clubs for a beginner?

I think that you're correct! Find an inexpensive set for beginners first, and see how much you enjoy the game before spending a lot of money. I also think that your friends are correct on the kick back! Dont hold it against your instructor. We all need to make a living!

I'd buy something you like the look of, onnly if they also feel okay on the pratice fairway and are modernish, (not the tiny heads of 15 years ago) maybe mid size, look for regular shafts, not stiff, check the stickyness of the grip, avoid the ones that are so cheap they must be bad clubs, and ask if you can get your money back there if you trade them in for a better set. If you pay a bit more than you were thinking, but keep them for many years, that makes them cheaper than buying a few sets in the next few years! Feel and performance is the most important, value for money is 2nd to scoring well. Clubs for $2000 new will be worth only $500 max in 3 years! so some 3-5 year old clubs would be good value. Were I come from I have seen some quite cheap ones in hock (pawn)shops, like Cash Converters. It may be hard to work out the best performers while you are trying to get a swing together to go for quality value for money and newish.

Find some old Nike Sumo's or some Nike Slingshots. Adams OS series is a good choice also.

You might want to check out www.hirekogolf.com, they got cheap Ladies set.

I've only played about 3 months last year, but I played about as much as humanly possible.       Towards the end of the year I bought a set of Taylor Made Burner Plus irons for $377 on sale.     I see the ladies full set for about half that on eBay (new) ... if I only knew how much you can save buying online

Check Dick's Sporting Goods, they have a lot of club sets on clearance. Ebay is another great option.

All the above are reasonable viable suggestions for a beginner.  I will add an alternative idea.

Find a clubmaker in your area. Have the clubmaker fit you up with a few clubs. I would suggest a metal fairway with about 15-18 degrees loft to use off the tee and eventually from the fairway.  Maybe 3 cavity back "game improvement" irons of around 25*, 35*, and 45*,  and a sand wedge around 55-56* with generous bounce. Find a good used Ping Anser Putter with a sightline, and have the clubmaker cut it to an appropriate length.  You may love this putter and keep it  forever, or you may find one later you like better, but it is a good, fairly inexpensive starting point.  Have the clubfitter fit shafts in appropriate length and flex for your height and build.  You should be able to do all this for less than $300.  A bit more work on the front end, but might simplify your learning process.  As your skills improve and needs change, the clubmaker can fill in with additional clubs, and change shafts if necessary.

Honestly, this might be a bit more than you want to do at this stage, but if you're seriously interested it might pay off in the long run.

Square Two has a long history of making women's clubs, which were promoted by champion Nancy Lopez. My wife got a set of the petites, made for shorter women.

Adams Golf has since bought Square Two. The $400 is a bit pricey for a boxed set, but they would be durable clubs that might suit you well beyond the beginners years.

Whether you get the Square Two set or something else, get it from a place that will give you a basic static fitting: Make sure the shafts are proper length, and the lie angle of the irons fits you. If you start out with the wrong shaft length and lie angle, it will be hard to hit the ball squarely.

Stay away from eBay until you learn a little more about the game, and the what different club designs can do for a golfer. Welcome to the game, and keep us posted!

Completely agree with you. I guess that it's cheaper to buy on Ebay.