Nicholas is the third successive foreign winner of the women's blue riband, following on the successes of Sweden's Annika Sorenstam in 1995 and 1996. The title had also gone to Sweden in 1988, when Liselotte Neumann triumphed.

So it is no wonder that Americans were crushed by the failure of Nancy Lopez to capture the US Women's Open at Pumpkin Ridge. Apart from sentiment, there were financial considerations, given the manner in which LPGA television ratings have been plummeting in recent years.

Meanwhile, victorious invaders will argue, no doubt, that it all makes for healthy competition, whatever that is.

"Unless you have a reasonably good grip and stance, any- thing you read about the golf swing is useless." - Legendary teacher, Harvey Penick.

Readers of these offerings are so well-informed and well-travelled as to make me feel positively inadequate at times. Take my recent item on the major developments at the Death Valley resort of Furnace Creek, which I discovered is the lowestlying course in the world.

Now, I have never been within the roar of a long line of asses of Furnace Creek. But Athlone reader Tom Collins has. "With a friend, I played there a few years ago, and it was hot, hot," he writes. "But we managed OK, until hole 12 where we were engulfed in a sand-storm. Talk about our Irish rain!"

He goes on: "We had to abandon the round and, protecting our faces, we struggled back to the `clubhouse' with some difficulty. Incidentally, the golf course is kept `alive' in the desert by using the waste water from the nearby hotel and shop. Altogether a miserable but fascinating place is Death Valley.

"Elsewhere in the region is another stretch known as the Devil's Golf Course, so called because it is made up of millions of salt-cones which grow from the salt washed down from the nearby mountains. Ice crystals are left when the water evaporates, but the place is totally unplayable and impossible even to walk on."

When Tony Jacklin was growing up in Scunthorpe, he sought out a hobby outside golf "that would take up my time in the English winters". Now, his expertise with marquetry looks like becoming a valuable money-earner to subsidise his modest pickings from the US Senior Tour.

The 53-year-old former British Open and US Open champion is acknowledged as a master craftsman in the 18th century French process of inlaying bands of different coloured woods onto darker surfaces. And he plans to sell his products to the Senior Tour, where they can be given as pro-am gifts.

"I will keep the cost reasonable so it can fit a set budget," said Jacklin, who may anticipate upwards of $500 for each, hand-crafted box carrying the tournament logo. On average, the 10["] by 13["] boxes take about four hours to produce and are made from a variety of woods, ranging from mahogany to rosewood.

"The object is to get the boxes to become memorabilia and, if the Senior Tour give me a kickstart, I can then go into country clubs and see what they think," he added. "I just want to do it and see what happens. It's something I'm looking forward to progressing into my dotage, when I stop playing the tour."

After amassing substantial earnings during the 1970s, Jacklin became a victim of several unfortunate investments. Now living in Florida, and without exempt status on the Senior Tour, where he depends on sponsors' invitations, he makes no secret of his need of a steady income. Which he hopes his skills at marquetry can deliver.

On meeting GUI officials this week, I noted their refreshing enthusiasm for the training methods of the Swedish federation, which will soon be establishing a base in Ireland. Part of that programme is the famous "Vision 54", which encourages players to attempt the seemingly impossible, by aiming to birdie all 18 holes.

"There is a mental block that it cannot be done," said the world's top woman player, Annika Sorenstam. "Frankly, I don't think I will ever do it, but it is similar to a high jumper who sees the bar raised, thinks it's impossible but clears it. Then everybody else does it too."

She concluded: "I made six birdies in a row at the 1994 British Open before I became so nervous that I was shaking. Naturally, the run stopped. It is all in the head."

For a golfer, the notion of having friends in America can adopt a fascinating dimension - if they happen to be members of prominent clubs. So it was that Portmarnock honorary secretary Moss Buckley and certain of his colleagues played Pine Valley in 1995 and Shinnecock Hills, Merion and Baltusrol in 1996.

But a Portmarnock quartet really hit the jackpot a few weeks ago. Buckley, Diarmuid Moore and past captains Seamus O'Shea and Tom Cuddihy played the TPC at Sawgrass - "ET" 17th and all - followed by three days at Augusta National.

"We stayed in the Clifford Roberts cabin at Augusta as guests of Dick Le Brond, who is an overseas member of Portmarnock," said Buckley.

"We played the course three times and we also had a round on the par-three layout. Everything was in beautiful condition, just as you would expect."

This day in golf history . . . On December 20th, 1811, the Savannah Golf Club Ball was held, so endorsing the early development of the game in the US. Records indicate that 18th century Scottish tobacco merchants played golf in the area of Williamsburg, Virginia, and that William Deas Master brought eight-dozen golf clubs and three-gross of balls into Charleston, South Carolina, in 1743.

By 1786, the first American golf club is said to have been established in Savannah. Official pioneering credit is generally given, however, to the so-called "Apple Tree Gang" of four friends, as the St Andrews Club, which they established in 1888, became the first US club to survive a lengthy period.

Teaser: At a short hole, A's tee shot may be out of bounds or lost, so he plays a provisional ball, which he holes. A does not wish to look for his original ball. B, A's opponent or a fellow competitor, goes to look for the original ball. When does the provisional ball become the ball in play?

Answer: The provisional ball becomes the ball in play as soon as A picks it out of the hole, provided his original ball has not already been found in bounds within five minutes of B starting to search for it.