If you are starting to play golf, I would advise you in these ways.

1. Get lessons. This game is really hard. A pro can teach you in a half hour what it would take you months, maybe years, to figure out on your own.

2. Learn the game from the hole out, one phase at a time. Learn to putt, and get good at it. (By “learn” I mean get lessons and practice a lot what you were taught.) Then learn chipping, those little shots around the green, and get good at those. Then pitching, shots from 30-80 yards from the green. Finally, the swing. By all means play, but focus your learning. All this might take a year to a year and a half to absorb.

3. Golf is a game of feel. Almost all of it takes place outside your vison, so when you learn what the right movements are, you have to learn what they feel like. You also have to learn what the wrong movements feel like, so when you find yourself doing them, you’re aware of what the mistake is.

4. The ground makes the game difficult to play because it gets in the way of any but the most precise stroke. While you’re learning, tee up the ball for every shot over 30 yards from the green. Tee it up just enough so the ball is off the ground–maybe a quarter inch. Once you have begun to hit the ball cleanly on a regular basis, you can stop doing this.