I took up golf this summer, while on vacation in Oregon, the week of July 4. I'd played a few times before, using rental clubs, but this time I bought my own set and took the game up seriously (more or less).
You don't think practice helps? It definitely does. I've been playing the local 9-hole course (a par 31, 1781 yards) on a nearly daily basis for the last couple of months and I've definitely improved (I'm also taking lessons from the local pro).
Look how my score's gone down since I started (a few games are missing due to technical reasons, i.e. my Visor's batteries died and I lost a few rounds):
| 7-25 | 52 |
| 7-31 | 57 |
| 8-2 | 59 |
| 8-3 | 57 |
| 8-6 | 53 |
| 8-7 | 48 |
| 8-9 | 43 |
| 8-10 | 50 |
| 8-13 | 46 |
| 8-14 | 55 |
| 8-15 | 55 |
| 8-20 | 46 |
| 8-21 | 37 |
| 8-23 | 46 |
| 8-24 | 49 |
| 8-27 | 46 |
| 8-28 | 47 |
| 8-29 | 47 |
| 8-31 | 44 |
| 9-5 | 45 |
| 9-6 | 44 |
| 9-7 | 45 |
| 9-10 | 43 |
| 9-11 | 45 |
| 9-12 | 48 |
| 9-13 | 42 |
| 9-14 | 45 |
| 9-19 | 39 |
| 9-20 | 42 |
| 9-21 | 37 |
| 9-24 | 44 |
| 9-26 | 34 |
If you'd like, you can examine my best round, or see stats from my last few rounds.