It depends on what you mean by golden brown. There are some golden leafed conifers that could(just) fit that description but assuming they've changed colour over the past few weeks it does sound to me as though they haven't had enough water and are dying. Once a conifer goes brown from lack of water it will unfortunately not recover.

If you can add a photo we'll be able to say more

water water water, plenty of it, especially as you've just planted them.

Brown and brittle is bad news: it's likely to be dead. The likeliest cause is lack of water.
BrownISH and soft usually is what happens if the weather is too cold for it to grow, and/or it is having a tough time adjusting to its new sun exposure--a common problem when they come out of a garden center greenhouse, into the open air.