It is the kind of flattery you might crave. First to be likened to Hugh Grant (though not, unfortunately, in terms of looks) and then to be compared with Ernie Els, a player blessed with the finest swing known to man. Such is the way of things at a singularly different golf school located, of all places, in the basement of a swish apartment block in an upmarket part of London. And boy, does it work.

I have to admit that curiosity got the better of me when I first heard of the Knightsbridge Golf School, hidden away just a short walk from Harrods and surrounded by glitz - designer-label shops and cars to die for.

There is no sign to it, so you would not know it was there. You ring a bell, get let in by the porter and wend your way downstairs. Very James Bond. I was half expecting Q and some amazing new gadgets. Perhaps a ball that finds its own way to the hole, that sort of thing.

What I found were a couple of converted squash courts draped in a few old nets that had known better times. The centre has been there for 60 years and it looks it. It could do, as they say, with a lick of paint. But there is magic within these walls and it is provided by Steve Gould and Dave Wilkinson, the two owners of the school, who between them have about 70 years of teaching experience gleaned initially at the hands of Leslie King, the founder, a man once described as the “godfather of the modern golf swing”.

It is an interesting partnership, successful for the two being total opposites. Gould, who greeted me, is a man so full of anecdotes that it is tempting to waive the introductory lesson and keep him talking. He will happily show you the photographs of clients past and present that adorn the walls. Grant here, Sean Connery there - all of them stars of stage, film, music and sport, as well as captains of industry.

The walls are not without a rogue's gallery either. Why, you might ask, is there a framed newspaper clipping about the disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974? “He had a lesson here just before he went on the run,” Gould, who has a nice air of mischief about him, explained before showing me a set of clubs Lucan had bought for his wife, Lady Veronica, but that had never been collected.

And isn't that Gould with Ronnie Biggs, the train robber? “Yeah, I came across him hitting balls on a beach in Brazil and offered him a few tips,” he says. “He was good fun.” Wilkinson, by contrast, is the quieter of the two. He has a passing resemblance to Brian Rix, the comedian, a ready smile, a gentle manner, and can guess your faults almost before he has seen you swing a club, which is hardly surprising as the pair have discovered that nine out of ten club golfers make the same basic mistakes.

They have broken the swing down into easy-to-understand parts, beginning with the most important of all - the takeaway. Get this right - and most of us get it wrong - and everything else begins to fall into place. Which is where the comparison with Els came in. Just ten minutes into a 30-minute session, we were able to compare one backswing with another.

They were amazingly similar, although I would not be foolish enough to think I would then be able to hit the ball like the former Open champion. But it did feel good.

“The swing is in three main parts,” Gould said. “What we say is that you need to learn the DNA of the swing. Setting the wrists, squaring the blade six inches before you hit the ball and then having a convex finish to the follow-through. Get those three main parts right and you can play golf.

“When we first started, the idea of a golf school underground in London seemed ridiculous. Now they're everywhere. Loads have computers and are great for a bit of fun. But the appeal of this place is that it's like going to an old-fashioned gym.

“The simulators [where technology is used to simulate playing on famous courses] are great, but people come here to learn the structure and techniques of the swing. With the lease up for renewal we've got to spend some money on the place, but it's amazing how many people are telling us not to change it. It has its own charm.”

Among Gould's favourite stories is the one involving Gianfranco Zola, who took lessons while he was a player at Chelsea and who refused to tell Gianluca Vialli, his Italian team-mate, where he was learning the game until he had stolen a march on him.

With one of his practice swings Zola “smashed a mirror that had stood there for 50 years because [unbelievably] he was so uncoordinated”. Uncoordinated or not, they got him down to about a seven handicap and he has never looked back.

Now that, for an 18-handicapper, is what I wanted to hear. I shall return.

Beneath the gutter but reaching for the stars

- Tips from the Knightsbridge Golf School can be found at saveamillionshots.com

- Among clients past and present are: Hugh Grant, Sean Connery, Christopher Lee, Juli Inkster, Stephen Ames, DJ Spoony, Bryan Ferry, Gianfranco Zola, Gianluca Vialli, Michael Flatley, Richard Branson and Telly Savalas

- Leslie King, the founder and former owner, prepared Sean Connery for his memorable round of golf as James Bond in Goldfinger

- Wilkinson and Gould were used to teach the cast of The Greatest Game Ever Played — the true-life story of Francis Ouimet’s victory over Harry Vardon in the 1913 US Open

For more information, visit knightsbridgegolfschool.com