IN THE north-east corner of Florida, nine miles from America's oldest city, St Augustine, work is currently in progress on what is arguably the most ambitious development in world golf.
Appropriately, all of the game's major organisations are supporting the World Golf Village part of which is scheduled to open at the end of next year.
When complete, the project is expected to attract upwards of 750,000 visitors in its first year, rising to one million after five years.
It is also hoped that by that stage, it will be established as a major international focus of the game.
As a non-profit organisation the World Golf Village will be responsible for managing the World Golf Hall of Fame (covering 75,000 square feet), which will be relocated from its present home at Pinehurst, the World Golf Village (WGV) Foundation and the International Golf Library and Resource Centre. A strong American involvement is offset, somewhat, from this side of the Atlantic by the support of the PGA European Tour and the Royal and Ancient.
In terms of its exhibits, the facility's declared philosophy is to balance items that capture the traditions, values and historical attributes of the game with contemporary exhibits using the latest technologies. So, visitors will be able to have their swing analysed after traversing a replica of St Andrews' Swilcan Bridge to a model of the Old Course built by Scottish artisans.
Enthusiasts can also design their own golf hole and have it judged by a panel of experts; see highlights of the game's greatest moments in a mini-theatre, or answer questions at nine challenge stations and then check for their name on the electronic scoreboard.
Meanwhile, in the absence of an opportunity to monitor the construction work, European enthusiasts, myself included, have had to make do with whetting our appetite through some fascinating ballots to mark the project. One of these is titled "The Best of the Best in Golf." From a total of 116 nominations, a list of 25 events was drawn up by a select committee, chaired by Frank "Sandy" Tatum, a former USGA official who accompanied Tom Watson on his early visits to Ballybunion. The objective was to identify the single greatest moment in golf history.
Your humble scribe was chosen as a member of an international voting body entrusted with making the ultimate selection. Our individual decisions - 1,2,3 in order of choice - were submitted earlier this month and the outcome will be announced on January 15th 1997.
The list obviously has a strong American bias. Even allowing for that, however, the difficulty of placing one achievement ahead of another, soon becomes clear. Incidentally, for the purpose of the ballot, Jack Nicklaus's playing career is treated as one item. So, how would you vote? For what it's worth, my 1,2 and 3 were Bobby Jones's Grand Slam, Ben Hogan's victory at Merion in 1950 and Nicklaus's career achievements. I would respectfully submit that my first choice doesn't require an explanation: it stands apart from all other golfing achievements in that it was done 66 years ago and will never be equalled.
I chose Hogan's victory at Merion as my number two, because it was remarkable by any sporting standards. The astonishing will-power and courage displayed by Hogan in the wake of a near-fatal car accident in February 1949, captured the imagination of sportspeople everywhere. And whatever about his later achievements, the crowning glory of his career was unquestionably that comeback triumph.
Nicklaus, in my view, has been the game's supreme competitor.
