I liken a beginner trying to play the F chord to my efforts at teaching all 3 of my kids to drive a standard shift vehicle. Lots of grinding and jerky starts and dumped clutches killing the car at first. They all wanted to give up and begged me to teach them in my Ranger pickup with an automatic. I told them a time is coming soon where you'll shift the car without any apparent brain involvement in the action and it will become automatic for you. Lots of practice and they all 3 eventually became expert at it and now are capable of driving any vehicle they want by learning on a standard. Incidentally, they all wanted a standard shift for their first car and got it. The F chord trips up nearly ALL beginning guitarists. Lots of muffled notes and unevenly fretted ones. It truly only comes with persistent practice but it does come and you'll wonder why you ever thought it was so hard in the first place. Like a particularly troublesome phrase in a fingerstyle piece I am trying to learn, I will isolate that phrase and play it all day over and over until my fingers seemingly can do it with no brain involvement. Hang in there and refuse to be frustrated, it's a choice you can consciously make. Play it all day switching from the C to the F over and over. Pretty soon you'll be able to play it on ANY guitar you pick up!
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