I am a newbie as well. Thing is, I have been for several months, since I don't play all that often, and right now, music theory isn't quite what I would call stimulating. But I know deep down that it's necessary, even if I don't fully understand it yet.


Anyway, I found the F major challenging at first, but I got the hang of it. The trick, for me, is to turn my fingers sideways a bit... Basically, it's all about how you hold it, and how you steer your fingers. I'm sure that in time you'll figure it out; I had just as much trouble as you did.

Here's a picture I took to illustrate my point:

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy67/Denerynn/SSPX0217.jpg

I took it with my phone, so the quality isn't great, and it's not easy taking a picture AND holding the chord. Anyway, I found that by holding it in a different way (and maybe through sheer time and practice) I managed to get it down.