I’M delighted to welcome you to the Swindon Advertiser’s new golf tips column.

Over the coming weeks and months I’ll be providing tips for all standards of golfers so hopefully I can help to improve everyone’s game.

I will also be addressing reader’s specific game issues, so simply send me an email explaining the problem and I’ll try to fix it.

On the back of Europe’s stunning Ryder Cup success there will be a host of people taking up golf.

With this in mind, my first lesson is going to be one for beginners and I am going to explain how to grip the club correctly.

There are a few grips you can use but I always recommend the interlock grip, purely because generally it helps to generate a better connection club to ball.

The first step is to place the club along your fingers in your left hand. Then bring the left hand over so you can see two/two and a half knuckles.

To form the interlock grip your left index finger must interlock with the right little finger. Next bring your right hand over so it just about covers the whole of your left thumb while also allowing the club to sit along the fingers in the right hand.

A good way to check you have the correct grip is to look at the marks being left on your glove. If you get holes or patches worn away in the palm of your left hand then you are gripping the club incorrectly. To rectify this, simply try to grip the club more in the fingers.

Next I’m going to show you two incorrect grips and explain what shots you will hit if you use these.

First I’m going to talk about a strong grip. With a strong grip the club face tends to be closed which will tend to cause a pull shot to the left. A really strong grip will cause an uncontrollable hook shot. To check whether your grip is strong just look down at how many knuckles you can see on your left hand. It’s likely you will see three or more knuckles and your right hand will be more underneath the club.

Next I’m going to show you a weak grip. A weak grip will produce a more open club face and will result in the ball travelling right and the dreaded slice shot. If you’ve got a weak grip you will likely see one knuckle on your left hand while the right hand will be more on top of the club.

Another good tip is not to grip the club too tightly because this will increase tension throughout your body and cause unwanted movement.

A decent golf swing requires your arms to be relaxed and just hanging under your shoulders.

So that’s the grip done and dusted, get this right and you’ve got a great chance of developing a good swing.

Next time I’m going to look at the correct way to set up, including where you should position the ball for the various clubs in your bag.

Want Richard to fix your golf faults? Simply email him at rich_scarrott@yahoo.co.uk or book in for a lesson with him by calling Wrag Barn Pro Shop on 01793 766027.