New to golf. Any advice?

I have been playing 7 weeks.  The only advice my extremely novice self can give you is, try and play more.  Dont know your time/money situations but if you can, play more and hit the range more.  I also try and learn as much as I can from my buddies that play as well.  Good Luck man!

Also, don't ever post on this forum that you did anything non-golf related on a golf course.  You will get jumped.

Wow, 11 hour workday, very tough to get out there.

I am sure the much more seasoned players on this forum can give you more advice.

putt for show and drive for dough. To really cut out strokes take stats of where you lose strokes. Obviously you cant say oh I missed fairways and fix it the next day and shave 10 strokes. While your fixing that driver you will forget how to hit irons or vice versa but keeping track helps.

Dont get too concerned with distance, consistancy is much more important. somebody on here said it best, The scorecard doesnt say what club you hit so if it takes you a 7i to go 130 then do that. Course management and not taking unneccesary risks helps.

These are just some of the things I have learned. I am nowhere near perfect either so take it with a grain of salt but thats what I have learned during my time on this forum.

I've only played since February of this year.  I've found I can solve more swing problems in one hour long lesson than I can in several trips to the driving range.  I try to get on the range at least twice a week to reinforce what I've learned and try to play at least 9 holes once a week.

Of course, I'm an old retired guy and may have more free  time than you have.

The advice you got about the short game is good, but at this early stage of your career I think a higher priority is getting good fundamentals in your full swing, which means a few lessons and some range time.  Avoiding a bad habit at this stage is a heck of a lot easier than learning to break a bad habit down the road.  Good luck.

I am a beginner myself.  I took 4 lessons so far and I plan on going to a golf clinic later this month.  The lessons have REALLY paid off, along with going to the driving range about 3 or 4 times a week at least.  I played a round yesterday and played the best game of my life.  Learn the fundamentals and practice practice practice.

UCLA, if money is an issue don't worry a lot about paying for range time. Most courses have a putting green and even a chipping green, bring your own balls and practice is free. I spend about 3 hours a week putting and chipping at a course that has no driving range but has a very nice practice area. I also bought a small net to work on chipping in my backyard. I pay $50/month at an executive course and play it 2-3 times (9 holes) a week. There's plenty of cost effective ways to play some golf and not go broke.

Practice your short game.  That's where it counts.  Chip, pitch, putt.

Sell your stuff for what you can get and quit now, before you addict yourself to a lifetime of misery.  Don't you know they call it golf because all the other four-letter words were already taken?

Seriously, I have been playing for 40 years and still look forward to every round.

I agree 100%.  I was crushing the ball with my driver, 3 wood and hybrid all day yesterday but when I got close enough for the sandwedge and putter....I tanked bad.   I need to spend more time chipping and putting.  If I spend more time on the close game, I'm going to shave off quite a few strokes.

I think this is good advice for beginners.  Learn the easy stuff first, and how to make a small swing/pitch shot with good technique then slowly lengthen your swings.  Once you get some good short game shots down, focus on your longer clubs and being able to not loose strokes off the tee box.

Get off at 6, get home, eat, get to the course by 7, play 9 holes, even once a week, and watch your game improve steadily. It does take practice and hard work to get better though. I've worked harder at this than I did even Hockey growing up. And still, I have my bad days, very very bad. But I have a lot more good days. Practice makes perfect, and playing is practice.

You seem to have developed a basic swing on your own. You might want to take some lessons - tell the pro your situation, and mention a couple of major problems you're having. A good pro can help you become more systematic in your swing, show you why certain things happen.

As has been suggested, get a lesson on short game. Ten years ago I considered myself a pretty good short-game player, but I picked up some solid tips during a short-game lesson. Learning one system of chips and pitches will simplify the game greatly, and improve your consistency. A putting lesson is helpful also.

As for driver, I wouldn't worry about it during season 1. If you're getting 270 from the 3W, go with it. Also, this will allow you to work extra on your fairway woods to build that set. (You can work in a driver during season 2. Or, if driver simply doesn't work out, the 3W will take care of you).

Play EARLY in the morning on the weekends when you can.....  peaceful,  and more importantly,  if you're not already,  walk the course, and leave the golf-carts to those who aren't athletic.

You'll find yourself playing better golf if you walk vs. ride.