My opinion is that a beginner should be doing something similar to dagolfdoc's plan. I see guys posting their swings on here, that are complete beginners, and guys are giving them a list of 10 things to change.. that just seems insane to me.

But if you had a friend that wanted to play and was willing to listen to exactly what you said, what would you recommend?

Mine would be:
1.) Sign up for 10 hours of lessons with a pro, and spread them out over 12 weeks. Maybe take your first lesson and learn the chipping stance and grip... Then...

2.) Only spend time chipping and putting for your first month.. (Mainly chipping)

Take another lesson.....
3.) Hit half wedges to 3/4 wedges, etc..

etc.. etc..

If I could go back a couple years and re-start my taking up of golf I would only play par 3 courses and practice around pitching/chipping greens and all I would do was hit as many different shots around the green as I could create and try to get up and down. Hit the shot then putt out.

Really I wish I would have trained myself to think about getting up and down in 2 (or hell, even 3...) from the beginning. It really is so important to save your score as you just aren't going to hit a ton of greens in regulation.

Really "driving ranges" should just be these various pitching ranges that have various bunkers with various sand, etc. But driving ranges bring out the casualfans and they are a revenue source. They don't really help the beginner though.

I've only been playing the game for about a year, so take this with a grain of salt. I've heard/read people talk about how you should only work on short game stuff when you first start playing the game before, and I have to say I strongly disagree. I don't disagree necessarily because I think it wouldn't make you score better, but I think that sometimes people put a little too much emphasis on scoring for beginners. The game should be fun, and you can certainly get better at a perfectly reasonable rate while alternating practicing several different aspects of the game on a regular basis rather than simply focusing on the most immediate means to improve scoring. I just think that very few recreational players will stick with the game while focusing solely on chipping/putting and the like for an extended period of time when they begin playing. Part of what makes the game fun is the wide variety of situations and shots that arise during a round.

That wide variety is comprised almost entirely of chips and pitches around the green. Most other full swing ball strikes are basically the same and boring. Basically you just aim and swing full. Sometimes you get ball above feet or lumpy fairways which take a lot to get used to but for the most part no. And newbies aren't going to be going out of their way to shape their driver.

Just off the green is where it's at if you are looking for something mentally stimulating.

I agree fully. It's not about scoring as much as catching even just one shot on the range semi-pure. I watch a lot of beginners hit bad shot after bad shot and then the 20th time catch the one pretty good with a big smile on their faces that keeps them coming back.

spgranger, I recommend chipping mainly for the fact that I believe it greatly improves ball striking. How much time have you spent on your chipping? For me, it helps sooo much with my take away, rhythm and tempo. If you're practicing hitting short chips, you're practicing short swings, which, i believe in a short swing over a long swing...