Strategy Point 2 - Take Lessons, better still, Take Individual Lessons

In the scope of things, I believe this is the most  important strategy for playing golf to begin with.

This is just the way the game of golf is. If you don't learn the fundamentals, like basic swing mechanics, which slightly varies from each club, ball positioning, weight distribution, etc, then, simply put, the golf ball will not go anywhere.

Key Point - Only Technique can can lift and make the Golf ball travel. Force will just make you dig a hole. Force does not work in the game of Golf.

You will love this game, if you take lessons. You will surely improve if you have done this as you will keep building upon it and most importantly it will keep you motivated. This is your foundation.

Don't get me wrong, it will still be a challenge to advance in this game, but you will enjoy the process as you will start noticing the mistakes in your swings, it will be easier to work on it and pick-up what others are doing correctly that you are not. When you read about the tips for improvement or watch any instructional videos, it will be easier to relate and apply.

Let me share my experience, we took group lessons - 4 lessons for $100. We jumped on it. We were at a point that we were just looking for lessons, not really interested in Golf, so the deal was so good enough to push us into it. Looking back, I think it turned out to be a very wise decision, although we were not intending for it. Definitely these 4 lessons were not enough, but it got us started, introduced us to swing mechanics, buying our gear, etc. We spaced out our lessons, so we could practice in between, and follow-up on it with our instructor. The instructor was nice, but smart as well, he knew how much information to share for $100, which was fair.

In spite of not having thorough lessons for extended period on all the clubs, I can see myself improve and build upon my initial swing using the initial lessons. I kept struggling and getting frustrated as my swings were not consistent - the ball didn't fly every time, but going through some videos, watching other people, I started to piece together and apply a new trick to my swing, every time I was on the driving range. This itself is a great experience, when you are your own teacher and the by-product is that you develop a whole new skill of being able to take notice of your mistakes, apply new tricks and see the result change. This process is surely intoxicating and big factor in keeping you at this game.

I was not changing my swing, just adding one new fundamental that I learnt  form a video or an article and see what worked with my innate style.

This was all possible because of some initial grooming. Imagine with only 4 lessons you can start on this journey, with a little more investment, you will get there much quickly.

I took group lessons, with my friend, the instructor had some difficulty in providing complete individual focus. I realized that taking individual lessons for this game, is important, as there is lot to learn and the instruction is very closely associated with each individual style. So individual lessons is far more important in this game as it comes down to your swing style, learning on it and  improving upon it.

In nutshell, if you have to distribute your overall initial budget to the game of GOLF. Allocate 60 % to lessons, 30% to Equipment-Clubs, 10% to Rest of it. The percentages can change, but the take away is, in the beginning, focus on taking lessons and learning.