SO, what's the key to a good game? It's the million dollar question, of course, but an Irishman living in the United States has invented a six-fingered glove which he expects to aid arguably one of the most important links in a swing the grip!

Mortimer Roche, a native of Doonbeg in West Clare, has patented his design. The glove resembles a conventional golf glove with a couple of exceptions: its novel features are that it includes an extra chamber for holding a finger of the hand other than that wearing the glove, and a seam joining the thumb tightly to the main portion of the glove.

"I believe it is selling particularly well in the States," said John Coyle, of World of Golf in Limerick who is the Irish agent. "We Irish aren't quite into gimmicks as much as the Americans, but this is one device which, I think, will catch on. It really does benefit anyone who doesn't yet possess a good grip."

The glove is, naturally enough, a training device, not for use in competition. It is designed to give a player the same grip as professionals use: (a) the interlocking grip used by professionals with small hands, or (b) the Vardon, or overlapping grip, used by professionals with large hands.

It is claimed that the glove will maintain a golfer's hands in "proper mutual position" and maintain "effective grasp of the shaft of a golf club while swinging."

Basically, the idea is that wearing the glove in practice will give its user the proper grip and cure a "wrong" grip. The auxiliary chamber is positioned between the index finger and the middle finger and is configured such that two joints of an inserted finger are restrained, ensuring that the two hands remain in proper position to one another.

It is designed to restrain the thumb, eliminating "uneven or asymmetric pressures exerted on the shaft of the golf club which would distort the swing." The attaching thumb seam extends beyond the knuckle of the index finger to assure no unwanted motion during the swing.

The simple nature of the actual design means that many players will learn the desired grip themselves, although, in the USA, the glove is actually being used by many teaching professionals to help beginners in particular.

This unusual six-fingered glove is new to the Irish market and retails at £10 (contact John Coyle 061-312288).

And, into the bargain, apart from assisting the development of a grip like the professionals, the glove also provides support for a player who has arthritic hands.