When I set out to find a golf coach to write about for Ooh, I thought I’d end up with a crusty duffer in tweed plus-fours, propping up a clubhouse bar. Instead, I found a borderline crazy college student from Boston, with insatiable enthusiasm for all things Golf. There’s something about Boston…

Granger Beaton first became interested in golf when Tiger Woods won 3 US Amateur tournaments in a row immediately after winning 3 US Junior Amateurs in a row. “I thought golf was the coolest thing ever. Tiger made it cool.”

I learn that Granger is quite an all-rounder with sports: “My soccer team won the New England Championships and my hockey team played in the World PeeWee tournament in Quebec Canada. Ultimately I chose golf because I was obsessed.”

I asked Granger about my golf stereotype, and he was keen to put it right: “Golf is played in all walks of life, regardless of income. That’s becoming less and less true however, in this troubling economy. I think there should be a greater effort to make golf more affordable. It’s a very cathartic and enjoyable experience for everyone who plays it.”

With little experience of the game itself, I want to know how tricky it is to learn. “Golf is easy to learn, but hard to master. It’s especially easy to learn if you have a good teacher. It’s one thing to learn how to swing like Tiger Woods based on what you read in a book, but it’s another thing to know what you should be doing based on what your body can physically do.

“Golf teaching is leaning towards fitting a swing to a body type rather than trying to make your body swing in a way it won’t let you.”

Now, I said that Granger is crazy and it seems unfair not to justify that. He’s not actually mad, he just comes across like totally he’s high on life: “I got hit by a jeep when I was 17, probably should have died. Ever since I’ve been trying to live like I’m dying -no need to take life for granted.”

Granger isn’t just mad about golf, he’s an instructor too and he’s thinking about starting to teach in his local park. No golf course, no driving range, just back-to-basics teaching. “I do a lot of my teaching in my dorm room at college,” he tells me. I’m wondering what size this room must be, thinking of the pokey halls room I occupied for a year.

The golf lessons in the park idea isn’t half-baked though: “I plan on using a lot of stability toys such as foam rollers, balance disks, sliding resistance platforms, bosu balls, yoga mats, you name it. I’m going to have to get really creative here as I know there will be a ton of interest.”

The interest is likely to be aroused not least becuase of Granger’s remarkable string of experiences qualifying him perhaps better than most to sharpen up your swing.

“I’ve had the privilege of working for some of the best golf coaches in the world (Leadbetter, Haney, Harmon). I’m mentored by two of the best psychologists in the world, Dr. Bob Winters and Dr. Gio Valiante. I’ve helped teach at Leadbetter’s Junior Academy and worked for Dr. Bob Winters at his Nike Golf School at Williams College. I interned for Tim Suzor of Kinetic Golf, where we taught stability and mobility drills. Suzor teaches Tim Petrovic, Brian Gay, Sean O’Hair, all pros on the PGA Tour. I recently got certified as a Golf Fitness Instructor by the Titleist Performance Institute.”

So when Granger said there’d be a ton of interest, I’m pretty sure he knew what he was talking about. Want to try a Golf lesson in the park? Drop Granger an email here.