Some of the best chess.com courses for a 1700
Just play whatever you feel like and if it works it works if it doesn't work
Try to make it work
Studying can be helpful and im not gonna encourage you not to study but sometimes it's better not to study cause you try new things and just play whatever the hell you want
Though studying can be useful just try different stuff (like how tournament players prepare different lines for their opponents that give them best chances of winning tho that isn't needed ) openings give you nice positions but it doesn't win you the game
I agree with the comment above. I have absolutely no idea about chess study or openings, I just do random stuff and I am yet to slow down for the lack of study. 1500 to 1750 in a month of playing occassionally felt like a breeze.. didn't even feel the jump in level tbh. Waiting for my natural plateau to start studying, and somehow I feel it's still far away.
Btw, turn off opponent rating while playing a match, my honest suggestion. Some of the 1700s I destroyed felt like 1400. If I saw their rating before, I might have lost the match even before it started. Really helps playing the game rather than opponent's rating.