Exactly as above. I joined in June 2013 (it says January on my profile for some reason). Didn't bother too much reading anything - just grabbed the clubs and let go, and learned as I went along. Coming up close to 400 ranked rounds now and I think my biggest education has been how to recover from poor shots. With driving at less than 70% accuracy and GIR just over 50%, I really needed to work out how best to recover.
I'm now starting to hit with more accuracy but keep reading the forums for the odd extra tip.
Obviously, buying the best kit you can afford is a great help also.
Enjoy the game - it IS only that - I have only just started looking for multi-player games and it has bought increased enjoyment - above all, don't take it too seriously - we can't all be as good as fmagnet!