May I add some thoughts please...
ad 3, tournaments:
While there are some tourneys with common (difficult) settings for all, WGT Championship, "Sun Safe" etc., all the regular weekly and monthly events should be tier-oriented, giving each player his proper environment (tee selection, wind, greens (mostly)) and competition. You may look at the leaderboard before entering to see if there is a tier separation or not.
4. single ranked rounds (strokeplay)
These are safe to present themselves with the appropriate environment for individual tiers. Plus, all the awards will be given and count towards the level.
5. multiplayer ranked&rated rounds (all games)
A caveat: In these games the highest tier will be used by the system for green speed selection - "very fast" or "tournament" may cause severe challenges for the beginner.
6. There are plenty video tutorials to look at and quite a few FAQs about playing. Most helpful may be "putting" and "short game".
7. Come back here and ask every question you have - lots of help available!
8. Have fun and hit it straight!!