You cannot go wrong with Titleist clubs and the best for a beginner might be the AP1s.  I am an 7 handicap and have AP2s and absolutely love them.  The AP1s are a bit bigger and easier to hit and will make you a better ball striker. All titleist clubs have amazing feel and look sharp too.

Welcome!!   Most here (including me), will advise you to go get fit.  There will be a variety of clubs and different shafts that will be available.   From there you just pick the best suited for your swing and your fitter will help you through all that.   Good luck!

To avoid confusion, the comments are NOT about you getting into better physical condition. Getting "fit" should be stated as getting properly fitted for your clubs such that your clubs are made with the correct club head, loft, lie angle, weight, shaft and length. Welcome golf - the most wonderful game there is.

Get fitted by a professional. Make sure the clubs fit your game and swing not just be someone's sale.  You don't have to buy a complete depending on your finances. I'd start with irons...and then work my way through the bag. Of course it depends on what you have in your hand me down bag. 

Since you've been playing for 4 months and are chasing balls in the bushes, try to check under golf fittings on the Titleist.com tabs and find a pro at a golf club or an advanced fitting center.  Mass merchandise dealers will fit you for whatever you ask.  A good fitter at a club is generally an instructor as well.  Let that person know you  want to be a better golfer, and the best recommendation at this time may be to work on a couple of swing changes and then get fit for clubs that will run north of  $500.  The fitter may also recommend that a driver or wedges may be a better starting point based on the current set.  Take advantage of the experts to get your game to the next level.

The AP1s are a great place to start if you aren't yet consistenly hitting the center of the face of the club.

I'm different than most on the forum mainly because I am a bit of a tinkerer with golf clubs.  I actually got into clubmaking in 2009 and played with a set of do it yourself irons (7-SW) thru 2011 (I used Eye 2 until 2012 and have been using AP1 since). 

I played with a 3 wood  and 4 wood from 1972 through 2006 and actually sometimes hit the 3 wood much farther than a driver.

I also used hand me down clubs between 1979 and 2003.  My dad and I have about the same wrist to floor height (he is 6'2" and I am 6'0" but his arms are 2" longer) and he was fit for the irons in 1967.  He also gave me a driver and fairways (X speed 10.5 with 44.5" shaft and 975F 16.5 and 20.5; I reshafted the 975s to DG R300) in 2007 and I used the fairways until 2010. 

I alternated between a G2 and 975D driver between 2008 and the beginning of 2011.  My current driver was a pure accident one day - I saw a Burner HT Draw M flex driver and took it to the range and was getting 250+ yard drives dead straight - come to find out "M" flex is A flex and HT is 13* loft - it actually blew away some R11s at a demo day!  I have it set at 44.5" with a Dri Tac Lite oversize grip.   My driving has been solid so no need to drop $400 for the latest driver.

I might add that my set makeup changed in 2006 after 3 years of not playing.   I used to carry 3-4 wood, 2-PW, Dual Wedge (steel shafts).  I found it hard to hit a graphite shafted 3 wood.  Also found out I fared better with a 7 wood vs a 3 hybrid (I reshafted the 7W to TT Lite XL).  Also had 3DX hybrids I got on clearance (4-6H) for under $50 apiece and tinkered with them a bit (they were 1" too long and they really looked ugly with all the swingweight tape on the heads); I reshafted them to TT Lite XL and used the 5 and 6H until 2008.  The lowest loft iron in my bag since 2006 has been a 7 iron and I have carried a 34 or 35 hybrid as an alternate club since then (when I switched to AP1, I dropped the 7 iron because I'd been doing so well with the hybrid).  I played with G10 steel shafted 23-28-32 hybrids until the end of 2010.

I also had a swing change in 2008.  I often pulled woods and the driver so I got a tip to stand more upright and that made them all dead straight.   Had to have my irons set upright about 1/2*.   I also played a 38* hybrid in place of the 7 iron  in my DIY set because I got the same distance and it was a lot easier to hit.

The most often used clubs in the bag are the driver, wedges and putter.  

I would upgrade the wedges first since a lot of your shots are from 100 yards or less. Wedges are relatively inexpensive ($130 new or about $75 for a used one that is about a year or two old).   I've been using new wedges of some sort since 2006 (started out with Harmonized 50-55-60-64 and they aren't bad wedges for the price; I replaced the 55 and 60 with a Vokey 58-12 and used it for 2 years). 

Also may want to have a lesson or two to get your swing in order. Although I play reasonably well (been a 12 handicap since 2011 and broke 80 this year), I recently sent some videos to a teaching pro and he told me on the first set that I was straightening my right leg on the backswing and that my grip was a bit strong on the 2nd set .  The results are that I can now hit a 3 wood and 4H pretty well and dead straight and I gained yardage to almost my old distance (I hit a 30* hybrid about 160 yards now; my 4H is 175, 7W is 185-190 and 3W around 200).

My opinion is the LAST clubs to upgrade are the irons.  You may end up with a set makeup that would consist of 6-9 irons (for instance if you find out that a 27* hybrid hits better than a 5 iron or that you would use a 48* Vokey wedge vs a PW) and it would be pointless to spend $1000 for a 3-PW set. You CAN have your current iron set properly fit because it is only $5 per club for lie angle adjustments.  My full setup is driver-3-7 woods, 4-7H, AP1 8-PW, SM4 wedges (54-11 and 60-10 bent 1* strong and 64-07) and the entire bag has the proper length, lie angle and swingweight (I've been working with a couple fitters in SD at various times since 2008).  I had the putter fit in 2011. 

One thing I have done is charted all my club lengths, lie angles, swingweights in an Excel spreadsheet so if I go to a brand new set of clubs, I'm armed with what I know works. I know that Reax, Bassara and Diamana r flex wood and hybrid shafts work well.  For irons it is DG R300 or TT Lite XL r-flex.  Wedges have always been S200.

In regards to used clubs, Golf Mart offers a 90 day playability guarantee and they ask no questions if you return a club. 

Welcome to the Team, Matthew! Golf is very addicting. If you're looking into new clubs, start out with whatever your major weakness is. More shots are played around/on the green, so, having some good, fitted wedges and a putter would be a nice start. Get a hold of your local Titleist rep to schedule a fitting and perhaps he/she could give you some info on taking lessons. Best of luck to you!

Welcome to the Team, Matthew! Golf is very addicting. If you're looking into new clubs, start out with whatever your major weakness is. More shots are played around/on the green, so, having some good, fitted wedges and a putter would be a nice start. Get a hold of your local Titleist rep to schedule a fitting and perhaps he/she could give you some info on taking lessons. Best of luck to you!

[/quote]david, that's probably THE best advice any of us have offered. It's probably a good idea for ALL of us.

Welcome to the Team, Matthew! Golf is very addicting. If you're looking into new clubs, start out with whatever your major weakness is. More shots are played around/on the green, so, having some good, fitted wedges and a putter would be a nice start. Get a hold of your local Titleist rep to schedule a fitting and perhaps he/she could give you some info on taking lessons. Best of luck to you!

[/quote]david, that's probably THE best advice any of us have offered. It's probably a good idea for ALL of us.

Matthew, welcome to the community! You are beginning a life long journey that will be filled with lots of fun!! 

I like the idea of starting out by getting fitted by an authorized fitter.  I might even suggest going to a regional fitter that would go to a higher level of fitting than most.  You can read about regional and local fitters at the following titleist page:

http://www.titleist.com/golf-club-fitting/#Fitting_Network

Good Luck and keep in mind to play your best you need the "right" equipment, and I do not mean just playing Titleist equipment but clubs that "fit" your game and swing style that are specific to you!

Chris

Hello,

Welcome to golf. It's a stupid game that'll drive you nuts, having you cursing the planet and everything on it, and you'll love it!

Since you've only been playing 4 months, I'd first recommend finding a certified PGA teaching professional and take a few lessons. Try taking one lesson at a time at first until you find an instructor you really like and then ask if they offer a discount on a package lessons (5 or 6, they usually do). Get yourself a swing that you can (somewhat) reliably repeat. Your instructor will most likely have some advice & knowledge about local pro club fitters and can share their knowledge about your swing with the fitter.

Welcome to a great game Matthew ... if you think you are addicted now, just wait until you amaze yourself with a few shots, lol.

I think the best thing you could do is get comfortable with the game, maybe see your local golf course Pro and ask his advice.  It is better to see how someone is swinging, hitting the ball etc before recommending any clubs.  As most will tell you, club fitting is very important when purchasing new clubs, but maybe your Pro might think a used set is better for now ... either way, best of luck and keep your head down :)

Paul

I don't know your economic situation but if you have the money to splurge on new clubs then definitely get fit, and I would DEFINITELY play Titleist.

Now no one is saying this yet and I have no clue why but DO NOT GET FIT FIRST!!!! If i were you I would definitely take a few lessons from a reputable pro instructor first, one that will get you swinging the golf club the right and a way that is going to work for you best. Ive seen guys get fit for clubs with their terrible swings, then take lessons and have amazing swings with clubs that are designed for their terrible swing.

So, to summarize. Take a few lessons, get a good swing that you can go forth and improve with, then get fit for a set! The lessons from a pro will always improve your game more than a new set will. I know going to the course it seems like some flashy new clubs will impress the guys more but you wanna know what impresses them even more? A lower score. When you get fit also, my best suggestion is to get a few hybrids. Your set makeup as a beginner is ESSENTIAL to your growth, cause going out and practicing sucks when you have a 2 iron in your bag that you can't get off the ground. My suggestion:

Driver, 3wood, 5 wood, 4-6 Hybrid, 7-P, gap wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge, putter.

Most importantly, go easy on yourself mentally and respect the process, golf is so full of highs and lows but this will be my fourth year of playing competitive golf and I went from a max handicap to an 8 handicap... and you can even grow much quicker than that!