New Club Set - Opinions

I'd suggest searching for demo days in your area where you might be able to hit multiple options from multiple manufacturers.

Also, if you're planning to purchase irons that you'll be playing for the next several years, spend the extra time and money have them properly fitted -- loft, lie, and shaft (if needed).

At this stage, get a basic static fitting to make sure the shafts are the right length, and the lie angle is square.

If your Wilsons work OK, keep them for this season at least. When you get to the point where you feel the Wilsons are "holding you back," then upgrade.

A custom fitting will help out down the road, once your swing has stabilized.

I was in the same boat as you.  Although I had played for about 15 years off an on I never really took golf serious until last year.

I was gaming a cheap Maxfli complete set that had various quality issues (won't bore anyone with the details).  Anyway back in Jan I had roughly $400-500 to spend on a set of irons that I want to last me for a long time.  I went into golf galaxy over a series of days and literally hit every 7 iron in their demo bin.  Thankfully business was slow so they didnt mind.  I narrowed it down to a few I felt comfortable with (and ones that seemed the best on the simulator).  This being the Ping G10's, Cobra S2 Max and the Taylormade Burner plus, all within my budget. 

First thing I noticed about the Pings was I was about a club shorter than my normal and hit everything high.  I am not a long hitter to begin with so this had me concerned.  As far as quality though, Pings are stout. 

So I narrowed it down to the S2 Max and the Burner plus.

On the Mizuno Launch monitor we found that with the same swingspeed I was generating about about 3-4 more mph of ball speed which equated to about 5 yards longer with the Burners over the S2's and my shot dispersion (left/right) was less with them.  To be honest I thought the S2max's were a nicer looking club but the TM's just felt better at impact and the ball seemed to really jump off the face.

I opted for the TM's which then Golf Galaxy fitted them for me. 

Being I am shorter (5' 3") I knew I would need some adjustments.  First off I was using senior flex shafts previously.  After seeing my swing speed, they fitted me for regular shafts.  After using some impact tape we observed that I needed 3/4" taken off the shaft.  Then we determined that my lie angle needed adjusted to 2 degrees flat.  Also being my hand is smaller than average we re-gripped with undersized grips.  I had a $50 coupon, the clubs were on sale for $399.  With all the adjustments and new grips it came to $440 out the door.

Granted still on the cheap end compared to what most people game but for me these clubs are night and day better than what I was gaming before.  After a couple of rounds at the range I am very happy thus far.  Cant wait for it to warm up and game them on the course.

If you have any questions, I did alot of research on various game improvement iron sets.  Shoot me a private message and we can go from there.

Note on G10 irons.

I test-hit them two years ago when considering new irons. With the perimeter weighting + high-launch shaft, they went way too high for me.

But, G15 and I15 (with midkick shafts) don't balloon like the G10. So, a couple of years down the road, don't be afraid to try Ping again.

(I play Callaway X20s, so I'm not trying to sell you Ping. But, I will admit Ping makes good clubs)

            If you are serious about golfing then you do want to get custom fit. The whole Idea of you not having a repeatable swing is...well wrong...I will explain why.  Most people don't understand what a true lie angle is...a dynamic lie angle....you have to use a lie board. This reading will not change much ( if at all) throughout you golfing career. ( there is a science to reading the proper lie angle, which honestly a lot of people get wrong). A good fitter would get you into a good balanced motion, Then fit you to clubs that will help you make that motion. Which is the opposite of most static fitting. 

                      Equipment from the big box companies is generally made way to strong for the average player. They do this because they static fit...which is the biggest waste of money out there...you might as well play off the rack. You do not want to start out playing golf by compensating for your equipment. You want to give yourself an opportunity to get better and grow as a player. For example...lets say you don't have the swing speed of most tour players....then you probably should not be using the same or lower loft as they do in your driver. This is what most people are using because that's what "static" fitting tells them they should use...doesn't make much sense right. What happens is for someone with a slower swing speed, to hit a 10 degree driver you have to hang back and add loft to the club. So your balance will be off, you loose all your natural ability, this is a big problem for people with back problems. If you shift your weight and make a balanced swing with that low of loft, the ball goes right....because that's what it should do. So a lot of people spend their golfing careers making adjustments to hit the driver. You should never have clubs compensate for what your lacking in your swing...( you have a unbalanced motion so you get "x" driver to fix your slice). You should always correct your swing with proper instruction, then get your clubs to reward a good motion.  So basically don't fall for the trap of static fitting, might be the biggest scam out there! Go get dynamically fit, then decide if you need new clubs, or if you can adjust your old ones to work for you. You would be much better off with a 20 year old set of clubs that actually fit you, vs a brand new set of "whatever' that are not. Good luck! If you want brand new clubs ( which I would say that your probably fine with adjusting an old set, at least for awhile) check out Henry-Griffitts, Or Infinity Golf. 

Oh FYI the only thing "New" about most of the clubs you see that come out every six months is the paint job. 

Noobie golfer here, and I spent a TON of time in the golf store when looking for my set.  I ended up with the Callaway Diablo Edges.   They are quite forgiving, and are more tailored for the high handicappers-noobies IMHO.  I hit a lot of different brands before ultimately choosing the Diablo Edges.