Of course, there are some obstacles. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, who called golf "a silly game played with implements ill-suited for the purpose," the game isn't always so straightforward.

Golf Education
Suppose that you just started to play golf by hitting some balls at the driving range. Your friends took you to the range at lunch, you launched a couple of balls into the sunshine and thought you might want to learn the game. Where do you go?

• You can learn from books. There are many books written on golf instruction that can lead you through the fundamentals of the game. You can only go so far teaching yourself from a book, however.
• You can learn from friends. Most of us start out this way, which is why we develop so many swing faults. Friends' intentions are good, but their teaching abilities come under serious speculation.
• Learn by hitting balls. I learned to play the game this way. The flight of the ball told me everything. I would go to the driving range and hit balls day and night. The pure act of swinging a golf club in a certain way made the ball fly in different trajectories and curves. This learning process is a very slow one because you have to learn through experimentation.
• Lessons from a PGA golf professional. This is the most expensive and most efficient way to learn the game. Lessons can cost as little as $8 an hour and as much as $250 an hour. The expensive guys are the ones you read about in Golf Digest and Golf Magazine and the ones you watch on TV. All golf professionals can help you with the basics of the game and get you started in the right direction.

How to Get the Most from Your Lesson
Okay, so you're on the lesson tee with your pro. What's the drill? The first thing you need to be is completely honest. Tell your instructor your problems (your golf problems), your goals, the shots you find difficult. Tell him what style of learning-visual, auditorial, or kinesthetic-you find easiest. For example, do you like to be shown how to do something and then copy it? Or do you prefer to have that same something explained in detail so that you understand it?
No matter what technique you prefer, the instructor needs to know what it is. How else can the instructor be effective in teaching you something new?

Listen to Feedback
Now that you've done some talking, make sure that you let the pro reciprocate. After the pro has evaluated both you and your swing, he or she will be able to give you feedback on where you should go from there. So keep listening. In fact, take notes if you have to.
Don't rate the success or failure of a session on how many balls you hit. You can hit very few shots and have a very productive lesson. An instructor may have you repeat a certain swing in an attempt to develop a swing thought, or feel. You will notice when the suggested change is becoming more effective. Let the professional tell you when to hit and what club to use.
Don't do what a lot of people do; don't swing or hit while the pro is talking. Imagine that you are a smart chicken crossing the road-stop, look, and listen!

Overcome Your Doubts
Take it from me: Five minutes into every lesson, you're going to have doubts. The pro will change something in your swing, grip, or stance, and you'll feel weird. What you've been doing wrong has become ingrained into your method so that it feels comfortable. Change what's wrong for the better, and of course it'll feel strange at first. Don't panic. You'll probably get worse before you get better. You're changing things to improve them, not just for the heck of it. So give what you're told to do a proper chance. Give them a couple of weeks to take effect. More than two weeks is too long; go back for another lesson.

Ask Questions
Ask questions during your lesson. The pro is an expert, and you're paying them good money, so take advantage of their knowledge while they "belongs" to you. Don't be afraid of sounding stupid. Your question won't be anything the pro hasn't heard a million times before.

Stay Calm
Finally, stay calm. Anxious people don't make good pupils. Look on the lesson as the learning experience it is, and don't get too wrapped up in where the balls are going. Again, the pro will be aware of your nervousness. Ask him or her for tips on swinging smoothly. Nervous golfers tend to swing too quickly, so keep your swing smooth. Give yourself "time" during your swing to make the changes. What's important at this stage is that you make the proper moves in the correct sequence. Get those moves right, understand the order, and good shots are a given.

Ten Timeless Tips for All Skill Levels

• Take Enough Clubs to Get to Your Target
  I am constantly playing with amateurs who consistently come up short for their approach shots to the green. For whatever reason, they always choose a club that-even if they were to hit the most solid shot they've ever hit-would only get their shot to the front of the green. Take a club you can swing at 80 percent and still get to the hole. Conserve your energy; you have a long life ahead of you!

• If You Can Putt the Ball, Do It
  Don't always use a lofted club around the greens. I've got a friend at home called "flop-shot Fred" who is always playing high sand-wedge shots around the green, regardless of what the shot calls for. I think his idol is Phil Mickelson, who can hit these shots straight up in the air. Leave this kind of shot to guys like Phil who can handle them. My best advice is to use a club that can hit this shot with the lowest trajectory possible. If you can putt the ball, do it.

• Keep Your Head Fairly Steady
  You're going to move your head a little during the swing, especially with the longer clubs. But try not to move your head in excess. Moving your head too much will lead to all sorts of serious swing flaws that will make this game very difficult to play. Have someone watch you to see whether you move your head, or watch yourself in the mirror while you take practice swings.

• Keep Your Sense of Humor
  If everything else fails, you can keep your sense of humor and still survive, or at least die laughing.

• Bet Only What You Can Afford to Lose
  You can cause some serious problems among friends by betting more money than you have. Never bet on your golf game what you can't afford to lose. My theory was to bet everything in my pocket except for $10, and that was to pay for the gas home.

• Keep the Ball Low in the Wind
  When the wind starts to kick up, I see golfers play their normal shot and fail to hit the ball lower to allow for the conditions. Play the ball back in your stance, put your hands ahead of the ball, and keep them ahead when you make contact. Keep the ball as low as you can, and you can manage your game much more efficiently. You probably won't lose as many golf balls either.

• Take Some Golf Lessons
  If you really want to have fun playing this game, start off with a few lessons to get you on the right track.

• Do Not Give Lessons to Your Spouse
  Giving golf lessons to your spouse can be a federal offense. Don't do it! Doing so can only lead to disaster. Invest some money in lessons. Get good instruction and reap the benefits (peace of mind).

• Always Tee It Up at the Tee Boxes
  Whenever it's legal (in the teeing area), tee the ball up. This game is more fun when the ball's in the air.

• Never Blame Yourself for a Bad Shot
  Give yourself a break. This game is hard enough without blaming everything on yourself. Find creative ways to blame something else. I like to blame my bad shots on the magnetic force field from alien spacecraft. Let your mind go and see how crazy your excuses can be.

Ten Rules to Follow When Learning

1. Find a good teacher and stick with him or her.
2. Follow a timetable. Discipline yourself to work on what you've been told.
3. Concentrate.
4. Learn from your mistakes. You'll make them, so you might as well make them work for you.
5. Relax. Take your time, and you'll learn and play better.
6. Practice shots you find most difficult.
7. Have goals. Remember, golf is a target game.
8. Stay positive. Golf is hard enough. A bad attitude only hurts you.
9. Stop practicing when you get tired. That's how sloppy habits begin.
10. Evaluate yourself after each lesson: Are you making progress?

Ten Things to Say When You Make a Bad Shot

1. I wasn't loose.
2. I looked up.
3. I just had a lesson, and the pro screwed me up.
4. I borrowed these clubs.
5. These new shoes are hurting my feet.
6. This new glove doesn't fit.
7. I had a bad lie.
8. The club slipped.
9. I can't play well when the dew point is this high.
10. The sun was in my eyes.

From Golf For Dummies, by Gary McCord with John Huggan. © 1996 by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. Excerpted by arrangement with IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. $19.99. Available in local bookstores, or call 800-762-2974., or visit their website at http://www.dummies.com