What's the most common mistake new golfers make?

Mistaking a baguette for a golf club

not keeping they're head down to look at the ball U HAVE TO KEEP UR EYES ON THE BALL otherwise u miss trust me

I'm just out of the novice stage....16 Hcp, but had the advantage of playing the game before.

I think puting too much emphasis on the Driver...which in many cases can put you in trouble. I've been teeing off with a 3 wood or even a 7 wood...for a good shot, the difference is only 30-40 metres but I can keep the ball in the middle if I avoid the Driver.

Second...from around the fringe...let's say using the putter from the fringe or just off the green...or using the Approach or Chipper from a few metres off. Getting those balls down in 2 shots can make an immense difference in scoring. But as beginners we somehow spend a lot of time practicing the long shots, ignoring the short game.

Let's say playing birdie from the fringe and getting bogey.....if you convert those to pars, your overall score should be much better.

The most common mistake new golfers make is to listen to everyone saying to keep their heads down. Well it sounds funny but thats an amateur tip. You can hit a perfect shot looking away. If you practice and I have seen trainers demostrate that to guys that heard that tip. Just to show thats a secondary thing and not a primary point or mistake. Why people say that is linked to the fact that you want to look where the ball went before you hit it . Then you hit a crappy shot and they say you lifted your head. Your head dont hit the ball. Its the clubface. So the most important thing for a beginner is to not try and hit the ball up in the air.(and look where its going :) or not going most of the time) The clubface gets it up. Nothing else. Thats why you get all the numbers and degrees of clubs. What you must do is just hit at the ball and try and connect it first. With irons even hit into the ball with a downwards moting. Forget about getting it up. The clubface WILL get it up if you hit into it. Thats where divots come from and spin is generated. What amateurs does is to try and hit up , look up, and most of the balls are hit thin, fat(behind the ball) or plain miss. Not even a pro would be able to make a good shot that way. Go and try and hit into the ball. Concentrate on hitting into the ball and hitting the ball first before anything else. You know what? Well to do that you can't look away, up or anywhere else but at the ball. And then you will start hitting nice shots. So whats the most common mistake? Trying to "GET" the ball up into the air. Concentrating on doing that gets you into trouble. Leave that to the clubface. Just make a nice swing and practice to repeat it all the time. The actual swing is another subject but do not try and hit to hard. And every muscle from your toes head to your finger tips need to work in sinc for a perfect shot. It would only get easy with lots of practice.

probably the golf clubs they h are using and when to use them

The most common basic mistake made by golfers of all skill levels is incorrect alignment. You cannot hit a bull's-eye if you are aiming your rifle at the wrong target.

The most common mistake is not hitting the golf ball correctly. The most common reason this is done is because golfers instinctively want to lift their head. Keeping the head still, developing the correct swing, having the ability to aim correctly, and selecting the right club are the only things golfers need to work on. Most golfers complicate things by adding too many variables to correct. Why worry about weight-shift, heel-lift, elbow-position, chin-extension, etc. in the middle of a shot? Learn all the correct things before you hit the course, instead of thinking about them during play.

The worst tip in golf is keep your head down. If you glue your chin to your chest, you have no room to turn back and through properly. The biggest mistake is people do not know how to proper use the big muscles in their swing- the legs, hips and trunk. Newbies try to muscle the ball with their hands, arms, and wrists when power comes from the big muscles.

The most common mistake is a poor swing.. It must be corrected in order to be a successful golfer. To fix it you should check out this source.

not keeping the head down

The biggest mistake is NOT getting proper instruction. Both beginners and novice players and yes...even veterans can have bad habits/fundamentals.

Get proper instruction as your foundation...then build upon that. Good luck with your game!

trying to kill the ball. go to a range and learn the average distance (not the distance of your best shot!) each club flies. don't worry about what your buddies use. just go with the proper club instead of trying to outmuscle the others and you'll be on the green in two more often than not, while the others will be short of it.

well they tends to keep hitting drivers at the range which is stupid
you need more time on putting and chipping and then irons that gonna get your ball on the green
also they try to hit hard to get distance which is wrong
first you need good swing to hit consistently and also they tends to make little mistakes they shouldnt make on the course cause they are not careful enough

listening to people like David S. Keeping your head down through the entire page is not good. None of the great players ever actually see the club make contact with the ball.

The most common mistake is not seeking Professional help. Getting started on the wrong foot. Start out right and learn how to build the correct golf swing and it will be easy to repeat. All a golfer really wants is a good, effective, easily repeatable golf swing.

i think they swing way too hard. instead of letting the spead build up through the swing. swing easy, hit it hard.

There are two mistakes amateurs always make. One is not keeping there head down. Nobody realizes how important that is. If you look at where your shot is going then it won't go anywhere. It will either not move or move in the complete way you didn't want it to go. The other is most amateurs always want to hit it hard. When you first go to the driving range new club who immediately have the urge to hit it hard. And that happens to pros as well. But when you try to hit it hard it will be a bad shot.
Hope I have helped

lifting their heads up, or right as you come down from your swing you turn the club (which make the ball go either left or right, not straight down the middle)