Learning how to play golf is easy if you adhere to three things. First, you must learn the set-up (the things you do before you make a swing - grip, alignment, stance, posture and ball position). Second, you should learn to hit the short shots (putts, then chips, then pitch shots) before moving on to the big shots (the full swing). Lastly, you must have an incredible amount of patience, because learning how to play this game will likely be one of the biggest challenges you've ever faced. Given time, however (and hitting thousands of golf balls), you will find that things become more automatic as less guesswork is involved. That's when things really get fun.
Generally speaking, I find that most people try to learn the game backwards. They play their first round and hit many poor shots all over the course. However, what they remember the most are the poor shots they hit off of the tee (particularly with their driver) because these shots are 'on stage' more than the others.
Think about it; the new golfer stands on the first tee box with driver in hand. His or her playing partners stand by silently watching, as does the starter, maybe a marshal, and maybe the next group waiting to tee off. This puts a high degree of pressure on the golfer which equates to anxiety, second guessing, tensing up, and likely a muffed/ topped/ shanked or whiffed tee shot. While other equally miserable shots occur on the approach shots and around the green, the golfer will be more likely to dwell on the experience on the tee-box, and will effort to go to great lengths to assure that the kind of embarrassment they felt never happens again.
So, what do they do? They spend a fortune on range balls and try to learn to hit their driver on their own, not realizing that the driver is the hardest club in the bag to hit due to the long shaft and small degree of loft on the clubface. They are trying to learn how to run before learning how to walk, or even crawl. They reinforce bad habits and set those habits into their muscle memory, further decreasing the likelihood that they will ever learn the right way to swing a club. You see these guys and gals all over the driving range; teeing up ball after ball, swinging the club (usually a driver) at 100% of their effort level every time, usually making a huge reverse-pivot, trying to control the club with their arms and wrists rather than making a proper shoulder turn, swinging dramatically from 'outside-in' on the downswing, and lifting their eyes and head up before the clubhead even contacts the ball.
The right way to do it? In my opinion, you have to take a lesson early so that you understand the fundamentals. While everyone has a unique swing, the grip/ stance/ alignment/ posture and ball position should be pretty consistent for everyone (although there are slight variances). In lieu of a lesson, make sure and buy a 'learning how to golf' book and read thoroughly about the set-up. Go back over this information frequently to make sure it is fully ingrained.
If you do take a lesson, make sure that you get an instructor that teaches the game from 'green-to-tee', or in other words, teaches putting and chipping before moving on to pitch shots and the full swing. Since everything in golf is sort of 'inter-connected', it makes sense to learn the small shots and build confidence before moving on to bigger shots that require more body movement and less chance of success.
Putting should be learned first. It requires the smallest swing with the least body movement yet it is a short version of the full swing. This is because all shots in golf should be controlled primarily by the turning of the shoulders, and all putting requires is turning the shoulders without using wrist or body motion. Additionally, as the golfer learns to keep their wrists firm through contact putting teaches them how to lag the clubhead rather than flip the wrists (another element of all other swings). Putting also requires that the golfer keep their eyes down on the contact point until after they've struck the ball, yet another key fundamental of the bigger shots.
Learning how to putt first also builds confidence. The instructor should ideally have their student start with very short putts so that they get accustomed to success and positive feedback as they roll the ball into the hole (albeit on a very small scale). Then they should learn some distance control drills. My favorite is having them hit putts towards the fringe from different spots on the green, simply attempting to get the ball to stop on the fringe just past the green. This takes the pressure off of putting to a small hole from a big distance, and teaches the golfer how to get the ball to stop in a 'general area', which is the essence of longer putts.
Next, the golfer should learn how to hit chip shots (or shots just off the green). This is a natural transition from learning how to putt because the swing is so similar (in that the only thing really moving is the shoulders; rocking them back and rocking them through with very little wrist or body action). The main difference from putting is that the wrists are 'hinged' when chipping; with the hands set ahead of the clubhead at address and throughout the swing. The ball is also moved back in the stance, the stance is a bit more narrow and open, and the golfer's body weight should be more on their front foot than evenly distributed between the two as when putting.
I think that the chip shot is the most important shot for the new beginner to practice because when they practice chipping, they are practicing everything. They are practicing putting because they are just rocking their shoulders as they would when putting; they are practicing chipping (obviously); and they are also practicing pitching and the full swing because when chipping they are simply practicing the most important aspect of these bigger shots: the contact point.
The biggest struggle for a new golfer is learning how to get the clubhead to contact the ball at the right moment on a consistent basis. Trying to do this while taking a full swing is incredibly defeating (at first) because of the high difficulty level and negative feedback. The timing has to be absolutely perfect and there is very little margin for error. The concept of having to 'hit down' on a ball in order to get it airborne is lost on many beginning golfers because natural human instinct tells us we need to try to 'help the ball into the air', or 'try to lift it up with our body' (think reverse pivot and flipping of the wrists through the contact area). This is why the chip shot needs to be learned early. By taking this small stroke, hitting the ball on a descending blow, getting the sweet-spot of the clubhead on the ball (or close to it) and getting the ball in the air and on the green, the golfer is learning some key fundamentals of the full swing and building an excellent foundation from which to build upon. I promise that practicing small chip shots will make you better much faster than practicing full swings with your driver.
Next, the golfer should be introduced to the pitch shot (shots that are further from the green but not yet a full swing away). The pitch shot requires that the golfer start to use some body movement in addition to the turning of the shoulders, but on a smaller scale than a full swing (slight hip rotation, slight leg action, and the rolling of the hands through impact and release). While the intent of the chip shot is to have the ball travel on a low trajectory and roll along the green for awhile, the pitch shot should travel on a higher trajectory and roll less after landing. Again, the pitch shot is simply a short version of the full swing, and teaches the golfer the correct positions to get in on a small scale. As the club comes back, the clubface should 'fan open', square up through contact, and 'fan closed' after releasing - just as in the full swing.
Not only is practicing the short game the best way to learn how to golf, it is also free at almost any golf course. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on range balls and learning bad habits, spend a little money on lessons to learn the fundamentals then obsess about the short shots (putting, chipping, and pitching). This can be done in your house (with golf whiffle balls at first so you don't break anything), your yard, the park, or ideally the practice green at your local course. Only after spending a great deal of time on the short game and experiencing success on a small scale should the golfer worry much about learning the full swing. When they do finally start in with the full swing however, they will find that it makes a lot more sense after having learned the short stuff first.
